Practicing with others

It's a realy pain and rapid desire to play differently when others are around. it's as though i'm not allowed to enjoy myself with others. it's weird. sex is the same...

Clare is here. We had a great day together. I'm happy that she is here but right now she is annoying me. Weird!

Doing sevcik. 10%

Sevcik op1 pt1 no 5 was surprisingly brief in comparision to the previous?! 20%. Still very much distracted by what people are listening to and 'at what level' I am playing. WTF is the point?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Something interesting! it helps to simply stop the bow mid sentence and hold it to stop the sound and feel the body. To let the reverb run through the instrument and room a little. to listen rather than play. to relax and let the new sound begin. A constant stream can be a distraction.

Also. Clare mentioned "you're still playing the same study from 5 months ago." Not sure what that is supposed to mean. grrr.

Doing well. 25%

Music is relaxing?!

A bit nervous tonight. My 'friend' from London is about to arrive in Sydney?!?!?!

Music seems to be relaxing me and distracting me. Nice.

15%

The wohlfahrt requires an interest light nut action?! off to the airport in 10min 30%

Just realised. Looking ahead and the 'line' of the music is more about picking up the changes / unexpected movements in the line rather than picking up the line itself. The unique thing about the sky line is the unexpected angles. The unique thing about a drawing is the unexpected lines.

Perhaps following the line is easier if the focus is on the 'changes' rather than the 'overall trend'.

Energy

If I don't have enough energy to bother stretching, then I obviously don't have the energy to bother playing.

My yoga stretches are that simple or easy but they aren't all that difficult either. If i'm not up for that then i'm most likely not up for music making...

So. Today. Could I be bothered or would i prefer to sit still with my fat belly and just be entertained with abc iview...

undecided. Perhaps i'm avoiding all this because I'm bored with the music.

If I could do anything in the world right now, what would it be?
- sex.
- walk along a sunny beach.
- watch some sort of dance performance.
- not listen to music.
- maybe draw / paint.
- socialise.
- sleep.
- do nothing.

It's as though i actually want to sit and do nothing. bizarre. WHY WOULD I WANT TO DO NOTHING WHEN I CAN DO LOTS OF INTERESTING THINGS...?

What is boredom?

I'm tired. It's a shame that I work during the day.

Actually, I think i'm just being lazy. I'm not pushing myself. I'm being a fat slob. I sohuld get my act together and commit myself to my 'interests'. I should put in some energy and do my music. 1 hour a day, instead of television, is not too much to ask.

Yoga: 5%

Warmup and Tuning: Smiling whilst practicing not only physiologically shifts the mood it also helps with the muscles to steady the mandible across the chin rest. 5%

Sevcik Op2, Pt1, No. 4: It's amazing how i forget to enjoy playing the violin. I even forge to enjoy playing ping pong, when I compete with work friends. I can stop and enjoy the way the ball moves. I can stop and enjoy the way the instrument makes sound. I can enjoy this but I forget too?! 5%

Sevcik Op1, Pt1, No. 4: When the metronome is set at a tempo. For the initial sound don't worry about playing in time with the metronome. Sometimes, let the metronome go ahead. I'm tired of letting the metronome rush me. 20%.

Schradieck No. 4: Absolutely still stuck on getting this study up to speed. Still interested by the right arm technique. Trying with slower rhythms with more relaxation.

Wohlfahrt No. 27: Is all about upward leaping bows I think. 35%.

Kayser No. 4: If I get tired of a study I find it helps to go through the preceding study to give myself. Rather than to skip ahead.... 25%

A really enjoyable session. Loved the sound.

Beer

It's comes to me as a bit of a surprise that drinking beer actually inhibits my violin playing?!

Beer, in moderation, generally loses me up and improves similar sorts of motor skills.

Walking home from work today feeling extra dull about missing out on buying 32 Jarvie St Petersham today. This property hunting is getting really really really boring.

25%

A bit tired of running through these studies. in a mood. should rest. not really enyoing the sound of the violin right now.

45%

Perhaps I should just be playing something less difficult. Perhaps I should just carry on with my studies. I guess they sounds good, just not much soul. What do you play when you wanna play but it all sounds a bit crap?

50%

Don't be a slave to your instrument. Tell it what to do.

55%

Natural Breathe

Perhaps the natural breathe is so subconsious / sub phsyical and so perfect and advanced that it should not be either studied or excessively observed. Perhaps it is something that should be maintained at a natural level without any sort of concern or wareness. this is in contradiction to many of the meditation / yogic techniques mentioned previously. Perhaps the bodies natural breathe is beyond my brains capacity and should be respected rather than understood.

Why do I hold my breathe when I see a spider jump in front of me?!?!?! Why is my breathe affected by my violin playing?!?!?! There must be a natural requirement for this....

10%

Perhaps it's good to leave a study when it's 50% worked and return to it tomorrow, rather than try to finish a study in one sitting. 2 halfs across 2 sessions is better than 1 whole.


Surprisingly tired of playing the same old study. I guess I should go 'backwards' through previous studies rather than skip over the current one... grrr.

30%

At the moment it's helping to practice with the metronome approx 60% of the time.

40%

It's great to go on an exhaustive music rant at the end of an hour or 2 technical work. love it!

55%

Swimming - Breathing

Went swimming this afternoon and noticed something very interesting. It is quite natural to take a very short breath in and a very slow breath out. I had always presumed the in breath would be equal to the out breath, perhaps this is not so?!

Also. A forced breathe whilst swimming helps. Perhaps a forced breathe whilst playing isn't all that bad either. Perhaps there is some sort of balance that can be reached.

With the left arm warming up exercises (taking the hand from; around the scroll, up the fingerboard, over the bridge, down the tail piece, over to the right shoulder, down byside the waist, back up the to the scroll, ...) it's nice to turn it into a bit of a lose dance in time with my natural breathe.

15%

SVK no 4: needs a bit of tempo. slow is dull. BORING. BORING. BORING. BORING. BORING. BORING. BORING.

I very much dislike moving on from a study i'm not completely confident with because i'm bored of playing it :(

Sometimes its nice to just cut lose and practice by watching what the body natural does. sometimes I just want to shift for no reason. soemtimes i want to play loud and out of tune sometimes. sometimes i want to play soft and a strange rhythm. sometimes I want to play double stops. It's nice to let the body play out of tune and recognise that that is the reality and enjoy it rather than go for something unreal. it's nice to play without any tension or pressure in the body. it's nice to actually listen to the sound rather than create the sound. it's nice to be free in the music despite a metronome or intonation. it's nice to play with skill whilst being free. it's nice to dance whilst i play. it's nice to relax the body. It's nice to let the instrument create the music. It's nice to enjoy the feel of the instrument. it's nice to explore the limits of the sound without exploring the limits of the body. it's nice to let the technique work itself whilst enjoying the music and the body.

A few days off.

I've been practicing this week because i've been working late and socialising. one evening i met an ex girlfriend and we had sex (bad news, good fun). another evening i met a friend from work (girl) and we sorted of flirted whilst we enjoyed a lecture at the chavelle theatre paddington (bad news, good fun).

Now i'm picking up my instrument and these 'sort of' bad deeds are making me feel cautious about playing. It's been a while and i've been bad...

4%...

“It's easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself.” J.S. Bach

Sevcik Op 2. Part 1. No 3: perhaps it's better to do these exercises focusing on breathing and centring the body rather than the metronome. At least some of this sevcik stuff should be done without a metronome.

I'm finding it helps to not start or stop at the beginning of sevcik exercises but rather to pick up from where i left off. To stop when my bodies 'tension' increases mid bar and then leave a few 'post it Flags' to mark the spot / bowing / string.

Also, breaking down my practice interms of 'increase' tension. I stop when my tension level goes up.... 6%

SVK Op 1, Part1, No 4: not sure what the point of single and then 'pair of bars' is all about. A bit confusing, i guess that's the point :)

8%

Schradieck no 4: absolutely interesting half position fingers. not interested in stretching for notes.

10%

WHF no 25: all about keeping the fingers held down and relaxed. the fingers close to the string and not moving about. The bow as close to the next string as possible with minimal bow movement. How close to the D string can I play the A string only...?! etc.

20%

Kayser op 20 no 4: is causing me some grief. Tring to find a balance between shifting and stretching.

30%

Upper half of the bow?!

Sevick op2. part1. no. 1: the upper half of the bow seems in less control and creates more tension. Trying to play loud in the upper half of the bow creates tension.

10%

Sevcik op1. part no 4: woohoo. reached the end of it after a few week. grr.

15%


Schradieck BK 1: no 3, no4: very difficult. not sure how i'm going to be able to fit all those notes into a single bow :(

25%

Wohflhart op45 no25: let the bow stick to the string. start the strong notes with the bow 'on' the string.

35% mid right back.

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Let the chips fall where they may...

Sevcik op2 pt1 no1: Let the fingers go down on the string at the most natural position. Don't try and get them in tune. Then... notice how far out of tune the notee is and use the arm to relocate the whole and and finger. If the finger ain't landing correctly there's a lot of tension involved in slide it (against the overall hand) into position.

10%...

Keeping a track of %tension helps. To stop when the overal tension is increasing rapidly or over 50% is a good way to keep a handle on it. Tense practicing enables no progress.

Sevcik op1 pt1 no3: watching the line of the music is much easier the looking at each individual note. Watching the line is easier to remember, too look ahead and organise in the mind. Watching the line of the music is like looking at a landscape or a city sky line. Easy recognisable and retrievable.

20%

Schradieck No 3: No idea how to get past Unable to speed up that study at all?!

35%

Wolhfhart op45 no 25: Surprisingly tiring and complex on the right arm. A lot of work to speed up to the right tempo.

Rather than playing for 10 / 15 minutes. To improve my ability to be self aware and then simply stop when my tension level goes up seems to be much more effective. At the moment I generally play on for about 10 / 15 minutes anyway.

30%

KAyser Op 20. No 4: no interested in stretching fingers. This study is all about half positions, shifting and interesting fingers for me. I wonder if shift the whole hand is faster than stretching an individual finger (in this case)?!

30% (mid right back - trapezoids etc...)

I generally sit on a tall stool when I practice.

Breathe bowing with a moan.

Whilst playing the violin it's hard to breath regularly. One way to help notice the breathe is to moan on the out. moaning with the breath whilst bowing in time with the breathe is extremely relaxing.

It is extremely difficult to play intime with my own breathe. It is difficult to find a natural regular breath that requires to no 'metering'.

If i were asleep now how would i be breathing??

Whilst I play violin I feel as though I'm breathing when I must rather than when I would normally.

From the scroll to the end pin.

A left hand exercise, before picking up the bow. To move the hand in playing position, with all 4 fingers touching with equal pressure, from the scroll, the peg box, neck, finger board, over the bridge, fine tuners, down the tail piece to the end pin... and then back again, in time with a natural breathe.

Toy with it like a child.

The breathe bowing exercise is a great way to warm up. It's surprisingly hard to bow in time with a natural breathing tempo. Is there a tempo to a natural breathe. When we sleep do we breathe in time?!

Today i'm not bothering with a 'stop watch on my iphone' to limit each exercise. Just keeping an eye on the clock and enjoying it.

Keeping tabs on my general level of tension seems to be extremely helpful as I play. keep a diary helps.

15%

Watching the line of the melody, even when it's not necessary (because the music is too slow) is still relaxing and opening. There is no need to watch each note and get tense about having each one correct. The line is important because intonation is 'relative'.

10% (doing 10 minute exercises today. shoulders a bit tense - possibly too much stretching / yoga)

A bit confused about moving on from a study that is causing problems but not really teaching much < that doesn't make any sense. practicing the violin is 'solving problems'.

30%.

It's funny how following the line is difficult to remember. It's funny how breathing comfortably is difficult to remember. It's as though I actually want to play like the best violinist of all time, all the time?!

25%.


Playing the violin is fun. Playing the emotional violin can be a bit unnerving and the sound can catch you off guard. I sometimes get lost and a bit afraid of the power / tenderness of the sound and that becomes another wall to climb over.
Perhaps a solution to that is to be very pragmatic about playing the violin. Perhaps mathematical and physical. Perhaps not to get caught up in the 'frilly' emotional context of the music. Perhaps to smile and delve into the music like a curious scientist. To smile cheekily like Perlman. To be above the music. To toy with it like a child.

35%.

A tension metre

I think it's a good idea to log the general feeling of tension in my body at the end of each practice. If my tension is above 50% then i should reduce the length of exercises (e.g 15min to 10min) until i feel no a reasonable amount of tension.

Perhaps the first 15minutes of warm practice is the only bit that actually makes a differences anyway...

Gotta make sure i set that metronome at the right tempo. too slow bores the mind and tires the body. too fast tires the body and bores the mind.

Difficult bowing exercises are really helped by stopping the bow before changing strings. The the silence in between the notes hold whilst letting the bow find the note.

Watching the line of the melody rather than the notes help with both reading ahead and relaxing the eyes / mind / body. Getting the line is more important than getting the notes.

Tension metre: 65%

Play music rather than play perfect.

Spoke to an old violin teacher as I began my practicing today. It's great.

With my bowing exercises I gotta start noticing the natural volumne if the different sections of the bow. The nut is actually surprisingly loud?!?!

I've finally worked out what the bowing in the sevcik studies in on about. Op2 Part1. When the metre changes a new (and in general simple) bowing applies. The list of combination bowings at the start only apply until a new notation appears with the words 'simile'... Yes, i'm slight stupid. Previously i've been applying all combinations to the every bar despite having different notes / rhythms.

It's really important to play through the Schradieck without stopping at mistakes but rather to set a slower tempo next time. The exercise isn't to get every note exact, the purpose is to let the exercise couch the body / mind into freedom.

15 minutes of WHF no. 24 is a bit tiring. As I didn't play yesterday I think I should make sessions go for 10 minutes rather than 15.

Playing the violin really does apply a huge amount of tension on the middle back and the trapezium muscles. especially on the right side. Definately overused my back tonight. Should've made sure i was balanced equally as I went along.

Breathe Bowing

breathe bowing
doing a physical techical exercise in time with my natural breathe is interesting.

it is extraordinarily difficult breathing in a pattern whilst playing. i guess when I sleep i breath in a rhythmic pattern, so why is it difficult. if ican do it sleeping i can do it awake right?

i've found, after each 15min session it's important to put the instrument down and do something else (e.g. write something like this) rather than take a few minutes to change the music and perhaps pause. to change the use of the brain for a minute or so. enough time to feel as though the instrument feels slightly foreign again, to learn something new about it's physicality.

rather than stretch the fingers into position, let the fingers fall out of tune and let the wrist / arm slide the finger into position. it loses up the muscles and begins to reduce the distance between fingerings through relaxation.

it's important to engage the analytical mind whilst play / practicing the violin...

the iphone is great as a metronome, stop watch / time keeper and tuner!? it's free and portable!?!

perhaps the schradieck should be practice as a whole rather than looping through each bar. I find hat setting a suitable tempo for the entire exercise / page and working through the whole thing helps. Then increase tempo until happy with the 'lesson'.

Shifting:
- don't fear the shift. drag it out and analyse the mental / physical tension and then drag out anything else that is of concern. slow it al down.
- don't stretch, shift fractions of a tone.
- shift when it's not necessary just to let the hand losen up.

i think it does help to play thing through at a given tempo.

it is surprising how bad i am at breathing whilst I practice. That 'dry back of the throat' feeling comes from not breathing and swallowing saliva properly. bizarre, i can do that whilst i'm sleep?!

the purpose isn't to perfect the study. the challenge isn't to resolve the difficult section. the purpose is the improve. chose a study, or a section of a study, that is going to teach the most whilst offer a few road blocks of frustration or boredom as possible. Play it from start to finish at a suitable tempo and notice how the body handles the journey.

Spank that cute little bottom

The point of WHF Op45. No. 2 is to teach the violinist how to lightly spank a cute little bottom with a soft circular wrist action.

How the heck (once again the mystery of sevcik op1, no1) to play Kayser no.4 without some form of left hand tension. Starting to play around with shifting and finger that might help although feels like extra work. Will see.

E.g. for a stretch between 2nd and 4th, simply shift up a semiton and use a 1st finger instead of the 2nd and keep the 4th finger as before. and then shift back. perhaps shifting is easier and faster than stretching a finger.

Stop Watch

It helps to set a stop watch for a given exercise so you don't have to worry about 'getting to a point of completion'. Just go for a certain amount of time.

It helps to trivialise the given exercise and focus on the body and the sound.

Yoga Warmup

My general yoga warm up and warm down is an imaginary performance of it's own. If I can't live my foot or bend my back correctly how the heck can i expect to play Kayser?!

- Surya Namaskar A
- Surya Namaskar B
- Dandasana
- Urdhva Dhanurasana
- Baddha Konasana

If i can do that. I can play the violin.

My paganini will sound however good my sevcik does

Rushing through sevcik doesn't get me anywhere. I gotta enjoy it all.

My bach will have as much passion and personality as my sevcik.

To imagine performing sevcik to an audience is to image performing paganini to an audience.

I gotta go to more concerts and imagine performing sevcik exercises more. It's inspiring.

Tonight I went to see a bunch of old uni mates perform. They are all basically enjoying the amateur world like me now. It's great. definately going to join their next social concert. hopefully start my own once I buy a house. exciting.

looking forward to some interesting chamber music :)

If something hurts, something's wrong.

Reading through Healthy String Playing.

A lot of people say, if you play through the pain you improve. I'm finding that doesn't help much.

Also, getting to a point where i'm not going to work through the sevcik 'stretching' exercises. If I can't reach it comfortably I'm simply going to have to shift my entire hand. I'm done with trying to stretch my fingers into shape. It's nature and structural easy nothing at all.

Fears:
- dropping the violin.
- dropping the bow.
- not being able to hold the instrument properly.

I've found that i get lost in studies physically. sometimes i get locked in a physical exercise my body can't command. I've found having a timer helps. Something that stops every 15 minutes and reminds me to move onto a new exercise.

This morning...
- 5min: yoga sun salutions.
- 15min: sevcik op 2.
- 15min: sevcik op 1.
- 15min: schradieck.
- 15min: wohlfahrt.
- 15min: kayser.
- 5min: yoga sun salutions.

Might do the same this afternoon. Should be able to get through my plan with this approach.

I think tennis is bad for a violinist. I think Ping Pong is great for a violinist.

How the heck do I remember to smile whilst I'm practicing?!