Experiment 2
Experiment 2
#1
Lee was trying to tune his violin before practice. Tuning the strings of a violin is quite an elaborate process which is almost inevitable before everyone who play a violin. He put the shoulder rest on the back of his violin and set the violin on his left shoulder with his left hand holding the neck of his violin. He then turned on a tuner and set it in front of him where he can see it easily while he is play. Lee adjusted the position a bit with his neck and left hand and then began to tune. Picking up the bow, he first played the G string, slowly with the full bow. There are four strings on a violin: G, D, A, and E. G string was the thickest with the lowest pitch on the far left. The degree of difficulty of this tuning is greatly depend on whether a violin equips fine turners. Fine turners can be equipped on each of the four strings. Setting fine turners on each string will, to a large extend, reduced the difficulty of the turning process, however, the tone of the instrument may be sacrificed. There is only one fine turner on Lee’s violin on the E string. Lee played the G string slowly while reaching out his left hand to the peg of the G string in the pegbox while trying hard to hold the violin stable with his neck and shoulder. He adjust the peg based on what was shown on the screen of the tuner he just turned on. It indicated that the pitch of the G string was a bit low. Then he would have to twist the peg counter-clockwise. He twisted the peg with extreme care. Ka… Suddenly the peg turned almost 40 degrees. Lee knew it was too much. Hanging the bow on his middle finger of his right hand, pushing the endpin of the violin against his belly, he pinches the sides of the neck avoiding touching the strings with the same hand. At the same time, he tries to twist the peg back a bit. Then he puts the violin back on his shoulder and played that string….

#6
It is my favorite photo in the loads of pictures in our family albums. Mom and I are in that picture. That picture must be at least 15 years old because I was very little and sitting in mom’s arms. And mom, was still pretty and slim, wearing a long white skirt which she has not wear for years because of the size. Mom was half-sit and half-standing against the railing in a garden and holding me in both of her arms. The reason I love this photo is mom was making a face to the camera. Mom is just like my older sister, taking care of me while knowing most of my secrets, giving me advice whenever I am in trouble. Mom has a great sense of humor, which can always ease awkward situations.