Polyphonics, Pitches, and Perseverance: The Basics of String Music by Sabrina

Polyphonics, Pitches, and Perseverance: The Basics of String Music by Sabrina - July 2021 Scholarship Essay

The first day we were told to bring our instruments for orchestra class, I didn’t know what to expect. Certainly not being tested on a G major scale for seating the first ten minutes in. As my name was called and I dragged my bow to start, I realized how nervous I was when I became the only source of sound in the room. That’s when the panic set in and for the rest of the scale, my trembling bowing hand created wavering notes bouncing around the room for all to hear. The encouraging words from sympathetic classmates went in one ear and out the other, because the only things that I heard were my performance and my inner critic reprimanding every little detail that I should’ve presented better.
For months, my anxiety from that one day masked my progress to be shown during rehearsals, the pages being played decently at home contrasted greatly with the few notes I’d get out during class. For months, my fingers would ache every day from the two to three hour sessions, the left tips becoming greyed and indented from the strings. For months, I was sick of putting in the effort and skipping homework, sometimes even meals to get that one phrase perfect, when at school it never showed when I needed it the most.
After three months of torture and convincing from my parents, I finally made the decision to talk to my counselor to switch out at the end of the semester. The only problem was I had orchestra before lunch, so I soldiered on knowing I’d only have a few months left before finally escaping. Somehow, on the day that I decided to drop out was when something clicked. That day I could play; the measures I was familiar with finally presented themselves. I walked out of class in amazement and in a daze, completely forgetting about the appointment at lunch.
I realize now that through all my practice sessions, I unknowingly extended my limits and unlocked a great perseverance. The determination from learning an instrument I was barely familiar with branched into my academics, and soon enough the hard work I labored during my freshman year applied to later challenging AP courses as well.
I stepped into that class expecting to learn the fundamentals of string music. I left being taught perseverance through overwhelming work and self-doubt.