Violin Lesson #21

Practice was good this week because I had Monday off. Part of the day was spent practicing and with no-one else in the house, it was good. I was not afraid to use plenty of bow and I could hear the difference. This Thursday was Anzac Day, so another day of work, but since we were preparing for Prince Sage to party with a dozen or so of his school friends at our home, there was little time to practice.

This week's lesson was running half an hour later than usual. That's was actually to my benefit because I had a heap of work on and got some good things done in that time. As it happens, the student who follows me turned up about the same time and we started talking. Her name is Sarisha and she is from Hyderabad India. She told me about how she learned to sing in India, and how Indian music is not annotated in the same way as Western music. It was fascinating.

When it was time for my lesson, Laura asked Sarisha to sit in. I was a little nervous but figured if I could not play my pieces and learn in front of another student, how was I ever going to play in front of complete strangers. I admit to being a little self conscious at the start of the lesson but relaxed a little as time went on.

This was the last week for Crazy Circus. Laura taught me the "grip and rip" technique for staccato. Make sure the bow has a good grip on the string, then let it rip with the short fast ninja-punch. And you know, I can't get that out of my head now. That's good, because that's what was missing from my staccato. Apparently, "grip and rip" is NOT an official term, but a Laura-ism :) I do enjoy playing this, and it will serve as a good warm-up piece for staccato work. Actually, I really like the finger exercise from last week as a warm-up over all four strings.

My second composition (lullaby) still needs work. I really need to just slow it right down, even though I originally wrote is as a light and bright piece. Playing it faster is not working for me since I'm still not so confident with bow crossing.

Walking My Puppy was pretty good but no stamp yet. I'm sure I played it better during the week in practice, but it wasn't quite there today. Perhaps some of that was nerves in front of another student. I need to be aware of exactly where I am placing my fingers for the first and second finger notes. What can sometimes happen is that the ear can trick itself into thinking a slightly-off note is the correct one. And unless someone has a tuner (or a good teacher) that kind of mistake can put off your whole piece. So I need to do a little bit more with this song.

And for next week, I have Rocking It Bunny Style. This new piece is an up-tempo rocking tune that will reinforce some of the rhythms I have learned so far. And it comes with two new things: chicken and the half-tone slide. Chicken is "code" for a dotted note, or swing note (I think). It has a slightly different rhythm and an accent on the first note. And half-note slide is not the technical term either. There are two notes that are a tone or semitone apart. The finger "slides" from one to the other. This is not the same as sliding (which is more like a tin-whistle with no single distinct note). Both notes need to be played distinctly but the finger slides from one to the next. I'm not sure if I've explained it correctly  but I have tried. I must admit to having attempted slides already, as an experiment. And also because it looked cool when Heifetz did it (about 2 minutes 40 in, but the whole performance is amazing):

Heifetz Caprice #24 by Paganini

This will be a short week since I intend to have a lesson on the Thursday to make it to the Buddha Birthday Festival on Friday. So I'd better get to it...

Violin Lesson #20

I can't believe this is the twentieth lessons. Time is flying because I am having fun.

For the firs time I played with a bow buddy. This contraption coerces you into having a good bow hold. Now most times I am happy with my bow hold and so is Laura. Playing with this device felt peculiar. And of course my bow hand was resisting it. Laura was in equal parts amused and annoyed by this. She said she would like me to use it once in a while but I don't have to practice with one.

I don't think it had much to do with the bow buddy but this week I received a sticker for The Slur And Stomp Song. Yay! It's been a long time coming. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy playing and I'll be sure to go back and revise it, but it's great to hear Laura saying I have learned what she wanted me to learn from this piece.

I also finished with Hot Cross Buns. No, really, I did. One week. Smashed it =) . My first song using two fingers.

Crazy Circus was sounding much better but needs another week. It's almost there. Actually, I enjoy playing it, and it's a duet, so Laura gets to play along. I don't think I mentioned this before, but instead of counting in, professional players start with a sniff. So sometimes Laura sniffs and away we go =). The down side is you get just a single beat before you start instead of the "three four" with the count-in I am used to.

I need another week with my second composition (lullaby). I think I try to play it too quickly. Laura says that piece is really not a beginner piece. It contains more string crossing than she would normally give to a beginner player. It uses all four strings and changes strings frequently. It's something I should keep in mind for my next compositions.

I did get two new pieces. The first is mostly a finger exercise (for two fingers). It's played on a single string so I can practice on all four. The second piece is called Walking My Puppy (aww...cute) and is really quite pretty. As with most of Laura's pieces, this one contains something knew. I have to play pizzicato with the left hand. Pizzicato (or plucking) is normally done with the bow hand, which is the right hand in my case. Now I get to do it with my left fourth finger - the pinky. It's not the strongest finger, so this will take a little getting used to. And to make matters worse, for me, I have a little callous on that finger. Why? I don't know, but it's there, and just in the spot I would use to pluck. I'll try what I can to remove the callous and keep on with my practice.

And I found out something else interesting. Laura went to school with Katei. I have seen him play twice at the Buddha Birthday Festival here in Brisbane, and almost went to a CD launch he did at the Powerhouse Museum.

Violin Lessons #19

Again I was playing The Slur And Stomp Song, Crazy Circus and my second composition. Part of me is frustrated because my expectations are not being met. I didn't think it was going to take so long to learn these pieces. But here I am. Another part of me is glad Laura is taking the time to make sure I do things correctly. Mind you, I confess to feeling a little discouraged when she told me a five-year old was also learning this song AND that she had ideas about bowing differently (playing two short up-bows to avoid a retake) that I had to learn this week. Cheers little girl.

This week my bowing was not straight. Laura encouraged me to practice in front of a mirror to see how I am using the bow. Eventually I will get used to using it the right way. I can tell when it goes off because the sound is unpleasant. It's weird. Some bars I can play perfectly with a fantastic sound. The very next bar can sound terrible. Why does the bowing go off like that? We don't know. I wonder if it is because the new bar contained slurring thinking about that puts me off. I also need to practice against the wall. Oddly enough it was an email from me that prompted Laura to start using this idea. If I practice against a wall it will discourage my elbow from moving. If my elbow is moving I am not using the bow correctly. Laura says she knows I can play these piece better. She also says that my willingness to compose pieces shows my music has heart, and that was very encouraging. I don't ever want to play music mechanically. I did mention too that what shirt I was wearing made a difference to my playing.

Laura posted an offer from Browning Street to hold theory lessons on Saturdays for $10. As tempting as the offer is I was not about to take it up. Saturday and Sunday are precious family days. I will stick to learning theory little by little with her. Laura wanted me to play a semi-tone and a whole tone with the second finger. My whole tone was great. I had no end of trouble with the semitone though. I don't know why but it did not seem I could get my first and second finger close enough to each other on the same string. It is something I will have to work hard to get used to doing.

With the second finger came a new song: Hot Cross Buns. It is an old standard and one that is learned very early on with piano. Still, it is very exciting because I am making progress, learning new things and having a wonderful time.

I am considering changing my lessons to Thursday because I feel it will be more convenient (and not because I want to drink beer after work). It will mean I can go to the Buddha Birthday Festival at the beginning of May.

Film: Jack The Giant Slayer

Jack The Giant Slayer

I was a little wary about going to see this, but as this was a family outing I lowered my expectations as the movie began. I read up about it before I saw it. It scored 53% on Rotten Tomatoes this afternoon. After having seen it I think that's probably fair.

In a movie like this CGI is always going to be dominant. The effect were all serviceable without being "wow that was cool".

The story line was a little bit all over the place. I didn't mind the concept as it was presented but the execution let it down. If you are goign to make even a semi-serious movie, leave out the booger jokes and fart jokes. Please.

Ewan McGregor was probably the best of the actors. I also liked Stanley Tucci as Roderick. I think some reviews compared him to Humperdink in The Princess Bride.He reminded me more of Hans Gruber from Die Hard (though he is certainly no Alan Rickman).

When I stopped thinking about it, I could enjoy the movie. Perhaps what helped is that we had a family dinner at Hogs Breath and shared a dessert at the Coco Lounge before the movie.

Violin Lessons #17,#18

These two lessons have been spent working on The Slur And Stomp Song and Crazy Circus as well as my second composition. I still can't believe I wrote a piece I find difficult to play correctly.

I am making good progress on all songs. At times I have to remind myself that a while ago I did not know how to drive a car. It took a while but now I can do it automatically. It will be the same with the violin. I am still at the stage where I need to think about my hands, my arms, my posture, the violin, the bow, my wrists, my fingers, my neck and so on. I am determined to stick this through so eventually I can play the violin as effortlessly as I drive a car.

I also debuted my third composition: Mr. Elephant. When I get some time I will post PNGs of my music scores. Actually, they are undergoing changes based on Laura's feedback. The first composition, Roly Poly Puppy is pretty much unchanged but not yet annotated in NoteFlight. As Princess Sage pointed out, Mr. Elephant sounds like a Play School song... or a Laura Thompson song. I am sure not all of Laura's pieces are Play School-esque. The ones I have played so far have been designed to teach me. I look forward to the day when I can play some of Laura's more substantial works.

That's it for now. I am still going and still enjoying it, and now with composition there is even more reason to look forward to my lessons.