I had some good practice days this week, especially Sunday night where I even had time for mucking about after all of my practice. During the week I managed to track down the Middle Eastern / Balkan music lessons. Check out Waziz. I plan on attending the gathering on June 18 so expect a post then - unless something happens and I can't make it.
Sirisha is back this week. She had been in Sydney and is the first person I know of who has been in a nuclear reactor. Her trip away sounded very busy and just as fascinating. We talked about that and stories about GPS adventures until it was time for the lesson.
Sirisha's violin was tuned first so she had the first lesson. She said she had played very little over the last two or three weeks so Laura started her off on scales. Sirisha then played some of her pieces and they sounded pretty good given her sporadic practice.
Soon enough it was my turn. I played my scales. Laura employs a "baseball" style system: if it takes me three times to get my scale right I have it for another week. Frustrating perhaps, but there won't be any excuses for me not knowing them. Laura also admitted that she is a bit of a nag, but totally in a good way, and that her boyfriend Dave is happy because by the time she gets home after lessons she is nagged out and he gets no nagging! As long as Laura uses her nag powers for good instead of evil I'll accept it.
Something that became evident today is that my upstroke is not as fast as my downstroke. Stop giggling you lot - I'm talking about my violin bow stroke. Sheesh. It is something I need to work on to improve my playing. Laura is able to tell without looking which bow stroke I am doing by hearing it. It should be indistinguishable. I have an exercise for that so I will be working on that at home.
There was even time for two pieces this week. Air In G was first. Some parts have improved but there is still a fair way to go. This is one of the places where the up-stroke issue was obvious. It is frustrating for me because some parts can sound so good while other parts are still ordinary. I suppose I just have to be patient and apply Laura's advice so the whole piece can sound great. I am often my own worst critic and that doesn't help either.
I finished with Minuet. Oh my goodness the trouble I can get into with a sniff! I have blogged before that professional string players will often start off a piece with a sniff to indicate when to start, rather than counting in. I had to sniff to start this piece. One sniff indicated a faster tempo than I intended (I didn't know about that). Another time I sighed instead of sniffed and Laura started without me. Then I started giggling because it was absurd to me that I could not sniff correctly - how will I ever be concertmaster or part of an ensemble if I can't get that right? The upstroke problem plagued this piece too. And it didn't help that I the timing for my first bar was incorrect. Eventually we managed to play through the whole piece. Laura gave me some more advice for finishing the piece - I should trail off the last note. I know what she means but couldn't quite get it right today.
There won't be a lesson next week since Laura is off to music camp with some of the school kids she is teaching. It will feel a little awkward skipping a week but it can't be helped, and it will give me more time to get my scales, exercises and pieces in better shape.
For now I am looking forward to Waziz tomorrow night. It should be exciting.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Violin lesson #74
There was a lot going on this week and not much to do with my practice unfortunately. On the plus side I did go and see two shows: Camerata Of St John's "French Twist" and Chaika Meet Mzaza On The Mountains Tour. Two very different shows and each of them awesome in their own way. I have blogged about them already =)
To my lesson, it was Sirisha-less again this week. We started off with the Paploma duet. I really need to get into it a little more. It has been a while since Sirisha and I have played it together. Laura gave me some pointers and I will be sure to incorporate them into my practice.
We moved from there to scales and exercises. My scales are going really well, especially F Major which I have only had a for a little while. It was sticker time for the sliding exercise, finally. I really enjoyed playing that. This means I now have another exercise to do - Minor Stretches AKA "Spock Hand" on account of the finger positions. Time to rewatch those original Star Trek episodes =)
There was time before we finished to play the Air In G. I think this needs a lot of work, and certainly a lot more love and attention. I still can't put my finger on why I am finding this piece so hard. I suppose it won't be anything more practice won't fix.
And that was it. Laura was trying to keep her lessons on schedule. She says the last student is sometimes half an hour or more late. Laura is nothing if not generous with her time.
To my lesson, it was Sirisha-less again this week. We started off with the Paploma duet. I really need to get into it a little more. It has been a while since Sirisha and I have played it together. Laura gave me some pointers and I will be sure to incorporate them into my practice.
We moved from there to scales and exercises. My scales are going really well, especially F Major which I have only had a for a little while. It was sticker time for the sliding exercise, finally. I really enjoyed playing that. This means I now have another exercise to do - Minor Stretches AKA "Spock Hand" on account of the finger positions. Time to rewatch those original Star Trek episodes =)
There was time before we finished to play the Air In G. I think this needs a lot of work, and certainly a lot more love and attention. I still can't put my finger on why I am finding this piece so hard. I suppose it won't be anything more practice won't fix.
And that was it. Laura was trying to keep her lessons on schedule. She says the last student is sometimes half an hour or more late. Laura is nothing if not generous with her time.
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Chaika meet Mzaza on The Mountains Tour - Vision Gallery
I booked a ticket for this event about two weeks ago and I was so excited.
Some background: a while ago I went and saw Underscore Orkestra at The Bearded Lady. Some weeks later they came back to the same venue with Mzaza. Unfortunately I missed that event but I joined the mailing list for Mzaza. Thus I was thrilled when I saw the announcement for this event.
The venue: Vision Gallery
West End continues to surprise. Across the road from The Three Monkeys is the ABSOE warehouse. The block is the site for West End Markets. This gallery is on the top level of one of the warehouses in the block It is a small intimate venue. I loved some of the art work that was displayed. There was a picture called The Vikings, which I thought was great, and another unnamed picture which I admired at various times of the night. I don't know if it was because of the frequently changing lights but it seemed there was something new nearly every time I looked at it. It's not a picture I'm likely to bring home given the skeletons and skulls littering the beach in the picture. As well as the paintings there were several clay castles, lots of chairs and tables and some bookshelves with various interesting looking books on them. They had a bar there that served a very good scotch and dry (even though Steve kept asking if I wanted coke with it. No Steve).
Before the show I went to The Three Monkeys for a coffee and Greek biscuit before the show. It was my first coffee of the day and I felt like I really needed it.
I went up a little while before the scheduled start time and presented my ticket. Unfortunately I didn't have any spare money for CDs, songbooks and other merchandise. In the gallery I bought a drink and spent some time checking out the artwork before taking a seat. It was a good thing I sat down and didn't move because the gallery soon filled with people and the chairs that had been set up earlier were augmented by even more chairs. Yet they weren't enough. By the time Mzaza started there were people sitting on the floor in front of the stage.
Mzaza
They were amazing. The vocals were outstanding from start to finish and varied in type of song as well as language. The violin player started off with a Persian-looking instrument before switching to the more traditional violin. She was incredible to watch. It wasn't just the way she played (which was great) but the way she moved, the way she interacted with the other band members, the way she was always doing something even when she was not playing. What impressed me the most about her was the way she was able to put her arms around the lead singer and still play the violin. I'm going to have to learn how to do that one day... The bass player was playing a more modern instrument and the sound was great. I hope the guy playing the accordion didn't think I was checking him out. I wasn't. I was just interested in his accordion and the way he played. Apparently the percussionist was a ring-in. He was an original member who filled in for a missing member. On behalf of Princess Sage I was paying attention to what he was doing so I could report back to her. I thought it was so cool they were able to call in a former member of the band when necessary. And in the same vain, another original member joined the band for a few songs to play a wind instrument. They played a few new songs. One story was spooky: they said during a performance about a week ago a man with a violin got up and interrupted their set! It wasn't me, I swear. A couple of times during their show a lady dressed in a colourful gypsy-style outfit got up and danced to a song. She moved really well and added another level to the performance. Apparently she teaches Balkan / gypsy dancing.
During intermission I made the "fatal" mistake of getting up to get a drink and losing my seat. It was still really packed by the time Chaika came on. I had to find a place to stand towards the back of the room to make sure I was not blocking anyone else's view.
Chaika
The four ladies and two men who made up this group blew me away. Two of the ladies frequently swapped between keyboard and accordion. Another played the clarinet and the fourth the violin. On top of the fantastic way they played they all had outstanding voices. They often shared the microphone as they related stories about the band and the music. As near as I can tell the music and lyrics were all theirs.
One of the gentlemen played percussion. He was unreal though not as pretty as my princess. He had a cool looking three-legged drum and a variety of other percussion instruments. He got to speak once. The other gentleman played the traditional double bass, and as talented as talented as he was this his instrument he was mute on the microphone.
It was really difficult to divide my attention between the accordion and the violin. Actually I would have liked to have seen the show more than once to focus on each instrument. Even the percussionist was interesting to watch, especially with the big three-legged drum. He said he was used to playing it very loud when he joined the group and now he has become used to playing it very soft.
It was hard to pick a favourite until the a capella performance of a Bulgarian song written by one of the ladies. I don't know if you have ever seen Bulgarian singers before but it's not the same as what we are used to in Australia. Apart from the obvious (being in Bulgarian) it is not all singing, that is to say there is some holding of notes as well as some ululation. And because it was such a sad song there was such a haunting feeling regardless of the fact that I could not understand a word.
This is what Wikipedia says about it:
"The distinctive sounds of women's choirs in Bulgarian folk music come partly from their unique rhythms, harmony and polyphony, such as the use of close intervals like the major second and the singing of a drone accompaniment underneath the melody"
The gypsy dancer made another performance. I get the feeling it was unexpected although again she was very good.
Perhaps the only letdown was the lack of room to dance. The space was great and intimate but that meant there was almost no room to dance, which I understand is usually what happens at Mzaza and Chaika performances.
By the time the last note faded away and the cheering died down it was 11pm and I had several messages and missed calls from Mrs Sage. She was worried because she thought the show would be over by 10 (the published finishing time was 1030). West End is not the safest area to be in, especially on a Sunday night of a long week-end. There were ambulances and police in the area. Having said that, I never felt in danger. It was actually a sign of how engrossed I was with both bands that I lost track of time during the show.
At the end of the show I did get to meet to and speak with Greta. She plays the violin for Mzaza. She seemed lovely. She talked about how safe she felt playing with an accordion because it fills out the sound with the violin and they are a good match. It turns out the Mzaza played with the London Klezmer Quartet in Tasmania and she was able to go to one of the workshops with them! She also told me Bemac have lessons in Middle Eastern music on Wednesday nights. Alas she was called away and I had to go before she could tell me more. I have searched the Bemac site but could not find any reference to what she mentioned.
All in all it was an absolutely amazing night. It was everything I had hoped for and more. I can't explain how much I am looking forward to the next show by either of these groups. As for the gallery, I am keeping en eye out for future events.
Some background: a while ago I went and saw Underscore Orkestra at The Bearded Lady. Some weeks later they came back to the same venue with Mzaza. Unfortunately I missed that event but I joined the mailing list for Mzaza. Thus I was thrilled when I saw the announcement for this event.
The venue: Vision Gallery
West End continues to surprise. Across the road from The Three Monkeys is the ABSOE warehouse. The block is the site for West End Markets. This gallery is on the top level of one of the warehouses in the block It is a small intimate venue. I loved some of the art work that was displayed. There was a picture called The Vikings, which I thought was great, and another unnamed picture which I admired at various times of the night. I don't know if it was because of the frequently changing lights but it seemed there was something new nearly every time I looked at it. It's not a picture I'm likely to bring home given the skeletons and skulls littering the beach in the picture. As well as the paintings there were several clay castles, lots of chairs and tables and some bookshelves with various interesting looking books on them. They had a bar there that served a very good scotch and dry (even though Steve kept asking if I wanted coke with it. No Steve).
Before the show I went to The Three Monkeys for a coffee and Greek biscuit before the show. It was my first coffee of the day and I felt like I really needed it.
I went up a little while before the scheduled start time and presented my ticket. Unfortunately I didn't have any spare money for CDs, songbooks and other merchandise. In the gallery I bought a drink and spent some time checking out the artwork before taking a seat. It was a good thing I sat down and didn't move because the gallery soon filled with people and the chairs that had been set up earlier were augmented by even more chairs. Yet they weren't enough. By the time Mzaza started there were people sitting on the floor in front of the stage.
Mzaza
They were amazing. The vocals were outstanding from start to finish and varied in type of song as well as language. The violin player started off with a Persian-looking instrument before switching to the more traditional violin. She was incredible to watch. It wasn't just the way she played (which was great) but the way she moved, the way she interacted with the other band members, the way she was always doing something even when she was not playing. What impressed me the most about her was the way she was able to put her arms around the lead singer and still play the violin. I'm going to have to learn how to do that one day... The bass player was playing a more modern instrument and the sound was great. I hope the guy playing the accordion didn't think I was checking him out. I wasn't. I was just interested in his accordion and the way he played. Apparently the percussionist was a ring-in. He was an original member who filled in for a missing member. On behalf of Princess Sage I was paying attention to what he was doing so I could report back to her. I thought it was so cool they were able to call in a former member of the band when necessary. And in the same vain, another original member joined the band for a few songs to play a wind instrument. They played a few new songs. One story was spooky: they said during a performance about a week ago a man with a violin got up and interrupted their set! It wasn't me, I swear. A couple of times during their show a lady dressed in a colourful gypsy-style outfit got up and danced to a song. She moved really well and added another level to the performance. Apparently she teaches Balkan / gypsy dancing.
During intermission I made the "fatal" mistake of getting up to get a drink and losing my seat. It was still really packed by the time Chaika came on. I had to find a place to stand towards the back of the room to make sure I was not blocking anyone else's view.
Chaika
The four ladies and two men who made up this group blew me away. Two of the ladies frequently swapped between keyboard and accordion. Another played the clarinet and the fourth the violin. On top of the fantastic way they played they all had outstanding voices. They often shared the microphone as they related stories about the band and the music. As near as I can tell the music and lyrics were all theirs.
One of the gentlemen played percussion. He was unreal though not as pretty as my princess. He had a cool looking three-legged drum and a variety of other percussion instruments. He got to speak once. The other gentleman played the traditional double bass, and as talented as talented as he was this his instrument he was mute on the microphone.
It was really difficult to divide my attention between the accordion and the violin. Actually I would have liked to have seen the show more than once to focus on each instrument. Even the percussionist was interesting to watch, especially with the big three-legged drum. He said he was used to playing it very loud when he joined the group and now he has become used to playing it very soft.
This is what Wikipedia says about it:
"The distinctive sounds of women's choirs in Bulgarian folk music come partly from their unique rhythms, harmony and polyphony, such as the use of close intervals like the major second and the singing of a drone accompaniment underneath the melody"
The gypsy dancer made another performance. I get the feeling it was unexpected although again she was very good.
Perhaps the only letdown was the lack of room to dance. The space was great and intimate but that meant there was almost no room to dance, which I understand is usually what happens at Mzaza and Chaika performances.
By the time the last note faded away and the cheering died down it was 11pm and I had several messages and missed calls from Mrs Sage. She was worried because she thought the show would be over by 10 (the published finishing time was 1030). West End is not the safest area to be in, especially on a Sunday night of a long week-end. There were ambulances and police in the area. Having said that, I never felt in danger. It was actually a sign of how engrossed I was with both bands that I lost track of time during the show.
At the end of the show I did get to meet to and speak with Greta. She plays the violin for Mzaza. She seemed lovely. She talked about how safe she felt playing with an accordion because it fills out the sound with the violin and they are a good match. It turns out the Mzaza played with the London Klezmer Quartet in Tasmania and she was able to go to one of the workshops with them! She also told me Bemac have lessons in Middle Eastern music on Wednesday nights. Alas she was called away and I had to go before she could tell me more. I have searched the Bemac site but could not find any reference to what she mentioned.
All in all it was an absolutely amazing night. It was everything I had hoped for and more. I can't explain how much I am looking forward to the next show by either of these groups. As for the gallery, I am keeping en eye out for future events.
Friday, June 6, 2014
Camerata of St John's - French Twist
I was working away on Friday morning when I received a phone call from my violin teacher Laura wanting to know if I would like to see the Camerata of St John's that evening. Um, that would be "oh my goodness yes" once I made sure things were okay on the home front. Lucky for me that a) I work close to the venue - the Queensland Conservatorium theater, and b) I have a violin teacher who knows I like going to see shows like this.
As it happens, this is the first Friday of the month so my work had the regular monthly social drinks, that is to say, pizza and beer. It was free and still gave me plenty of time to get to the Conservatorium in the evening. On the way to the Conservatorium I passed the West End markets. I had forgotten they were on. I'll have to go back and check them out one Friday. I saw food stalls, and at least one was vegan =)
When I arrived at Southbank I thought someone was celebrating Carnaval. There was capo ferro and samba dancers. Walking a little further on I realised it was the annual Lantern Parade Walk for Refugees. I stopped at a stand that had African singers and listened to a few songs. Further on there was a coffee van so I tried my luck. I asked the young man if they did espressos. He looked confused. Short black? Yes they did. And a double shot? Yes. At that point the older man who actually made the coffee looked around from behind the machine. I gave him my espresso glass cup. His face lit up. He said it was something he didn't see very often and he was happy. And the coffee? It was great. Very smooth. It was a shame he was gone by the time I walked that way again.
At the Conservatorium I had to find someone to open the cloak room. You see, I had Patience with me and I had take the train in to work today, and I didn't want to leave her in the office or to have to go back there after the concert. Fortunately one of the lovely staff opened it up for me and she was safe and sound. The staff member actually asked me if I was playing. I chuckled inside and said no. I wish. Maybe one day...
I caught up with Laura to collect my ticket. And here I met Dave. I didn't get to speak to him for long but he was very kind and polite and I liked him straight away. Inside the theater I sat with Jessie and Nathan. Nathan is a lovely young man, a fellow student like myself, but much younger, and less Greek, and more Korean. He was there with his mother and this was their first string concert. As it happens, they were in row N and I was in row O but I didn't know that until I had a closer look at my ticket. My, that could have been more embarrassing than it was.
The Camerata played the first work on their own - Dvořák Serenade in E Major for Strings. I was reminded what a great sound a string ensemble can make. There were seventeen string instruments on stage. It is easy to forget when I practice that violins are often heard in groups like this more, I think, than on their own, so it is great to see and hear ensembles, especially when they are as good as this one. I would really like to play as part of an ensemble one day. I noticed too how much the players moved. All of them. Some of them moved around quite a bit. And one more thing - clapping between movements. I can't be 100% sure but I believe fist fights have broken out over this issue. It seemed that there were times when the Camerata were waiting for applause after movements, and the audience obliged, but there were no applause after some other movements. This was welcome especially after the fourth movement, which is one of those moments where the air seems to be sucked out of the room and no-one is breathing.
For the second piece we were introduced to 75 year old Maurice Bourgue who is a world-class oboe player from France. I have said numerous times that I love the violin. However, I think I find greater and greater appreciation for other instruments. I guess it is a little easier to do when someone like Maurice is playing =) What amazed me most was how a single oboe could hold its own against the seventeen string players on stage. It was also impressive the breath control someone of that age (with apologies to Maurice) had. It was a wonderful performance.
After this there was a brief interval. Jessie thought the show had finished so she was pleased when we told here there was more to come.I met Patrick, another of Laura's students but he still goes to school. I can't be sure what he made of a mature age student =)
The first piece after interval was not by the Camerata nor was it by Maurice. We were treated to a performance by the Orava String Quartet! They won the Musica Viva Australia Award for the most outstanding Australian ensemble as well as the Audience Prize for String Quartets at the 2013 Chamber Music Awards. So yes, they are pretty good. I regret I cannot remember what they played, but it was splendid. Also they will be based in Brisbane for twelve months from July, so that's something of a coup.
The evening finished off with Maurice Bourgue, sans oboe, to conduct the Camerata plus horns plus reeds plus percussion (one of Laura's friends) for Mozart's Paris Symphony in D Major. Obviously this man has many skills, and his conducting was passionate and energetic. It was a most entertaining performance and a fantastic way to finish the fight.
I had a brief moment to thank Laura for the evening before she was whisked away with Dave and the rest of her group. It is alway a great experience to see what can be accomplished by a violin player. If I could make people feel the way I did after a performance I would be so proud. All that was left now was to track down a person kind enough to open the cloak room and re-unite me with Patience. I think I was smiling the whole trip home =)
As it happens, this is the first Friday of the month so my work had the regular monthly social drinks, that is to say, pizza and beer. It was free and still gave me plenty of time to get to the Conservatorium in the evening. On the way to the Conservatorium I passed the West End markets. I had forgotten they were on. I'll have to go back and check them out one Friday. I saw food stalls, and at least one was vegan =)
When I arrived at Southbank I thought someone was celebrating Carnaval. There was capo ferro and samba dancers. Walking a little further on I realised it was the annual Lantern Parade Walk for Refugees. I stopped at a stand that had African singers and listened to a few songs. Further on there was a coffee van so I tried my luck. I asked the young man if they did espressos. He looked confused. Short black? Yes they did. And a double shot? Yes. At that point the older man who actually made the coffee looked around from behind the machine. I gave him my espresso glass cup. His face lit up. He said it was something he didn't see very often and he was happy. And the coffee? It was great. Very smooth. It was a shame he was gone by the time I walked that way again.
At the Conservatorium I had to find someone to open the cloak room. You see, I had Patience with me and I had take the train in to work today, and I didn't want to leave her in the office or to have to go back there after the concert. Fortunately one of the lovely staff opened it up for me and she was safe and sound. The staff member actually asked me if I was playing. I chuckled inside and said no. I wish. Maybe one day...
I caught up with Laura to collect my ticket. And here I met Dave. I didn't get to speak to him for long but he was very kind and polite and I liked him straight away. Inside the theater I sat with Jessie and Nathan. Nathan is a lovely young man, a fellow student like myself, but much younger, and less Greek, and more Korean. He was there with his mother and this was their first string concert. As it happens, they were in row N and I was in row O but I didn't know that until I had a closer look at my ticket. My, that could have been more embarrassing than it was.
The Camerata played the first work on their own - Dvořák Serenade in E Major for Strings. I was reminded what a great sound a string ensemble can make. There were seventeen string instruments on stage. It is easy to forget when I practice that violins are often heard in groups like this more, I think, than on their own, so it is great to see and hear ensembles, especially when they are as good as this one. I would really like to play as part of an ensemble one day. I noticed too how much the players moved. All of them. Some of them moved around quite a bit. And one more thing - clapping between movements. I can't be 100% sure but I believe fist fights have broken out over this issue. It seemed that there were times when the Camerata were waiting for applause after movements, and the audience obliged, but there were no applause after some other movements. This was welcome especially after the fourth movement, which is one of those moments where the air seems to be sucked out of the room and no-one is breathing.
For the second piece we were introduced to 75 year old Maurice Bourgue who is a world-class oboe player from France. I have said numerous times that I love the violin. However, I think I find greater and greater appreciation for other instruments. I guess it is a little easier to do when someone like Maurice is playing =) What amazed me most was how a single oboe could hold its own against the seventeen string players on stage. It was also impressive the breath control someone of that age (with apologies to Maurice) had. It was a wonderful performance.
After this there was a brief interval. Jessie thought the show had finished so she was pleased when we told here there was more to come.I met Patrick, another of Laura's students but he still goes to school. I can't be sure what he made of a mature age student =)
The first piece after interval was not by the Camerata nor was it by Maurice. We were treated to a performance by the Orava String Quartet! They won the Musica Viva Australia Award for the most outstanding Australian ensemble as well as the Audience Prize for String Quartets at the 2013 Chamber Music Awards. So yes, they are pretty good. I regret I cannot remember what they played, but it was splendid. Also they will be based in Brisbane for twelve months from July, so that's something of a coup.
The evening finished off with Maurice Bourgue, sans oboe, to conduct the Camerata plus horns plus reeds plus percussion (one of Laura's friends) for Mozart's Paris Symphony in D Major. Obviously this man has many skills, and his conducting was passionate and energetic. It was a most entertaining performance and a fantastic way to finish the fight.
I had a brief moment to thank Laura for the evening before she was whisked away with Dave and the rest of her group. It is alway a great experience to see what can be accomplished by a violin player. If I could make people feel the way I did after a performance I would be so proud. All that was left now was to track down a person kind enough to open the cloak room and re-unite me with Patience. I think I was smiling the whole trip home =)
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Violin lesson #73
I was reasonably happy with practice this week.I kept the focus mostly on scales and exercises and still made time for the pieces. And there was even time for the blues. It's not my usual genre of music but I did learn a few things from "Fiddlerman". All in all it was good fun.
There was one day this week where I had a "cranky old man" moment and went to the park to play violin. One of the songs I played was Hornpipe, which was passed by Laura with reservations. After I had finished my rendition I looked around and noticed an older gentleman some distance away. He saw me looking at him and applauded. That made my day.
There was no Sirisha today, not even a late one. We got straight into it. I passed my G minor arpeggio and was rewarded with the F Major scale and F Major arpeggio. Laura said my first attempt at the F Major scale was pretty good. I put that down to a) listening to her instructions, and b) diligence with the existing scales.My sliding exercise is going really well so fingers crossed and it will pass next week, and I made good progress and got very good feedback for my bow stroke exercise.
There was time enough to play through the Telemann Minuet. Laura says that when I play the music and focus on the technical issues I can sound mechanical, but when I put that to the back of mind and just play the music it sounds great. I am happy to be making good progress with this piece. Laura gave me some tips about how to play certain parts of it so I will take that on board with my practice this week. I won't be neglecting the rest of my pieces either ... and who knows, there may be more time for blues =)
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