intoned posted on Sunday, May 28, 2006
As an amateur violinist, I want to point out that violinists differ from other musicians, for example pianists.
Firstly, after eight years of playing the violin, I realise that good intonation is most important for a violinist. That basically means playing in tune as opposed to out of tune. The violin is one of the hardest instruments to play in tune. The piano, on the other hand, never goes out of tune if it's tuned properly from the start.
For good intonation, a violinist relies on his hands and ears. His left hand is required to control the pitch, while his ears check whether the notes are in tune. This sounds easy, but I will attempt to explain how difficult it actually is, and how NS may damage the fine tools of the musician (ie his hands and ears).
The ears of a violinist must be extremely sharp, able to discern between two notes which are 1/10 of a semitone apart at least. Mozart was able to do so for 1/24 of a semitone. The mathematician Euler had proved that even if the violinist goes out of tune by a fraction, the dissonance produced will shoot up to almost infinity.
In fact, experiments have shown that professional violinists are often more accurate than machines in discerning pitch.
Recently, reports have been going around on how Ipods and other MP3 players can cause permanent damage to the ears. In fact, science has shown that sounds above 120 decibels cause permanent, irreversible harm to the ears. If Ipods can harm ears, I am sure the sound of rifles, grenades and heavy machinery will not be beneficial to the ears.
Secondly, the fingers of a violinist, as opposed to a pianist's, must be very accurate in pressing the strings, as even 1mm of difference will cause a huge difference in pitch. Piano keys, on the other hand, are quite wide so where a pianist hits a key with his finger won't make that much of a difference to its pitch.
Hands that become rough from exposure to the elements and field work will cause distress to the violinist, as his notes will be permanently out of tune.
Ike is destined to hold a bow. But whether he will carry a bow and arrow and fight in the battlefield or hold a bow and violin and enthral audiences with his playing, that remains to be seen. Dawn Goh Noi Swee (Ms)
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http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/story/0,5562,395733,00.html
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I wish to comment on the issue of the deferment of national service for violinist Ike See.
As an amateur violinist, I want to point out that violinists differ from other musicians, for example pianists.
Firstly, after eight years of playing the violin, I realise that good intonation is most important for a violinist. That basically means playing in tune as opposed to out of tune. The violin is one of the hardest instruments to play in tune. The piano, on the other hand, never goes out of tune if it's tuned properly from the start.
For good intonation, a violinist relies on his hands and ears. His left hand is required to control the pitch, while his ears check whether the notes are in tune. This sounds easy, but I will attempt to explain how difficult it actually is, and how NS may damage the fine tools of the musician (ie his hands and ears).
The ears of a violinist must be extremely sharp, able to discern between two notes which are 1/10 of a semitone apart at least. Mozart was able to do so for 1/24 of a semitone. The mathematician Euler had proved that even if the violinist goes out of tune by a fraction, the dissonance produced will shoot up to almost infinity.
In fact, experiments have shown that professional violinists are often more accurate than machines in discerning pitch.
Recently, reports have been going around on how Ipods and other MP3 players can cause permanent damage to the ears. In fact, science has shown that sounds above 120 decibels cause permanent, irreversible harm to the ears. If Ipods can harm ears, I am sure the sound of rifles, grenades and heavy machinery will not be beneficial to the ears.
Secondly, the fingers of a violinist, as opposed to a pianist's, must be very accurate in pressing the strings, as even 1mm of difference will cause a huge difference in pitch. Piano keys, on the other hand, are quite wide so where a pianist hits a key with his finger won't make that much of a difference to its pitch.
Hands that become rough from exposure to the elements and field work will cause distress to the violinist, as his notes will be permanently out of tune.
Ike is destined to hold a bow. But whether he will carry a bow and arrow and fight in the battlefield or hold a bow and violin and enthral audiences with his playing, that remains to be seen. Dawn Goh Noi Swee (Ms)
-
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/story/0,5562,395733,00.html
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