Violin Lesson #23

Laura allowed me to change my lesson to Thursday so I could make dinner with my parents on Friday. Thank-you for that.

The lesson itself went pretty well. Before I get into that, I would like to share a story Laura told me from her days as a student.

When Laura was studying music she lived with her uncle and aunt. After dinner she would practice for an hour playing mostly scales and arpeggios. Laura chose to practice in the bathroom. The acoustics there were great and there was a mirror too but it was very hot so Laura would open the window to get some fresh air. When Laura finished her studies she moved away. A little while later she heard from her uncle and aunt. They had spoken to the neighbours for the first time since they had been there. The neighbours told them they had never used their balcony until one evening when they heard beautiful violin music playing. They would stop watching television to sit out on the balcony with a glass of wine and talk to each other while they listened to the music. They had come to ask why the violin music no longer played. I thought this was so touching and shows one of the many unexpected ways music can reach people.

I was awarded a stamp for Walking My Puppy. My daughter loves that piece so I don't doubt it is the last time I will play it.

We went on to Rockin It Bunny-Style. I say we because it was a duet and a couple of times there it sounded so cool. My timing is getting better, partly because I am looking at Laura's music to help me keep in time, and because I can concentrate on what I am playing while the person next to me is playing something different. Laura recorded her part on my phone so I can practice along with it at home. My daughter now likes this piece too.

Suo Gan wasn't too bad. I need to be careful not to fade the end of each note before I start the next one. The note has to be strong all the way through. And I have to be careful the four times I change strings so it does not sound jarring. It sounded really good when Laura played it again because she playes better than I do (and I think she was using vibrato but I'm not 100% sure).

I am learning so much with Waltz Of The Lovebirds. First of all, there are grace notes, or as they are technically known "Acciaccatura" (short grace notes) and "Appoggiatura" (long grace notes). So from now on we'll call them grace notes. I was getting those really well until I had to play the note before them. That threw me right off. Secondly there is a new type of staccato note. The bow very close to the frog is dropped onto the strings. This is done in a controlled manner and there can be an up-bow or down-bow movement. I was getting the hang of this during the lesson, though it felt very strange. Thirdly the glissando. I can't quite get it the way Laura does though eventually I did find a way to make a passable glissando. No doubt the more I practice the better I will get. Given that I have limited practice time, I will have to make the most of it. And last but not least, the final chord is a "scoop". That is most likely not the technical term for it, and may be a Laura-ism. But the hand with the bow does make a pronounced scooping motion as the notes of the chord are played very quickly from lowest to highest. It does make a pretty cool sound, and I was getting the hang of it at the end. I wonder, with all the different techniques I have to learn, how long it will be until this song gets stamped.

There you have it. There was plenty in this lesson, and much to do during the week. As usual, I'm loving it and look forward to seeing how things go.