I am now 30 with 22 years of experience playing the viola. My first 4 years were nearly self-taught, playing in elementary school orchestras and barely knowing where to place my fingers, but having fun nonetheless. My middle-school years consisted of quality instruction that I am grateful for, and high school led to a lot of chamber music and memorable music making. College and graduate school included a more serious pursuit of a beautiful sound, where progress was made, but I remained far away from being satisfied with my ability.
Life went on and in my late-20s was when I confronted many serious artistic questions. For what reason was I trying to sharpen my craft? Was it a mere healthy mental habit to adopt a growth mindset? Yes. Was it to perform for live audiences? Yes. To record emotional music for others to connect with? Yes. To collaborate with other artists? Yes. To be well-equipped to teach the next generation of musicians? Yes. This search for musical purpose stemmed from the belief that music can bring people from all walks of life closer together. I had a desire to devote myself to that mission as best I could. But was I satisfied with my own musical sound in my late 20’s? Not yet.
Until I deeply realized that in order to not deceive myself, to work as honestly as possible, I needed to be healthily-obsessed with intonation, pitch, and sound frequencies. Therefore, in order to be clearly aware of my sound in the most objective way, I built tools to colorize musical pitch. It helped me see the truth in my own intonation, and I hope it helps other musicians on a similar journey do the same, who may also be going through a plateau phase in their musical life, or who may simply want to patiently paint their sound. One interval at a time.
For those looking to connect, email balanceworldmusic@gmail.com
For those looking to support, visit www.patreon.com/cw/BalanceWorldMusic
With purpose,
J.S