Violin lesson #61,#62

The Sage has been lazy (and busy, yeah, busy sounds better than lazy) so these two lessons are in the one post.

Last week's lesson saw me pass Hear That Whistle. That is the show-off piece that features harmonics and glissando to simulate the whistle of a train.

I am still working on Raggle Taggle Hippie. As I expected it did not take so long to learn the second half. I have been able to increases the speed and play the whole song through. Last week I played with Laura accompanying on the piano, and I had one of those rare "aha" moments where I seemed to be listening to someone else playing and thinking "damn, that sounds pretty good". Then I lost focus, but it really did sound good :) This week was good too but I need to use more bow and position my left hand better to allow my fingers to curve properly and get even better intonation. I also recorded the piano so I am going to try and practice with that. Part of me thinks I don't play as well in the lesson because I am not used to the piano playing along with me.

I have also been working on Hornpipe and Fiddle Fantasy. Well blow me down if Hornpipe doesn't remind me a little of the Popeye theme - not the chorus, but the music at the beginning. I won't be happy until I've had a go at learning it. Laura and I are both happy with the progress on these pieces. They really are fun to play and technically not so difficult. Hopefully with some good practice this week I can knock them off for next week.

After Hear That Whistle I have been given Strawberry Milkshake, which I neglected a little due to enjoying the other pieces so much, and today I was given Toffee Nut Fudge Cake. No, Laura did not make a dessert, it's the name of another piece from Superstudies For Violin. I am so glad Laura suggested I buy this book when I bought Patience. It has taught me a lot.

Also this week Laura started with some sight-reading and I did rather well. I will be very confident when doing this for an exam at some point in the future.Laura says this is a valuable skill. She has known some professional musicians who struggle with sight reading. They'll be fine on pieces they know but will find it hard to play something brand new.

That brings me to another point. I have been speaking to a friend of mine - Stauro - about learning some Greek songs from his father. His father, like mine, plays the accordion, but does not know how to read music so he learns by ear. Stauro and I have both played accordion and both know how to read music. He has shared some music with me so I can learn a few Greek songs. I'll show them to Laura but as far as I can see there is nothing in them that I can't do at this point. I would like to continue to develop sight reading so I can learn new songs more easily, and still reserve the right to learn some things by ear.

And Laura has returned my Klezmer book. I don't need any more distractions so I will put it away... for now.

Next week Sirisha is supposed to be back, and hopefully with her new violin and some stories of home.