Violin Video Lesson: Things change...

Well, I'm pretty sure that we all want to become better violinists, and obviously this is a good thing.

Because of this, we push ourselves towards the star out there that shines so brightly, even though it seems so far away.

But in order to get closer to that star, we will inevitably encounter things that we could not possibly have predicted.

But you know what? These things, rather than being considered roadblocks, can offer us the possibility to change. So it makes sense that we would embrace this change, but many times we just ignore it and keep doing things the way we always have.

I know changing is difficult, but do you really think it's possible to move forward towards that star without changing? Why is changing so difficult? Think about it. Just because we've learned to perform a particular fingering of bowing, does that mean that 10 years from now it needs to stay the same? I mean, in those 10 years, has your view of the world stayed the same? Well, if this has changed, why can't your fingering? Wouldn't the different experiences you've gone through over that time nudge you to see the fingering from a different perspective? Can you really have growth without change? So you hold your bow like this today, but 10 years from now, will it look the same? Should it look the same? I mean, why does it need to look the same? I imagine that your ability to listen has grown over this time.

Well then, if how you listen has changed to better realize what you now hear, you probably have changed your bow grip.

So your bow grip has evolved with your hearing, and this is very natural.

You see, things change.

So then why do we have this aversion to change? Why, when confronted with a new idea, do we have this need to change and channel it into what we are already doing? Why can't we just try it on like new clothing, see if we like it, and if we do, buy it? I mean, I like gray shirts, but do I really want to only wear gray shirts? Wouldn't it be better to mix it up a bit and not wear a gray shirt every single day? Why do we have such a hard time with change? Well, seriously, things change.

But perhaps this reluctance to changing is due to being afraid.

Perhaps this fear of change happens because we feel we will lose control over the outcome.

True, we've spent our practicing lives working on controlling things in our playing. So the idea of losing control is a difficult position to deal with. But can we really progress further along our chosen path by just continuing to do what we do, expecting the results to be different? So if we take a moment to think about it, one can't deny that change is happening all the time, whether we like it or not.

Take, for example, when we were playing and break a couple bow hairs.

Though they're not very big nor very heavy, this does slightly change the weight of the bow.

But do we stop and immediately go to the luthier to get the bow re -haired? No, we don't. And because of this, we are forced to adapt to the new weight. It's either that or we will have to spend a ridiculous amount of money as bow hairs break all the time.

So that we have to adapt to this shows yet again that despite our denials, things change.

Here's the thought. Do you eat the same, exactly the same breakfast every day? Well, if you don't, then haven't you allowed yourself to change? Each morning, your body will adapt to the new menu. And because of this, each new day can offer you a new and different experience to grow from.

So in fact, change is an ongoing dynamic process that moves us closer and closer to the star we have been practicing so hard to reach.

But if there is no change, does that move us any closer to that star?

Automatic video-to-text transcription by DaDaScribe.com

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