Week Twelve: The Long Lesson

     Since it is the beginning of Christmas Break, I normally wouldn't have a lesson this week, but because I missed two of my lessons earlier this year, I had the privilege of a makeup lesson. They squished both of mine together, so I had one on one time with Piotr for an hour and a half! This was the highlight of my week.

     I played my violin about five times this week. In my lesson, Piotr decided to take me back to the beginning for review. We spent the first fifteen minutes of my lesson bowing on just open strings. By doing this, I was able to see the different ways that I could improve my posture and sound, and Pitor gave me a lot of helpful tricks. We talked about keeping the weight of the bow even, being able to apply force to the bow without squeezing, as well as the importance of letting the violin rest on you. Now that I am becoming more comfortable with the instrument, everything that he had been telling me from the beginning was much easier to understand and apply to my playing.

     After a long warm up filled with scales and bowing techniques, we went back into some of the old songs that I had learned. By playing these again, I was able to see how I had improved. I was very pleased with myself in this sense. When we got to the page with my Christmas songs, he asked me which one I wanted to play, so I chose Silent Night. To my surprise, this is what we spent the rest of the lesson on.

     He took me through the whole song and got very excited as my playing progressed within the ninety minutes. He told me the best ways to begin the song and how to guide the bow so that it was softer and more delicate. Even after I was content with the sound, he continued to get me to play, and then he accompanied me on both the piano and violin until he was satisfied. When I left he told me I had no choice; I had to perform the song for my friends and family.
So that is what I did.

    I have had no real struggle this week, other than not being able to work on Turkey in the Straw or St. Anne's Reel, but Piotr promised that we would work on them more in the new year. As well as this, he told me that we would work on vibrato as well. I am very excited and look forward to this. For now, I have left you with a recording of Silent Night from today. 

     Moving into next week, even though I do not have a lesson, I will try to work on my fiddle tunes and scales as much as I can, remembering all of the little tips and tricks I learned this week!

 

Week Eleven: Third Position and Key Signatures

There is not much for me to report this week, but I will do my best to summarize it nicely.  

     Much to my disappointment, I did not progress with Turkey in the Straw as much as I had hoped.

First Position

I was able to practice four times this week, including my lesson, but I am still not very confident about my playing.

     I'm finding it difficult to use a shorter bow and transfer back and forth between strings so many times during the fiddle tunes. This, along with trying to maintain a constant speed, has been very challenging. When I played the song for Piotr, however, he was impressed that I had made as much progress as I had in just one week. He suggested that moving forward, I try to relax in the song so that it becomes more fluid, and I hope to work on that next week.

Third Position

     Instead of playing St. Anne's Reel, we continued to work on my Christmas songs. I am happy to report that they are continuing to improve! Inspired, I attempted Jingle Bells this week as a new Christmas tune, but it was awful! Interestingly, I learned that the bad sound was not entirely my fault. Piotr told me that almost all pieces for the violin are written in keys with sharps. For example, G, D or even A, but my copy of Jingle Bells was written in F, which contains B flat. The finger positioning for this note is very different than the sharp notes that I am used to playing.

     As well as this, I also learned about third position this week. This position is used to play higher octaves and is kind of interesting. I've taken some pictures that show the difference between first position, which I am used to playing in, and third position. Piotr provided me with some exercises to get used to playing multiple octaves of my scales. This was the highlight of my week because it was cool to learn something entirely new.

 Moving forward I will continue to work on Turkey in the Straw, and practice playing in third position.

Week Ten: Fiddling!

As promised, Piotr gave me two fiddle tunes! 

     Turkey in the Straw and St. Anne's Reel will be my focus for the next week, and I am very excited about it. Whether it's the speed, the key, or the general feel of the songs, I do not know, but I love playing them already. 

     This week, I worked on my violin three times. Up until yesterday when I received the fiddle tunes, I was plugging away at my two Christmas songs. They are slowly becoming beautiful, and I hope to have them nicely rounded for Christmas. My brother is a typical musician who loves a good jam session, and my cousin plays fiddle music in various folk competitions. I hope to be able to play with both of them when they come home this year. 

     It was very interesting when Piotr explained the difference between classical and fiddle music to me yesterday. Before we started Turkey in the Straw, I played Silent Night for him to hear. He pointed out ways for me to lengthen the notes on my bow, and to make my movements more grand and fluid. Quite contradictory to this, once we started the fiddle tunes, he instructed me to use a very short bow, fast movements, and to not worry about hitting wrong strings now and then. The reasoning behind this is the historical background of the song. Every time I learn a new song, Piotr makes me think about who would have played that type of music when it was written. In this instance, Turkey in the Straw would have been played by farmers who were out working in the fields all day. Piotr explained,

"The men would have been tired. They'd come home, sit in their chair and play light, fun songs. Not grand, complicated pieces with crazy movements!" 

     Understanding the historical context is always very helpful, especially when it comes to learning different styles of music. Fiddle music is very 'messy' compared to classical violin playing, so hitting other strings now and then only adds to the character of the song. Piotr explained to me that if it the music is too clean, you lose the effect that fiddle music is supposed to have. 

     When he discovered that my cousin is an avid fiddler, Piotr became even more adamant about me learning new songs in this style of music and promised we would work on more next week. It is all very exciting. 

     In short, my highlight this week was learning Turkey in the Straw and exploring a new genre. My lowlight was once again my lack of practice...other than that I don't really have any regrets. 
Moving forward, I will continue to work on Turkey in the Straw and St. Anne's Reel. I did not share a video this week because I only learnt the songs yesterday and am very far from anything that sounds melodic! Hopefully next Sunday will be a different story! 

Until next time!

Week Nine: Progress

I am happy to report that this week I am feeling much better. 

My cold has worked its way through my body without help from antibiotics and I am becoming my old self again.

     Due to my cold, I was only able to practice twice this week and, as usual, this was my biggest let down. I played my two Christmas songs a few times, mainly focusing on Good King Wenceslas. I also worked on a few of my older songs to see if they sounded any different than they had originally. While I was not necessarily proud of these accomplishments, I am looking forward to how I will be able to improve next week.

     Somewhat surprisingly, my lack of practice did not prevent me from progressing this week. When I showed up to my lesson, I played four songs: Hungarian Folk Song, The Old Grey Goose, Good King Wenceslas and Silent Night. Piotr wanted to hear how the songs sounded after not seeing me for two weeks, and he was very impressed! 

     He said he could tell how much I had worked on all of the songs while I was sick, and that he could not believe how far I had progressed. We spent the majority of the lesson playing together and working on increasing my speed. As always, playing with my teacher was an absolute pleasure, but the greatest pleasure I experienced was towards the end of my lesson. He gave me the most eye-opening compliment I have received so far. 

"You progress so fast. I mean, I never played this level of music after such a short time on the violin. You should realize that most people do not play this way until their third year of taking lessons. Know that I am very proud and you are doing excellent work." 

     These words were very encouraging to me and, moving forward, will help me to take more pride in my achievements. Understanding that I am learning very fast and playing very well, motivates me to continue moving forward. This was definitely the highlight of my week. 

     Looking into next week, Piotr promised to give me some fiddle tunes at my next lesson so that I can expand my repertoire. I am absolutely ecstatic! Until then, my goals are to increase the speed of my Christmas songs and to adopt a more positive attitude about my playing. The video I have shared is a rough version of Silent Night. It gets better every day. 

That's all for now! 

Week Eight: Christmas Jams and Fiddle Chords

I do not mean to start this blog post off on a sour note, but I would prefer to get the bad news over with. 

The Frog in My Throat

     For the past nine days, I have been battling a horrible cold that does not seem to be improving. Because of this, I was unable to go to my lesson yesterday and I did not receive any feedback from Piotr. Even thoug
h it was a fluke, this was the most disappointing part of my week. I look forward to going to my lesson every Saturday morning because it gives me an escape from the hours of homework and university applications waiting for me at home. This time however, it was clearly not going to happen. I crawled out of bed yesterday morning to leave a froggish message on the music studio's answering machine. In the process of telling them I would be staying home, I had to repeat my name twice before it was somewhat audible. When I realized how sick I sounded, my attempt to laugh came out instead as a choked ribbit. 
I hope, for the sake of my violin teacher, that the studio owners could understand my message. 

Fiddle Chords

     The good news is that this week was more successful for me in terms of practicing. I was able to work on the violin five times this week. I practiced my scales and Christmas songs, as well as Old Grey Goose and The Hungarian Folk Song to improve as much as I could. The Christmas songs are still causing me some difficulty, but they are slowly improving. I practiced for so long this week that I've started to develop a red spot on my collarbone from where the violin sits! I think that means it's time to rest a little.

     On top of practicing the songs from my book this week, I worked on playing by ear. I had a jam session with my little sister on Monday to see if we could acco
mplish anything for this year's school talent show. So far we have been unsuccessful, but it was still a lot of fun playing around with chords. A few days later, I worked on trying to play harmonies and melodies with my Dad. He has been religiously plucking out some ukulele Christmas songs. This was great because it gave us some bonding time as well as helped both of us to work on our playing. 

     While we played around with Frosty the Snowman and Let it Snow, I learned how to play some fiddle chords! Fiddle chords are fairly simple. You position your left hand to play two notes in the same chord , for example C and G.You then position the bow to touch both strings and play with gusto. The result is a sweet, lively harmony that brings vibrant memories of county fairs and square dances. All in all, playing with my Dad was the highlight of my week. 

     Moving forward, I will continue to work on both Good King Wenceslas and Silent Night. I've shared a video of Good King Wenceslas even though it is rough. I figured I should document at least a little progress this week. I also plan to see if there are other fiddle chords or fiddle techniques that I can learn moving into my ninth week. My final goal is to be healthy enough to go to my next violin lesson. 
I will be visiting a doctor soon, but until then, here's to Neocitran, advil, and falling asleep at 7:30. 

Week Seven: It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

This week I officially started working on Christmas Carols! 

     After working on The Old Grey Goose last week and my bow techniques, Piotr gave me some Christmas songs to work on in my lesson yesterday. I started with Good King Wenceslas and then a few minutes later took on the challenge of Silent Night. Piotr assured me that though it is pretty, Silent Night was not written for the violin, so it is much more challenging to learn and execute. However, I'm loving the challenge! I was the first of his students that he let start the Christmas songs which I think is a large accomplishment and is very exciting. 

     Unfortunately, yet again, I was not able to practice very much this week. I only pulled off two practice sessions which means that, in my opinion, my playing did not improve very much. This was my biggest let down because it meant I didn't really have anything to really 'show' Piotr at my lesson. In spite of this however, he still played violin and piano harmonies to accompany me and let me learn the two new Christmas songs. Being able to sight read and decently play these tunes within the forty-five minute lesson was my highlight. I got to play with my teacher and it actually sounded good. I love doing this!The video that I've shared with you includes The Old Grey Goose (sorry it's out of tune) and some scales. 

     My goal for next week is to learn to play Silent Night and Good King Wenceslas faster and with more gusto. Piotr told me to keep on plugging away, working on increasing my tempo and really challenging myself to see how fast I can go. He also told me to keep working on my scales which I think have improved quite a bit! Hopefully I will be able to learn vibrato before Christmas. I will ask Piotr about it during my lesson next week. Lets all keep our fingers crossed that I will be able to practice more next week! It is so disappointing when I can't fit it in.

Cheers!

Week Six: Hungarian Folk Song and Bow Techniques

     For my fifth week I worked on Hungarian Folk Song. The purpose and challenge of learning this song was to practice playing at increased tempos, and to enjoy playing instead of thinking while playing. I believe I have successfully accomplished this. 

     The more that I practiced playing at faster speeds, the less I focused on maintaining the technical aspects of playing. This week I really began to appreciate playing for what it was. Now that I am more solid with my technique, I am able to relax without sacrificing positioning and posture. When I went for my lesson yesterday, I noticed that I was no longer struggling to find the positions of each note.  Instead, every note came out clearly and richly.  Piotr stopped me mid song to tell me that he was very impressed with my progress. 

"You improve so fast." He said, "and I'm noticing that you are no longer thinking about the chunk of wood between your neck. You are playing. You are getting more comfortable." Being able to achieve this was the best part of my week. The comfort and ease that comes with playing is very rewarding and exciting. 

I look forward to playing more and more now that violin is becoming more natural. 

     In my lesson, I started working on The Old Grey Goose. This is a simple melody, but the purpose of this song is to teach me better bowing techniques. The song has a lot of eighth notes, and Piotr explained to me that in classical training, the eighth notes are only played on a specific part of the bow. That is, either the tip or the frog. 

The direction of bowing for quarter notes dictates where the eighth notes are played. This sounds simple, but after playing for two months with no concern for eighth notes, I've developed a habit. 

Even though his new knowledge is neither discouraging nor very difficult, my pre-formed habits caused me to struggle with adjusting my bow. Thus, it was my biggest challenge this week.

I was able to work on my project three times this past week and will, once again...hopefully...be able to practice more moving forward! 

Looking ahead, I plan to work on my bowing techniques even more and to perfect The Old Grey Goose so that I can share it next week. I also hope to continue learning how to enjoy playing the violin by simply having fun, instead focusing on perfect technique. 

Until next time!

Week Five: Lightly Row

Five weeks into this wonderful adventure! 

This week brought many interesting twists and turns. 

     My biggest struggle was once again finding the time to practice. I managed to work on my playing three times thanks to some in-class time and my Saturday morning lesson, but if had I not had guaranteed time set aside, I don't believe I would have practiced much at all. I fully intend to improve on this next week, but unfortunately with a busy school schedule it is hard to guarantee anything. 

Another struggle that I had this week was fully learning how to play in fourth position. After what work I was able to do on my positioning, the pitch of the note is still not quite right. However, Piotr assured me that my posture and playing on the string itself is excellent and that it just requires some tweaking to get the pitch right. With each practice session it slowly sounds better and I am hopeful about future practices. 

     After working on Lightly Row and my fourth position this week, Piotr told me I was (to my surprise) ready for a new challenge! He would like me to work on playing faster and pushing myself more because he believes I can rise to each new level that I move towards. Hungarian Folk Song is my new endeavour and the highlight of my week! I was able to learn the melody within eight minutes on Saturday and will now spend next week mastering it. As well as this, Piotr showed me how to bow the strings as if I were 'massaging' them. This sounds odd, but after a few attempts it made perfect sense. Both the feel of the bowing and the sounds leaving the strings were much more full than they had previously been, and my playing improved a lot from this single adjustment. 

     I feel very inspired moving into next week thanks to both Piotr and my passion project group in my class. All of these people have pumped me full of both wisdom and encouragement and I look forward to the continuation of my adventure! 

Week Four: Getting Somewhere

Entry number four! 
This week was both short and sweet and I was able to make quite a bit of progress. Needless to say, I'm very happy about this and feel both refreshed and encouraged to keep plugging away!   

     For starters, I didn't really have a 'low point' this week, which is awesome! The only regret I have is that I wasn't able to work on my playing as much as I would have liked. Between homework, extracurriculars and get togethers I was able to squeeze in three practice sessions including my lesson. Even though I am beyond satisfied with my progress this week, I think I would have improved more if I had made more time for practicing. However, one can only do so much and, as you may have figured out already, I have a tendency to believe I am Wonder Woman and fully capable of everything. 

     My lesson yesterday was excellent! Piotr was thrilled with my hand positioning, resonance, bow traction and posture. He was also able to accompany me on the piano as I played my scales and my Russian Dance Tune song. After playing the song a few times, we moved on to to bigger and better adventures! My new challenge is Lightly Row. Piotr and I both agreed that it is a much simpler song to play than Russian Dance Tune, so I haven't been struggling with it nearly as much. In order to make it more challenging we agreed that I would start playing with fourth position. 

Violin Positions

     On the violin, each string has three set positions. Conveniently, when you play fourth position it produces the same note as the next open adjacent string. The only real difference between the two notes is that the open string often gives a bolder sound and is easier to play because it does not require any positioning from the left hand. When you begin to play in fourth position, it requires a different stretch from your left hand so it takes some practice to get the right pitch. This is my next project. 

     Without a doubt, my lesson was the highlight of my week, especially after not making very much progress the week before. It is exciting to be moving on and to have a new technique to practice. 

     Moving into next week I will be working on Lightly Row and my fourth position playing. Hopefully I will be able to improve my pitch for that note! 

     Lastly, as owed, here is a quick recording of Russian Dance Tune. No, it isn't mistake-free, but my left hand positioning is very much improved and my E string struggles seem to be fading away fast!  

Week Three: Learning Curve

     This week was harder than I anticipated it would be. After a very long seven days, I discovered that the progress I believed I was making, was in fact, not much progress at all.
However, we all have good days and bad ones. Positive and negative experiences are a natural part of life and in choosing to accept the bad experiences, we learn how to improve when moving forward. So, this is exactly what I have decided to do.

     I will begin on a positive note and share the highlight of my week, which was that I was able to practice five times! This is definitely an improvement from my previous practice habits since I was able to make space in my schedule to specifically focus on the violin. I feel good about finally putting in some time to work on my posture, songs and technique because it has been a goal of mine and has helped me to feel as though I've accomplished something.

     In these practice sessions I was able to work on my scales and on the Russian Dance Tune song, as well as Largo, but I found that playing this week was very difficult. After every practice session my arms were sore and my neck hurt from placing the violin. As well as this, I was struggling to produce a clear sound with the bow. A lot of my playing was scratchy and this both surprised and frustrated me because up until now I have not had problems producing a clear tone...other than on the E string. (Which I explained last week.) 
I tried using multiple techniques that Piotr had shown me to help improve my playing, but I felt like I was glued to one spot, no matter how hard I tried to push forward.

     It didn't help that my lesson was cancelled last weekend because of Thanksgiving, so I had not been able to talk to my teacher at all about the difficulties I was having. What was even worse was that when I went into my lesson yesterday morning, Piotr smiled at me and said "Alright! Amaze me!"

I couldn't help laughing a little as I explained to him that I had been struggling with my bow pressure and sound, and that everything was very difficult for me this past week.

Improperly Rosined Bow

I showed him what I had been working on and he then helped me to correct my positioning. As it turns out, the problem once again was the positioning of my left hand. In trying to correct my bow sound throughout the week, I was forgetting to adjust the position of my left hand. It was once again falling flat instead of remaining upright and curved. As you will be able to see in my video, there is an obvious difference in both sound and look when you correct your posture.  
After I was able to correct my positioning, which is now rather easy to do when I remember, Piotr helped my to work on the bow pressure. 

Properly Rosined Bow

     He helped me to angle the bow so that there was more traction between the hairs and the strings, creating a louder, clearer sound. To help explain the importance of the bow traction, he used the analogy of trying to drive a car with worn out tires. 
"When the tires are worn out, there is no traction. This makes it hard to break and to turn and to control your vehicle. It's the same with the bow. Once you have the right traction, you will be able to better control the sound." 
This has helped me a lot, and even since yesterday I feel much more comfortable and confident in my playing. As well as this, Piotr also taught me the importance of keeping the bow properly rosined so that it is easier to play. With the weather changing, I've learned that the bow requires more care than usual. 

     So as you may imagine, the biggest let down for me this week was learning that I had been practicing a lot, but practicing wrong. Interestingly my biggest win and loss this week contradicted each other. It has left me in a spot where it seems as though I have made no progress. But as I said earlier, when we choose to accept our mistakes and bad experiences, it allows us to grow.

     Moving forward I plan to continue where I left off last week. I will keep working on Russian Dance Tune and Largo while paying extremely close attention to both my bow traction and left hand positioning. Even though I did not learn a new song or technique to share this week, I do not feel discouraged or as though I have achieved nothing. I have learned new information about bow traction and hand positioning that will help me to build on what I have been working on, and I have been given this encouragement to help me propel forward:

"The first years of playing the violin are a violent storm. You are stuck in a boat and feel like you are going nowhere. But after the first year, you enter into this place where you can finally see the light and then start heading towards it." -Piotr

        

Week Two: Russian Dance Tune

     This week, as promised, I worked on polishing the Russian Dance Tune song. As simple a melody as it is, it is not without its challenges. I was able to work on violin three times this past week, with each practice session lasting about forty-five minutes. Unfortunately, the song is still far from perfection.

     The biggest struggle I have been having with this song lies on the E string. Since E is the highest and thinest string on the violin, it requires just the right amount of pressure from the left hand and just enough bow rotation from the right hand in order to produce the right sound. The proper bow angle is very natural and close to the body, so it barely requires any extra thought, but an even amount of pressure from the bow is still necessary in order to produce the ideal pitch. When the mechanics are correct, E can be a lovely string to play on, but otherwise, the result is a shrill, piercing scratch that makes your ears scream bloody murder. 

The Danger Zone

     Unless you, or someone you know, has journeyed through the process of learning to play the violin, you are most-likely lacking an appreciation for how brutal the higher sounds of the violin can be. A few months ago I found a story about European violinist, Arcangelo Coreli, that related to my struggles with the E string perfectly. Apparently, Coreli hated playing the higher sections of the violin because he believed that it sounded like screeching. Even though he played phenomenally, he never wrote anything above a D. On one occasion, Handel asked him to play a piece that he had written. This piece went up to a high A and Coreli refused to play it. When Handel assured him patronizingly that it could indeed be played, Coreli laughed in his face and said "I didn't say, Herr Handel, that I couldn't play it. I said it shouldn't be played!"
These are often my thoughts exactly while practicing the violin. 

     So, I was unable to master the physics behind the E string this week, but I will not give up. I will continue to work on making sweet music flow from the E string, but for the next little while, I plan to remain in my comfortable territory...at least until my ears recover.

Arcangelo Coreli

     After I decided I was sick and tired of forcing painful noises out of my instrument this week, I took it into my own hands to start working on a new song. This one is a favourite of mine and I look forward to sharing it. Largo from The New World Symphony relies much less on the higher notes of the violin and more so on the lower ones. It is a few pages ahead of where I am in my book, so it obviously requires more skill in the area of freely moving the left hand, but I am absolutely in love with it. Even as I played the melody for the first time-as rough as it was-I was so excited! I can't wait to add vibrato to it in the next few weeks as my playing improves. This step forward was my highlight this week. Since I had no violin lesson due to Thanksgiving, my goal is to work on it so that I can surprise Piotr next Saturday. 

     For the next week I will be working on Largo religiously and also practicing the Russian Dance Tune...reluctantly...in order to improve my skills on the E string. Along with this, I will continue to adjust my posture as needed so that I am well on my way to becoming a real violinist. My final hope this week is that I will be able to make more time for playing the violin so that I am practicing more for longer periods of time. Lack of practice can only result in lack of progress, and that contradicts the purpose of this project entirely. 


Until next week!

Week One: Twinkle Twinkle

Time flies!

     I have almost completed my second month of playing the violin which, even though it sounds like a decent length of time, is realistically only eight lessons. I will try to remember this throughout my post so that I don't beat myself up more than is necessary.

     This week I continued to work on last week's assignment...Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. This is the very first song I learned to play on the violin, so there is an excitement in its simplicity because it is the first melody I was able to craft on my instrument. The link I have included was my mid-week practicing of the song. I struggled with it quite a lot earlier this week while trying to apply my teacher-Piotr's-corrections to my posture. This was because the melody was quite broken as a result of focusing on technique. 

Incorrect hand positioning

     I was concerned going into my lesson this week because between grade retreats, work and school, I had only practiced once. The Twinkle Twinkle I had 'mastered' consisted of choppy, scratchy notes that I wasn't entirely proud of, and I was bracing myself for disaster. However, I was shocked when I played the song perfectly and Piotr was absolutely blown away! There was a stark contrast between my mid-week attempt at Twinkle Twinkle and yesterday's performance during my lesson. After I finished playing, Piotr compared my to Fritz Kreisler, a famous Austrian violinist. "In my opinion," he said with a giant smile on his face, "Kreisler was one of the greatest violinists of all time. He hated practicing because he thought it did nothing for him. He practiced on stage and the first ten minutes of his concerts were always scratchy, but after this, he played beautifully!" He went on to say how when I played scales he noticed me struggling, but as soon as he asked me to play a song, every correction he had made was no longer needed. "You just play this beautiful melody and it's perfect." He said, "Excellent." 
I left my lesson yesterday beaming and filled with a drive to keep pressing forward. This was by far the highlight of my week.  

Correct hand positioning

     As well as perfecting Twinkle Twinkle Little Star this week, I worked on correcting the technique of my left hand. If there's one thing that I've learned about playing the violin it's that the sound you produce doesn't really matter in the beginning. What are truly important are the methods that you use to produce the sound. When you play the violin, it is crucial that your hands, shoulders, neck and arms are relaxed, and that everything looks and feels entirely natural. Without this component, every time you play, you will feel tension, and prolonged tension in your muscles will eventually lead to health problems. Obviously, this is not beneficial, but as Piotr says, "How are you supposed to relax with piece of wood sticking out of your neck?"

After two months I have concluded that playing the violin is everything but natural!

Correct hand positioning

      The major problem that I have been having with the technique of my left hand is that I use too much pressure. I tend to focus on the sound produced instead of my posture, and I end up squeezing the finger board too tightly. This makes it difficult for me to play. This past week I worked on relaxing my hand so that the violin just rests between my thumb and forefinger without any tension. I also had to allow myself to produce awful squeaks and scratches until I could better get a feel for the violin. Being musical and a perfectionist, this by far, was my biggest struggle this week, but it was a struggle that is proving to be worth it as I develop firm foundations.

     Charging forward into next week, my goals are to perfect a new song, Russian Dance Tune, and to continue to work on my left hand posture. As well as this, I am going to make sure the sound I produce is bold and captivating. 

     I look forward to continuing my adventure and sharing my progress soon.

Stringed Endeavours

     For years one of my dreams has been to learn how to play the violin, so I was overjoyed when my parents bought me a Cecilio CVN-500 for my birthday this year. Already having experience with piano, guitar and trumpet, and being the type of person that almost craves a good challenge, I decided to teach myself how to play. It is a wild and ridiculous endeavour, and my music teachers raise their eyebrows at widen their eyes when I tell them about my goal, but I am determined!

     I initially started on my challenge in the spring. I bought a few books from Essential Elements and watched several videos that teach the basics of how to play, but I was a little disappointed with the outcome. After a few weeks, I realized that I was moving through the books very quickly, but that there wasn't much progress in my playing. My problem was my impatience. It prevented me from improving the technical aspects of my playing like bow hold, posture and angles. I was playing songs, but instead of developing strength, I was simply squeaking out the notes. After staring at this blog blankly for months, my frustration helped me to decide what to write about.

      This blog will serve as a place for me to share my journey of learning the violin. For the next few months I will write one entry a week detailing my progress, or lack there of, and I will make a plan of action to help me improve each week. To help me out, I've signed up for violin lessons for the summer. My instructor, Piotr, plays with the Montreal Philharmonic Orchestra and is absolutely wonderful. Already he has helped me so much and I'm so glad I decided to sign up for lessons! 

So, here's hoping for the best in my stringed endeavours! I look forward to sharing my adventure with you, wherever it may take me!