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Recent Top Blogs

Welcome Home

By Emily Grossman
January 3, 2009 19:16

I'm so sorry, I left without even saying goodbye. Now it's already time to say hello again. That rather long blank space in my blog was my trip to Oklahoma and Pennsylvania for the holidays. My dad called me this morning to see how my trip back to Soldotna went. Everything go okay?

"It went just fine. It's kinda cold, though."

"What's the temperature?"

"Well, right now it's 31 below."

(Small space while my dad calculates)

"You are exactly 100 degrees colder than we are right now!"

Well, isn't that nice? It's all quite a novelty until you start the car and it bleeds into the snow.

I'm going to crawl into the fridge now, see if that's any warmer.

V.com weekend vote: What is your most important music goal for 2009?

By The Weekend Vote
January 2, 2009 12:41

Have you set your goals for 2009? Perhaps you've decided to exercise more, eat more leanly, spend less money, make your own coffee instead of buying expensive lattes...

But what are your violin or music-related goals? It's a good time of year, after a little bit of holiday rest (or maybe it's just been full-on gigs all December long, nonetheless...) to step back and think about what really matters.

Do you want to improve your technique? Or is that all for naught, until you find the right bow? Or perhaps you have a career goal, like getting into an orchestra or finding the right group to work with. Perhaps you need to find a teacher or mentor. Usually most people want to practice more, but that might not be number one. Then again, if you've fallen out of the routine, that might be just what you need.

So among your goals for the violin (or viola or cello, or whatever you play!), what is your most important goal for 2009?

More pictures from the 2009 Rose Parade

By Laurie Niles
January 2, 2009 11:57

Happy New Year! Robert gave you some pictures from yesterday's Rose Parade, but I'm here to give you the REAL PICTURES, the ones from ground level. Pasadena's Rose Parade is not only the biggest parade in the world, but it's also the most excruciatingly long one. People have to twirl their batons, ride their horses, boogie to the beat, play their tubas, CARRY their tubas, walk in their high heels...for 5.5 miles.

The place where we meet friends is at the tail-end of the parade, some 5.4 miles into the route. They are just a block away from collapse at this point, and what better place to take their picture? Truly, I'm amazed at how energetic and giving the performers still are at this point. So here is the story of our Rose Parade adventure, in pictures taken from my little iPhone!

First, we walk to our spot, and then we wait. The parade starts officially at 8 a.m., but the Rose Parade motorcycles and first float don't reach us until nearly 10 a.m. Meanwhile, kids and adults occupy themselves by throwing footballs, munching on cotton candy, tooting horns, shooting party poppers and party snaps and of course, spraying silly string all over everyone and everything:

Recent Discussion Threads

Varnish knocked off corner of violin

From Allen Liang
Would it need to be repaired?

11 replies - Last 2009-1-5 20:29

The 'sensitive female chord progression'?

From Karen Allendoerfer
The chord progression vi-IV-I-V has been used widely in pop songs of 2008, especially by "sensitive female" artists.

25 replies - Last 2009-1-5 20:24

Trouble with Saint Saens Introduction Rondo Capriccioso

From Rebecca Yeh
The last three notes of the Saint Saens piece are a 9th position C-sharp, E, and A at the end of a long arpeggio. As often as not, I am ending up a little flat in one or two notes. Need advice how to be consistently perfect!

10 replies - Last 2009-1-5 20:22