At my lesson yesterday, Strings had me practice a small bit where I shift my left hand (the one that fingers the strings) up the violin so that the first finger is where the third finger usually is. This is "third" position. It's a little step, but I'm excited. And I got a shifting practice exercise and a vibrato exercise. I know someone who plays the violin (non-professionally) who said that for him, when he learned vibrato, that made everything so much better. Since I'm pretty happily playing what I can, it will be fun to have it even better when it gets there. (I think vibrato takes a good while to get on violin.)
We also talked about learning how to play by ear. The plan is for me to start with really basic tunes, the sort of things we know deeply, like "Row, Row" and such, and just work them out.
So after my lesson, when I did my practice so that I can remember what I learned at my lesson session, I worked out "Happy Birthday" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Row, Row." It's going to take some practice!
We had 6-8" of snow last night, so it's time to rev up the snowthrower and clear some ground!
I've been a regular lurker here for many years, but just wanted to say how much I enjoy the violin updates.
ReplyDeleteMy dream has always been to play the cello, and you make me realise that it's probably not too late to get immense pleasure from trying.
Hi Anon! Thanks for your note. It's definitely not too late! For me, I think having a really helpful teacher has made my process so enjoyable. Good luck! Cello's beautiful!
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