Learning Something New

I have been learning a lot with my Kindermusik class this summer! The other day, my grandmother showed up with a new instrument for me out of the blue. It was a mandolin. A mandolin is a stringed instrument with 8 strings, that are tuned in pairs. It is tuned simmilarly to the violin, which I had learned to play many many years ago. I can still play the violin-- its just that the bow gets in the way. I am enjoying the pick a lot more than the bow! The only thing about the mandolin, is that it is a killer on your fingertips. The double strings, really close together make your fingers feel like they are on fire! After about a week, I have developed some callouses to be proud of. The other day when I was cooking, I touched something that should have been really hot. But I could not feel it at all because of my mandolin callouses. Who needs an oven mitt? Despite all the fingertip pain, it has been a blast. I have been bluegrassin it up and it has been fun! I can't wait to share my new instrument with my students!