長久以來，我一直非常喜歡義大利小提琴的聲音，不過都沒有看到真的合意的樂器，直到有一天鄭老師從英國帶了一些樂器回來給我試拉，讓我有全新的體驗。他給我試拉了4 把不同風格的義大利琴，每一把我都很喜歡，因為每支都有它獨特的音色，而其中一把製於 1755 年的 Carcassi 義大利古琴更是讓我愛不釋手。

       起初，這把 Carcassi 小提琴並沒有在我的考慮範圍內，因為它的 size 比較小且又有著一點高聳弧度的面板。剛開始的時候我不是很習慣它的音色，不過它的琴音卻讓我想起一些老一輩小提琴大師的琴聲，如 Heifetz 唱片中的琴音。老實說，當時我有點困惑了，不是很確定自己是不是真的喜歡這樣的音色，但是考慮一陣子之後，我決定要把這把琴帶回家，現在我很高興自己作了這樣的決定。因為，這把琴真的是一把不可思議的藝術品，我總是對於它能很容易地發出我心中想要的音色和詮釋、變化感到很驚奇，而且越拉越喜歡。

      我在美國辛辛那提音樂院的老師和朋友們，都覺得我的琴的聲音很棒，常常問我「能不能借我拉一下」。他們都同意這把琴有著一股很特別的琴聲。還有，最近我改用 Wolf Forte Secondo 牌的肩墊，我發現它讓我的 Carcassi 小提琴反應更快了，現在我的琴有著更宏亮的音色與豐富的共鳴。

      當我把這把琴帶回家時，心裡是滿懷感激也很開心，不過現在我已經「愛上」它了！也很好奇它到底還能製造多少驚奇！我相信這把琴在我未來學習音樂的路上，一定能幫助我，提升我的演奏能力。

I’ve always been interested in Italian violins, but I wasn’t sure how or where to pick a decent instrument until Mr. Cheng brought some back from England for me to try. He showed me four Italian violins. I loved all of them. Each had their own unique sound quality. However, only one violin brought something interesting to my ear. It was of course the ancient Carcassi violin.

At first, I wasn’t fully interested in purchasing the Carcassi violin. It was smaller than a full size violin and has a deeply arched belly.  I wasn’t used to the way it sounds but it always reminded me of those really old violin recordings by Heifetz. I honestly didn’t know if this violin was really the right one for me. After a few months of consideration, I finally decided to bring this fiddle back home. I never regretted my decision.  The Carcassi is an unbelievable work of art. I was surprised at how it was able to easily interpret what I want it to sound. The more I played it, the more I liked it.

My professor and many fellow violinists at the University of Cincinnati College-conservatory of Music have been interested in my violin and asked if they could play it. All of them agreed that it has a unique sound to it. Just recently, I changed my “playonair” shoulder rest to a “Wolf Forte Secondo” shoulder rest because the “playonair” has been falling off way too often due to the unique “arch belly” on my Carcassi violin. The moment I tried my violin with my new shoulder rest, I jumped up with joy. It resonated like no other. I realized that the gap between the new shoulder rest and the violin made the sound louder and more ringing. My old “playoniar” shoulder rest sits nicely on the back of my violin leaving no gaps which made it hard to resonate completely.

I have started to appreciate the Carcassi violin when I first got it, but now I would say that I’m starting to love this violin and curious about what it can really do. I believe that I can bring this violin more to life in the years to come as I enhance my violin technique.