I started learning a violin since I was in the eighth grader. I can’t believe that being able to play the violin felt so much fun and I even can feel the use of it.
It was started when my brother told my parents his interest in learning violin. They bought him one then. He took the violin course taught by a private teacher came to my house every Saturday. She also taught me playing the piano. But I don’t know, she is a kindergarten teacher and I guess she can’t play the piano or the violin at all. In my sight, she was just a feign teacher trying to deceive us by her well manner. But what did we get? I got a headache every time I heard my brother played a song. And not such classical songs composed by Vivaldi or Bach, but a useless kid songs that I couldn’t enjoy hearing them.
We were all aware of this and so I told my mom to (sorry) dismiss her. I suggested my brother to continue his lessons in trusted music course, but I guess he had given up that time.
In the other case of me being an amateur pianist, I had never had a chance to show my ability in playing my fingers on the piano keys. Once I had the opportunity, my teacher had so much enchanted by my friend’s stunning performance before that my hardwork of preparation turned into nothing. Eversince, everytime I played the piano, I felt like my teacher despised me. Nobody respected me. But that was the truth. I am a classical pianist and nobody is interested hearing old things anymore. Not even my parents.
I honestly envied of how she had so much opportunities to show her ability in front of public. So did my other pianist friend who has the same destiny like me.
It was right then that I started thinking about how my parents had wasted their money a lot in paying the piano course for me whereas I couldn’t make them proud.I couldn’t stand for that anymore. I was in an intersection of two choices. Kept playing the piano and wouldn’t be heard, or a change. I needed a change. I like to try new things. But what should I play? A musical instrument that nobody would compete me. A musical instrument that is grotesque in front of common Indonesian people’s eyes and not really socialized. A musical instrument that would make me looked at and listened to, not only just seen or heard. Something I already had. A violin.
Yes I decided to learn a violin. I coaxed and convinced my mother that it would be better for me to use the violin than nobody used it after my brother had no interest in playing violin anymore. I convinced her that that time, I would be seriously learning it, and I promised her that violin is the last musical instrument I’d play. I cherished that by this change, there will also be a change in my musical life.
And so I started my lessons. I then awared that playing volin is not an easy thing. From the way we hold the violin, hold the bow and strike the strings, we must know the technique correctly. Especially when we play a song. We must have a good sense of hearing as there are no frets on the fingerboard. We must press the string by our own feeling. And that’s why, after we have memorized a song, it’s not difficult to close our eyes as there is nothing else to see.
It needs an extra intention, a strong will, and patience in learning a violin. It’s so much harder than playing a piano, I admit it. I just realized how great violinists are.
It’s not exact a year I started to learn the violin when my first-long-waiting opportunity came. As usual, my awesome pianist friend called by my music teacher to play several songs in a speech contest that would be held in my school for elementary students the next day. Probably, the teacher asked my friend whether there’s a student who could play a violin or not. And, she said that I could! But it was too sudden, and too early! One day preparation. But it was also impossible for me to refuse. Not that time.
And yeah, finally I could manage it with a help from my friend. A seventh grade student sang three songs accompanied by violin and piano. It wasn’t excellent but it wasn’t bad. I was quite satisfied. The next year in the ninth grade came some other opportunities to play several songs in several school events. I also had my first violin concert in front of public in a mall. The event was held by the music course I belong. I also played a solo violin accompanied by two guitars, playing La Paloma and Minuet. It seemed so much better and better after my friends and teachers apreciated my playing in the music practicum test yesterday.
It is practically changed many things.
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