Violin lesson #103

After going to the awesome Lindsey Stirling concert the previous Friday and having a pretty full-on weekend it was back down to earth today.

I tried to practice as much as I could in between everything else and even deleted a few games from the tablet to free up some more time. Perhaps it was this lack of practice or perhaps it was one of those days but the lesson this afternoon was not one of my best. After helping Laura out with a E-string (thankfully she did not break the string on the other side of the violin LOL) it was mostly downhill.

My thumb does not sit on the neck of the violin the way most other people's thumbs do. To put it  in the correct position felt awkward, though I do think it improved my intonation. Once I get home and relax everything I expect it will feel more natural and I will adapt to it.

My intonation was all over the place today. I couldn't get a consistent good sound. It might be I was too concerned about my thumb to remember the rest of the fingers.

I had trouble getting some of the rhythm right for Farewell To Skye and Mr Handel's March. I must start listening to the CD and / or playing with a metronome. Granted sometimes I have to snatch practice time when I can and it is not always possible to have these things but it doesn't mean I should not try where possible.

After all this time I still have trouble recognising notes in unfamiliar music. I expect this is something that will need extra attention. Part of the reason I don't play unfamiliar music confidently is that I am not so confident about the notes to play. This week I am going to be more diligent about the second part of the pieces I played today (or rather the B section of the ABA arrangement).

When it was Sirisha's turn I was more than happy to sit down. She played beautifully today. Perhaps her practice is enhanced with Anand's decision to start learning piano. From all accounts he is doing very well =)

After the lesson Sirisha and I met Nab, a gentleman with a Middle-Eastern background who plays the oud and the tabla. He knows both Mzaza and Wazia and mentioned both Bill and Greta by name. He was a very friendly man and very encouraging. He even sang a song from India that Sirisha recognised. It certainly helped me feel better, and inspired me to practice better for my lesson next week.