Life lessons from playing the violin
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hey
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[Laughter]
hey
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[Applause]
hey
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hmm
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uh
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the song i just performed is titled
meditation
it is a symphonic intermezzo from the
opera tais
by the french composer jules massenet
it is one of my favorite songs because
of the different tempos the song goes
through
which depicts varying emotions
meditation starts out softly then
gradually builds up
and becomes more animated before
returning to its original tempo
i’ve been playing the violin for 10
years now
i started when i was only 3 years old
my mom signed me up for violin classes
because it was her favorite instrument
maybe her favorite instrument but it
surely wasn’t
my favorite back then
and by the time i was six years old i
had really started to dislike playing
the violin
for one none of my friends played the
violin
i thought it’d be old-fashioned and not
popular
which is what my friends thought of me
too
secondly the songs playing on the violin
were not relevant to pop music
which was the only kind of music that i
liked
when my mom found out she signed me up
for violin camp because she thought that
i would learn better
by being in a place where there were
more people
playing the violin
the camp lasted for two weeks and at
first
i was very mad for her signing me up
not only did i have to play violin so
much more
but it’d be the only thing i could do
in the first week i found it very boring
because there was no play time and i had
to not have friends
however by the second week i made
friends
and actually started to have fun and
that was when
i began to enjoy playing the violin a
bit more
i ended up going to this camp every
summer and winter break
because i really enjoyed going there
i have learned many valuable lessons
from playing the violin
and i want to share them with you today
whether or not you play the violin or
any instrument at all
i hope these lessons mean something to
you
and that you can apply them to different
aspects
of your life
the first thing i learned was to not
give up
during my 10 years of playing the violin
i went through
many stages of indifference liking
loathing hating and finally loving the
violin again
there were countless times where i felt
like giving up
in the beginning i thought that it was
way too boring
and that no one my age was doing it
when my friends would hang out at the
mall for the park i couldn’t go with
them
because i had to be at violin practice
we had holidays they could travel far
off destinations
but i had to stay back and attend violin
camp
and now at my age a lot of my friends
get acrylics
but i can’t have long nails because i
play the piano
and the violin so i keep my nails
short so many times
for so many reasons i wanted to quit so
badly
once i even threatened to break my
violin
but i didn’t and i’m actually really
glad
that i decided to continue i thought i
would not
enjoy playing that the violin was not
for people my age
and that i would never really be good at
it
but i was wrong now i’m
so much better at playing it and not
only do i enjoy playing it so much
but i also get to play different music
including my favorite tick tock songs
at first things may not look so rosy on
the path you’re on
and it’s totally fine if sometimes you
feel unmotivated
or even tempted to quit however
that does not mean you should give up
because with a little perseverance
and determination you are short to excel
the second thing was the importance of
teamwork
it is true what they say teamwork makes
the dream work
playing the violin all these years has
taught me the value of teamwork
and i’ll share you two instances where
teamwork
is vital the first one is when you’re
playing the violin
accompanied by pianist a lot of violent
performances
are accompanied by the piano
company they produce a beautiful
and harmonic melody and usually
the piano does not follow the violin but
rather the violin
follows the piano because the rhythm
and tempo is decided by the pianist
so as a violinist you have to listen
closely
to when to start and when to stop
playing
you and the pianist need to have
chemistry to deliver a flawless
performance
which can be challenging but not
impossible
with a little bit of practice and
teamwork
the second example is when you’re
playing in an orchestra
in my first performance playing in an
orchestra
i was surprised and actually even
slightly annoyed to have to share a
stand and even a sheet of paper with
another violinist
and when i wrote on the paper sometimes
the person sitting next to me would
disagree
with what i was writing so we would have
to come
to an agreement after our conflict we
would have to discuss
and discuss right there and then until
we both agreed
also in an orchestra you definitely have
to follow the directions
of the conductor because otherwise you
won’t know when to play or what to play
without a doubt a dream performance
requires a team effort
and i had to learn how to work in a team
to succeed
the secrets to teamwork are tolerance
patience kindness among others
often our teammates will disagree with
us or even annoy us
but we must remember that in order to
move ahead
we must resolve all conflicts with
tolerance
patience and kindness
and the third and by far the most
important attribute
i learned was discipline
playing the violin or any other
instrument for that matter requires
discipline and that is why i was not too
fond of it when i was younger
because i couldn’t do all the things
that my girls
my age did i was often faced with the
difficult decisions
to choose between violent practice and
hanging out with my friends
most times i would have to choose the
violin
because i know that practice makes
perfect
i’m not perfect but i’m a lot better
than i was years ago
being disciplined also has to do a lot
with time management
especially during the time leading up to
concerts
this season typically falls during
christmas
or close to my school exams and this is
why it is so important that i manage my
time well
i plan every activity practice
sessions homework project
and study time it’s all about balancing
performing
at concerts and maintaining good grades
discipline is important in every aspects
of our lives
our careers relationships
and even personal growth
we should all be intentional about being
disciplined
when i grow up i want to study in law
and become a lawyer
this doesn’t mean i’m going to stop
playing the violin
i don’t think that you have to stop
something
you are passionate about just because
you have a career
you just have to make time for what
gives you pleasure
playing the violin is not the only thing
i do
and when i’m not practicing i like to
watch documentaries
and talk to my friends i also play the
piano and the trombone
i think extracurricular activities are
very important
and i encourage everyone to participate
in at least one
school is great but it’s not the only
thing and the only opportunity
to learn because education continues
even outside
of the classroom extracurricular
activities
make you smarter because you get to
exercise parts of your brain
that you typically won’t in the
classroom
you also learn emotional intelligence
because you get to interact with
different people in ways
that are different from how you interact
in classrooms
or when you’re with your friends and
family
you also learn teamwork and empathy
which are very important skills
you should consider learning a musical
instrument
you don’t have to start learning at a
very young age like me
you could be a teenager or even an adult
if the piano guitar or violin are not
your thing
that’s okay there are many other options
that are very cool even if they’re not
as popular
music allows yourself to express and you
can do that even better
when you know how to play an instrument
learning an instrument teaches you
patience
consistency and discipline
more importantly playing an instrument
is fun
and a great way to unwind
i’m happy that i learned to play the
violin
it has given me a lot of fulfillment and
happiness
and i’m glad that i did not give up when
things
felt difficult sometimes
difficult things need a different
strategy to overcome
i hope these lessons i have shared with
you make an impact on your life
thank you