Violin lesson #99

Thank goodness school holidays are nearly over. I say that because I get back to a regular routine with, hopefully, more time to practice. Having said that, I think irregular practice forced me to focus more on what I was doing to get the most out of practice time.

What I learned this week:

Practicing small sections more often yields better results. After the lesson last week I decided to focus on a few bars or a phrase of each of the four pieces I am working on at the moment. I think this paid dividends because while I did not play much, I did play it better than last week.

I need to channel my inner ballerina. No, that does not mean I am going to outdance Lindsey Stirling any time soon. It does mean my bowing will become a little more fluid and a little less rigid to create a more - hm, there doesn't seem to be a single word - organic / expressive / emotive sound. It's hard to define because it's so subtle. I really notice it when Laura plays both ways one after the other, and for sure the second way sounds so much nicer.

Part of this involved swaying from foot to foot while bowing. If last week's lesson amused Sirisha she would have loved this week. It also helps to break down self-consciousness as it is not altogether natural to move that way (at least not for me, who looked like a rugby player trying to do a ballet move). I have noticed that when I play music with which I am more familiar that I do move around a little so I can see the sense in doing this - up to a point.

A little pull with the first finger on the bow yields a sharper cleaner sound. I must remember that what I hear under my ear is not what others will here, even in a setting as small as the studio.

Laura added a stripe to remind me of the first finger position. With some music, especially in the scale of G on the lower two strings, there is a big gap between first and third finger. To help this, it was suggested not to always keep my first finger down. This is a beginner trait as the first finger helps to anchor the rest of them. It turns out keeping this habit is actually detrimental to techniques coming up later. Also, because of my freakishly wide fingers (they aren't really that wide, I just wanted to use that phrase) it is sometimes hard to keep the first finger down while playing a low second as the fingers are almost on top of each other.

I was better this week with using the whole bow. I surely won't be able to play these pieces well if I don't use the whole bow.

Accenting the start of the bar will help with the Jamaican music. It uses syncopation, so I play on off-beats while Laura's piano plays on the beat. This song in particular is one where it just sounds wrong playing without expressive bowing. There is nothing in particular written on the music, so it is up to the player to make it sound musical. That is where experience comes in ... and a good teacher =)

I felt better about my playing after this lesson and I am looking forward to the new month next week, and to lesson ONE HUNDRED!

Violin lesson #97,#98

Wow, it's been some time since my last post. Christmas and New Year have come and gone. We have had the recital. There has been a family holiday to Redcliffe (hey, any break away from home is a good one). MZAZA played a show with The Underscore Orkestra and that was fantastic. I also received my new MZAZA CD and wooden USB stick in the post. Both items are way cool.

The recital was a great experience. I learned I still get nervous. Thanks to Laura for helping to cover my mistakes. I noticed even if no-one else did. Hopefully there will be more performance opportunities through the year. That might be the only way I will learn to handle nerves. The one thing I would do over is to warm up before playing. I should probably try to do that before lessons too. It's something I have noticed from home. I practice better when I have played a little before getting into it.

I have a few shows lined up already. Lindsey Stirling is here on February 20th. I get to meet and greet her. MZAZA (and friends) are launching the new CD, Ghosts, at The Powerhouse at the end of March.

While I was away I ordered the ABRSM Violin Grade 2 book, which came with a CD of accompaniments and a pull out book of the accompaniment music. Next time I won't order from Vivace and just get it online. Having said that, Vivace do have a cool music shop and I love looking at the pianos downstairs.

I was talking about music grades with one of the guys at work who played the flute. He said he sat for AMUS, which is what you do after finishing Grade 8. Yes, he's that good. Part of his exam was a forty  minute recital.

My 97th lesson started with learning about the ABRSM exam. I have to play pieces, obviously, as well as scales and arpeggios. There will also be sight reading and aural components too. This is what daunts me the most. I have never been a confident singer despite both my parents being pretty good. One aural test requires me to hear one note and sing back another at a particular interval. I must admit it was kind of fun. And I can see how this will help me learn songs by ear a little better.

To recognise intervals it helps to think of certain songs.

For a second and third interval I can sing "Doe A Deer"
For a fourth "Here Comes The Bride"
For a fifth "Twinkle Twinkle"
For a sixth "My Bonny Lies Over The Ocean"
There is nothing that comes to mind for a seventh because it is noticeably discordant.
For an eight (octave) "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"

Some of this came back to me. I remember Pip talking about this when she was studying music.

We declared the songs I had been playing at the end of the 2014 as done. This meant 2015 could start with a clean slate. I will just give an idea of three of the nine songs that are in the book. The first is Mr Handel's March. It is, obviously, a march by Handel. This is the first piece I have had to play with trills, and boy did I trill. A little too much =) A trill is an ornamentation so it shouldn't be overdone.

The next piece is Londonderry Air which is also known as Danny Boy. This is something Laura played last year and I have been muddling along on my own since I received the book. When this is ready I really want to record this in the atrium at work because it has cool acoustics. Oh, and another place I found with good acoustics was the underground car park at the unit we stayed in at Redcliffe. It has been carved out of the rock and the rock was still exposed. I played a little while I was there.

The third piece is a Jamaican piece which sounds pretty funky. Here I have to pay close attention to the rhythm for this song has syncopation. I also have to be aware of the bowing to give the songs a Caribbean feel. Sirisha has done a song in the same style so it's not totally new.

Lesson #98 was not my finest lesson.

I have not been practicing Handel or Mango Walk (the Jamaican song) the right way. I just couldn't get it going.Two years on and I still can't be kind to myself. No doubt everything Laura told me will kick in the next day. Perhaps this week I will realise what "use more bow" means... On top of the review of those pieces we started another piece called Farewell To Skye (a Scottish waltz). It's kind of pretty and a little sad too.

So, plenty for The Sage to get on with. It's going to be a great year with some fantastic music and a passing grade in ABRSM.