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= I Believe in Playing with Vibrato =



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My face turned blue and purple as I forcibly blew some air and spit into the trumpet at music orientation in middle school. My dad pointed to a small violin that the teacher was holding, “Here Max, why don’t you try that instead?” Resting the precious instrument on my left shoulder, I thought, “Wow, this is heavy!” I never would have thought that day would have such a positive impact on my life. From that moment on, the violin became apart of my world.

As I began to play the violin, my mom suffered a catastrophic stroke and never fully recovered. My Dad became Mr. Mom while learning to be a caregiver to my Mother. While I spent a lot of time visiting her in the ICU, I practiced most nights and I used it as a means of escape.

I felt bad that my Dad had to hear the frightening sounds of me attempting to play Vibrato, which in his words “sounded like a sick cow that was perhaps dying.” My vivid emotions prevented me from strengthening my musical technique, and after all, my violin was old and had very low quality. Not only was I disappointed with the instrument, but also in my mom’s recovery. My violin teacher in high school told me that I could apply for a nationwide contest aimed towards students with financial needs. I had the chance to win a new violin, however I had no hope in reaching this kind of accomplishment, or even having faith in my Mom’s recovery.

After waiting patiently, I found myself asking, “How can this be? I won the contest?” I couldn’t believe it! Holding my new elegant, smoothly curved, violin that could blind a person with its sparkle and shine, made me want to cry. This violin would soon become my pride and joy, not only making my Dad and myself happier, but my Mom happier as well. Once she returned home, I saw a different kind of glow in her. Listening to the sounds of me practicing in my room, all she wanted was to see me happy. After watching her face light up I knew that things would soon be better, for all of us.

If you walk into my house, you no longer hear the sounds of a “dying cow”, but of a musician who has mastered the difficult skill of playing with Vibrato, “a musical effect consisting of a regular pulsating change of pitch”. I play my violin the same way I look at life, as I use vibrato to improve my sound and technique. Some days I don’t like the way I sound when I play and while I know I can’t be a perfect musician, I do what I can to make the best of it. You can’t make life perfect either, but what I believe you CAN do is fine-tune whatever imperfections you may have and improve your life as well as the lives of others. Having the opportunity to enter the contest and win the violin not only bettered my life but also gave me more hope. You never know what kind of person—or musician—you can help somebody become by adding a little vibrato to his or her life.

My name is Maxine Brumer and I'm a junior studying Psychology and Sociology at the University of Colorado in Boulder. I continue to play violin in the campus orchestra, and I hope that one day I can make a real difference in the world and impact the lives of others.