Tonight, I had my first fiddle lesson.  Actually, it was also my first musical lesson of any type.  I've muddled through as a self-taught guitar player for over twenty years, and even taught myself a little mandolin.  (I bought one after John Hiatt came out with Cry Love  - anyone else know that one?)  I plan to use this blog to record my progress and collect thoughts about learning and teaching.

I inherited the instrument from my grandfather.  He was an opera singer in his early adulthood, and would sing for anyone, anywhere, anytime at all.  I'm sorry to say I always felt a bit embarrassed when he'd begin to belt out a song in a deli or something like that, but he really could sing.  He also played the violin, though I only saw him do it once or twice.  Grandpa Jack passed away almost a decade ago, and his violin went into its case and then into a thick roll of bubble wrap, which I later found at my mother's house.

The idea of that instrument sitting in its case for decades displeased me, so I decided I had to learn to play it.  The mandolin is not too different in size, and has the same tuning, so I even came to the violin with some of the left hand skills.  First I took the violin to a local fellow who builds and repairs violins.  All the comments about his business online suggest that Larry seems a bit crazy, but he does great work for reasonable prices.  He's a one-man operation in a small second-story office above a local florist shop.  Larry informed me that the violin was a German model, over eighty years old.  He refurbished the instrument - new strings and chin piece, repaired bridge, and he sold me a new bow for less than restringing the old one would cost.  But just as important, Larry got me excited to play, so I went right home and gave it a shot.  

My family was amazed at my instant success.  My family is way too easily impressed, because while I might have avoided some of the dying cat sounds you think of when a child starts violin, my pitch needed major adjustments and my bow was all over the place. I knew I'd need some lessons, so I began calling around.

In my next entry, find out what I figured out about violin lessons, fiddle lessons, teachers, and myself as a student.  And since this blog tool has a "Post Audio" feature...