How the brain works: Am I just weird, or is this normal?
So, after seeing Lindsey Stirling, I recently decided to break out my violin. It has been a long time since I picked up and played my violin. I fully expected to be extremely rusty, and was not disappointed there.
What I was not expecting was just how stiff I felt, and I find myself wondering, how much is lack of practice, and how much is age? Fortunately it is looking more like lack of practice. After this first week, not only can I feel my shoulders, arms and hands opening up, I am also noticing the stiffness in my neck going away, even when not playing.
Still have a ways to go though, left hand/arm/fingers say a naughty word when I try to vibrato, but w'ere working together, and will probably come to a compromise soon.
Broken Brain (Part 1):
Earlier this year, I had the wonderful opportunity to play with the Rochester Pops orchestra on my guitar. Even though I can read sheet music, I found that to be a somewhat frustrating experience. I can read the music, I know the notes on the guitar, but for some reason, my mind was blank looking at it, and at home I had to sit there going "Every Good Boy Does Fine" all while walking up the scale on my guitar, trying my best not to drool on myself.
Hmm, was really rusty at reading sheet too. This was going to make getting back in to violin a lot more challenging.
But no, over the last week I have been having no issues reading, on the violin. Intonation has been off (more on that in broken brain part 2) but reading has been fairly easy. Admittedly slow songs, I am not jumping in to Paganini by any means at this point, but I can sight read and play on the violin.
My first thought was, well, I am playing things I played 20 years ago, so that's just memory. For grins and giggles, I pulled out a couple of the orchestral pieces that I struggled with reading on guitar, and lo and behold, no trouble reading and playing those parts on the violin.
It is almost like I have dyslexia when I am holding the guitar. Keys, intervals and accidentals become a blurry mess when I play guitar. But, I learned how to play both instruments entirely different ways. Guitar by ear, Violin by sheet music.
Broken Brain (Part 2):
Playing by ear I do a lot better on guitar, by far. And it gets a little more weird from here. I find it extremely easy to pick out things on guitar. The really surprising thing is, just how accurate my sense of pitch has developed on guitar.
Accurate, as long as I tune to Eb. Which would make it a B instrument relative to concert pitch. But, over the last year, I've found that I can take fully slack and restrung guitar, and tune it up, and be within +2/-2 cents of Eb before checking it with a tuner. While not perfect pitch, that is pretty darned accurate.
That is pretty explainable though, I prefer that tuning, and have been tuning to the opening chord of Van Halen's Eruption for 30+ years to do so, and that tuning is kind of burned in to my brain. I can nail that first chord pitch in my head, and match it.
Now, the fun part. I thought, that since I am running everything I play 1/2 step down, I will do the same on my violin. And I have been struggling all week with intonation while playing. Just out of practice.
Tonight, for grins and giggles, I tuned my violin up to concert pitch. Immediately, intonation problems corrected.
Conclusion
*sigh*
Brains are weird.
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Topic: Brains (Read 1864 times)
