Strangled cats and ergonomics from hell

So here we are, my first blog post. This will be rambling, but it will hopefully be over quickly, unlike my foray into the 4 strings of hell and scratches that is learning to play the violin.

I've decided to go self / YouTube taught for as long as I can, which I know is the worst possible thing to do according to r/violinist and pretty much everyone I talk to, but I'm well aware I am not going to be the next Hilary Hahn or Midori, so screw it, self-taught it is, bad technique and all. What I found to be the worst however, when I first picked the instrument up about a month or so ago, was not the strangled cat I was summoning through my bowing, but instead was the god forsaken awkward mess this instrument is to hold. Guitar is easy, rest it on your lap and your fingers and arms and joints fall nicely into position. Piano is so easy even the cat I summoned can do it. The violin, however, is an instrument that through some unholy treaty between the fiddler and the devil, requires you to support it between your shoulder and chin, which is quite possibly the most non-ergonomic monstrosity I've ever had to put myself through. I also have an above average length of neck, which makes the contortion even worse.

I knew shoulder rests were a thing so decided to invest in one and that certainly helped, though it still took me a few weeks before I could play for more than 10 minutes without my upper vertebrae feeling like they had been run over by an orchestra. I'm now into my second month of playing and I have to say it's starting to feel a lot more natural, though still not perfect. I keep wondering about getting a high chinrest- which is supposedly good for people with lengthy necks.

As far as the playing goes, well, my intonation sucks more than your hoover, and trying to get a clear, beautiful resonance is something that is consistently beyond me. I have got to grips with the strings tuned in 5ths and found my fingers searching out the notes I want to play quite confidently (albeit with a LOT of intonation issues). I've made my way through Suzuki book 1, though some pieces definitely need more practise, and have figured out a few tunes myself, such as the Rohan theme from the Lord of the Rings, the Schindler's List theme, and the sea shanty "Drunken Sailor" which is incredible fun to fiddle.

Anyway, I've found the violin to be highly enjoyable, and even after this short time my writing for strings has become much more conscious of the idiosyncrasies of the instruments, using open strings and the different colours of each string more effectively and such. Thanks for reading this rambling! See you next time.