Today was a big day. It was my mother's 70th birthday. It was held at Ashmore Road Seafood & Steakhouse on the Gold Coast. There were twenty two family members altogether including uncles and cousins. We had a small part of the restaurant to ourselves so we were able to make a bit of noise. The area next to us was hosting a christening but we were able to put up a partition to give us more privacy.
One of my mother's requests was that I play "Happy Birthday" for her on the violin. I have been learning how to play the violin since the end of November 2012. I found out about the request at the beginning of June. My violin teacher, Laura, said she was happy to teach it to me. "that's what music is about eh! Making people happy". Indeed it is :) Now, the song is easy enough to play on a piano or glockenspiel because the notes are all in front of you and the music itself is not hard to learn. However, playing it on the violin is much harder given I can't see the notes and that it requires the use of third finger. And I was not up to that yet.
My lessons went well, especially when I gave the piece more focus in the week leading up to today. Laura's advice in the last lesson (see Violin Lesson #33) and her encouraging words this morning were also helpful. So today I was as ready as I was going to get to play the song in public. The plan was to make a speech after lunch and then play the song for her. About half the people who were there did not know that I was learning the violin let alone that I was going to play a song today.
At the end of the speech I returned to my seat to get Patience. While I was setting up I joked about how hard it was to play. "It's not as easy as my teacher makes it look," I told them. They laughed. I was serious! It is like many things. Seeing an expert doing something, whether it is playing the violin or painting a portrait, you can be forgiven for thinking it is easy. Of course it is easy to them because of the effort they have put in to what they are doing. I played an open E-string and joked that was it. They laughed as I prepared myself. Then it was showtime.
You can download the performance here.
I felt pretty good playing it and forgot for a moment there were people watching and recording. When it was over the family were generous with their applause. I'd done it! I had played my first public song with Patience. My mother came and hugged me. It was all worth it for that moment. Then I joked that I was playing Bach's Chaconne at the Queensland Conservatorium next week. I think most of them did not know what that was :)
They wanted me to play something else and I said I didn't have anything prepared. When I got back to my seat my wife told me my grandmother was asking for "She's A Jolly Good Fellow". As it happens, I taught myself how to play that just last night (as opposed to the weeks I had been learning "Happy Birthday"). How fortunate for me. Without much fanfare I lifted Patience to my shoulder and played it. They loved that too. My niece Regina recorded it so I will upload that when a copy makes it's way to me. It caught my daughter by surprise.
The rest of the afternoon went well. I had a chance to talk to one of my uncles. Through him I found out just how few degrees of separation exist between myself and some violinists I respect very much. His daughter (my cousin) used to work with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, so she got to know Richard Tognetti quite well. He plays a 1743 del Gesu violin. One other time she was liaison to Nigel Kennedy when he came to Australia. My cousin took him back home when they visited Brisbane, and upon meeting my aunt he exclaimed "You're the chocolate lady!". My uncle and aunt started up Chocolate Gems in 1986.
So all in all I had a great time this afternoon. Laura knows well the "performance bug" and after a somewhat shaky start I think I have it too =)
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