Cami Shaskin

Violin Blog


About


This blog is about all things violin. It is meant to educate, inspire, and provide resources for parents, teachers, and students. The author takes full responsibility for the viewpoints expressed here. In instances where she quotes ideas from others, she pledges to cite her sources as fully, responsibly, and accurately as possible. Topics will include book reviews, technique tips, entertaining anecdotes, quotes, jokes, educational findings, instrument care suggestions, violin in the news, repertoire lists, etc.

Cami J. Shaskin graduated with her master's degree in Music Education in 2008. Violin has always been her primary instrument, since beginning private lessons at age five. See camishaskinviolin.com/info for her music résumé, or click on Spotlights for historical recordings. Cami has enjoyed an array of experiences in writing, from penning award-winning articles as a journalism staff writer in high school, tutoring peers at BYU's Writing Center, earning a Writing Fellows scholarship and a minor in Language and Computers, and later becoming a published author. She recently picked up web programming as a hobby, earning a certificate in Web Programming and Development from the local community college. This blog has been a collaborative effort between her and her husband, who is a Web Developer by profession. Together, they designed and coded this blog and its original content "from scratch."

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2021
    Jan
        16 - Welcome to My Blog
        23 - Violin Teaching Kits
        30 - The Power of Inspiration
    Feb
        06 - Valuable Techniques
        07 - From the Top
        13 - In Honor of Valentine's Day
        20 - Violin Jokes
        28 - Beginning Orchestra Teaching
    Mar
        06 - Singing in Orchestra
        13 - Nurtured by Love
        21 - Helpful Websites
        27 - Unique Case Uses
    Apr
        02 - Favorite Music Quotes
        10 - All About Tone
        17 - Unique Composer Stories
        24 - Teaching Values
    May
        02 - Believing Teachers?
        15 - Violin in Art & Architecture
        23 - A Solo Repertoire List
        29 - Our Quartet
    Jun
        20 - Theft and Other Lessons
        26 - Violin Bridge Tips
    Jul
        07 - Clever Violin Memes
        20 - Horses and Lions
    Aug
        04 - Music During Covid
        16 - Favorite Music
    Sep
        12 - Being There
    Oct
        16 - Sight Reading Tips
    Nov
        05 - Why It's the Frog
    Dec
        20 - Bach on the Brain
        30 - Impact for Life
2022
    Jan
        23 - Tendonitis Helps
    Feb
        21 - An Old Performance
    Mar
        23 - Cars3 & Coaching
    Apr
        28 - Buying a Violin for Dummies
        29 - Preferred Brands
    May
        27 - Love: A Calling
    Jun
        20 - Gratitude for Idaho Shop
    Jul
        19 - Violinist Interviews Books
    Aug
        08 - Music Opens Doors
        23 - Top Classical Tunes for Violin
    Sep
    Oct
        11 - 100 Days of Listening
    Nov
        27 - Useful Analogies
    Dec
        28 - A Humorous Anecdote
2023
    Jan
        14 - Favorite Concertos & Sonatas
    Feb
        15 - Our Commonality
    Mar
        10 - Extras
        18 - Autopilot
    Apr
    May
    Jun
        06 - Motivation
        07 - Starting Lessons Again
    Jul
        08 - A Tale of Three Cloths
    Aug
        26 - The Ink
    Sep
        23 - Raw and Real Recital Reactions
    Oct
        18 - In Honor of Halloween
    Nov
        26 - Music Copyright
    Dec
        13 - Memes: Fun Facebook Finds
2024
    Jan
        15 - Fame and Fortune
    Feb
        05 - Details and the Big Picture
    Mar
        14 - Intermission
    Apr
        18 - A Day in the Life
    May
        02 - Oops!
    Jun
        14 - A Science or an Art?
    Jul
        15 - A Difficult Post
    Aug
        01 - Character Transference
    Sep
        20 - Anxiety Interview
    Oct
        02 - Sounds of Italy
    Nov
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    Dec
         No posts to display.


Posts


Fame and Fortune
15 Jan 2024
I think it’s great when you realize you’re respected and appreciated for the good you’ve done for others and you feel like a valued part of a community. But being famous is something else entirely. I've never wanted to be rich or famous. And thus far, I'd say I'm not! Nor am I concerned about it ever happening! Of course, these terms "rich" and "famous" can be relative. But if you’re famous enough that you’re a household name to thousands of people who aren’t family, I imagine that’s when life gets more complicated. Here’s what I picture life as a famous musician to be like:
  • Having to answer endless fan mail
  • Requiring bodyguard protection
  • Your children only known for their association to you
  • Pressure from people having high expectations of the quality and sometimes quantity of work you produce, basically over-influencing how you spend your time
  • Some might doubt your inherent goodness because "life is different for you"
  • Most admire you simply due to your musical talent
  • You let the attention influence you to over-inflate your ego (fame/power corrupts)
  • Distracted from interacting with your friends
  • Less time for family
  • Influencing people more than you intend
  • You’re unhappy, wondering if you’re really making a positive difference
Basically, your time is no longer your own. That’s the summation of it all. You don’t have time to yourself, and you start to crave anonymity. I wonder if the Savior ever felt the same way.

But back to the lives of average famous people. People either feel comfortable judging you or they put you on a pedestal. Their opinion is based on what’s in print. Or what they see on stage. You lose your sense of your best qualities, only nurturing the thing you’re known for, because it’s what’s expected. Things just get out of balance. And when people think too highly of you or feel awkward around you, that’s just…awkward. At the very least, it feels surreal.

Let’s be honest—I rather enjoy having my husband be the only person I know who tells me I’m nearly perfect. And though we both acknowledge he’s biased, at least he’s sincere. Some in my family have thought I seek out being the center of attention, but I would say that’s not true (at least in a general sense--I'm ok with people seeing me play my violin)! I especially am self-conscious about lots of individualized attention if it’s awkward for anyone else. In a nutshell, I just like being appreciated.

Here’s the kind of attention I like:
  • "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?"
    —random person in the grocery store
  • "Hi, Cody's mom!"
    —kindergartner at my son’s school in the parking lot a couple of days after I came to volunteer
  • A smile from a fabric store employee as I return yet again
  • A heartfelt compliment from a friend when no one else is around
  • Having twelve blog subscribers
  • Someone with tears in their eyes saying I've changed their life (ok, I don’t remember this particular one ever taking place, but it sounds amazing…)
In case you’re wondering what real famous people have said about being famous, here’s a smattering of quotations from famous people in the music industry. I took these quotes from azquotes.com Click the link for other fame quotes by people like Bill Murray, Morgan Freeman, Barack Obama, Michael Jordan, Jay Leno, Ellen DeGeneres, M. Russell Ballard, and J.K. Rowling. Now from music folk:

"The worst thing about being famous? I think it's what everybody says--the lack of privacy and the idea . . . that everything that you do is viewed under a microscope."
--Madonna

"I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great."
--Ray Charles

"I have no use for people who throw their weight around as celebrities, or for those who fawn over you just because you are famous."
--Walt Disney

"Being famous is having the power to really implement positive change in the world . . . I can play music and people will listen."
--Sean Lennon

"Keep your family and old friends around you. That's what I had done and that's what saved my life when it came to being famous."
--Barry Manilow

"The worst thing about being famous is the invasion of your privacy."
--Justin Timberlake

"People think that being famous is just about having your picture taken all the time and being rich, rich, rich, and you know what? . . . They're absolutely right."
--Madonna

And finally, I had to look up who this guy is, and btw, his occupation is appropriate for the humor, but I thought this quote was clever: "I would have changed my last name if being famous were my goal."
--Zach Galifianakis

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