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.