Meet an adult learner: Jane

I would like to introduce Jane who is a retired attorney, self employed ceramic artist and increasingly engaged in trying to be a musician. She lives in Northern California.

Why are you interested in learning or playing the fiddle (i.e. violin, viola, bass, cello) as an adult?

Originally my mom found a violin in her parents house when she was selling it and stashed it in her basement where I found it when I was selling her house. It turned out to be a fairly good violin and bow. I have a niece by marriage who plays professionally so her inspiration and assistance coupled with my thought that “someone should play this violin” got me started. Then it all became an obsession and started consuming my life.

What challenges and rewarding experiences would you like to share with readers about learning the fiddles as an adult?

My feeling that either it’s something you love or it’s not worth doing. I find the experience of learning a piece to be very craftsman-like. You have to get all the little details right-and of course, initially, you have to learn how to do that. And you need to patient about the fact that progress isn’t linear and that other people may seem to improve faster. Best advice I got was to “trust the process”. You go into every practice session with a plan to improve x,y and z and you make practice a consistent part of your schedule.

As an adult beginner/learner, how do you find time to practice? How long do you usually practice?

I look forward to practice and make it a priority. I generally practice in 20-45 minute segments (depending on the difficulty of what I’m doing and how successful I am at eliminating tension). If I’ve got the space in my schedule those segments can add up to several hours in a day. I take breaks whenever I am losing focus or holding tension in my hands.

Introduce your instrument and its bow – history, name, maker, etc.

The violin I started with is a German factory instrument with a pernambuco bow described as “the low end of a good maker”. I upgraded to a Brazilian pernambuco bow and a mid century German violin by an individual unknown maker. I’ve recently added a better bow by a modern French maker and became friends with a modern American luthier who is making me an instrument designed for my playing style and arm length and hand size. The Germans were based on Strad models. This one will be based on an Amati and will technically be a 7/8.

Share with us your setup – brands of shoulder rest, chinrest, rosin, strings, etc.

I’m not so fussy about that stuff. I find most shoulder rests and chin rests are fine if they fit the instrument securely. I like the Wolfe Forte secundo though and think it makes instruments sound better. I’ve got enough different rosins that I’ll never need another. I tend to use light ones in dry weather, darker on humid or rainy days. I like leatherwood because it works, comes in a wood holder so it can’t be broken and produces very little dust. I like evah gold, Larsen Tzigane and and finding Kaplan Amo interesting if you like a really dark sound. The most important thing about strings is changing them before they start sounding dead.

What pieces of music are you working on at the moment?

Czardas by Monti, Spain by Chick Corea, Concerto No. 2 in G major by Haydn, Indifference by Moreno

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in learning the fiddles as an adult?

Be patient. Accept that progress isn’t linear and there may be more than one right answer to most technique questions.

Anything else you would like to add?

There are some moments when you can become very frustrated (especially at the beginning) with the mismatch between the music you want to make and the music you can make. It’s worth getting past that if you are really motivated because not playing as well as you’d like is always going to be there. Even the pro players who you’d think would be so happy with their playing, still feel that mismatch. You have to love the process and the fact that there is always more to learn.

Thank you Jane for sharing your story with us. If you want to be featured like Jane, feel free to click on this form.