Practice Oct. 31, 2006 October 31, 2006
Posted by 06kahao in Left Hand, Practice.1 comment so far
Time: 120 min.
Today was pretty neat. I finally got through the entire first etude of Findeisen.
Most importantly, I figured out that playing with my elbow sticking out to the left helps my shifting from normal position to thumb position. I used to put my elbow more or less behind the neck, but that created an extra movement of bringing my elbow up when I switched to/from thumb position. Having the arm behind the neck seems to be an inherent problem of the Laborie Endpin setup, but I think this gets around the problem. I just have to get used to it–it’s so awkward.
Practice Oct. 24, 2006 October 25, 2006
Posted by 06kahao in Uncategorized.add a comment
Time: 45 min.
Today was short practice, because I spent lots of my two-hour slot re-stringing my bass and adjusting its bridge. It was worth it though. So I managed to get a little more done with Findeisen, but I’m going just continue my plans from yesterday tomorrow.
Practice Oct. 23, 2006 October 24, 2006
Posted by 06kahao in Focus, Left Hand, Practice.add a comment
Time: 110 min.
Today was an okay practice, but I still had lots on my mind. I need to find a way to focus better while I practice.
I moved onto A major warm-ups, today, and I find that focusing on one key rather than every key is much more productive. I then practiced the Bottesini no. 2 I. I’ve gotten through the first page, but I have to fix up my openning vibrato. The problem is that I open with a thumb vibrato, and that doesn’t nearly as good as my pointer finger vibrato. I remember Mr. Hurst saying that I need to place the weight of the hand over the vibrato finger so that the finger becomes a folcrum. I’ll try that tomorrow.
Findeisen is okay, but I haven’t gotten very far in it. I’ll start with Findeisen instead of Bottesini tomorrow, and, hopefully, I’ll get farther.
Practice Oct. 22, 2006 October 22, 2006
Posted by 06kahao in Practice.add a comment
Time: 113 min.
I started off with D major scalar exercises which I’m still having problems with at the top of the third octave. I still think this is because my fingerboard runs out at that point, but I still have to work on that. Too bad. Tomorrow, I will move onto A major.
Today was the first day I worked on the Findeisen book. It’s actually really hard and I only got through the first half of the first page. But most of the time, I worked on the first movement of Bottesini #2.
I didn’t notice much today, but I was just really trying to have fun.
Practice Oct. 19, 2006 October 19, 2006
Posted by 06kahao in Bow & Right Hand, Practice.add a comment
Time: 120 min.
I’m not going to even try to recollect the other days that I’ve missed on blogging. But up until now, I’ve changed my routine. I start up with scalar warm-ups that mostly follow Mr. Hurst’s daily routine. I then do etudes and rep in any order. Changing the order spices it up a little from day to day. But I like the new routine, and I think I’m going to stick with it for a while.
My new Findeisen etude book just got in. In the mean time, I’ve managed to learn Nanny/Kreutzer no. 16. This etude also helped me prepare for the Bottesini Concerto no. 2 that I’m starting to work on.
Mainly, I have to keep a sharp eye on my point of contact while playing. I’ve been focusing on being parallel to the bridge too much. After to speaking to Mr. Hurst, it’s appearant that being parallel to the bridge doesn’t mean I’m being perpendicular to the string.
Fall break, Mr. Hurst, and the last few days October 14, 2006
Posted by 06kahao in Misc., Practice, Private Lesson.add a comment
I finally did it. I found him! I got a lesson from Mr. Hurst during fall break and it was great. He recorded our lesson on a cassatte tape, so I’ll need to blog about it in depth with a cassette player near me. But mainly, I’ve changed my routine, and I’m dropping Dragonetti and moving onto Bottesini.
Midterms!!! October 7, 2006
Posted by 06kahao in Left Hand, Misc., Private Lesson.1 comment so far
This week has been very busy, so I haven’t kept up with my blog, but times are changing. My lesson with Lee went well. I should consider using harmonics more so that I can hear the correct intonation more so. I should also consider playing a drone when I do scales. Problem: I have to find one. . . . grrr. He also should me the usefulness of not pressing the string down for a nice vibrato. I have to see what Mr. Hurst says about this–yay, I get a lesson with him on Tuesday.
Sept. 28-30, 2006 October 1, 2006
Posted by 06kahao in Practice.1 comment so far
I was burining out on Friday. I managed to get through lots of the scaler excercises, but I just played Dragonetti I & II afterwards. I don’t think that’s wrong. Oh, I also played Bach Cello Suite no. 1 Prelude. I don’t know–I just really like that one. But there’s no new discoveries right now other than the fact that I’ve been playing less excercises these past few days. That’s okay–playing music is much more fun. Maybe not as productive . . . but what the hell. Being able to enjoy the moment is part of this.
