A Violinists Return

 For two months I have not had the ability to play my violin. Sure I had been doing bowing exercises but was very limited in scope of my practice because I couldn't use my left hand. That was probably the most challenging time for me. I have built a large part of my identity around playing the violin. Everyone in my music classes knows I'm a violinist. Even people who don't have music classes know that I play the violin. It's as much a part of who I am as any of the sports I've played and institutions I've been a part of. So being unable to play and having to miss a concert I was looking forward to was a real bummer. Not only did I have to miss an orchestra concert, but also the only chamber concert that I was going to have this semester. 

However, I had one last opportunity to play my instrument this academic year. I had surgery to put screws and plates on my two broken metacarpals. However, it wasn't as easy as I was hoping it would be. The surgery went great, but the recovery was a slow grind that I didn't even think was going anywhere. Until half way through April, when I decided I should try violin again. My first attempt at playing was awful. I felt like my fingers didn't remember how my violin felt. I was extremely discouraged and was fearful that I might never be able to return to the violin, at least not at the same capacity that I was throughout my first 3 semester of college, but then I started seeing my progress. I had worked the muscles in my hand through as much range of motion as I could possible muster. Still with much range to be desired, I am at least at a point where I can play my violin.

I played in my orchestras final spring concert and I felt like I played the best I've ever played. All that time away I was so eager to play. I wanted to make sure that I was relearning how to play correctly. I applied everything I could remember at any given time from past lessons to make sure I was doing it right. I still have a lot to go on my hands healing, especially getting strength back. But I feel like I'm ready to move forward with the violin again. Not just get to where I was, but make actual breakthroughs in my playing. And for that, I'm grateful.