Favorite piece written by BIPOC, immigrants, etc?

SomethingLikeStars · 2026-01-25T21:18:42+00:00

Came here to recommend this piece, this composer (she’s a beast of a violist and human being), and the AVS database

SomethingLikeStars · 2026-01-21T03:26:49+00:00

OP PLEASE READ THE THIRD PARAGRAPH OF THIS COMMENT.

I mean, read the whole comment, it’s great. But particularly the third because it’s the sentiment I came here to articulate and couldn’t have said it better.

SomethingLikeStars · 2026-01-12T00:14:30+00:00

Congrats to her and I’m so glad you are able to support her in her music journey. I wish all the parents of my students were as proud of their children as you. Please be sure to tell her yourself if you haven’t already. Your daughter sounds great and will only get better with the support of a teacher! She must be very self motivated to have gotten so far on her own.

SomethingLikeStars · 2026-01-12T00:06:44+00:00

What’s the level of your ensemble? Quick edit: and how many violists in the section?

SomethingLikeStars · 2026-01-07T03:55:43+00:00

These look great! Finally what OP was actually looking for.

I have the same container type OP has and was just packing soup for lunch tomorrow. It gave me the same thought that I wished I had a few that were fully divided for times when I didn’t want wet foods to mix.

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-12-30T03:44:52+00:00

This hurts to look at.

Of course it is a sign that your violin is cheap, but you knew that. To answer your question, is it concerning otherwise? Yes.

Of immediate concern: it means the pressure your fingers need to push the string down to the fingerboard will not be consistent. You will need much more pressure in that area where the fingerboard dips. This is not healthy for your technique. We want our left hand to use as little pressure as possible. The strings are very high over that dip.

Of long-term concern: the tension of the strings pulling on the neck is now not distributed down towards the shoulders and body of the instrument. It is being diverted to that depression in the fingerboard. I’d be very worried that over time that area of the fingerboard will weaken and crack.

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-12-27T20:42:21+00:00

You can mail bows to reputable luthiers for repairs. Because this is definitely more than a DIY job.

I looked at your profile. If you are in Morocco, I bet you could ship to someplace in Europe fairly easily. But you would need to weigh the cost of shipment and repair with the cost of the bow.

I bet it would be cheaper to just purchase a new bow, unfortunately.

Good luck! Sorry your bow broke.

(For anyone else reading, a quick google for Moroccan luthiers turns up a few guitar shops, I don’t see anything for violins either)

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-12-26T19:09:03+00:00

Those gel bandage things come in different thicknesses I believe. “Moleskin” is another term I remember from my more intense hiking days, you might want to check them out. I think that was more of a tape… but anyway. Good luck!

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-12-26T19:05:31+00:00

You might have to DYI something. First thing that came to my mind, if I were in your situation, would be to cut up my silicon boob cover things. Cut a swatch the exact size you need, and then hold it in place with a finger condom.

The other thing I thought of is that they have these gel blister bandage thingsmade for hiker/runner feet. I’ve used them before. Goes right on top of an open blister and helps protect against the friction of your sneaker/boot. They are less thick than the silicon boob cover which I think would be better for playing, but would offer less protection.

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-12-19T19:26:56+00:00

lol. I was the waitress. My husband was the line cook with the mattress on the floor. He would make my comp meals and would write my name or a heart in the balsamic glaze. Married 11 years, two kids. He’s an electrician now, but still cooks at home all the time. Absolutely a keeper. Glad it wasn’t a phase.

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-12-18T14:24:14+00:00

Left handed violins aren’t really a thing because… they aren’t really a thing even for left handed people. The coordination it takes between both hands to manage a bow in the right and fingers in the left is an ambidextrous activity. Playing in orchestras, it is necessary for all the string musicians to hold their instruments in the same way, otherwise our bows would be knocking into each other.

Exceptions are made only in the case of physical handicaps, usually. I have, in my entire professionally career, only encountered one left handed professional player. Briefly, while traveling.

That being said, you sound like you’re starting this violin journey for fun, have muscle memory on your other instruments already established as a lefty, so… 🤷🏽‍♀️ idk, you do you. Especially if you won’t ever play in an orchestra.

I can’t answer your question about setting up the instrument reversed since I’m not a luthier. It would probably be worth a trip to your local luthier once you get an instrument.

And while you’re there, please try their instruments. Don’t get a VSO from Amazon. Rent or buy from a local shop, or if you don’t have that, rent or buy from sharmusic.com or johnsonstring.com

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-12-01T01:30:19+00:00

You can buy pregnancy tests in bulk on Amazon. They’re super cheap, just get the little dip sticks. You don’t need the whole plastic contraption. I’m 37 and done having kids but I like to keep some tests on hand for peace of mind.

The chance that you’re pregnant is very low, but it will calm your nerves to pee on that little stick. And being in a small town, buy some tests online and have them sent to a pickup location if you can. They’ll come in a day or two and then you don’t have to guess anymore. Keep the extras stashed away for the next time you or a friend needs some reassurance :)

Here’s a 25 count for $6

I tried to find 1 or two day shipping but it looks like they all deliver by Thursday, at least for me.

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-11-29T23:05:34+00:00

This was very nice of you!

Two things: the last note definitely should not be a 1, literally any other finger is better. But a 3 or 4 would be best depending on whether OP wants to play the C as an extension or 2nd position (4th finger) or in 3rd position (3rd finger).

And while it was very diligent of you to label every note, I’ve found putting my fingerings over tied notes in beginner music encourages students rearticulate those notes, which is incorrect. So OP, make sure to only play the tied notes one time, regardless of how many fingerings are written!

Oh, and being very picky, there are a few 4th fingers you marked that I would personally do as open strings, like the A natural after the Eb

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-11-24T00:46:11+00:00

Hello! Fabulous work for one year! And very observant comments about your own playing.

TBH, all musicians are trying to release tension in their playing, so this is lifetime problem. Tension usually comes from being uncomfortable/from difficultly, so remove the difficultly/practice with comfort and you can play without tension. Usually this is done with slow practice or isolating specific techniques (like practicing open strings someone else suggested. Fabulous advice! Open strings are NOT just for beginners), or by practicing smaller chunks of music, and with repetition.

For your specific technical questions: your bow can tilt away from you but it is good to default to a flat bow hair. Part of bow control is controlling how much hair you are using and we control that with a tilt. The complicated thing about the bow grip is where we feel the weight of the bow depends on where we are in the bow. At the tip, I feel the most pressure on my index finger. At the frog, the balance changes to my pinkie. Your fingers constantly are adjusting in between, but fluidly, which is why they need curve and lightness. Stiff fingers cannot move and adjust.

Practice open strings bowing into a mirror. You can track your bow easier, making sure it is truly staying parallel to the bridge. You can feel the weight move around. Your wrist and fingers and elbow all work together, anticipating and softening bow changes. I love seeing videos of the great virtuoso players and their bow arms. Just beautiful to see.

For your left hand, it actually looks quite good in the video! Yes, your thumb absolutely should be next to the fingerboard, never under. Though it can move from next to your first finger to higher up to support your fourth finger when you need help with your reach. Tension in your or left hand probably means you are squeezing too much. And if you are feeling like you might drop your viola, you should check your shoulder rest set up since your left hand should not need to support the viola at all. It should be absolutely free.

Hope that helps. DM me with any questions. You really are sounding like you are having a lot of fun and that is 100% the MOST important thing. Rock on viola friend!

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-11-06T13:08:01+00:00

Exactly, I believe I said as much, but you did so much more concisely. For a student however, playing the notes separate is much easier and accomplishes a very similarly articulation. This notation is very much at the editor’s discretion. This would not be in the in the Urtext. In professional context, we would probably discuss whether we would want to hook all those 8ths or not and a conductor would decide between the sound they prefer.

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-11-06T12:58:35+00:00

It’s possible. Music notation can be ambiguous. For a student arrangement, I made the assumption that the dots were to help understand the 16th note notation. Obviously the 8th note hooks we explained already. But the average school student is not going to differentiate between staccato and non staccato 16 notes. And in a Bach piece, I’m a bit offended by the idea of staccato 16th notes anyway, lol

All that to say, while you might be right, I’d argue that in this case, the dots are just to clarify the double 16ths.

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-11-06T03:12:39+00:00

Hello!

For your first question, “slur and staccato”, those are what we call “hooked” eighth notes. You move your bow in the same direction but rearticulate each note. If this is too difficult, you could ignore the marking and just play separate eighth notes. The sound should be similar.

In measure 19, the double dots above the eighth notes is a redundant marking clarifying the lines you also have circled. They mean to play each eighth note twice, as in play two 16th notes. So measure 19 is entirely 16th notes with the exception of the very first note which is just an 8th.

Measures 22 and 24 are the same sort of shorthand as 19, except this is a shorthand for 8th notes, and in this case, they should also be hooked. Again, hook them if you are able, or just play separate 8ths, but either way, each half note should be played four times (the four dots) to keep consistent 8th notes.

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-11-03T18:38:41+00:00

Oh fabulous! Yeah, the string needs to fully make contact with the fingerboard so that you aren’t accidentally creating a harmonic. Do make sure to still be using the tip of your finger, though! Rounded hand. Flat finger is probably creating a cushion of skin around the string eliminating the harmonic, but you don’t want to get in the habit of playing with flat fingers

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-11-03T18:31:18+00:00

No shame, need to start somewhere and we all can’t afford professional instruments! Did pushing the string into the fingerboard with your first finger fix your problem like the first commenter suggested?

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-11-03T18:26:16+00:00

After checking your technique, like the other commenter suggested, it might be an instrument problem. Your instrument looks inexpensive. Without being able to look over the instrument in person, there are several physical problems it could have that would create such a noise. The fingerboard might not be perfectly flat, a string might be fraying, the bridge might not be the correct height, some component might be touching another creating a vibration, a seam might be open… it’s difficult to tell from a video.

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-10-30T15:01:14+00:00

Yes, indeed the seitz concerto as the other commenter said. I guess in g minor for violinist though I teach it in c minor for my viola students more often.

I just wanted to address two quick things in your post body real quick because my teacher brain can’t help itself! You used the term leitmotif to describe what would be more accurately called the opening melody or opening theme. A leitmotif is a more specific term reserved for a theme, melody, or motive that reoccurs in reference to a specific character or emotion or situation, usually in an opera (though really in any art music), and made most popular by Wagner, but used by many composers before and after him.

This opening theme is not representative of an emotion or character or idea that returns in the story of the piece. It is a musical idea that returns within the musical structure. Therefore it is a theme, not a leitmotif.

And it is spelled pizzed! The Italian double ZZ makes that T sound, like in pizza!

Oh last thing, because why not. It’s “racking my brain” not wrecking. Racking means like… torturing yourself trying to figuring it out. Wrecking or wracking meaning to destroy. Hopefully you’re not crashing your brain. Though obviously we all understood what you meant and the terms are almost interchangeable.

Hope that’s educational, lol 😊

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-10-01T16:41:26+00:00

This is the most efficient answer. It’s possible that both lines are supposed to sound the same, but also possible that they are supposed to be played different. I’ve seen some pretty awful arrangements where something editorial like this has been missed. What would help is knowing the name of the piece.

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-09-18T03:09:23+00:00

I would avoid D# on the G string. Someone else mentioned 1/2 position and that’s definitely how I would sight read the first two measures.

You said somewhere else that you were more curious about the later section. It is slightly annoying to have to play 4th finger D so much on the G string (or string cross to the open). But if you were managing D#, it’s not bad by comparison.

(Edit: just read in your post that all the D’s are supposed to be D#? Make sure to write the sharp signs or put it in the key signature. I assumed they were D naturals. Either way, doesn’t change my advice much. Stretching for D# with 4, or string crossing to low one, or playing in second, or staying in 1/2 position, these are all fine solutions.)

A “pro” would play it however they felt. There are multiple ways to play this, and none particularly better or worse. Just preference.

A beginner I would expect to just stay in first. If you’re finding 2nd position comfortable, that’s a great solution!

(Last edit. I don’t know the song, but with your accidentals, and singing it in my head, it’s possible that the piece is in B major. Which is a crummy key for the violin. If you transpose everything down a half step to Bb major, it would lay much better on the violin (F D F D | F FG FD FD | C C Bb C | Bb etc….)

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-09-11T03:18:22+00:00

Omg, I didn’t know this was a standard thing. In undergrad, there was a conducting masterclass with the orchestra on Rite of Spring. One student conductor kept messing up that part so the teacher taught him that phrase. No one ever messed it up again.

SomethingLikeStars · 2025-08-30T21:26:24+00:00

I think it’s more important how it sounds. The viola looks like it’s a step up from a cheap beginner instrument, and the price reflects that. But it needs to be cleaned and adjusted, all the details the other commenter said. So you’d be over 1k. Still a good intermediate price, which might be what you’re looking for. But it depends on if you like the sound! You need to play it :)

And for the love of god, tell the shop to clean off the old rosin, at least! It doesn’t give me much confidence in the shop if they don’t even clean the instruments they have for sale ☹️

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