Violin Lesson #54

A bitter-sweet lesson this one as it's not only the last one for this year, but the last one for about three or four weeks as we break for the holidays and Laura goes to China.

The sweet part is that I passed two pieces: Wave Machine and the last of my exercises - the double stops. Both of them sounded great. All the practice had paid off.

Not so much for the rest of my work :) That's not to say it has not improved. It has, but not to the point of passing. I'll be doing my heart-beat exercises for the next month or so. At least I'll know that, by the time class resumes, I will have the second-best heart beats in Brisbane. Laura gave me some more pointers about my elbow and wrist that I'll do my best to incorporate.

First Base is going really well. It has the same passage of double-stop staccato notes three times and they are connected by some melodic sections. I had been practicing those in the same style as the double-stop passages.They are meant to be played more lyrically, smoothly and connected. I am sure this piece will be ready to pass by the next lesson.

I can't say the same for Raggle Taggle Hippie. Yes, it has been improving, but the phrasing needs work. I expect this to take some time. Still, in the time until the next lesson I expect the first half of the piece (that is all I have been playing) will be pretty sweet.

We did not cover Plesiosaurus. I did practice it and it was going okay. My fear with this piece is that I will be practicing incorrectly and it will thus take longer to get i right.

There is a new song, with new techniques. It's a cute song called Hear That Whistle. It involves harmonics (with a feather-light touch) and glissando (sliding along the strings). And some heel-of-the-bow (heart beat) playing at the end. It will be a good little show-piece when it's done.

My lesson ran a little long today, for which I am grateful seeing that it will be quite some time before the next one. And I really look forward to hearing about Laura's trip with the orchestra, and her experiences in China as well as being assistant concert master. How exciting!

O.M.F.B (Oh My Pho Bar)

Hahaha... see what I did there?

Ahem. It's not often the Szechuan Sage finds himself home alone. Tonight was one of those nights. Mrs Sage has gone to a Bon Jovi concert with some of her girl friends. The Prince and Princess of Sage are with my in-laws as it is school holidays here and both Mrs Sage and I are working this week.

So tonight was the perfect night to try My Pho Bar in Sunnybank. I have been wanting to visit it for ages. The Szechuan Sage has a fondness for noodle soups. After the chickens were locked up around 7pm I drove to the restaurant.

It looks pretty enough on the outside. They have coloured lights up for the festive season. The effect was warm and inviting. While I was outside I read the walls. The left wall has a description of what pho is and some of the background behind it. I knew it was beef noodle soup but I was happy to be educated further.

The right wall informed the diner about the 'Super Bowl Challenge'. It is a huge (no, really, it's huge) bowl of pho: 800 grams of noodles, 800 grams of meat and enough broth to cover it. When they say meat, they mean rare beef, tendon, tripe, flank, beef ball. You have sixty minutes to eat it all - noodles, beef, broth. I don't go in for eating contests when there are people in Brisbane (let alone around the world) who don't have enough to eat so I won't be doing that.

I went for My Freedom tonight, which includes three meats. I chose tripe, tendon and flank. I ordered it to take away. It cost $12, which I thought was good value for money. It came out in less time than I was told. Then again, they weren't overly busy. I took home one container with the broth and another with meat and noodles. There was also a small container of chili sauce and another bag of bean sprouts and Thai basil. I put everything together and left it soak while I went up to get the dog.

When I came back the smell was amazing. The broth was so fragrant, and combined with the rest of the ingredients, it smelled really delicious. With the spoon in the left hand and the chopsticks in the right, for the most part, I started eating. It was fantastic. The broth was very tasty, and there was a variety of tastes and textures from the noodle and beef components. I enjoyed it thoroughly and look forward to going back there again one day.

Violin Lesson #53

This will be a short post because this lesson was a lot like last week's, except that this week I brought the sheet music and diary with me... then left it behind after the lesson :(

This lesson included information on how to clean the violin strings. The best way to clean them is with perfume. Hm... how am I going to explain that one at home? Apparently it is great for removing the rosin, and as long as it is kept away from the varnish of the violin there will be no problems.

My heartbeats are getting better. I am confident in being able to play with the heel of the bow. I certainly don't fear it or avoid it.

I forgot to play the double-stops exercise this week. Hopefully another week of practice will help.

The sound quality for Wave Machine had improved. Unfortunately it was at the expense of dynamics. I know the dynamics for this music but I forgot to apply them. Laura gave me some tips and as long as I remember to play them all will be sweet next week.

Raggle Taggle Hippie still has some way to go. It's going to be one of those songs that will take ages to get right but will sound amazing when it does.I can't do the quick fingering satisfactorily and I the bow work needs attention. It's all good though. It's getting better every week and I am learning something new with each lesson.

I had my first go at First Base this week. It was sounding pretty good. It was not "shocking" enough at the start. Perhaps I am too much in touch with my feminine side? This song also came with a lesson in economics. Save before you spend. Some notes require the whole bow to play. The bow starts off slowly (the saving) and when it gets about a third of the way along it gets faster and louder (the spending). Had their been no saving at the start, there would be nothing to spend. Nice one, Laura. I won't soon forget it. This song was actually sounding better than Raggle Taggle Hippie. It is most likely to be stamped before Raggle Taggle Hippie too.

I have not tried Plesiosaurus. I will give it  a go this week and show Laura next week. Next week is the last lesson for 2013. Laura is off to China over the holidays. It will be around three weeks before I get back into it. So I better make the next lesson count.

Unfortunately Sarisha was sick today so I did not get to see her new violin and compare instruments. I look forward to doing that when she is well enough to attend lessons again.

Violin Lesson #52

That's right, my lesson was on Thursday this week. Laura was kind enough to reschedule me because I had to be home for the children on Tuesday. Did the extra two days make a difference?

In a word, no, not really.

And it didn't help that I forgot my music books and diary at home today as I rushed out with both children. This was not how I wanted to start my second year of lessons.

I still have more to do with the heart-beat exercise and the double-stops exercises. They are sounding better each week, yet each week there is something else to do. For heart-beats I have to be aware of my bow hand. There is a subtle change between the up-bow and the down-bow. It took me a little while to understand it but I think I know what Laura means. The double-stops still need more arm-drop from playing the single string to playing the two strings at once, and less pressure on the two strings.

I asked about playing with the mute. It's something I have been using for a few weeks now. I think I'm going to stop using it. Some of the issues I am dealing with a really hard to work on with the mute in place. I have been told the music does not bother anyone downstairs, nor should it. After a year I'm sounding pretty good (far better than this time last year to be sure). Let's see how much difference practice without the mute can make.

I tried The Old Fiddler Man next. Laura's advice was to hum to myself the trickiest passage at the speed I want to play it just before I start, like a lead-in. I'll give this a go. Laura says we can move on from this piece (though I should still practice it from time to time). I'm not lying when I say I am a little disappointed I could not play this piece for her better than I did today. I know the good performances are in me... I just have to let them out.

Laura also had some more suggestions and advice for Raggle Taggle Hippie. Some aspects I had been practicing incorrectly so I'll work on those this week. One of them is to "let the bow flow". Laura gave me some adjectives for Irish music, to keep in mind as I play. It's nothing specific about physically playing the music, but I'm sure it eventually translates into a better sound.

I didn't get to do First Base because we ran out of time. That will have to wait for next lesson.

Finally, Sarisha had some good news. She found her new violin. As I understand it she went to Animato and Dietrich was able to hook her up with her new love. I can't wait to see it and hear it, hopefully before the holidays.

Also this week I got tp practice some Christmas carols. I had some music but mostly I've learned by ear. And as I played some to my daughter in her dimly lit room the other night I found I still need, occasionally, to see where to put my fingers.

There's not much time before the next lesson and there is still ever so much to do =)

Violin Lesson #51

Happy anniversary to me!!!!

It has been a year this week since my first violin lesson. I am not playing Mozart yet but I am well on my way :)

I only had five days of practice this week, which is a little disappointing. It's important to maintain a good balance in everything. That means sometimes I have to sacrifice violin time. My lesson this week was earlier, at my request, so I could be home to get the children from the neighbour. I really appreciate the flexibility with the scheduling of my lessons.

I need to keep going with my exercises. They are more important for my progress with pieces. Laura is very strict with them because a) any examiners I play in front of will be strict, and b) I want to learn to play well.

For some reason I am finding it hard to keep the flat of the hair of the bow on the strings. My wrist twists sometimes and produces an effect Laura can hear even when she is not watching me. There is nothing for it but to be aware of it and fix it when I notice it. Laura says things like that happen from time to time and it is not a major concern. This issue is mostly what is holding me back with Wave Machine.

The sticker sheet came out for Medieval Tale. It was one of my best performances of that piece. There were a few times where the bow was "wobbly" and produced an uneven sound, especially on the long notes, but the rest of the song was really good.

On the weekend I played The Old Fiddler Man and Medieval Tale. Both sounded great. I was able to play downstairs and without the mute so I could really go for it. I'm pretty sure the neighbours could hear it too since I could hear them outside. Oddly, after playing Medieval Tale a few times I stopped, and could hear nothing.Apparently they had gone inside. I like to think it had nothing to do with my playing :) Note to self: learn some Serbian tunes (for the neighbours).

I didn't spend much time with Raggle Taggle Hippie. Laura gave me plenty of good advice about it though so I look forward to making a decent amount of progress with it. The best advice was to play each phrase with small bow until I am used to how it feels and learn the fingering, then practice it as I would play it when playing the song - with nice long bows. The advice reminds of this article.

To take the place of Medieval Tale I have a song called First Base. No, not that kind of first base. The baseball kind. It has double stops in it and is in ragtime style. This will be fun.

Two more things - Firstly, Laura has been invited to play in China with an orchestra she played with previously. How cool is that? One of my aims is to play well enough to be asked to join an orchestra, and if possible, tour with an orchestra. I don't know that I would do that full time, but once would be marvelous. Secondly, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra was in Brisbane this week. Laura was fortunate enough to go to the first show. The second show was broadcast on ABC Classic FM. I listened to it at work the next day. Not only did they play beautifully, but they had someone associated with the orchestra talking to the radio host before and after they played. And during the interval they had a fascinating overview of the orchestra. They began in 1888, the same year as Tchaikovsky wrote his Symphony No. 5. I gather this is one of their "signature" pieces. This is one they performed during the broadcast, and what the radio audience could not see was the conductor actually stopped conducting  towards the end of the symphony and the orchestra just kept on going.

Violin Lesson #50

And here it is... the big 5 O. A half-century of lessons :)

The practice sheet is still paying off. It's helping to keep me focussed. Although, sometimes I find I am not playing a piece often enough to keep to the twenty minute target. Something is going to have to give.

The lesson was at 2pm this week. It came at a good time since I had forgotten my glasses at home and by about that time I had a headache. Also, Sarisha was after me and she was bringing in a violin she was considering buying, and it was was okay with her and Laura that I sit in on her lesson. More on that later.

I start off as I often do with the exercises. They are less fun but more important than playing set pieces. The heart beats were pretty good. The sound at the heel of the bow is getting there. I am sure there must be techniques I'll learn later that will make use of that. This week I'll be doing the G-Major arpeggio instead of the scales, just to change things up a bit. The double stops exercise had improved. This week I have been advised to pause slightly on the first line when adjusting from playing two strings to playing one again - it makes a cleaner sound. And I still could not get a good even sound with the whole bow on two strings. At home it's not too bad but I couldn't nail it in class today.

Wave Machine was next. It sounded okay, but apparently I play with the edge of the hair on the bow instead of the flat surface. I just know there is going to be a time I will need to do that and won't be able to get it right. For now though I'll concentrate on doing that, and again, playing with longer bows - that is to say, longer strokes of the bow, not a physically longer bow...

I passed my Heat Haze. The sounds on the G- and D- strings were still a little off for some unknown reason but the rest of it sounded pretty sweet. This song has one-and-a-half beat notes (aka dotted quavers) and I was previously taught to count that as 1 2 and 3 4. Laura suggested using the power of mathematics, so that the first know is a three-count (instead of one and a half) and the half note is now a one count. I found this easier than the first way. Cheers Laura.

This carried over to Medieval Tale. This was good too and Laura suggested improvements, like really leaning in to the most important notes in a phrase to give them a little more oomph. Stuff like that is not written down in the music. It is something that is picked up as you go, and I am really grateful that I have a teacher who is willing to share this extra knowledge and experience. It may not seem like much but it can really make a difference to the way the music sounds.

Then came the new song - an Irish-themed tune called Raggle Taggle Hippie. Do they even have hippies in Ireland? A little while ago I learned to play grace notes (don't make me try to recall the technical term - it's late). Now instead of one grace note there are two and three of them at a time. I had a go and felt like I was getting there. It's much easier to do it on a piano :) This is quite a long song, especially if I honour the repeats. I think it is going to take a while to learn this, and to get it right, but I am sure it will be worth it.

I didn't get to play The Old Fiddler Man since we were out of time. Laura wants to hear me play it amazingly one time to pass me on it. It will have to be next week then.

With my lesson done, Sarisha came in with her violin and the one she was thinking about purchasing. Laura played it first and it sounded great. Sarisha said the asking price was $1,800. Just to compare them, Laura played the same music on Sarisha's current violin. The new violin sounded much better. Sarisha played one of her songs (King William's March I think) with it for a little while. It was hard because there were no "stickers" for the finger positions. Sarisha has been playing about the same length of time as I have and I know that I still check the stickers from time to time. Eventually Laura asked to play with Patience to compare it to the new violin. She played it, and I marvelled as I usually do that Patience can produce such sound. Yes, I know it's not all her, but that sound would not be there without her. Patience sounded nearly as good as Sarisha's new violin. Laura mentioned there were a few things she could hear in the newer violin but I'm not sure what they were. Personally I was happy my $500 (I'll be honest here, I think Patience was almost a steal at that price) violin compared favourably with the violin we were looking at. Eventually it was decided the new violin sounded great but did not suit Sarisha. I felt a little bit bad for her because she didn't end up getting it and had to keep looking, but good at the same time because she is one step closer to her next violin.

After the first song Sarisha played her other piece. It was from an old Indian Movie. I saw the amount of notes on the page and I was stunned. There were a lot of them, you see. And I thought it was amazing. It was so cool to hear something like that. Sarisha had not taken long to learn it, partly because she was so familiar with the piece. She is going home to India and wants to play that for her family. I hope they will like it as much as I did. To finish with, Sarisha was also given Raggle Taggle Hippie. It will be interesting to see how we both go learning that piece. One thing I picked up from Laura going through this with her is that it is okay to leave your finger on two strings if you are going to play them one after the other. I did not notice that so much in this sing, but there are other songs I am working on at home where this will come in handy.

After the lesson Sarisha mentioned that it has never been her intention to become a professional musician so she feels she doesn't need a violin to match. She just wants to be able to play for family and friends. And me? I hope to be able to become good enough to play at the same level as a professional musician. Could I be one? I really don't know. I suppose it depends on where the journey takes me.

I did watch Dancing With The Stars after my lesson. This clip shows Tina Arena and her dance partner Damian Whitewood performing a paso doble. The first time I watched it I found it hard to take my eyes of the violin soloist who provided the music for the dance. She was amazing. I figure if I can play well enough to appear on a TV show like that I would be more than happy. Then I found out who she was. Sally Cooper. I might not ever be better than her, but that doesn't mean I won't try (even if she looks better in that white dress than I would, but that's another story).

Violin Lesson #49

According to the practice diary I managed to practice six out of seven days this week. Having the diary helps to keep me focused and motivated. I won't play for my own pleasure unless I have practiced. In the end I wrote down how many times I had to play each piece of music because I didn't always have a metronome handy.

The funniest violin-related issue happened on Monday night. I was finishing my session when my princess asked to read The Floods to me. She has been reading to me for the last few days. I told her I would sit with her to read when I finished my heartbeat exercise. When I finished I felt a little happier than I did when I started the session, so I started playing Irish Washerwoman. I learned this in my accordion days apparently. The tune was familiar but I don't remember learning it specifically. About half ways through the second run I hear a crescendo... "dad, Dad, DAD, DAD!" I stopped. "That's not heartbeats!". So I stopped and went to her room to listen to her read.

The lesson was at 2pm this week. Laura made time for me because I had a dentist appointment in the afternoon and Laura was busy in the evening. We started with heartbeats. Sometimes this went well at practice and other times not so well. I have to keep going for another week and that's fine with me. I need to make sure I go all the way to the heel of the bow and work on the circular arm motion for a cleaner sound.

My double-stops exercise was a little hit and miss too. When it was a hit it sounded pretty sweet. I need to keep the bow straight and level when I play the two strings at once to get a better sound and to make sure I use the whole bow (all the way to the tip).

The sticker sheet came out for Rowboats. It was not a difficult piece technically, but there was plenty to remember. Laura was impressed that I was able to play it without looking especially giving the changing dynamics. Memorising is not something I deliberately try to do, but after playing a piece for a while it just happens. That, and I focus on what I do when I'm practicing. There is always something to work on.

This means I am able to start a new piece this week. It's called Wave Machine. And again, for an exercise it is a pretty enough piece of music. The wave motion relates to the movement of the arm as it crosses strings. Wave motion is also the type of cannon on Space Cruiser Yamato, but I digress. Having said that, the Japanese have some absolutely kick-arse music for their anime and video games (like Final Fantasy).

The Old Fiddler Man was next. Speed is not an issue but sound quality is. Some parts sound great. Others (especially moving off the G string) still need some work. I think I found during practice that when I was not concentrating so much on the start it sounded better. It might be a case of trying too hard? Laura says this piece should be ready to play at the recital on November 24 (a Sunday) but I'm still not sure if I will go, or if I do go whether the family will come with me.

After that was Heat Haze. My daughter learned to play this on her glockenspiel. It sounds so cute. I think she plays better than I do because I still have things to improve. My third finger was out of tune for some reason and the sound on the G and D strings was a little off at times.

Unfortunately we didn't get to Medieval Tale so that will be one of the first pieces to play next week.

I enjoyed my lesson this week. It came at a good time. It was not my best day so taking a break was quite welcome.

Violin Lesson #48

The practice diary has been working well for me. It has helped me focus on my technical exercises a little more than I have been and it is paying dividends. There were a number of tasks on my list and I didn't spend as much time on some of them as I would have liked.

This week I also learned that the weekend of November 23 and 24 is going to be full of events for violinists. 

1. Undoubtedly the biggest event is the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra playing at QPAC on November 24 and 25. 

2. The Animato International Violin Competition will be held on November 22 to 24. This is open to players 17 and under so I miss the cut-off ... by 30 years :) 

3. Young Scottish duo Ross Couper (fiddle) and Tom Oakes (Flute and guitar) are visiting Australia for the first time and playing on November 23 at 7pm at the Danish Club in Newstead.

4. The Browning Street Studios (where I learn) is having a end-of-year recital on November 24. Details are still sketchy but there may be a chance for me to perform. Even if I don't it would be good to support  my fellow students who do perform.

I was actually planning to be in Sydney that weekend but that has been postponed.

My lesson this week went really well and I think this is largely to do with the practice diary.

But before the lesson, Laura checked my violin tuning and before giving it back let rip with a piece of classical music. Wait a minute. That was Patience? Sounding like that? Cool! What that tells me is that Patience herself is capable of producing such a sound. It also tells me that with enough practice I can get that same sound from the violin. Also, I won't need a new violin for quite a few years (which is great). The piece was called Allegro Brilliante by Willem Ten Have. It's something I can play at Grade Seven level apparently. Never heard of it, but guess what... it's on the list. LOL... did I say a few years? I am thinking at least seven or eight :)

I passed my PC (finger stretching) and PF (whole bow) exercises. This means I now have one more from the list Laura gave me. This is PD (double stops). They sound really cool. It is going to take some time to master but I think I am off to a good start. I didn't get to play the heart-beat exercise this week which was fine by me because I think it needs more work.

The soft dynamics for Rocking Rowboats improved, apparently at the expense of the louder ones. One more week ought to do it, which will give me time to get a good clean sound too.

Heat Haze is one of the songs for the preliminary test. This went fairly well too and I have it for another week. I also recorded a version of this song from a CD to compare my version.

The last practice piece I played was The Old Fiddler Man. The speed was good, the sound was generally good but I was missing the rests. I think this was because of the way I practiced it. I did not make the rests long enough at home. Laura thinks that with a little more effort and polish this could be good to go at the Browning Street Studio recital in three weeks.

There was one more piece. I played Lavender Air for Laura. It is a piece I learned from a piano book I borrowed from Pip. It is a fairly simple piece but sounds very pretty. I think it fits in well with the French and German folk songs I have learned. Laura confirmed, again, that is okay to learn pieces outside what she has set out for me as long as I don't neglect my practice and don't forget what she has taught me about how to play correctly.

I look forward to another wonderful week of practicing and playing

Violin Lesson #47

This was the first week I with the new practice diary. There were many things to do. Some of them I did every day and the others I had to play some on one day and some on another. I learned a few things from this exercise. Firstly I have not been doing the exercises enough. I need to spend more time on them to get basic skills nailed down. Secondly I play the pieces a little too much. It didn't feel I spent enough time with them this week to fit everything in the twenty minute limit.

This week's lesson was at a special time because Laura had rehearsals at QPAC with one of her schools. She kindly made time between rehearsals to meet me at the studio for a lesson. And what a lesson it was because it covered everything in the practice diary.

The whole bow exercise needs more time. It's getting there but I must improve control over the bow to get a smooth sound the whole length of the bow. This means relaxing my hand when playing with the heel of the bow because gripping it means the tension is transferred to the string.

The finger stretching exercise is going well too. I have to get used to using the metronome to make sure the timing is good. I think this week I am going to try using the mute to try and hear the metronome a little more, or I might need to get a metronome app like Laura's. Also, a little more stretching won't hurt.

The heartbeat exercise is tough. The sound must be smooth for each note. I have to lead with my wrist. I have to put weight on the down stroke. I have to make an ellipse or teardrop shape with my elbow. But it's all for a good cause as I learn to use the heel of the bow. I think I will be doing this exercise for a while to come, and even after I have learned how to do it, I will keep it going.

Old Man Fiddler... Laura remembers me wondering how I was ever going to play it fast enough. Well, it's happening. And it's because of practice. I am at the point where I can run the whole song through and focus on getting the transitions between the segments I have been speeding up separately.

Row Boats is sounding good. The softer notes need more work and the string crossing has to be a little cleaner.

For Heat Haze focus is required on dynamics and timing. I can learn the music quickly enough. Getting the dynamics right for this song, and the others, is taking longer.

To finish up, I earned a sticker for Barrier Reef. This was not my finest performance of this piece, but I have reached the point of diminishing returns: spending more time on this song is not going to teach me anything new. I was a little disappointed I did not play it better to finish it off. It's a pretty piece of music - yeah I say that about most of my pieces - and one I will continue to play when I practice repertoire.

To replace Barrier Reef I have Medieval Tale, which is to be played "sadly". This reminds me of a question I saw on a violin forum. How do I play music with feeling? Fortunately for me I have a teacher who helps me with things like this. Sometimes it is hard to put into words. I think it is a question of tempo and dynamics, but there is more to it than that. I wonder how sadly I can play this song?

Apparently Sarisha has "commissioned" an Indian-themed piece from Laura that she can play when she visits her family in a few months time. I would love to hear that. I imagine it would be pretty cool.

Laura also told me the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra are playing in Brisbane. November 24th and 25th. The cheapest tickets are $99 each but for an orchestra of this magnitude, and with the music they are performing, I am sure it would be worth it.

Also that weekend the Browning Street Studio is having a concert. More details as they come to hand but I would either be going or perhaps performing.

Korpiklaani

Tonight Korpiklaani came to Brisbane.

They played at The Zoo, which is in Ann Street Fortitude Valley. The typical assortment of metal music fans were there. I saw plenty of black t-shirts, piercings and tattoos. I was surprised by how many people had Korpiklaani gear before the show. They are obviously more well known than I expected.

We were late getting in. By the time my phone was scanned for my ticket the first band was on. They were Gorefield and consisted of a lead guitar, bass guitar and drums. They were okay. There music was nothing special but I was not expecting a lot. When they were done they cleared the stage for the next act - Lagerstein.

This was special for me. The guy who used to be the lead singer (Dale Williams) used to work with me. He is quite character. I liked him. Some time back Lagerstein had a CD launch at the Hifi bar. I really wanted to go but I had other commitments that night. Many of our fellow employees went and a good time was had by all. I listened to some of their music. They play pirate metal - that is songs inspired by sailing and piracy and the drinking of rum and so on, set to heavy metal music. This was my chance to see what I missed albeit without Dale at the front.

They took a long time to set up. I don't know if that is because they had a lot of equipment or too many props. There are six or seven of them in the band. The sound check seemed to take a long time. I noticed one chap preparing an electric violin. Eventually they were ready, and after a few "Ahoy"s away they went. Now I noticed the lead singers vocal were soft. I could hear most of the other vocals but not his, so either the equipment was stuffed or the sound levels were mucked up. They were having a good time on stage and much of the crowd was getting into it. After about five songs they stopped. There was no wrap-up or thanks for coming. They just stopped at the end of the song. Okay then. As best as I can figure, they took too long to get started and that cut into their set time. If I see them again I hope they will be better organised.

Eventually Korpiklaani hit the stage. They got a great reception. The crowd totally loved them. It's no secret that I was interested mostly in two members: Tuomas Rounakari on the violin and Sami Perttula on the accordion. Tuomas looked like he could have been the fifth member of ABBA with his  all-white outfit, straight blonde hair, moustache and beard. I thought Sami's crest was shorn and shaven but he had this long rat-tail thing going on and a little chin beard. He had his guns out - now either he works out, or it's carrying around and playing the accordion that does it. And it was a newer style of accordion. The one I used to play had a piano-style keyboard for the right hand. This is a new funky one with buttons instead. One of the guitarists reminded me of an old Greek priest with his big grey beard. In fact, he looked like Fil who owns the Paladar Fumior (Cuban cigar and excellent coffee place in South Brisbane) when he grows his beard. Either that or Rasputin fled to Finland instead of dying and it was one of his ancestors. Who knows. The lead singer was great. He was quite the larrikin and his showmanship was first class. In that way he reminded me of Chris Jericho - one of my favourite wrestlers who is also the frontman of Fozzy.

They belted out song after song and the crowd loved every one of them. My first Korpiklaani song was Metsamies and it was the third one they played. They also played, eventually, one of their most popular tracks - Vodka. It was great to see them interact with the crowd. The line-up kept shifting around on stage so the fans were able to get a good look at each of them. Tuomas was fantastic. He kept a good posture the whole time, even with the chaos of the band and the fans around him. And he played beautifully. He's also a pretty good polka dancer :) He had one solo but I could not see much of that because he was sitting down and there were too many taller people in front of me. But he played beautifully. I really want to play like that one day. It looked like so much fun and it sounded awesome. As good as I look in a suit - and trust me, I look good - I would be just as happy to play up on stage with a folk metal band. My options in Brisbane are probably pretty limited but I would settle for playing tunes like that for my own pleasure.

The whole show wrapped up by 11pm, which was good because I had to get two buses back to the car at West End and drive home. And I was smiling all the way home. At the start of the night I decided I would be happy with a fun night out. It was all that and more. Hopefully they will come back soon and I can take other people along. Not Mrs Sage. She would laugh. She thinks the concept of violin + accordion + metal is hilarious. You might too, but I can tell you first hand that it works.

Violin Lesson #46

This week was a little bittersweet for me. This week I returned Tina's violin. Tine loaned it to me when the term of the loan violin I started with expired. I used it until I bought Patience. Before returning the violin I had it serviced at Animato. They were very good. I told them I was returning the violin, and that the lady who loaned it to me played it at my wedding.So thank-you Tina for the loan. It has helped me get where I am today. I played for Tina when she came to collect her violin. She said I had learned a lot in the eleven months I have been playing. And for that I thank Laura.

The first order of business for the lesson was the practice diary and the 40-hour challenge. This is actually a good idea because I don't actually know how long I practice. I almost never have a watch or other time-device with me when I practice. I stop when I have finished what I plan to play, or when I get called by a family member. The practice diary also helps me focus on what I have to do for the week, and there is quite a bit. Limiting myself to twenty minutes a day five days a week will be tough.

My G-Major arpeggio needs a little more work and so does the finger push-up exercise. I need to be able to stretch my fingers a little more.

This week I learned to play with the heel of the bow. Many violinists don't like to play with that part of the bow because it can often make a rasping noise. If you play quickly enough and with some control, the rasping noise goes away. I don't understand why a student would not learn to use the whole bow. Speaking of whole bow, this week I failed to practice the whole-bow exercise. It's simple enough so this week I will give it a good shot, especially with what I learned about playing with the heel.

My new piece went okay considering I really only started them on Sunday. Rocking Rowboats was good. I need to watch the dynamics, and make them more distinct. Also, when playing slow one has to use very little bow as well as less pressure. With Heat Haze I can get the correct notes and the timing was good but the sound quality needs work.

I finished off with The Old Fiddler Man. We got the piece to 106 bpm (according to Laura's metronome app). I don't give the starting note enough crunch. I think part of the reason for that is I feel I can't shift to the next string quick enough so I will focus on that this week.

I was going to play through Barrier Reef, but that is a long slow song and time was already up. In any case, Laura did not want to run over time because she is conducting tonight, and I was going back to work to prepare for Korpiklaani.

Violin Lesson #45

If it is true that time flies when you are having fun then that would explain why my lessons seem to be over before they start :)

This week the lesson went really well despite what I felt was a lack of practice. Work is still very hectic so I am not even getting the time in the park as much as I did before. Still, it is a matter of priorities, so I do my practice when I can, and try to focus on what I have to do when I actually get time.

I started off with scales and arpeggios. My scales were good. I can now play D-, A- and G-Major scales competently. I still need to work on my G-Major arpeggio. I can't seem to get that consistently (unless you count the times I do it outside of class). I am sure a little more practice will take care of it. My finger push-up exercises still need some more work too.

Today I learned about playing with the whole bow. There are wrist adjustments to be made when playing at the frog end of the bow (where I hold the bow, essentially). This is definitely something that is going to take a fair amount of practice.

I scored an owl sticker for Space Walk! I try hard with that piece because I do like playing on the E string. This was not perfect mind you, but close to it and I will keep playing it when I get time. Now I can move on to Rocking Rowboats from the same book.

I played the French folk song and German folk song. I played the French one with a little flair and not strictly as the music was written. There's nothing wrong with that... at the appropriate time. When I am playing for myself or others, it's okay. If I do that during an exam (and I do plan to take exams) then they will deduct marks. In my defense it did sound pretty good :) The German song was okay except for the timing. Some parts were faster than others. When I slowed down a little and kept to a single temp it sounded a lot better and was a little easier to play. To replace those pieces I have been given Heat Haze. This is one of the pieces Sarisha was playing when I sat in on her lesson. It's a rather pretty piece of music.

And that's about it. There is plenty to keep me occupied, which is just the way I like it.

Oh, and on the way out I borrowed the ABRSM syllabus, just to see what was expected.

Violin Lessons #43,#44

It has been quite a while since I posted about two lessons in the one blog. This time I blame the family trip to Sydney for my daughter to go and see One Direction. I meant to write a post about the holiday but I have been too slack.

My daughter came with me to lesson #43. I was on leave that Tuesday but I made time to come in to the studio. My G-Major scale and arpeggio is improving and I am making good progress with the pieces I am working on. I should just tattoo "more bow" on the back of my right hand because that is what I need to get better sound. I was happy to hear I am getting better because there will be precious little violin time between this lesson and the next.

A brief note about the holiday (in case I don't post a separate entry)

We flew to Sydney on Thursday. That day we went to Madame Tussaud's and the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium (the attractions are very close to each other). On Friday we went to Wild Life Sydney and took the Manly ferry to Manly Sea Life Sanctuary. Saturday we had time for the Sydney Tower Eye in the morning. This was also the day of the Fleet Review so there was plenty going on in the harbour. We even saw Prince Harry's motorcade drive by us. In the afternoon we went out to Olympic Park for the One Direction concert at Allphones Arena. We didn't get back to the hotel until a quarter after midnight. Sunday was our last day. We spent the morning on a harbour cruise to get a good look at the war ships and tall ships. After that we went back to the airport to discover our flight was 50 minutes late. Then I drove back home from the Gold Coast in time to watch the Dami Factor and the end of the NRL grand final.

My lesson today was very relaxing given the busy day I had at work. It really is so good to be able to have something like this, or playing in the park, to improve my day. Even before I started I was enjoying myself. Ava was playing Shark Attack and she sounded very good.

Today I started with Space Walk before moving on to The Old Fiddler Man. I get so many helpful tips about playing music. Last week Laura told me how to fade out a note. This week there was instructions on how to play notes very softly, how to play "French" (light and airy) and how to play "German" (strong and loud). I am starting to think that, on top of learning the basic skills and practicing scales and other exercises, it will be tips like these that will help me stand out from other violinists.

I finished up with Barrier Reef which I played for the first time. There is something I like more than earning stickers, and that is to hear Laura play accompaniment on the violin (even if I do have to concentrate a little harder on what I am doing - not because I can't play while Laura plays, but because I want to listen to what she plays as well as what I am playing).

To sum up, I need more work on my main pieces as well as some more time with the scales and a little bit of the "repertoire" pieces. Did I mention yet how much fun I am having?
:)

Sydney Trip Day 1

Thursday

We left home early after feeding the menagerie to drive to the Gold Coast. It was a lot cheaper (and as it turns out easier in the long run) to drive to the Gold Coast airport and fly Jetstar to Sydney.Even paying for parking and petrol we still came out ahead.

From Sydney airport we took the train to Wynyard Station. We stayed at The Menzies which is right across the road from the station. The train was cheaper for four of us than a taxi and a lot easier to deal with. The Menzies is also within walking distance to most things we wanted to do, and for the rest we had easy rail access. The Menzies is not the flashiest hotel, and the four of us in a single room tried even my patience at times, but it was still worth it. Given that this weekend there was the Fleet Review AND One Direction AND the NRL grand final AND the Labour Day long week-end AND the last week of school holidays, we were happy to get any room.

It was raining when we left the hotel and we did not yet have our bearings so we took a cab. The driver did not know where Madam Tussaud's was but he did know Darling Harbour. However, where he dropped us off was the opposite end of Pyrmont Bridge to the attractions we wanted. We eventually got to the wax museum to pick up our passes for the various attractions we had pre-booked.

The wax museum was awesome. It was very busy so there was a lot of hustle and bustle and you had to be quick to get your photos. My kids were great with the ipad and ipod and iphone. I had pictures taken with the Dalai Lama, Albert Einstein, Bert Newton and Bruce Willis. The kids went nuts and took photos with heaps of the figures. I was slightly disappointed there were no violinists or classical composers. But they did have Oprah...

The SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium was close by so we visited that next. Our family loves any attraction with animals (except the circuses that still exploit them - don't get me started). We had heapsof fun walking around all of the displays. I was curious to know if they had sun fish or barracudas but I didn't get to ask anyone. Sharks are amazing animals and so are the dugongs. I think they were my favourite during the walk through the underwater tunnel. They made great use of the space they had. We felt like we were walking around for ages. After we had enough we walked back to the hotel since we now knew where we were.

Today was our anniversary. Twenty years of marriage. Huzzah! We thought we would treat ourselves to room service. That was not the best idea. Two of the four meals had something "wrong" with them. My wife ordered a cheese and salami panini but without the salami - it came without the salami but it did come with mustard. My son ordered fish and chips and ended up with fish and salad. My daughter had the safe bet of chicken nuggets and chips while I ordered and enjoyed a barley risotto with root vegetables. To console herself my wife had a packet of nuts from the mini-bar :)

It had been a long day so we settled down to bed. Four of us in two double-beds in the one room. My daughter likes her own room because she can't hear anyone snoring or making noises. Unfortunately she had to put up with her brother and father in the same room, and both of them can be noisy at night. Fortunately I fell asleep quite quickly but was kept awake much of the night as m wife tried to get my daughter to go to sleep. Suffice it to say it was not the best night's sleep after a very long and active day.

Violin Lesson #42

This week was busy again at work since two thirds of my team was away. It's times like that where I appreciate (a) my lessons and (b) playing in the park. I can't get away as often as I would like to go to the park but I always try and find the time.

My lesson was at 330 this week. We started off with scales. My G-Major scale is getting better as is the arpeggio. I wonder how many scales there are exactly. The short answer is many scales. Many many scales (according to Google). I'm happy just to take one or two at a time and see how I go. Scales are good because you can practice so much without having to worry "what note comes next". You know the next note so you can focus on many other aspects of playing. I also happened across an article that suggested playing the scales from top-to-bottom-to-top, which is the opposite way they are typically taught. And I found out why I was taught the D-Major and A-Major (and G-Major) scales, which have two, three and one sharp respectively, before the C-Major scale, which has no sharps. Laura is good like that. I can ask those types of questions and Laura will always take the time to answer instead of fobbing me off or telling me not to worry about it.

I did ask during the week about fiddling, to which Laura replied "as long as it doesn't affect your setup". Today I asked what that meant, and Laura explained that many fiddlers have little or no formal training in how to hold or play their instrument. Laura takes great care to make sure I play Patience to the best of my abilities and that I learn how to get better and better. So it's fine to fiddle as long as I remember what I have been taught and don't sacrifice any of that for the sake of learning a cool song. I will be able to play that music just as well, or better, than someone with no formal training at all.

I need to practice the finger push-up exercise a little more too. It will help to develop finger strength and dexterity and if I aim to play some of the pieces on my wish list, I am going to need plenty of both.

I was allowed to pick and choose my pieces today. I earned stamps for "Space Station" and "Shark Attack" this week. My "Shark Attack" was a little sloppy and my dynamics were not spot on but I have passed those pieces. Playing them in the park paid off =)

After all that I barely had time to run through "The Old Fiddler Man". I do believe that I was concentrating so much on playing it right that I was forgetting to play it with fun. Oh dear. I have said at least a few times before that I don't want to play something technically perfect if at the expense of having fun with it, Playing the correct notes is important, but it is just as important to play with fun and spirit. Getting this piece to 150 on the metronome is going to be challenge, yes, but I'll do my best to make it fun as well.

Just as I finished, Laura presented me with four pieces to "bulk out my repertoire". There was Old McDonald and Baa Baa Black Sheep as well as a very pretty French tune and a lively little German tune. I have been working on playing other songs. Some of them are by ear and are tunes that have been rattling around in my head since I learned the accordion. I also have access to some piano books that belong to my daughter or to my wife's sister. And there is a big collection of music from Tina - the lady who owns the violin I was using before Patience. She learned all the way through high school so some of those pieces are too much for me at the moment.

And that was it as far as the lesson went.

In the evening we visited some friends of ours (a couple with three children). Apparently all of the kids had learned cello at some stage, and at least one of them played the violin. They don't play at the moment so I scored some more music books. One of them is the book that has the Sea Suite in it ("Shark Attack" and "Barrier Reef"). The husband is trying to teach himself bouzouki, so hopefully there will be a time where we can play some Greek music together.

Violin Lesson #41

This week has been very busy. With two of my three team members away and lots of important things happening, work has been flat out. I think I have practiced more in Musgrave Park than at home this week.

I have come to the conclusion that practice is only practice when you don't enjoy it. What is it when you do enjoy it? It's fun =) I don't time my sessions. I like to play my scales and exercises first then play through each piece at least five times. Other people at home time my sessions (or what they think are my sessions). And I get comments like "hurry up so you can finish your practice and get it over with". You see, that just does not make sense to me.

My lesson today was at 5pm because Laura had a cancellation and I am usually the first student of the day. While I was waiting Sarisha turned up and we talked about which songs we were playing and our violins. When Laura came to call me for my lesson, she suggested Sarisha and I sit in on each others lesson. Sarisha has sat in on my lesson before but this would be the first time for me.

Laura had a new home-made contraption. It was a loop of velcro (that first around the violin). Attached to the velcro is a thin plastic tube. The tube is perpendicular to the neck of the violin. Then Laura gave me a length of dowel that was just wide enough to fit through the plastic tube and as long as a bow. I can hold the dowel with a bow grip and slide the dowel through the tube. The idea of this setup is to show me how it feels to play a straight bow. It was really interesting I was getting stuck quite frequently. I think I am more likely to play with a straight bow when I don't think about it.

Next was my G Major scale. Laura reinforced how important scales are. Progress is almost impossible without them. As I was playing my scale I felt something was not quite right. I couldn't get my bow grip right. Something felt out of place. Not only that, the sound was different too. Eventually Laura told me I was using her bow! I told her I though something was wrong. No, not wrong. Different =) Laura's bow cost about ten times as much as my violin. What I learned just then was that I have been playing long enough to know the sound of my violin. With my bow in hand, I kept going. I need to remember to keep the beat even when I am playing scales. And I am playing my arpeggio too quickly. I need to slow down to get my fingers in position for the next note.

I earned the only sticker of the lesson for my noisy minah song. It is a string-crossing exercise. Laura was most impressed with my timing. It sounded like I had been practicing with a metronome but I had not. I did enjoy practicing this exercise.

The rest of the lesson was taken up with The Old Fiddler Man. I don't think I have played more than the first part of the song for Laura. What I need to do is use more bow, especially on the E and A strings. I am sure I have heard this before. Obviously I need to focus more on using the bow for this song. I would love it next week if I could play the whole song through and get a sticker.

I still have a few more pieces waiting to be played: Rockets To The Rescue and Space Walk (a new song from last week which I had barely played) as well as Shark Attack and Barrier Reef. As a reward for my sticker I get to teach myself  the push up exercises: high and low placement of second and third fingers. We'll see what next week brings.

After a quick SMS home and a short prayer that  someone would still be at work when I returned, it was Sarisha's turn to play and mine to watch. Sarisha had a turn with the dowel. She did better than I did. And to show that it could be done flawlessly, Laura gave us a demonstration..

Sarisha plays very well. She was playing this absolutely gorgeous tune with Laura accompanying her on the piano. The middle third of the song requires Sarisha to bounce the bow to play the notes, and in a rhythm different to what Laura was playing. I don't know if I will get to play that same piece but I hope to get to play one like it. And Sarisha played some of her scales as well as the noisy minah exercise.

Laura said Sarisha and I were both about the same level and that each of us had different strengths and weaknesses.  For Laura as a teacher this is great because she gets to teach us differently. During this combined class Laura told us she wanted us to be her two best fiddlers. Now I quote from Laura's entry for the Browning Street Studio -- "Some of her former students have gone on to become professional musicians themselves". So for me to be one of her two best fiddlers I have my work cut out for me =)

I was wondering later, if Sarisha and I have different strengths, does that mean we would be more compatible or less compatible in a group? Off the top of my head I don't know if it is that common to see two violins together, or certainly, not as common as a string quartet.

And as we were leaving Laura was relating how hard it can sometimes be to travel on an aircraft with a violin. I am pretty sure the violin case is bigger than what is usually allowed for carry-on luggage, though I am sure it is possible to carry the violin with you. In the case where the airline won't allow you to carry it on, Laura suggests packing socks and undergarments inside the violin case for extra padding and protection. One thing I will miss when I go to Sydney will be playing my violin.

During Sarisha's piece Laura wanted to start from bar 11 but Sarisha asked if they could start from bar 12. Laura quipped "Sure, I take requests". In that case, I request the following when I am good enough:
Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody.

To sum up, I enjoyed my lesson (or lessons) today, as I have done every time. I have learned a little and laughed a little.What more can I want from my violin lesson?

Violin Lesson #40

OMG... The big four-oh! I can't believe it has come around to the 40th lesson already. But we all know time flies when you're having fun, and I certainly am having that.

This week I had a different kind of lesson when I saw Laura playing two pieces in Marimba Galaxy. That was fantastic. I won't go on about it again =) I will just wait patiently until another performance happens.

The lesson started off with the G Major scale. Laura pointed out the all scales, arpeggios and other exercises should be played musically. It does make a difference to dry boring repetition. If you are going to play these every day - and I think you must to improve - then you may as well make the most of it. After all, you never know where a scale is going to end up. I don't remember where I saw it now, but on a YouTube video I was watching of Heifetz, the piece he was playing ended with an ascending scale. One of the posters made a point of that saying something like "even a simple scale can be made to sound awesome". I will try and remember to find it the next time I get a chance. The arpeggio is going good but I need to take it slower which will allow more time for my fingers to get into position.

I scored two stickers today. Yay! The first was for Operation Space Station. I was finally able to get all of the bits and pieces sounding good at the same time, and in front of the teacher too =) This is the second piece from Super Studies For Violin.

The next sticker was for an exercise I had been practicing at home but had not yet played in class. Today was the day. This involved playing harmonics. I think I have described these before. It is a way of playing an octave higher by lightly touching the string closer to the bridge than your hand usually is. I really like the sounds of the harmonics. Oh, and I was awarded a tick for the left arm swing exercise. It involves moving the left arm (the one that holds the violin) so I can pluck the strings with my left fingers, specifically the fourth aka the pinky.

I played The Old Fiddler Man. It is getting there too. I think perhaps this needs to be taken a little slower to make sure I am doing everything correctly. I can always speed it up a little later.

And that's about all we had time for. I still have the two sea suite pieces (Shark Attack and Barrier Reef) to practice as well as The Old Fiddler Man as well as the Noisy Minah string crossing exercise. I knew time was up because Ava knocked on the door. She is a young girl, about four or five, and at the moment she is playing Home Sweet Home. I finished that song a little while ago. She is so cute. And almost as cute was her 1/16 size violin and bow. Together they are adorable. And she is so shy that she did not want to play in front of me (the big bald head is so intimidating don't you know =)).

There were two more violin-related issues I'll touch on quickly before I go.

The first is the Brisbane Celtic Fiddle Club. I sent an email to Emma Nixon who said I, and my teacher if she wants to, are welcome to turn up at one of their functions. They meet twice a month at Simply For Strings and learn songs by ear. They would be old Irish, Scottish and English songs and folk tunes. They then get to perform at places like the State Library, the Children's Hospital and the Neurum Creek Music Festival. That all sounds great.

What also sounds great to me, though I am sure is not everyone's cup of tea is Korpiklaani, They are described as Finland’s alcohol fueled folk metal sextet. One of the things I have been searching for lately is the use of violin in heavy metal (I went through a heavy metal phase in my younger years and come back to it now and then). What I found was folk metal and symphonic metal. These guys belong to the former genre. Not only do they feature violin, but they have accordion as well. I learned the accordion when I was much younger - it sowed the seed of my interest in music. Oh, and I mention them specifically because they are playing in Brisbane. And since this is close to my birthday I just may treat myself =)

What I think would be sweet would be to perform a program of Bach and Mozart with an orchestra in the afternoon, then play some folk metal in the evening. Is there a good reason I can't do both?

2013 Beaudesert Show

It was a long day but it was certainly worth it...

Our son entered four of our seven chickens into different categories for the Beaudesert Show. So at ten to seven this morning we packed up the chickens and the family and drove the three quarters of an hour to the show.

When we arrived we were lucky enough to be allowed to drive the car into the grounds to drop off the chickens. We were showing the following:

Jellybean the black Australorp for prettiest female
Squeebles the black Silkie for friendliest female
Lucky Muffin the Rhode Island Red for best dressed (in chook clothes) female
Sookie the Light Sussex for fattest female

Squeebles won second place, Lucky Muffin (dressed as a cheerleader) won first place and Sookie won second place. All in all we won $8 which covered the entrance fee. We were looking forward to the experience because we had never done anything like this before. In the car my wife and I could not imagine our parents doing this for us when we were thirteen - well, maybe my mother might have taken me.

There was plenty happening so we walked around a lot. I looked at all the places that were selling coffee before deciding on the one I thought most likely to sell good coffee (or least likely to sell bad coffee). There was a mostly purple sign declaring this coffee had won some kind of award or other in 2011. Can you tell how much I liked it by how many details I remember? :) Google is helping but is slow at the moment. I looked at the menu and noticed he had a picture of owls each of which depicted the level of caffeine. They ranged from decaf to double espresso (with the cutest big eyes). No, I didn't take a picture - sorry. I asked the guy for a double espresso and he raised his eyebrows. Then he asked if I wanted to try his signature dink. It is called Aloysius - triple shot with Irish Creme flavour. I only hesitated briefly before saying yes. And it was really good (especially since it was only $4.50). The coffee itself (I believe it may have been Silipos but I am not 100% sure) was very smooth and the Irish Creme flavour took the edge off. I loved it.

We also bought home two types of honey: one macadamia and one tea tree. I didn't sample either but my wife like the macadamia honey and I took a punt on the tea tree. In the same pavilion was Springdell Fruit Wines. We have bought from them before. When my uncle got married we ordered a personalised bottle of fortified wine. We tasted their fortified win again and we almost bought a bottle of jabuticaba wine. Fortunately they sell online so we might still be able to buy some later.

I took the princess to see Robinson Family Circus. I was in two minds about it since they featured Darth Vader - a miniature horse - and as a general rules we don't like animals in circuses. They did have one gentleman with a great sense of balance and a lady who performed a curtain climbing act.

While we were walking about my daughter met one of her school friends who was showing her miniature horse called Chief. While we watched she won a first place ribbon for one hurdle course, then the poor girl stumbled on a hurdle in the second course.

Lunch I remember a little better. It was yakisoba with cheese ($9) from Teppanyaki Noodles. The lady serving me asked if I wanted "no meat" and I confirmed that was right. Did they not sell many of that item? Did I look like I wanted or needed meat? It took a little while to cook but it was well worth waiting for.

We stopped at the wood chopping before heading back to the chickens for the announcements in the afternoon. One poor man struck a knot in his piece of wood and had to stop since it jarred his wrist. They had a staggered start but it didn't seem to matter since the man who won started over thirty seconds after the first gentleman. As it happens his wrist recovered enough for him to participate in the two-person sawing contest later.

Obligatory violin observation: every now and then I heard a tune and thought to myself "that would sound cool on a violin". One such song was Love Story (Where Do I Begin) and another was Cotton Eye Joe. I think working a show like that as a roving entertainer would be good fun. At the very least, I would be enjoying myself.

The coffee I had in the morning was so good that I went back for another in the afternoon. I don't need any more coffee today. The lady who made the coffee remembered me. I guess they don't sell many of those signature drinks :)

It was a very long day but lots of fun and lots of new experiences.

Marimba Galaxy

This concert was on Wednesday, September 4, 2013 at 7pm in the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University Ian Hanger Recital Hall.

This is a marimba showcase of different colours mixing with violin, cello, flute and clarinet. The title came from the image of having a marimba in the center as the sun surrounded by other instruments in the universe.

The astronomer in me thinks this is more a solar system and less a galaxy but I understand the metaphor. In any case, it was a wonderful presentation.

My daughter and I arrived early. We were waiting outside the hall when we were joined by Sarisha and a friend of hers (whose name escapes me but she wants to learn guitar). Sarisha is another student of Laura's. I believe Laura told all her students about this recital but Sarisha is the only other student I recognized. It may be no surprise since many of Laura's students are young children.

The performers were Nozomi Omote on the marimba, Laura Thomson on violin, Nick Hamsen on clarinet, Dan Curro on cello and Hayley Radke on flute.

Nozomi appeared to be either very nervous or very shy but she was so endearing. She even went to the trouble to find galaxy pants for the occasion :) She also asked each of the performers to do some of the presentation of each work.

First up Nozomi was accompanied by Laura for "Legal Highs" (in three parts) by David P Jones. The three sections were Mr. Coffee, Menthology and Sweet Thing. Being a violin student I really wanted to focus on Laura (who is also my teacher). It's the first time I have seen Laura perform live. She was great. I saw some techniques I knew already and quite a few I am yet to learn. That was exciting to me because I have lots to learn and I am going to enjoy every minute of it. I said I wanted to focus on Laura but it was hard not to watch Nozomi (until I remembered Nozomi would be playing the whole time). This is a modern piece, so as far as the violin is concerned, there are more techniques and sounds used than you might normally see in a classical piece. In fact, all of the music tonight was from 1987 and afterwards.

Next was Dan and together he and Nozomi played "Mariel" by Osvaldo Golijov. Dan seems to be a bit of a clown judging by how he introduced this piece. Apparently the composer wrote notes such as "play like an asteroid gliding through space". According to the composer the piece is meant to capture the short instant before grief when you learn of the sudden death of a dear friend. Looking back I can see where that came into the music, but at the time the asteroid metaphor seemed very appropriate. I think I am developing a crush on the cello and double bass. Not the cellist (who I will say had a magnificent bald head but I digress). I love the tones those instruments can produce, such as in this clip. One thing I remember is that when they finished I was holding my breath. It was amazing.

Hayley "sucked it up" and introduced "Kembang Suling" by Gareth Farr. This Asian-influenced piece was very pretty too. I will admit the flute is not my favourite instrument so for this performance I was really able to focus on Nozomi and how she played. Even when she was playing calmer slower music, she looked like she was ready to leap from one end of the marimba to the other. It is quite a large instrument too and she moved about it very gracefully.

Laura was back with the final piece for the evening with Nick. This was "And Legions Will Rise" by Kevin Puts. As the composer puts it, this music was a showpiece for a remarkable marimbist and eventually became equally virtuosic for all three parts. The inspiration for the work is the indomitable power of the human spirit to transcend in times of crisis. It started off slowly but definitely finished with a rush. By this time I was looking equally at the violin and the marimba. It was as fascinating to watch as it was to hear. The rest of the audience loved it as much as I did and the three of them came back twice for bows.

All of the performers came back for a final bow and Nozomi made a little thank-you speech. My daughter and I really enjoyed the show. Everyone played splendidly and the music selection was great too. My daughter plays percussion at school and she was paying close attention to Nozomi. I was so happy I was able to bring her along with me.

As we were leaving Sarisha said "maybe we can play like that one day". That's certainly my plan at this point. I've said before I don't want to be "like" anyone. I just want to be the best violinist that I can be.Tonight showed me how much more the violin can give than what I know so far. Finding out just how I can do that is going to be very exciting for me.

Violin Lesson #39

It was a good week this week. It started with the instrumental evening at my daughter's primary school. They all rocked it and it was heartening to see so many children learning music. It restores a little of my faith in the future after hearing about the story of a dwarf set on fire as a prank.

Friday was good too as I took the time to bring Patience to work and actually took her to Musgrave Park (not far from work) and played out in the open. It's not the first time I've done this and I really enjoy it. I hope to be able to make it a regular event but that depends on whether I can accrue enough time at work to be able to get away from my desk.

Then there was Fathers Day. One of my gifts was a music stand. I appreciate my family supporting me learning the violin. I previously stood my music up on a shelf. This music stand is very handy, as it actually folds up into a carry case. I also found out that the primary school is apparently short on music stands. If this is the case then we will buy some for the students. It is a small way of helping them  out in something I think is very important.

My lesson this week was at 3pm and I almost missed out. Chris (the photographer) was called away by his heavily pregnant partner and he had to hand over some work before he left. This was at 245, so I was rushing to get to my lesson. I don't like to rush, but I made it on time. Laura tuned my violin (I usually do it before the lesson but I rushed today) and played a sweet little tune. It's great because I know the violin is capable of more beautiful music than I can play so far, and it is up to me to discover how to do it - I look forward to that.

The lesson started with Operation Space Station. It's still close but not worthy of a sticker. I need to work on moving my hand back to first position, after playing harmonics, and especially getting the thumb right. When the thumb is right the other fingers will be ready to play. And I need to use more bow for the louder dynamics. One of the differences between my violin and Laura's is that mine can will less pressure on the higher string than Laura's so I need to use more bow to compensate. And when I do, it sounds fantastic.

Laura was going to start me on Rockets To The Rescue. The thing was that I have been learning the piece this week :) It was better than Operation Space Station. My issue with this music is tempo. I started off with one speed then accelerated during my crescendo. I need to pick one tempo and stick to it. Part of my preparation should be to count myself in to help me keep to the one tempo.

After this was the G Major scale again. This is where I got a "professional tip". I should not play a few test notes before I start. I should instead tap the strings where my fingers will go to make sure they are in the right place. Doing this allows me to launch into the piece straight away. Handy. Also, I need to practice moving my second finger, so it can easily move from next-to-first to next-to-third. Yes, this will come easier to younger students but it is certainly not impossible for me.

We finished up with The Old Fiddler Man. This wasn't too bad considering I have only been playing this for a week. I was playing some of the song the way I played Rocking It Bunny Style. Now that I have that out of my system I will be much better next week. This is another song where I need more bow. Eventually it will sink in that more bow is almost always a good thing.

Thus endeth the lesson, which leads me to change the way I practice. I think I will do the songs I was playing for this lesson plus one more (as well as scales and arpeggios). That way if I have a blinder like Fui Fui Moi Moi did last night when Parramatta beat St George I will have something else prepared to play. It was a little like that with Rockets To The Rescue, and I already have Shark Attack (again almost complete) and Barrier Reef to prepare.

That also leads on to the quality of practice. Part of me wants to practice what I have been taught, and I do, while another part of me wants to learn new songs. One evening I had great fun with my daughter going through a Disney song book and picking songs to play. My sight reading and transposing skills must be okay since I don't find it too hard to read a song in C Major and play it in D Major (yay for having learned the accordion as a child). I figure I should not feel guilty playing around as long as (a) it is not at the expense of my practice and (b) I play correctly with the good habits I have been taught.

Sunnybank Hills State School Instrumental Evening 2013

This is mostly so I can have a permanent record of the event. No doubt the program I brought home will be lost some time soon.

This concert was on at Princess Sage's primary school. She plays percussion and tonight she was part of two different groups.

We'll start, as tradition dictates, with the the beginning.

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The first group to perform were River Of Strings. They are Grade 3 students who are starting out in the string music program. The idea is that students who start here progress all the way through to senior strings (in Grade 7, or soon-to-be Grade 6 when Grade 7 becomes part of high school). This means they play their string instrument for four or five years as part of their primary school education. Tonight they played four pieces, as follows:

Over The Rainbow (from Wizard Of Oz) by Harold Arlan
Minuet by Bach
Swallow Suite by Peter Davey
Mama Mia by ABBA

They looked so cute when they came out, especially with the 1/4 and 2/4 sized violins. There was a remarkable range in the appearance of the violins. I will confess to a moment of yearning for Patience at this point. The children played very well (though at times I wanted the conductor to go a little faster). They have only been learning since February so I was very impressed. At home I have been trying to learn Over The Rainbow. I can get the first few lines but I don't know the song well enough to get more, and as my sister-in-law Pip reminds me, it opens with a perfect eighth interval. If these youngsters can learn Bach's Minuet, then I can too so at some point soon I will track down the music for it.

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Next was the Concert Band. This was the first ensemble featuring my daughter. The played

Strike Force by Michael Sweeney
Beethoven's Ninth arranged by Paul Lavender
Royal March by Robert Sheldon

These guys were awesome too. I had heard my daughter playing some of this at home on the glockenspiel but it was quite something else to hear the whole performance.

In Strike Force she played glockenspiel, the bass drum in Beethoven's Ninth and snare drum in Royal March.

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The String Orchestra was next with their three pieces

Headin' West by Stephen Chin
Wooden Shoe Dance by Stephen Chin
Kookaburra by Keith Sharp

The first piece was in two movements. Despite the announcer telling us to hold our applause until the end of the second movement... you guessed it... there was copious clapping after the first. What can yo do? It was interesting to hear Kookaburra, because I played part of it for my violin teacher Laura some months ago. In the time since then, I have learned to play it better and with more confidence. I enjoyed the way the orchestra played, and once again I really loved the double bass.

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Following them was the Wind Ensemble. My daughter was playing with them as well.They performed

Royal Fireworks by George Frederic Handel
As Twilight Falls by Robert Sheldon
Dance Of The Tumblers by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

My daughter was very nervous about Royal Fireworks because it was her least favourite piece. I didn't hear any mistakes but she must have thought she made one judging by a grimace on her face at one point. I was very proud of her. She pushed through and kept going. The announcer told us in a competition last year this group received a Platinum medal. The school was, justifiably, very proud of them. I believe there is another competition later this year. It would be unreal for them to get another Platinum medal while my daughter was playing with them.

In Royal Fireworks she played glockenspiel, the bass drum in Twilight Falls (with a sweet bass drum roll) and timpani in Dance Of The Tumblers.

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After this was the Senior Strings with

Scottish Dances by N. Oostenbroek
Rooster Rag by Stephen Chin
Caulderon by Keith Sharp

This group was made up of Grade 7 students. They had started in Grade 3 like River Of Strings so it was a great chance to see just how far the beginning students could go in that time. They were excellent. The pieces were contrasting so they could show off more of what they had learned. The other interesting point is that all three of the composers are from Brisbane (or are in Brisbane now as some research shows). I think my favourite piece of the night was Caulderon. I wonder if I can get the music from one of the students and eventually learn to play it. Actually, one of the cellists - Jodie Leung - is the daughter of a man I worked with two jobs ago. I caught up with him afterwards. He told me it took a little while for Jodie to get a good sound from the cello but it has been great since then.

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The final group to perform were Symphonic Wind who played

Chant And Ceremony but Mark Williams
Misterioso by Steve Hodges
Muskoka Landing by Mark Williams

Again these were three contrasting pieces and were performed beautifully by the children.

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After tonight I must say the school has an excellent music program. The teachers work really hard with the children and thanked the parents for their support and for getting the children to school and performances as required. There are three ladies who come to the school to help out. They are Penny Williams, Helen Lowe and Robyn Forshaw. My wife spoke to the lady who deals with percussion and she told us our daughter is doing very well. Princess Sage was nervous to start with but had the best fun performing with her friends. She is looking  forward to the competition later in the year. But for now she is looking forward to seeing Marimba Galaxy with her father. This time next week I will be posting about that.

Violin Lesson #38

I wonder when I should stop counting my lessons...

There were two violin moments this week: one high, one low.

The low moment was missing out on Lindsey Stirling tickets. You don't know who she is? I'll forgive you if click the link and check her out. She is a very talented entertainer who plays the violin. With dub step. And dancing. And costumes (and she's cute). I only hope she comes back to Australia soon, with more notice, and at a bigger venue than Brisbane Powerhouse. Somewhere like QPAC would be great. When I did ring to check if her show was sold out, the lovely lady at the box office confirmed it, and implied her show was very popular and sold quickly. I was almost ready to go to the Powerhouse and play out the front with a sign that said "Will play and pay for Lndsey Stirling ticket". Next time I'll go for sure.

The high moment was playing on the primary school oval with Patience when I took my children out on Sunday afternoon. It felt different playing outside, and it certainly sounded a little different to me. But it was great fun. There were people around but none seemed to pay too much attention, which was fine. Part way through playing Ode To Joy I saw this young child had come close to me to listen. When I finished we said hello to each other. Then he said "I know that. That's ''Ode To Joy''". Then he want back to his father and brother and walked off. Firstly I thought it was cool that he took the time to stop (and was allowed to by his father). Secondly I thought it was cooler that he knew Ode To Joy, and cooler still that he called it by that name instead of "that Beethoven song" or something else. So Laura has given me the skills and the confidence to be able to learn some music and to play it well. Thank-you. Incidentally, this is the first piece of classical music I have learned to play since I started learning =)

I started practice with the G Major scale. I can play it okay, and apparently better down than up, but my fingering still needs work. Laura showed me an exercise to strengthen my second (aka middle) finger so hopefully next week it will be even better. This week I also played the arpeggios for the three scales I have learned so far. Laura  mentioned again the importance of scales. They are almost necessary to make progress with violin studies. Scales (and arpeggios and other exercises) often have the stigma of being boring or dreary. I find that I enjoy them and they can be somewhat soothing or meditative. Laura says scales are great for getting into the right head-space before playing a show. And even someone like Heifetz would play scales and arpeggios every day.

I went through Shark Attack again. It went pretty well while not being sticker-worthy just yet. It's the very last part that is causing me grief. The rest of it actually sounded pretty good. I didn't get time to play Barrier Reef, which is good because I don't think I am quite ready with that yet. I don't know what it is. It feels like it is missing something and I am not sure what. I think I want it to have a light ethereal touch and it's just not happening the way I want it to. Perhaps I need to slow it down (it's already a slow song) and work through it some more.

After this came a new piece. It's a Laura Thomson song called The Fiddler Man, and it is exactly what it sounds like - fiddle playing. Apparently when playing a fiddle you can really go for it and have fun. It is a chance to channel some anger too, so look out! It sounds like a lot of fun and I look forward to learning it.

Then I only had time for Space Station. Laura was ready to give it a sticker if I could play it through okay. But just like the Wallabies in a Bledisloe Cup match I crumbled under pressure. No sticker for me today, which is a little annoying because this was sounding pretty good during the week. Alas it will have to wait until the next lesson.

For this week I have a number of pieces to play (five that are in various stages) so there won't be any lack of something to do :)

Also, Laura is playing in Marimba Galaxy on September 4th. Come along. It will be fun. I plan to take my princess and Chris (my photographer) unless his partner Kylie has their baby. "Legions Will Rise" should be awesome.

Violin Lesson #37

This was a mixed week of practice but on the whole pretty good. One thing I found really hard to do was to play along with a CD. I did not have headphones at the time and I could not hear the CD very well over the sound of the violin.

My lesson was at 430 this week. I can be flexible with my time at work so I really don't mind what time my lesson is on. I've said it before: I would sooner give up a whole lot of other things (including coffee) rather than give up my lessons. Or as I said to my sister-in-law, I would rather lock myself in the car for the day than leave Patience in there all day.

This week's lesson started with Railway Express. After a rough start I played the song well enough to get it stamped. My tone was good. Laura mentioned it is likely a sign that I am becoming more comfortable with Patience and playing to get the best tones from her. I do love to play. As I mentioned previously, I played in a car park the other week much to the chagrin of my dear wife. Laura's opinion was that it was fine to play in a car park =) Then I wondered if I could make that my "gimmick" - I could play concerts in a car park, or launch a CD in  a ca park. But I digress...

Next was the G Major scale. My fingering for this was not quite right and needs a little more practice.I need to keep the fingers down as I go up the scale, but I don't on the way down. My fingers are not used to the stretch required for this fingering pattern so I will have to be more aware of it.

After this was Operation Space Station from Super Studies. This went quite well too, but imagine how embarrassed I was to find out I was playing one of the notes incorrectly ALL WEEK. Yes, about that much. What I played was pretty good, though I need more practice with the third-finger D-string harmonic - it needs such a light touch from the the left hand, and a good amount of bow as well. Trying to get that at the same time is proving to be a little tricky for me.

Finally came Shark Attack. This is the song with the CD accompaniment. After hearing me play, Laura's suggestion was that I was playing too slow, and I was getting out of step with the CD. I remember when I was playing it quicker during practice it did sound better, but then there was a greater chance of mucking up the notes. So Laura clapped out the time as I played on my own and that sounded much better. I believe even the dynamics were good. I was trying very hard in practice to get that aspect right. No sticker this week, but a good effort.

And that's about all we had time for. I do have a new song this week, Barrier Reef, which is the next song of the Sea Suite (following Shark Attack). This song is shorter than Shark Attack and less than half the tempo! It is in the key of G so definitely I will have to watch my fingering as I learn this song (and it is so pretty).

Unfortunately I think I left the CD with Laura. Perhaps that's a good thing because it will take me a little while to get used to that song.

Animato and David Loew

Today I had lunch with my sister-in-law Pip. She is the one who encouraged me to look for violin lessons near work, and we all know how that turned out =) Thanks Pip.

As it happens, Pip works at Higgins, which is in the same group of businesses as Animato. For those who don't know and have not clicked the link, Animato is another violin shop in Brisbane. In July I bought Patience from Simply For Strings. They told me she was a Cantabile. I knew from looking about before buying the violin that Animato sold those. So today, after I had lunch with Pip, I took Patience with me and we stopped by the shop.

I told the owner (Dietrich) that I bought this violin somewhere else (but did not say where) but I believed it was originally sold here. He looked at it and said, yes, this is a Cantabile Amore 2001.I got the feeling he was very happy with that batch of violins. He played a little before he adjusting the bridge and lubricating some of the pegs. He saw my shoulder rest and said that while it was a good one, it wasn't suitable for me. He made a few adjustments and I have to say it felt more comfortable. He also said that whoever had this violin before me played it often.

He charged me $11 for all of that - a price I was more than happy to pay. And I will certainly be going back there if Patience needs anything else.

If you get a chance, go out there and say hello. Or, if you feel inclined and are able to do so, you might like to enter the violin competition. First prize is this:

Guarneri replica violin, handcrafted by Konrad Kohlert, valued at $20,000 AUD.

Yes, I can see myself with one of those (just don't tell Patience). What's that? Coming Patience... =)

I debated for a while before deciding to post the following:

I finished work and went home to pick up my princess to take her to dance classes. We dropped her and her friend off. My wife walked them inside. Patience was still in the car (it's okay, I had her with me in the office during the day - I would sooner lock myself in the car than leave her in there all day). This was my first chance to play with her since the Animato visit. So I took it. I don't know how long I was playing for but I think it might have been about ten minutes. It was enough time to run through a few songs that I know. Then I heard mt wife calling. She was on her way back to the car so I packed up. She thinks it is odd that someone would play violin in a car park. In the time I was playing I noticed two other people in the car park. My wife and another lady were walking back to the car park after dropping kids off. Apparently this lady was staring at me, and this embarrassed my wife. I don't get so embarrassed - certainly not for something like that. If it sounded like I was torturing a cat, sure, but I think I am good enough to be able to play music someone may recognise without flinching. What I really want to know is this: what would you think of someone playing a violin in a car park? I like to play, and I like to play when I can. I saw this as an opportunity and I took it.

And it appears half an hour of practice is "enough". I guess it will have to do for now, so I will learn to make the most of that time.


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I don't normally double blog, but I'll add this here

David Loew is playing the cello at Westfield Garden City this week-end. For me Saturday will be taken up with the 11th birthday of the princess, so I am hoping to go and see him Sunday. I've always loved the violin, but recently I have developed a liking of the cello and double bass. It will be interesting to go and see him and hear him play live.

Violin Lesson #36

Practice this week was tough. Not because the pieces or the exercises were hard, but because of how much there was to do and the way that I like to practice. I like to practice (and I like to play, anything) and I also like to spend time with my family. So it is a balancing act how much time to devote to practicing. I have been trying to aim for half an hour. By and large this seemed to work. Some sessions were shorter and others were longer. I would rather NOT limit the time I spent practicing because I don't like to feel rushed. I enjoy it. But I also need to be practical and consider my family as well.

I turned up a little earlier than my 5pm start time. I like being at the studio early because I never know what I am going to hear. For example, last week I heard Bach Cello Suite No 1. in G (the prelude sounded familiar but I had to look up the piece). This week I heard young Nathan playing the theme to Raiders Of The Lost Ark. The music belongs to the movie but will forever remind me of The Idea Of North performing a Star Ward medley. Also, Laura was accompanying young Nathan on piano, and it sounded pretty good. Apparently I don't get to play that until later. Much later. For now I have plenty to do. The things I am learning now will help me prepare for the exam I want to take in due course. John Williams will just have to wait =)

To my lesson ... it started with sight reading, and here I only stuffed up because I count my fingers incorrectly. When I was learning the accordion,  my right hand fingers were numbered from one (my thumb) to five (my pinkie). To this day, when I think of some of the songs I learned over thirty years ago, I can still remember which finger played which note - not necessarily the notes themselves. And since I have been playing some of the old accordion songs on the violin, some of that numbering has carried over. When I was asked if there were any second finger notes in the piece, I said yes. There weren't any. What I was thinking of as second-finger notes were actually first-finger notes. First finger in violin was second finger in accordion. While it may be fine to learn to play the old accordion songs this way, I am going to have be more diligent about fingers and notes as they pertain to the violin.

Then I played "Blast Off". While it is not a complicated song, there are things I was not doing correctly. I was not respecting the rests in the music. I was rushing through the song. When I slow down it sounds much better, and it gives me time to move my hand to the correct position for the fourth-finger harmonics. I need to keep my hand setup the same and just slide it along the neck of the violin to the body. What I was doing was moving my hand around the neck. I gather from what Laura was saying that this is something I will learn to do correctly later on.

For next week I will be doing the next song in the Super Studies book, called "Operation Space Station". This song also involves harmonics, and includes third-finger harmonics. This requires a feather-light touch with the left hand, and a "grip and rip" accent with the bow.

Then came Shark Attack. I didn't feel confident enough to play it with the CD accompaniment, but I did get out the metronome and play it all in time on Monday night. This week it will have to be with the CD. It generally went well, though the dynamics weren't always there. I want to make sure I can play my music with dynamics. It's great to play like a virtuoso, I'm sure, but even then music will sound pretty ordinary without light and shade in volume.

Next I went through the scales for A major and D major, one of them with whole bow and one of them with quavers. This passed so for next week I will be learning the G major scale. This involved first and second next to each other. All my work to this point has been with a gap between first and second fingers, so this will be interesting.

I didn't get a chance to play the arpeggios or the left-hand pizzicato so they will have to wait until next week.

I was quite happy with how this lesson went. I can relax a little for the holiday tomorrow. Unfortunately, there is no holiday for Laura who will be working on the Gold Coast.