Same Instructions, But Different Results

How is this Possible?

Photo by Stefany Andrade on Unsplash

Have you followed the same instructions but failed to get the same result?

I recently did.

I was watching a Youtuber play “When You Wish Upon a Star.”

I tried following along. When I got to the A note, I played that note without putting any fingers down on the A string.

We are reading the same sheet music, but somehow the way he played the piece was much better.

I re-watched the Youtube video and noticed that he placed 4 fingers on the D string.

With the violin, it is possible to play the same note more than one way.

I saw that there was benefit for following the Youtuber’s way. He was able to add vibrato, because he had his thumb on the neck of the violin plus his fingertips on the fingerboard.

I, on the other hand, only had one point of contact on the violin with just my thumb on the neck of the violin, so I am unable to add vibrato.

I realized just like in other life scenarios, even though we are given the same instructions, how we go about it can produce different results.

If you read this far, thanks for reading! When was the last time you followed the same instructions, but did…