> Ironically, the reason I started was because I saw a demonstration and
> said "that looks easy, I could do that", and I did.  And I was actually
> pretty good at it, too (hence the trip to the USSR to perform with the
> orchestra I was in).

Sounds like how I started playing pipe organ. I saw a guy play the Widor 
Toccata and decided to see if I could play it. Apparently, I can... 
(It's wicked hard, though.)

>> I'm fairly sure even a genuine Stradivarius would sound awful in my
>> hands.
>
> There is certainly technique you'll need to acquire.  Figuring out the
> right amount of pressure and the corresponding speed to draw the bow so
> it doesn't sound scratchy, making sure you're moving the bow parallel to
> the bridge (and between the bridge and end of the fingerboard, with a few
> exceptions).  Hitting the right notes, of course - as a fretless
> instrument, it takes practice to build the muscle memory to consistently
> hit notes in tune.
>
> The way I was taught was to put a little strip of tape in the normal
> positions for each finger.

Clearly I'm going to have to figure out how to get my hands on 
professional tuition...

>> I intend to. So far, I've only found one person who seems excited by
>> this, which is a little disappointing. But hey, we'll see how it goes...
>
> So don't get me wrong, I'm excited for you as well - it's hard to express
> that especially when sometimes you say things that are completely
> baffling. ;)  But just like when you figured out that you enjoy dancing,
> I'm happy that you've found something else that you can enjoy doing.  :)

I enjoy doing it. And then the day after, my fingers hate me... ;-)

>> Ah, the oboe. Another expressive instrument. Yeah, I bet that's hard...
>
> The thing with Steve playing the oboe was he decided he wanted to play it
> at a very young age.  Too young, in fact - it requires a fair amount of
> strength in the embouchure, and he wanted to start when he was 8 or 9
> years old (2nd or 3rd grade), before his embouchure was developed enough
> to handle the physical forces involved.
>
> So he started with piano, but he started on oboe in 4th grade (5th is
> when band instruments are usually started in the schools I went to), and
> he got very good at it very quickly.  So quickly, in fact, that by the
> time he was in the 6th grade (which was the last grade in elementary
> school at the time), he was completely bored with the music they were
> playing.
>
> He had private lessons from an oboist in the Minnesota Orchestra, so that
> kept him challenged.

It must be fantastic to actually be good at something. I can't imagine 
what that's like...

(Well, maybe I can. I've discovered that the more you learn how to do 
something - anything - the more you realise how drastically wrong you're 
doing it! And no matter how good you are, somebody else is always 
better. It's just a matter of how far you need to go to find that person...)

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