Cami Shaskin

Violin Blog


About


This blog is about all things violin. It is meant to educate, inspire, and provide resources for parents, teachers, and students. The author takes full responsibility for the viewpoints expressed here. In instances where she quotes ideas from others, she pledges to cite her sources as fully, responsibly, and accurately as possible. Topics will include book reviews, technique tips, entertaining anecdotes, quotes, jokes, educational findings, instrument care suggestions, violin in the news, repertoire lists, etc.

Cami J. Shaskin graduated with her master's degree in Music Education in 2008. Violin has always been her primary instrument, since beginning private lessons at age five. See camishaskinviolin.com/info for her music résumé, or click on Spotlights for historical recordings. Cami has enjoyed an array of experiences in writing, from penning award-winning articles as a journalism staff writer in high school, tutoring peers at BYU's Writing Center, earning a Writing Fellows scholarship and a minor in Language and Computers, and later becoming a published author. She recently picked up web programming as a hobby, earning a certificate in Web Programming and Development from the local community college. This blog has been a collaborative effort between her and her husband, who is a Web Developer by profession. Together, they designed and coded this blog and its original content "from scratch."

Updates



Quick Access



Archive


2021
    Jan
        16 - Welcome to My Blog
        23 - Violin Teaching Kits
        30 - The Power of Inspiration
    Feb
        06 - Valuable Techniques
        07 - From the Top
        13 - In Honor of Valentine's Day
        20 - Violin Jokes
        28 - Beginning Orchestra Teaching
    Mar
        06 - Singing in Orchestra
        13 - Nurtured by Love
        21 - Helpful Websites
        27 - Unique Case Uses
    Apr
        02 - Favorite Music Quotes
        10 - All About Tone
        17 - Unique Composer Stories
        24 - Teaching Values
    May
        02 - Believing Teachers?
        15 - Violin in Art & Architecture
        23 - A Solo Repertoire List
        29 - Our Quartet
    Jun
        20 - Theft and Other Lessons
        26 - Violin Bridge Tips
    Jul
        07 - Clever Violin Memes
        20 - Horses and Lions
    Aug
        04 - Music During Covid
        16 - Favorite Music
    Sep
        12 - Being There
    Oct
        16 - Sight Reading Tips
    Nov
        05 - Why It's the Frog
    Dec
        20 - Bach on the Brain
        30 - Impact for Life
2022
    Jan
        23 - Tendonitis Helps
    Feb
        21 - An Old Performance
    Mar
        23 - Cars3 & Coaching
    Apr
        28 - Buying a Violin for Dummies
        29 - Preferred Brands
    May
        27 - Love: A Calling
    Jun
        20 - Gratitude for Idaho Shop
    Jul
        19 - Violinist Interviews Books
    Aug
        08 - Music Opens Doors
        23 - Top Classical Tunes for Violin
    Sep
    Oct
        11 - 100 Days of Listening
    Nov
        27 - Useful Analogies
    Dec
        28 - A Humorous Anecdote
2023
    Jan
        14 - Favorite Concertos & Sonatas
    Feb
        15 - Our Commonality
    Mar
        10 - Extras
        18 - Autopilot
    Apr
    May
    Jun
        06 - Motivation
        07 - Starting Lessons Again
    Jul
        08 - A Tale of Three Cloths
    Aug
        26 - The Ink
    Sep
        23 - Raw and Real Recital Reactions
    Oct
        18 - In Honor of Halloween
    Nov
        26 - Music Copyright
    Dec
        13 - Memes: Fun Facebook Finds
2024
    Jan
        15 - Fame and Fortune
    Feb
        05 - Details and the Big Picture
    Mar
        14 - Intermission
    Apr
         No posts to display.
    May
         No posts to display.
    Jun
         No posts to display.
    Jul
         No posts to display.
    Aug
         No posts to display.
    Sep
         No posts to display.
    Oct
         No posts to display.
    Nov
         No posts to display.
    Dec
         No posts to display.


Posts


The Touch of the Master’s Hand
12 May 2023

‘Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer thought it scarcely worth his while to waste much time on the old violin, but held it up with a smile; "What am I bidden, good folks," he cried, "Who'll start the bidding for me? A dollar, a dollar; then two! Only two? Two dollars, and who'll make it three?

"Three dollars, once; three dollars twice; going for three..." But no; from the room, far back, a gray-haired man came forward and picked up the bow. Then, wiping the dust from the old violin, and tightening the loose strings, he played a melody pure and sweet as a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer, with a voice that was quiet and low, said; "What am I bid for the old violin?" And he held it up with the bow. A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two? Two thousand! And who'll make it three? Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice, and going and gone," said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried, "We do not quite understand what changed its worth." Swift came the reply: "The touch of a master's hand."

And many a man with life out of tune, and battered and scarred with sin, is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd, much like the old violin. A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine; a game - and he travels on. "He is going" once, and "going twice, He's going and almost gone."

But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd never can quite understand the worth of a soul and the change that's wrought by the touch of the Master's hand.

Poem by Myra 'Brooks' Welch
Credited and edited from source.

Wikipedia has a nice, concise article reviewing the point of this poetry. See source.

I can relate to this poem! I can especially relate to people not truly knowing a violin’s worth. When I had my first full-size violin stolen (see Theft and Other Lessons post), I couldn’t help but assume the thieves most likely pawned it somewhere for less than $100, even though it was a handmade instrument selected with care and worth thousands! This violin had seen me through some significant musical experiences over fifteen years, including my job playing for a summer at a theme park, a performance at Carnegie Hall, a trip to Europe to play with a collegiate orchestra there, CD recordings, auditions for grad school, concerts with celebrated world-famous musicians, a plethora of personal and meaningful practice sessions, and solo performances for hundreds.

It had been played A LOT. Admired by audition committees and appreciated by its owner. (Those who invest any serious amount of time into stringed instrument performance know from personal experience that there’s a special relationship between the player and their instrument. The wood almost takes on a persona. Think about the toys in Toy Story that come to life, and you’ll just about have it right.) The more love you pour into it, the more it mellows and improves over time.

Yet, most likely, my violin is now sitting, gathering dust in the closet of a high school student who is under the impression it’s a cheap violin their grandma found for them under the best of intentions, hoping they’d play it—but they’re really not that into it. They can’t possibly treat it the way I once did. And they have no idea the blood, sweat and tears that went into playing it once. (Though that’s more a figure of speech than anything, I did have a teacher once who admitted to practicing until her fingers bled; and I definitely shed plenty of tears on that particular violin, so it’s actually not that far off. . . ).

Knowing all this makes me appreciate how God views us, even when we don’t know our own worth. The poem seems to suggest that we not underestimate any of our global brothers and sisters, no matter how mediocre they may initially seem. I wholeheartedly agree! A violin isn’t just wood any more than a human being is just a collection of skin, blood, and bone! Both are instruments of spirit.

I like to apply the principle in this poem personally as well, realizing that in addition to appreciating others, I should also respect my own person more. We know so little about our capacity and history before this lifetime, or our potential in the hereafter, when the cares of life are suddenly gone. Someday, we’ll each have more answers, less worries, and more joy. Until then, there’s always violin music to help us through.

Happy Mother’s Day weekend!

Love it Interesting Inspiring Want to share
1000

    <    >   

        

This content has been proven to be completely dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, and made from code not treated with rBST. No animals were harmed in the making of this blog. The views presented do not necessarily represent the views of Ms. Shaskin's neighbors, kin, the U.S. government, or a mysterious worldwide network of musicians. Any reproduction, retransmission or reposting of content without crediting the author (basically me) is prohibited. Free Wi-Fi not included. If this is a life-threatening emergency, close your browser and dial 911.