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?
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