Lesson

The old man had his first violin lesson today. Teacher is approximately the same age as he, and her first question was: "Are you nervous?"

Oh yes, I most certainly was, and I told her so. I said that it was a difficult proposition for a adult to know that he was about to screw up something like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (which sounds more like starkle starkle little twink when I play it). I mean I wasn't quivering in my boots, but I was experiencing some qualms, some of which I shared with you two posts back .

But she is quite a down to earth type, and we chatted, and she told me about another older student that she once had. He had taken lessons from another teacher who retired or moved -- I forget exactly what the reason, and it's irrelevant anyway. The point is that this guy could already play fairly well, but he was so hesitant that he sat through two sessions with her before he would play a piece. Except for his former teacher, nobody had ever heard him play. Apparently, this even included his wife because he used a muffler on the fiddle when he practised in the house.

I told Teacher that I wasn't nearly that nervous or reluctant or whatever, but mostly we talked, and I relaxed very quickly. She spent a lot of time showing me how to properly hold the bow and how to draw it across the strings. It's all much more complicated than I guessed. You position your fingers just so and grip very firmly. You get your elbow up and shoulder down. You rest the instrument firmly under your chin, but you make sure not to grit your teeth. And then you relax. Say what?!

I did play a few pieces for her, but the new position was very foreign, so it wasn't as good as in practice, but although I felt a bit stupid when I hit two strings or missed notes, I didn't really mind or feel very embarrassed. Who wouldn't?

She seems to think that there is some hope for me. She decided that, for now at least, she didn't have to tape markers under the strings to show me where my fingers should go. I guess that's good, and I suppose that it means that they fall more or less where they're supposed to. She did remark that my goals seemed realistic. Apparently, some mature students come to her expecting to become concert vilolinists, and, of course, she needs to disabuse them of that notion.

I think that I will concentrate on simple pieces this week. I had been nearing the end of the beginners instruction book that I had picked up, and had been trying a couple of jigs near the end of it. They are a lot of fun, but I have to concentrate so much on the speed and fingering that I tend to lose whatever technique that she is trying to instill in me.

One other thing that is a little bit funny: during the lesson, when I was practising the bowing technique, I began to look at her. She advised me to look at the strings because there was nothing on her face that would help me. I replied that I was looking for approval. She laughed: "You're doing really well, AC."

That's the story so far. Aren't you proud of me? Do I have your approval?

Testing, Testing ...

I guess I should make it clear that for now, at least, the sole purpose of this site is to test templates. My actual blog is called Raindrops.

I guess I should make it clear that for now, at least, the sole purpose of this site is to test templates. My actual blog is called Raindrops.

I guess I should make it clear that for now, at least, the sole purpose of this site is to test templates. My actual blog is called Raindrops.

I guess I should make it clear that for now, at least, the sole purpose of this site is to test templates. My actual blog is called Raindrops.

I guess I should make it clear that for now, at least, the sole purpose of this site is to test templates. My actual blog is called Raindrops.

I guess I should make it clear that for now, at least, the sole purpose of this site is to test templates. My actual blog is called Raindrops.

 

The Tree

The season is upon us; good feelings are in the air; spirits are rejoicing. Although the snow cover will soon likely disappear in the warmer and rainier weather that is being predicted for the next few days, there is no denying that the festive season is upon us. Many, if not most, houses now have their outdoor lights up. We have done ours: hung some lights both outside and inside, and put up a small tree. The Christmas dishes are out, and various and sundry decorations festoon corners here and there.

On the weekend, after a hiatus of several years, we resumed a family tradition: the ceremonial and festive decorating of the main family tree. I won't repeat Cuppa's fuller version, but I will reiterate that at one time we'd have grandma and grandpa and aunt Val over to help with decorating, eat platefuls of goodies, and have dinner together. We started that when the kids were still young, and then they moved away. Grandma and grandpa passed on, and poor aunt Val was felled by a debilitating stroke. Cuppa and I carried on by still making it an occasion of sorts, but we missed the family.

Now that we live near Butterfly, she has resumed the tradition. She was a Christmas baby and loves the season. She had us over to decorate both of her trees, one of which you see in the picture, and we munched our goodies, and supped together, and even went to the town Santa Claus parade afterwards.

Yes, the season is upon us, and in the event, I hereby roll out my Christmas template. Although I can code web pages, Blogger's templates just about drives me starkers, and there likely remains things to fix and tweak. I'm not yet sure how bad some of the previous posts, with styles adapted to those colours, will look, but I don't suppose there is much deep examination of old posts anyway, and most of them will probably survive the transition relatively well.

Merry Christmas Season

 

Mostly Done

I have designed my new, very original template from the ground up, or as much from the ground up as I can at this point.

I know that the theme is already late and unseasonal, so I think I'll just put it in the vault until next year ... or forever ... but it gave me something to practice with.

I haven't styled either the footer or what the comments will eventually look like. A footer is unimportant for now, but if you could post some comments, I can see what they look like and perhaps style them from there. I know that I could post my own bogus comments, but I'd much rather hear from you.

Please? I'm not exactly looking for artistic criticism but filler comments. If coders such as Lisa or Gemmak drop by, I'd especially love to hear what you have to say — I'll even develop the necessary thick skin. *grin*

AC

PS: I had to do a few work-arounds for Internet Explorer, one of which was to re-design the header because I couldn't get the title to go where I wanted in IE. I'm sure there's a way, but I couldn't find it.

Under Construction

This site is under construction. My current blog, Raindrops is found here.