Invest in Language

 

I had a lovely time this weekend. It was my 28th birthday, and I went back to Bedfordshire to spend it with my parents.

Something happened that made me want to write to you all, and it involves a violin. Actually, 2 violins.

Normally, I spend my birthday with my husband, but this year he was nowhere to be seen!

This is because he was on his stag do.

This is a British English term for 'bachelor party' - the final celebration that men have before they get married. The female equivalent is 'hen do.'

You're right! Will went on a post-wedding stag do, as his initial trip to Krakow was postponed due to covid.

The only time that his best man, who lives in Australia, could come back was my birthday weekend.

Whilst I was disappointed, I completely understood. Will sweetly sent flowers and sent me lots of updates!

So, I went on a different sort of date for my birthday! I went out with my mum and dad!

We had a lovely time at a new local restaurant. When we got home (a couple of glasses of wine later...) my dad and I did something that we hadn't done in a very long time.

My dad is a very clever man. He has a PhD in soil (yes, soil!!!!) and he is a fantastic musician. He plays the drums and the violin to a very high standard. When I was a child, he encouraged me to take up the violin. I played until I was 18, but I never fell in love with it, and I never felt that I sounded very good. I decided to stop playing when I went to university, and I never picked it up again. I know my dad was disappointed, but he understood that my heart wasn't in it.

On my birthday, I asked my dad if I could try picking up my violin again, 10 years after I stopped playing.

He rummaged through a bookcase and found all of our favourite duets that we used to play together.

I picked up the violin really nervously. I was afraid of disappointing my dad by forgetting everything that I'd learnt as a child. All those violin lessons - wasted!

I put it under my chin, grasped my bow, and suddenly my fingers knew where to go!

It was like magic!

It was the strangest feeling. I hadn't seen those pieces of music in a decade, but after 10 minutes I was playing them without having to think too hard.

We played for three hours straight, until I had a bruise on my collar bone (I was holding on for dear life!)

By the end of the three hours, although slightly sore, I felt amazing! My dad was pretty chuffed too!

Now, please understand that I wasn't playing particularly well, and it definitely didn't sound very nice, but all of the technical ability was there in my brain, locked away for 10 years, and suddenly released.

I am writing to you about this now, because I believe that music is a language, and I think that what I learnt about my 'forgotten' violin skills can be applied to your English skills.

When you invest time into your language skills, the knowledge is there to stay, whether you actively use it or not.

Even if you feel that you have regressed, don't panic. Don't feel disappointed in yourself. You can get it back!

Yes, it will take some work. If I want my violin music to sound beautiful, I'll need to book in a few classes, and put in some hours of practice.