An object's design instilled in my memory is the violin. When I was a child in elementary school I was mesmerized by the design of this instrument. The violin in design is so symbolic of music it often comes to my mind when i here classical music. The design of the violin is so aesthetic from the carved scroll to the shiny varnished wood surface but what I remember the most is how difficult the violin is to play compared to other instruments. As pretty as the violin was, the design didn't make it convenient to play better. When a guitar has frets to play notes, a violin has none and the cello with wide strings to finger, the violin has narrowed. The violin's design is so inconvenient that musicians had to invent the shoulder rest to keep the clunky violin from stabbing their collar bones. Also the violin, made of thin wood, made it easy to shatter dropping from shoulder height. But despite all these problems the violin is one of the most popular instruments in classical music. Its compactness and simplicity makes it easy for someone to pick up and play. It has the balance that other instruments lack in with size and complexity. The violin though very challenging to play is the simplest iconic instrument a musician can fiddle with.
When first grasping a violin with my hands, the feeling straighten my body to a sophisticated posture. The sound it makes as you bump with it personifies it to a living thing that interacts with you. After I'd have class the heavy varnish chemicals would stay with me on my fingers through the day and I would be constantly reminded of the object missing from between my shoulder and chin. As much as it was a pain to play, when I became better the sounds would sooth me and when the strings, played wrong, would screech in pain. Eventually the violin becomes a part of you and when gone it haunts the empty space it leaves with ominous silence.
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