There is a store I went into today. It’s my favorite store.

They have a complete collection of every violin skill available. All the different varieties of vibrato and bow strokes, a complete collection of repertoire for the violin, they even have pieces that weren’t originally written for the violin that you could pick up. They have posture, they have practice habits, they even have a special section for character traits and beliefs.

I love the store so much. I visit it every day.

Everything in the store can be bought. There are no restrictions to anyone who enters.

But the price for each item is listed in repetitions, not dollars.

In fact, nothing in the store can be bought with dollars.

Some items cost 10,000 repetitions. Some items cost 10.

There are no items in the store that cost 0 repetitions.

However, there are some items that can be sold–just to you!– for a bargain. When you first go to the violin store, everything looks so expensive. But when you return again and again, when you become a friend of the store, you might notice the prices start to go down. 

Everything is expensive when you start. But the more you know, the less each item costs. If you already own 10 concertos, the 11th isn’t as expensive. If you already own 10 different flavors of vibrato, the 11th isn’t as expensive. 

It’s my job as a violin teacher to send you to the store every lesson. Sometimes I’m helping you pay for your repetitions (but usually you get those done at home), but most of the time I’m helping you pick out the one thing that you would really like that is also a super-crazy-good-flash-deal for you. 

For example, this week would not be the perfect week to learn ricochet (so pricy!) but it is the perfect week (good deal!) to learn 4th finger trills because you’ve already paid down left hand frame, soft palm, 3rd finger on inside corner, and finger action.

I want to clarify that I do not own the store. I don’t think of myself as a salesman. I’m just a friend who loves what they’re selling and will gladly take a trip with you to the store to point out the good deals and help you pick out your favorite thing.