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tea and knitting
Mar. 4th, 2012 11:39 pmIt's funny that I'm using my erhu icon, as I haven't played it in years. Well, music related anyway.
When I was younger (teenager-ish?), I used to have the biggest hang-up about people who learnt the piano as kids. Our family couldn't afford it then, and I always wondered it was like. Meanwhile all those kids talked about piano lessons and composers and classical music and all that. It seemed so magical. I felt so jealous that when I could finally afford to learn music, I couldn't bring myself to learn the piano. Just too bitter about it. And I'd have hated to let my parents know that I had ever wanted to. (Plus a piano was still too expensive then, while the erhu cost much less.) I just gave them the impression that I thought the erhu was cool and I was getting in touch with my Chinese roots by picking up a Chinese instrument.
Well, I still think the erhu is damn cool. C'mon, it uses snake skin! That's pretty baddass.
The guzheng... I like it; not sure if I love it. It's easy to pick up but tough to be good at it. As opposed to the erhu which is tough all the way. The guqin, on the other hand, is like the anthesis of the erhu: while it feels very natural to hold the erhu, the guqin depends on you holding your hands in a way that I feel is really artificial and contorted (stick your pinky out!) and that takes concentration. And yeah, it's again one of those instruments that's easy to pick up (only seven strings!) but tough - and how! - to play well, especially that you can't even hear some of the notes you're supposed to be playing.
***
Started, despite misgivings, a shawl. Using the same Niebling pattern to make up for the one that I lost, but silk yarn is too expensive now that I have no income, boo. Very pleased with the blue-black wool I'm using now, though, so I guess... I'm being mindful of time constraints and letting myself knit one (or two) round only each day, so it'll take much longer to finish.
Okay, enough with procrastination. Back to reading.
When I was younger (teenager-ish?), I used to have the biggest hang-up about people who learnt the piano as kids. Our family couldn't afford it then, and I always wondered it was like. Meanwhile all those kids talked about piano lessons and composers and classical music and all that. It seemed so magical. I felt so jealous that when I could finally afford to learn music, I couldn't bring myself to learn the piano. Just too bitter about it. And I'd have hated to let my parents know that I had ever wanted to. (Plus a piano was still too expensive then, while the erhu cost much less.) I just gave them the impression that I thought the erhu was cool and I was getting in touch with my Chinese roots by picking up a Chinese instrument.
Well, I still think the erhu is damn cool. C'mon, it uses snake skin! That's pretty baddass.
The guzheng... I like it; not sure if I love it. It's easy to pick up but tough to be good at it. As opposed to the erhu which is tough all the way. The guqin, on the other hand, is like the anthesis of the erhu: while it feels very natural to hold the erhu, the guqin depends on you holding your hands in a way that I feel is really artificial and contorted (stick your pinky out!) and that takes concentration. And yeah, it's again one of those instruments that's easy to pick up (only seven strings!) but tough - and how! - to play well, especially that you can't even hear some of the notes you're supposed to be playing.
***
Started, despite misgivings, a shawl. Using the same Niebling pattern to make up for the one that I lost, but silk yarn is too expensive now that I have no income, boo. Very pleased with the blue-black wool I'm using now, though, so I guess... I'm being mindful of time constraints and letting myself knit one (or two) round only each day, so it'll take much longer to finish.
Okay, enough with procrastination. Back to reading.
