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!
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