My Violin Research Paper

As a child, I decided to try my hand at the cello. From then, I traversed the vast world of music, and satiated my relentless

I now realise that the Arts, including music, creates opportunities to engage, inspire and enrich our lives. Music making and responding can challenge, provoke responses and enrich our knowledge and understanding of ourselves, our communities and the world.

Music should be understood, but not at the expense of the performer creating a “right result” and in turn taking away from the listeners enjoyment of the work being presented.

In order to become an expert performer Abbott and Collins (2004) suggest that talent development requires the possession of Psychological Characteristics for Developing Excellence (PCDE), which as the performer moves through the transition phases become further developed. PCDE’s are both trait characteristics and state related skills such as self-belief, dedication and discipline (Abbott and Collins, 2004). Another significant aspect of becoming an expert musician is deliberate practice. Deliberate practice requires determination with the correct motivation for the performer, and the necessary time and effort roughly equating to 10,000 hours (Ericsson et al., 1993). MacNamara, Holmes and Collins (2008) state that expert musicians require numerous aspects to reach the highest level; natural talent and/or deliberate practice combined with social context and significant others are needed to maintain performance at this high level. As talent is developed, the performer moves

There are many characteristics that could impact one’s life in a negative way causing them to lose everything in life such as selfishness, messiness, untrustworthiness, self-righteousness, or ego. In the award-winning musical, Hamilton: The Revolution, by Lin-Manuel-Miranda, the character of protagonist, Alexander Hamilton may be described in many ways. However, one character trait stands out among the rest. The main character trait of Alexander Hamilton, self-righteousness, shaped everything about his life: how he grew up, how he dominated in debates, and even how he fell from grace. Hamilton always stuck by his ideals, not caring whether it affected other people. These traits led him to lose and gain

Soccer, football, lacrosse, and basketball, just to name a few, allowed my two older brothers to display their talents. Sticking to what they knew, my parents attempted to involve me in some sport, but it was apparent to me quite early on that I had another calling. When I was about four years old, I asked my parents if I could learn how to play the violin. The only reply I ever received at that age was a slight chuckle of doubt from my parents, whom envisioned a dusty wooden instrument being stowed away in a closet, never to be seen again after just a few lessons. So while equipped with only the rushing mind of a toddler, the notion of me learning violin was pushed to the back of my mind. It wasn’t until I was about seven years old that I

During senior year of high school, I decided to learn the violin. I have always loved the timbre of the instrument and I longed to develop a talent that I could call my own. However, my progress was slow. My arms and fingers always tensed up when I began playing a piece. Yet, my violin instructor never let me give up. Every time I put my violin down he would urge me to continue. “Don’t hesitate,” he would tell me. “Be confident in what you play even if you make a mistake.”

My life would be incomplete without performing music. I’ve spent time, in concert bands, in bell choirs, in school and church choirs, and singing, playing in music festivals, and in pit bands trying not to laugh my head off at the actors’ improvisations. But the art that truly speaks to my soul does not lie in creating music, it lies in dancing to it.

Even though my makeshift cardboard violin didn’t make any sound, I still carried it with me everywhere, always eager to show people mow much I had learned.I have been playing for twelve years now and even though I have enjoyed most of it, it has not always been so easy. There have been more late nights, crying in frustration over something I just could not get, but I made it through. Playing the violin has given me the nations determined attitude to set my mind on something and to not stop until I reach my goals. Being a musician also has also made me hyper-aware in relation to anything musical.I tend to pick up things that the average person doesn’t. You can hear the subtle nuances that might blow over many people. Most people might only hear the different emotions, but I can tell you what made it so sad and what instruments were used at what time to convey such emotion. I love playing the violin, I look at it as an opportunity to express my true emotions. Each piece of music that I play is an uncolored painting that I paint with emotions. I have to take every piece of music, interpreted it and make it my

Striving for perfection is something that would better improve our society and really change the way we see what society is because everyone would be making an effort to really strive for the ideal world of flawlessness. Just the mere idea of getting closer to perfection is something that makes us attempt to be more perfect. In the article, “Cheaters Never Win,” Christopher Bergland, a Guinness World Record holding athlete says that, ¨yes, you want to be your absolute best and to try our hardest to win and to be thrilled if you are victorious” (Bergland 7). Bergland is trying to inform his readers that our society would be a better place because everyone is trying their best to succeed and in this case, be their most perfect self. In order for the society to reach perfection, everyone should be trying their very best in order to strive for perfection. We should all be putting forth all our effort we have in order to get just a little bit closer to the idea of perfection and flawlessness. Society would improve for the better if all individuals strived for the world of perfection because every single person would give all that they’ve got in order to make this world just a little bit more perfect. This quote from Bergland is saying that we all need to try our hardest to strive for flawlessness and that we should be thrilled if we do achieve this goal. Trying our best from the start just makes us closer to reaching perfection which allows us to have the driven passion to be

Because of this sacrifice he sees his violin as his main identity; he is a violinist, and he must honor that at all costs. He can’t allow himself to enjoy anything else in life for fear that he sacrificed everything for nothing. The great irony here is that this all-consuming obsession with the violin leaves him bereft of any time or desire to spend time with his wife and children, unless it involves the violin, which ultimately causes them to reject him too.

I’m from the screech of a bow sliding across a bridge as I attempted to play viola. Every few notes, I would lose control; the horse hair slipped across the wood holding the strings in place. The clichéd screech of a beginner violinist rang throughout the house. Nonetheless, I kept trying, much to the dismay of my family’s ears. By fifth grade, I was finally able to create a decently in tune sound. I sat at the first stand that year.

Paul is a good boy. I admire his talent. He reminds me of my own. Perhaps I have been too hard on him because of it. A father’s hardness. Yet he still has much to learn. His ignorance irritates me. His negligence is a flaw that must be adjusted, as I familiarly know the consequences. Locked away in imitations and forgeries of the masters, emotionless melodies in dominants and diminished 7ths, dynamically dull. Forced to leave the capital city by own authority, the land of music, my life. The ballroom of Europe. Illuminated museums and theatrical orchestras formed the essence of the air of Vienna, made it different to everything else. If only I wasn’t so concentrated in my own appeal would I have been aware of the revolution around me. “But all the music. The famous musicians. I was busy.” These words ramble on in my head. Upsurging and diminishing thoughts. If only I had looked up from beyond the white and black. Realised what was really in front of me. Realised what was going on. I could have saved them. The

Through three decades, Mr. Holland is closer to students at John F. Kennedy High School than he is to his own son. He addresses a series of challenges created by people who are either skeptical of -- or hostile towards -- the idea of musical excellence within the walls of a typical middle-class American high school. He inspires many students and but never has private time for himself or his family, forever delaying the composition of his own orchestral composition. Ultimately, he reaches an age when it is too late to realistically find financial backing or ever have it performed.

My first impression was that I was listening to a rock star. I had a notable physical reaction to the music; I felt a rush of adrenaline and my heart rate increased. The music was fast-paced and intense—undoubtedly physically and mentally demanding on Garrett. I am a pianist myself, and I felt a sense of empathy. I was exhausted on his behalf by simply hearing his talented performance. The music would slow down in some parts, only to pick back up with even more intensity and speed. The music aroused a familiar sense of pressure, such as the pressure to complete a difficult yet important task in a short period of time. The pressure and difficulty build to near unbearable proportions until the work is finally finished, and dissipates into the euphoria of accomplishment. If that scenario had a theme song, it could be Paganini’s “Caprice No. 24”. The music was passionate, chaotic, and ultimately satisfying. I felt that I had witnessed true mastery of the art of the violin in both Paganini’s written work and Garrett’s performance.