Music has always been a huge part of my life. My parents loved listening to classical music and opera, so I grew up listening to that genre of music as well. At the age of 4, I had my first violin lesson, and I fell in love with the instrument. However, after only a year of learning the violin, my family moved, and it was hard for us to find a violin teacher near us. Because of that, I ended up focusing more on the piano instead.
Two years ago, while I was cleaning the house, I found my old violin that I used to play when I was a little girl. Seeing my old violin inspired me to learn it again, but I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy. Learning any instrument as an adult is hard mainly because you just have a lot of other commitments going on. But I was determined and open to the idea of learning something that I have always loved.
When I first started, it was definitely hard. Although I had no trouble reading the music, I found it so hard to create a nice tone on the violin. Things like how much pressure you put on the bow, where the bow makes contact with the strings, or how tight you grip the bow can make a huge difference in the tonal quality of the violin. Finger numbers on the violin are also different from the piano. Furthermore, being a university student who is doing a load of other things in and out of school, it was hard to find the time to practice, and no practice means no improvement. I would be lying if I said that there wasn’t a moment where I doubted myself and just wanted to give up. However, whenever I wanted to give up, I reminded myself of the countless hours I spent practicing the piano to get to where I am today. I also reminded myself why I started learning the violin in the first place – it was because I loved it so much as a kid. It’s been two years since I started taking lessons and I’m happy I stuck with it and never gave up. I’ve learned so many new skills and it’s added a lot of excitement in my life. As James Rhodes once said before, “Learning a new musical instrument can unlock the door to a new dimension that many of us have forgotten exists”.
What I’ve learned through this journey is that it is never too late to learn something new. If there is something that you have always wanted to try or learn, don’t be afraid to go for it. It is always hard to start something new, especially at an age where we have so many other things going on. However, it can still be done, and pursuing something that you have always wanted to try can be super rewarding!