Violin lesson #64

I'll start by warning the reader I'll probably waffle on more than usual...

I arrived at the lesson early today because I agreed to meet Sirisha before our combined class. She had come back from India, and she had brought with her a violin. Before the class we spent some time chatting about her trip away, and then about Indian music and culture, and even about Arabic music. It was all very interesting and rather fascinating. The more I learn about world music, the more I see how small a part Western music makes up. This is by no means denigrating Western music. I'm just pointing out how much bigger the musical world is.

Was it mere coincidence that I read an article about Indian Music on Gamasutra today? Probably =)

While I am here and thinking about music I will post this link to Mzaza - a world music group based here in Brisbane.

Eventually it was time for our lesson. Laura took out the old violin and tuned it. She played a pretty little piece on it and told Sirisha what she already suspected. It will make a wonderful story and is a great memento of her trip, but it is not better than any of the violins the three of us have. It needs a bit of a clean and some new strings and the bridge was rather unusual. It spread the strings further apart than one would normally see on a violin, to the point where a player would be at risk of their fingers slipping from the fret board if they were not careful.

To the lesson... Laura asked who was going first. With very little hesitation Sirisha indicated I would. Seeing as I am a gentleman I obliged. I started off with some scale work. My eagerness betrayed me and I played some scales too quickly. Yes, I need to slow down a little and get the good sound rather than worry about speed. I could play detache (short detached notes) but the whole bow exercises are mine for another week. This is why I like them. I have a chance here to focus on bowing technique because I already know how to play the scale. It's not like I have to learn it, or think about too many other things (one must always be aware of intonation).

I had a go at the arpeggio. I know that I know how to play it. Again, it was too quick so it didn't sound the best. Slowing down will help heaps.

My finger pattern exercise "running up and down" still needs more work too. I'm not quite getting the fingering correct. At this point Laura told as that as professionals (which we will eventually become) we can think about our own fingering and work out what works best for us. That is all well and good, but for now I have to stick with the fingering as taught.

The Superstudies pieces were pretty good. Strawberry Milk Shake still needs another week so I can add the ninja punches towards the end of the piece. Toffee Nut Fudge Cake needs more practice too. I had neglected this a little during the week. I need to write down what I practice to make sure nothing gets missed especially when my practice time is at a premium. Speaking of neglect, Rum-Bah Ba got very little time this week. It's a curious little piece as it is in 3+3+2 / 4 time (as written, or 8 /4 time). When Laura played it I could hear a rhythm different to the one I know so well. This week I'll practice it more.

By this time I had one chance to impress with either Hornpipe or Fiddler's Fancy. I did impress, but for the wrong reasons. It was too fast, too sloppy, and the intonation was poor. I rushed it and mucked up. Whether it was the fact that I thought I had to play it so quickly, or a feeling that I wanted to show off, or having Sirisha back for the first time in ages, something happened to bring about that result. I expect it was a little of everything. I certainly did myself no good at all. Next week I will play it again, a little slower, and a lot cleaner and see if I can't get that sticker.

That was me done for the week. Not my best lesson but not the worst.

Then it was Sirisha's turn. For someone who has been away for a while she played very well. I was particularly interested in the way she was playing Raggle Taggle Hippie. It's the same song, obviously, that I passed the other week, but to me it seemed there was something different about it, especially with the grace notes. Perhaps it was her interpretation? I don't know but I will get to hear it again next week.

After the lesson Sirisha and I asked Laura if she would teach us a duet. Laura said she was more than happy to do so. I look forward to the experience. We have learned some of the same songs but this will be the first time either of us has worked on a duet.