Hi everyone,

As you can see from my sig, I'm going to be doing Grade 2 Violin this term!

Now, I have been playing the violin for years, on and off. I had a few months of lessons at school when I was in the 6th form, but am mainly self-taught so I have a ton of bad habits, and I have never ever bothered to properly learn theory or do scales and things! So, I'm not like the average Grade 2 violinist because I can do vibrato and can sight read well (and can actually play Grade 6-7 pieces fairly well), but am going to have to really work on the scales and arpeggios and aural tests, and on things like following proper bowing marks, which I never really bothered to do before

I asked my oboe teacher if she would put me in for Grade 2 Violin because I was soooo nervous in my Oboe Grade 2 that I didn't do myself justice, and feel that if I had more pratice at this level, it'll help me feel more confident for when I do my next oboe exam. My oboe teacher also teaches violin so she is happy for me to do this, and is helping me sort out my bad habits

I'd have liked to have concentrated on the violin more and taken lessons in the past few years, but due to back problems it's just not been possible. I was born with a wonky spine, so I've had all of my vertebrae fused together and had all my ribs on the lefthand side broken and re-shaped. Playing the violin gets very painful after a while so I am really overjoyed that I am doing okay with the oboe instead

T xxx

Good luck with the exam, Oboebunny.

And, of course, we'll expect the full report afterwards

Cheers from a very new beginner on the violin - Katyjay

Goodness! you have coped with a lot...

Hope the violin goes well, look forward to hearing all about it!

(have a go at the Cui yet? )

YES!!! Thank you, it's fabulous!! The plucked chords are a bit difficult though!
A version of this is on the Grade 5 list for Oboe so I've got the music for that too

cool, glad you're enjoying it!