Tonight, Thomas and I had a relaxed violin lesson. Thomas has been teaching me for a number of years now and he has such a zen approach to life and lessons. He knows that his adult students have serious day-time commitments and he offers something at every lesson without fail.

Thanks, Thomas!

We picked out some new repertoire and I will play part of a Bach Partita as an étude. The Bach Partitas are unbeatable.

The goal for this coming week (and the following five) is to practice 45 minutes a day, six out of seven days. If I do, I can pick a prize out of my teacher's prize bag. Whee, I feel like a kid again!

I am proud to say that I bought my first real violin. Finally! During the past year and some, I played approximately 70 violins. Going forward, I will probably pop my head into shops and play violins just for the heck of it.

There are so many characteristics to violins that it is like smelling perfume after a while. Some physical characteristics are hard to get over, probably for every player.

Anyway, this violin offers a focused sound that takes much less effort to pull out of it than other violins. Also, it is not that in-your-face, "I'm a brand new violin!" sound that leaves it difficult to blend with other orchestra members. Mine is a German violin from approximately 1870.

Sheet music:
http://www.sharmusic.com
http://johnsonstring.com

Finnish lyrics and more:
Song lyrics, including Finnish songs
last.fm

My violin teacher needs a web designer so that he can present himself online as professionally as possible. If you can recommend someone who is not addicted to Flash, please contact me by clicking the contact me tab in the upper-right corner.