Journal Entry #27–Adventures in Playing the Violin

UPS delivered my full-size (or 4/4) violin the other afternoon. It came in a comfy case, alongside a hydrometer (to measure the humidity), rosin (to lubricate the bow string), and extra strings. After getting over the initial wonder at the smooth texture of its body and lightness, other little details became apparent. For instance, I had to install the bridge (that wooden piece below that fingerboard that pushes up the strings) and watched several videos to hopefully ensure everything was in the right place.

There were supposed to be notches along the top of the bridge, apparently, to help in the placement of the strings across it, but the bridge I received didn’t come with them. So I had to do it as well as I could.

The strings themselves were another matter, and at first I couldn’t tighten them all the way. It took one of the strings snapping, and then me exchanging most of the installed strings with the extra ones, to get the tension just right.

I tried to lubricate the bow as much as I could using the rosin, and then tried some of my first notes.

During various steps of the above process, I tried a few notes. My efforts were… scratchy, with a few deeper notes coming through here and there.

This is going to be quite a journey. Whew! ^_^

13 thoughts on “Journal Entry #27–Adventures in Playing the Violin

  1. Oh, boy. It seems like it’s a difficult road already. However, I am sure that once you get over the first few humps, you’ll be able to fully embrace the magic. Whatever you do, don’t stress, or it might make you withdraw before you even begin.

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    1. Thanks. It has indeed been quite an adventure already, especially since one of the chords snapped (and so I had to order another set or two of better quality). Still, I’ve been learning quite a bit, and I even managed to play a rough version of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Whew! Also, to be honest, learning the violin has been helping me to de-stress since I’m also helping to care for my mother, who just got a total knee surgery.

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