Never Too Late - -

Never Too Late - -

Well, I said to myself, I play mandolin in my own self taught style, and the violin is tuned exactly the same way, so why not give it a try and take the violin lessons on offer in the Fort? The keyboard is fretless but I already can play mandolin without looking where to place my fingers, so... I’ll just need to master the bow…

I bought my fiddle at a pawn shop in Vancouver over 50 years ago, tried it then and maybe about 4 times since. It’s taken a bit of a beating over the years but I know for a fact it can sound pretty good because I once heard a concert violinist play it.

So, playing a mandolin does help a bit, but the violin’s playing position changes the finger/hand/wrist position. And then there’s the bow - oh my, the bow! A six week course, 3 simple songs. It’s been enlightening, challenging, fun. And it’s overcome my reluctance to try. Gotta say, without my teacher watching (sorry Howard), I can play a simple version of “Bonaparte’s Retreat” (which I already play on mando) better than “Are You Sleeping” from our class. Familiarity is one reason, no baby finger required is another. I almost envy the other beginning adults and little kids who don’t have to overcome a myriad of bad habits learned over years of self teaching. But I’ve got the fiddle bug now, just need to practice, practice, practice and I think/hope something presentable will eventually appear.