It's Been a Long Time....

Months have passed since my last post, but I have not been entirely inactive! In all truth, once summer break began, I played sporadically, taking a much needed hiatus from everything--including playing the violin! I rested, played, and traveled, and very reluctantly dragged myself back to reality a few months ago. That reality has included entering two Graduate courses and beginning a new job, so in all honesty, playing my violin has taken a back burner--a back burner, but not forgotten!!

So, where am I now in my quest to learn the violin? Well, I have begun my second book, am attending thirty minute lessons on Fridays, and am making small improvements. My dedication to practice has waned somewhat (but that may also be due to my hectic work/school/social life), but I've discovered a few things. First, my frustrations at never hitting the right strings has lessened as I learned that my bridge was cut incorrectly; now, with a new bridge (from a something-thousand dollar German violin, no less) and closer action, I am doing MUCH better. True, I am not hitting the right strings ALL the time, but it is a vast improvement. While the "string issue" has been my biggest victory, I am also pleased to say that I hit the right notes on a more consistent basis and am learning how to "feel" the music--to play it not just to the time, but to the rhythm and emotion.

Next steps: perhaps play in a Christmas concert? To be continued....

Why Do I Love Playing?

Why do I love playing the violin? Today, someone asked me this question and I just realized the answer. After a long day of stress, even when I am exhausted and don't want to practice, I open the case and just feel excitement and joy. As soon as I start playing, all my troubles and headaches fall away and there is nothing but the music, the skill, the challenge. The world disappears and I lose myself. Words can't describe the love, peace, pure joy....

Bowing, Bowing, Bowing...

All I have to say in this post is that bowing may be the death of me. It seems that I just can't quite get the hang of bowing, and keep regressing every time I think I am getting somewhere. Granted, I know that I took about two weeks off for traveling, so I have to rebuild what little skill I had grasped in the month I had been bowing, but oy gevalt! I understand now why people get so extremely frustrated with this instrument. If I didn't love it and get such pure satisfaction and joy from playing and practicing, I would probably chuck the bow out the window. It's amazing how complicated it actually is to apply the right pressure and angles to keep the bow from screeching, hitting the wrong strings, or sliding every where--this will take months to grasp, years to improve, and a lifetime to perfect...

Practice Techniques

Here are some practice techniques that I have found helpful:

•  To help with bowing, I practice sitting in front of a mirror. This helps me make sure that I am holding the bow parallel to the bridge. If you just look down at the bow in your hand, the slant at which you hold the bow and the instrument creates an optical illusion: this makes you think you are holding the bow parallel, but actually, it is bent back toward your shoulder. This causes the bow to screech and slide all over the strings. Even though I still use the mirror, and will for some time, I can already feel my arm and wrist naturally bending to hold the bow parallel to the bridge, but it took hours of simply watching my motions in a mirror:)
• I spent a lot of time simply bowing open strings and running through the scale of the key of D to improve my handle and pressure in using the bow. I practice moving the bow quickly, moderately, slowly, stopping and starting at random to create the strongest, clearest sound I can. I also practice moving across the strings in order, then out of order to make my transitions more smooth. All the while, I am watching myself to make sure I keep the bow straight and move my arm and wrist in the correct way. 
• In addition to using the mirror to make sure I hold the bow straight, I also use it to watch the angles of my arm as I move from string to string, as well as the motion of my wrists. The wrist is meant to arch up when holding the bow closest to the frog and to straighten out as you move it towards to the tip--fluid like the floating jelly fish in Finding Nemo, as my teacher said:) The angles of your arm look like the following: lower and closer to the body for E string and raising ever so slightly higher as you progress along the strings. E is closest to your body, A a little further away, then D and finally G. You are not moving the arm away from the body, but rather simply raising and lowering the lower arm--your upper arm and shoulder don't move. The more I watch myself do this, the more natural the motions become.
• I still practice simply plucking the strings so that I can concentrate on my fingering on the finger board. 

At the moment, these are the rituals and methods I am using, while repeating in my head helpful instructions and tips given by my teacher and viewed on the Internet. They seem to be working so far. And of course, all the while, I am practicing these as I run through little ditties, rounds, and songs that make it all sounds pretty (despite my hair-raising screeching) and make it fun!

Small Steps

It's been five weeks (it would have been six, but for having my wisdom teeth removed) and this is where I am so far: I am still playing in the key of D and am getting more adept at hitting the right notes more often and more accurately; I have learned to play "A" on the D string--fourth finger; and I am doing better with moving the bow from one string to the next, as well as holding it and using it.

I have officially been bowing for about 2 weeks now, and am getting a slightly less squeaky sound. Mind you, my playing still sounds like a dying cat/seagull combination, but as I hear myself playing every day, I can hear the ever-so-subtle improvements. I have to remind myself daily that this is a life-long investment I have made, and that I must relax and enjoy the process. I have a nature that wants to master and perfect everything immediately; this is simply and utterly not going to happen with the violin. However, I am learning to be patient and take it step by step, enjoying the process and trying not to get frustrated. I have learned a lot by watching tutorials and videos on the Internet about bowing, and have tried some practice techniques gleaned both from my teacher and the Internet, which I will share in another post. I suppose the point of this blog is just to say that learning the violin is a journey, and one that will only be enjoyed and achieved by taking it one small step at a time and remembering to enjoy the adventure itself.

The Violin Chronicles Continues...

It's been one week since I have been able to pick up and play my violin. Finally got to start bowing last week, then had to put off playing because of surgery (wisdom teeth out:() When I picked it up again today, I remembered how HARD it is to bow at the beginning...oy!! I practiced open strings, particularly D and A for about an hour, focusing on moving my lower arm/elbow and just getting a feeling for the bow. I spent a few minutes on playing "G" on the D string, but my goodness, this is difficult! I finally had to huff in frustration after an hour, pack it up, and treat myself to some pie and tea!!! But....I still love it and can't wait to beat this bow!

Learning Pains...

     It's time for an update! As of now, things are still going slowly but smoothly, apart from the one tuning incident. I have been practicing my pizzicato and the fingerboard. I have learned the notes for the Key of D, and have spent the last week or so running through scales and simple songs. I still don't always land on the right note, but I can hear and feel myself getting better. Along with this however, come some pains--not all bad, though! My finger tips are becoming calloused, which is good--no more tenderness and pain. My left hand and fingers are also getting stronger and more dexterous as I become more comfortable holding the violin and moving along the fingerboard. However, the first finger on my left hand sustained some sort of absurd tenderness or sprain, making it painful to practice or even use that finger at all for several days. I chalked it up to over use:)
      Along with physical pains have been the tuning pains. After my last lesson, my violin stayed in tune and the pegs stayed put. However, today my G string was just slightly off--and thus ensued thirty minutes of playing with the fine tuners, and occasionally the pegs, to get the strings back into tune; for as all know, as soon as you get one string tuned, another goes off just a little. But at long last, I got them all in tune, and while I don't think I truly understand the tuning process any better, you can only learn by doing, so I gained something in that tonight! Looking forward to my lesson tomorrow...