My Only Soulmate -- Violin

I went to see the orchestra concert performed by U of I orchestra on September 25. It was really an unforgettable experience. It reminds me my experience of playing violin a lot.

When I was nine years old, one day, my mother took me to a musical instrument store, and let me pick one instrument I like. She said to me that as I grew up, I need something accompanied with me for my whole life. An instrument, which can listen to my sadness, my loneliness, and my happiness, and will be my soul mate forever.
I looked around the store, and tried to find something in line to fit my wishes. I do not like the flute much. Though it is agile and gentle, I still think it sounds a little harsh when it is played in a high register. The saxophone seems like a good choice because its mellow and forceful tone is really charming, but a saxophone is too cumbersome for a girl, isn’t it? “What about piano?” My mother asked me. “No, I cannot take it everywhere.” My heart had been set; violin was destined to be an indispensable part of my life. I took my best friend home that day. Moreover, she is like my teacher.

Violin taught me “never, never give up”. It was hard to create the voice I was looking forward to. I had to know exactly where to place the fingers on the strings, to play with good intonation, and at the same time, use my right arm, hand, and bow to adjust tone quality, rhythm, dynamics, and articulation. I am not a genius in music. I cannot learn it as quickly as Mozart. Actually, it took me a long time to make an acceptable sound. During this process, I felt despaired. But I did not give up. I could not give up so easily. The most important thing is how to stick to it! So, I did as what I thought, and the effect was exciting. After a long period hard time of practicing, everything was under control at last. The techniques like Pizzicato, Col legno, Martelé, Tremolo and Mute which I finally mastered contributed to my almost-perfect performance on a big event during high school anniversary. Every time when I want to give up, I will think of my tough days of practicing violin. All the pain will be easy; all the difficulties will be a breakthrough.
Violin taught me how to be patient. There was a time it was very difficult to get along with my violin. She was like an exclusive, aloof, and pampered gentlewoman. During winter time, it was freezing cold outside while the indoor temperature was very high. Every time when I was back from outside, I would feel really nervous that the temperature difference between indoor and outdoor would cause the strings to become unstable, even broken up. So, then I had to wrap up my violin layer by layer with cotton cloth carefully. This was an easy work for me the first time and the second time, but to spend nearly twenty minutes to do the same actions every time after practicing violin sounded like a “mission impossible” for me because the shape of a violin is anomalous. The neck of a violin is slender and a little complicated. If I had a little too much force, I would break the scroll and the peg box. One day, I did not repeat the fussy work, and when I came back home at night, the outcome was imaginable – two of my strings was broken and it was totally out of tune. Every time when I wanted to do something without one-hundred percent of responsibility and graveness, I would think about the lesson this one taught me.

Violin taught me that whatever I am doing, I should be confident. At the very beginning, I was attracted by the fascinating expressions of gorgeous violinists. I imagined that one day I could be as graceful as they are on stage. When I practiced violin myself, I tried to straighten my back. However, I looked into the mirror; I looked not confident but weird. I finally figured out that what I should do was not stand in a good position but to feel confident from bottom of my heart. If I told myself I was confident, then I could be confident. Another source of confidence, as violin told me, was to be familiar with what I wanted to do. When someone is doing what he/she is good at, confidence will flow out of that person naturally. To do what I want to do better, and to do it confidently, I can stand elegantly on the stage of my life.

Violin is a witness of my growing up. She is the mentor and my friend who has influenced me for my whole life and is always willing to listen to my sadness, my loneliness, and my happiness.