"Jim Henderson" <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote in message
news:47ae0e32$1@news.povray.org...
> On Sat, 09 Feb 2008 08:08:06 +0000, Orchid XP v7 wrote:
>
> > Jim Henderson wrote:
> >
> >> You played violin?  That's cool. :-)
> >>
> >> Did you just take lessons in school, or private lessons, or self-study?
> >
> > All students at my school were required to learn violin and recorder.
> > But then the music teacher retired, and the music lessens stopped.
> > Eventually they found a replacement, but we only learned how to play
> > electronic keyboard [or rather, how to call up the autobacking]. Oh, and
> > guitar. Ever heard a Persian guy sing "Amazing Grace"? That song is
> > boring at the best of times...
>
> Interesting; I was going to say that I had never heard of a school doing
> that, but we were required to learn recorder, autoharp, and to sing in
> the choir.
>
> > Interesting fact: When *you* play a violin, it sounds nothing like what
> > you hear on the TV. It sounds like somebody dragging a strip of horse
> > hair over a cheese wire. (Which, actually, is what it is.) I always
> > assumed my violin was just naff. But then one day the teacher is, like,
> > "no no Andrew, that F is flat. Give me that!" She takes my violin and
> > plays what I had just been playing. Except it sounds amazing.
> >
> > Um, OK. So it's *me* that's naff. :-|
>
> No, it just takes practice - years of practice - to get good sound out of
> an instrument (doesn't matter what).  I can make my violin make horrible
> sounds as well - it has to do with getting the right pressure and speed
> of the bow across the strings - too much pressure and not enough speed,
> and it sounds exactly like you described.
>
It also depends on the type of instrument. I would say a good violinist
needs to have aquired perfect pitch. If andrew played the piano the same way
he played the violin it would sound ten times better. I would say frettless
stringed instruments are the most difficult to learn.

-Nekar

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