I started learning violin when I was 6 years old on a 1/4 size violin. I played in my elementary school and junior high school orchestras, and in high school, I was in the second violin section in the Cal State Dominguez Hills Baroque Chamber orchestra under the direction of Dr. Frances Steiner. Once I went to college, my violin fell to the wayside, only to be picked up more than 20 years later.
In the summer of 2003, I was volunteering at Vacation Bible School at Calvary Baptist Church, when one of the ladies mentioned that she was learning to play the violin. I blurted out that I used to play the violin, and before I knew it, the next evening she had her violin with her, and everyone asked me to play. My fingers felt like spaghetti, and the fingerboard swam like butter, but I got through a hymn and was hooked again. I relearned violin playing under the tutelage of Arthur Mikhailov, taking weekly lessons for 5 years. Not only did I regain my high school skills, but I learned better habits and posture, and ability to play harder material than when I was a teenager. Currently I'm working my way through the Bach Solo Violin Sonatas and Partitas.
Besides violin, I enjoy learning fiddle tunes, playing hymns, and American folk songs. I also picked up the mandolin a few years back, and in December 2008, I received a mountain dulcimer for Christmas.
Now I'm busy making mountain dulcimers, which is a lot of fun since it is an instrument with lots of room for creativity. Whereas there are only a single form acceptable for a properly made violin, and maybe a handful of forms for mandolin, dulcimers come in every shape, size, material, color, and tuning, limited only by the maker's imagination.
I'm also arranging pieces for mountain dulcimer and violin, with the dulcimer emphasis on the old traditional sound of melody-drone. First of all, I love the slightly haunting sounds of the the old times, that harken back to a time when things were simpler and music was homemade. Secondly, it is easier to teach my students and bring them up to speed in the appreciation of music and the dulcimer without going into a lot of music theory and chordal details. I have included chord-melody where I think it will work, but most of my arrangements will tend towards simplicity and ease of playing. |
