Lessons

In an earlier blog post, I had written about taking violin lessons from a most precious teacher.  One of the things I did this morning to prepare for my lesson, was tune a second violin I purchased from Amazon for under $50 (including shipping and handling) so that I may begin teaching others one day. 

When I first ordered it, I hoped it would be a full violin, with a bow and a case....but doubt filled my mind.  A Barbie sized violin was what I thought I would recieve.  Yet to my amazement, I was blessed with beauty, held securely in a distinguished looking black zipper case.  It also included a bow too!!

However, when I set the adult-sized violin to my shoulder to pull the horsehair across the strings....YUCK!!!  EWWWWEEE!!  Nothing but pain poured out!!  Automatically I felt like I was ripped off!!  No wonder it was so cheap!!

Still, I would take it to my teacher and see what he thought.

The first week I showed it to him, I told him I thought the strings were all G or D...because they were all so low after I tried tuning it.  He looked it over carefully, tuning it by plucking the strings to his and adjusting the knobs, admiring the finish....noting that it was such a fine instrument.  He warned me to be patient and keep tuning it, as it will take some time for the strings to stretch into place.

Reluctantly I did as he asked, tuning it to my violin which I tuned with a pitch pipe.  Yet, I wouldn't play the new one, until last night and this morning.  I didn't want to hear that aweful sound again!!!   though when I did play last night....it sounded pleasant.  So again this morning I practiced my lesson with it...along with the Christmas music (It's time to start practicing....Christmas will be here sooner than I think!). 

I determined that I wouldn't even take out my violin in the classroom (but I took it with me just in case...pardon the pun)...so this violin would continue being conditioned.  Again my dear teacher tuned my violin and gushed compliments on this new violin...happy he would get to hear it's sound.  When I told him that this violin has a sort of "hollow" sound to it...he tenderly said that each violin has it's own sound. No...I didn't waste my money.

In the same way, I have high expectations of myself.  I won't like how something turned out...."if I only did this", or "I should have done that".  I compare myself to others; they look this way, they act that way...they can do this...I don't know how to do that. But God sees my beauty, He hears my heart. I need to ignore the voice of negativity...the enemy of my soul. I have my own "sound" and the Music Teacher loves hearing it.  He didn't waste His "money".