October 2005

October 29, 2005 14:46

Well, it's official...I'm being a lazy pile when it comes to practicing. I haven't practiced violin much since this Wednessday. I have discovered this new show that really speaks to me on a personal level and I am downloading every episode of it. I just can't get enough. Anyway, that's all for now, have a good day.

PS: Have you noticed that I have started 5 entries in a row with the word "well."

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October 22, 2005 09:27

Well well well, I haven't updated this for a while. I had my fall break last weekend and it was good to get home. I saw a lot of relatives, ate a ton of food and did not have to worry about college. The week before that was midterms and I'm happy to report I got an "A" on all of my midterms. I also made a very important dicision over the long weekend as well. This will be my first, only and final semester taking viola lessons. I decided that I love the violin too much that I could never stop playing it.

This decision comes as great relief to me. I have been struggling with it since the second week of school when I started taking lessons on both. I know that they will try to get me to reconsider, to take lessons on both, but for the sake of my sanity and my grades, I cannot. As such, I am not going to buy that Russell Coe viola. It is a fine instrument, but soon I will be needing a new violin bow, and perhaps senior year I will be getting a new, very nice violin. I just cannot spend my parents money right now with the thoughts of my future in violin. It seems foolish since viola is not my passion.

I have really put a lot of time and money into violin, in fact, most of my money went into something violin related. I have paid for lessons by myself at $15.00 per half hour, 2 times a week for about 2 years and the other year it was only 1 time a week. I have bought my own strings, $50.00 sets, every 3-4 months. I have a nice sheet music collection, which is still growing, in which I have bought alomost every piece of music I own and probably spent around $2,000.00+. I also have bought my bow and half of my instrument with my parents at a cost of over $1,000.00. In total, that takes up about all of the money I have ever made at my job in the grocery store Hy-Vee. I don't regret spending this money, I wanted to make the violin my life, my career, my passion, and my reason for being. I can't start over again on viola. I don't have the money, I don't want to invest the time. I have worked hard on violin. Three years ago, before I started private lesson, my practice was worthless and I played out of tune constantly for everything. When I started lessons my practice became focused and longer, often times I would practice 5+ hours a day. I went from being a below average violinist to being Associate Concertmaster of my high school orchestra in lesson than 2 years.

I have cried over the violin, when I felt like the world was crashing down on my. I would play something and it just wouldn't come out of the violin the way I wanted it to. But I persevered and went to each lesson prepared and knowing the Maria would help guide me on the path of getting better. Now, the violin is my passion, my voice, my love, my life, my future.

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October 11, 2005 13:45

Well, the choice between violin or viola just got more interesting. My viola teacher told me today that if we could afford this really nice viola he knows of and we can't get a case or a bow he would give me an extra case he has and lend me one of his better bows to use while I scrounge up the funds to get bow. The viola he is getting in from Mark Womak (the violin/viola maker) was made by Coe. In fact, my viola teacher owned this exact viola 8 years ago. The only reason he sold it was because he was in a bad car accident and sustained injury to his shoulders. This viola was too heavy for him so he had no choice but to sell it to get a lighter one. He said that if he had had the money to rebuy it he definately would. It's a 16 5/8" viola, like the one I have now. Mark regraduated it to make it lighter and he claims it sounds better than it did because he did that (he is a violist so he should know). Anyway the asking price on the viola is $3,500.00. I'm just not sure. I haven't gotten it yet, it should come either Thursday or Friday.

I just don't know if I should get it. I don't know if I'm actually going to switch to viola or not. Should I risk loosing such an instrument even if I don't switch in college. The maker is around 80 years old and when he passes away the viola will probably be worth 3 times as much. I mean, if I don't switch I could always use that viola and my current violin as trade in value for a better violin and bow. I also have to consider that I may become a better violist. If my teacher is willing to give me some of his personal stuff (the case and the bow), he obviously thinks I have the makings of a great violist if he is willing to give me viola case and lend me one of his nice bows. Argh, the choice just got harder. Well, I have symphony soon so I must stop writing.

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October 9, 2005 13:58

Well, I just had my first performance with my college orchestra. I must say that it was very different from high school. It was much cleaner souding, no mush, we were much more together. As always there was some problems with the performance but for the most part it went very well and a lot of people (string faculty included) commented on how good was. It was good considering we have only rehearsed it for 6ish weeks. Tomorrow we start working with the soloist on the Brahms Violin Concerto and I can't wait to hear how he plays it. He's a fantastic violinist who was won numerous competitions and he started violin when he was 11. So that will be fun.

I found out today why my violin is not making as much sound as it usually does. The bridge was not set right, so when I hopefully practice tonight I will be able to fix that. I have picked out the viola I want to get and my parents have agreed to buy it for me so now I will have a really, really nice viola that, when I do my recital over the summer on violin and viola, I won't be embarresed to play the viola.

Next semester I will be taking a 1 hr. violin lesson and a 1 hr. viola lesson. It will be very hard because I will have an extra class but in the end it will be worth it. Anyway, that's it for now.

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October 6, 2005 18:02

Well, my teacher likes the first 2 years of my plan and really only changed a couple of things. The sonatas really are any sonata be it Baroque, Classical, Romantic or Modern. I just basically have them there to reserve a spot. I'm not expecting to have it divided my a line. I fully expect things to bleed into each other. I will of course be doing etudes and scale work while I am doing the repetoire I have listed. She gave me more variety and next semester I will be doing a Baroque Sonata either italian, french or german. She's going to show me a bunch and have me pick one. I also know that Things will of course take different lengths of time to learn.

My Violin Repetoire 2 Year Plan

Year Semester Title Composer
FY 1 Violin Concerto in a-minor de Beriot
1 Any Sonata Mozart
1 Sonata No. 1 in g-minor J.S. Bach
1 Liebesleid/Liebesfreud Kriesler
2 Violin Concerto in g-minor Bruch
2 Any Sonata Beethoven
2 Partita in d-minor J.S. Bach
2 Romanian Folk Dances Bartok
Summer Concerto No. 2 Wieniawski
Summer Sonata in a-minor J.S. Bach
Summer Any Sonata Beethoven
Summer Nigun Bloch
Soph 1 Concerto No. V Mozart
1 Sonata in C-Major J.S. Bach
1 Sonata for Solo Violin Prokofiev
1 Any Sonata Beethoven
2 Symphonie Espangnole Lalo
2 Zapateado Sarasate
2 Partita in b-minor J.S. Bach
2 Any Sonata Beethoven
Summer Concerto No. 3 in b-minor Saint-Saens
Summer Partita in E-Major J.S. Bach
Summer Any Sonata Beethoven
Summer Habanera Sarasate

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Well, this could be my next 4 years

October 4, 2005 23:21

This is by no means complete or set in stone. I am presenting my teacher with a plan of repetoire for the next 4 years and I would just like some critiquing and also inform you all what is going on. The numbers are for the semester of the year I'm in at that moment, it goes year, then semester then title of the piece then the pieces composer. I realized it's a little hard to read after I posted it. Thanks, any advice is much appreciated.
My Violin Repetoire 4 Year Plan

Year Semester Title Composer
FY 1 Violin Concerto in a-minor de Beriot
1 Any Sonata Beethoven
1 Sonata No. 1 in g-minor J.S. Bach
1 Liebesleid/Liebesfreud Kriesler
2 Violin Concerto in g-minor Bruch
2 Any Sonata Beethoven
2 Partita in d-minor J.S. Bach
2 Romanian Folk Dances Bartok
Summer Symphonie Espagnole Lalo
Summer Sonata in a-minor J.S. Bach
Summer Any Sonata Beethoven
Summer Nigun Bloch
Soph 1 Concerto No. 3 in b-minor Saint-Saens
1 Sonata in C-Major J.S. Bach
1 Sonata for Solo Violin Prokofiev
1 Any Sonata Beethoven
2 Concerto No. 2 Wieniawski
2 Zigeunerweison Sarasate
2 Partita in b-minor J.S. Bach
2 Any Sonata Beethoven
Summer Violin Concerto in e-minor Mendelsohhn
Summer Partita in E-Major J.S. Bach
Summer Any Sonata Beethoven
Summer Caprice Basque Sarasate
Jr. 1 Fantasy for Violin Shoenberg
1 Ciaconna J.S. Bach
1 Habanera Sarasate
1 Any Sonata Beethoven
2 Concerto No. 1 or 2 Prokofiev
2 Polonaise Brilliante in A-Major Wieniawski
2 Schon Rosmarin Kriesler
2 Any Sonata Beethoven
Summer Concerto No. 4 or 5 Vieuxtemps
Summer Sonata No. 1 Brahms
Summer Poeme Chausson
Summer Selections from “Porgy and Bess” Gershwin-Heifetz
Sr. 1 Violin Concerto Tchaikovsky
1 Caprice Viennois or Tambourin Chinois Kriesler
1 Introduction and Tarantella Wieniawski
1 Sonata No. 2 Brahms
2 Violin Concerto Beethoven
2 Sonata No. 3 Brahms
2 Caprice Viennois or Tambourin Chinois Kriesler
2 Zapateado Sarasate
Summer Violin Concerto Brahms
Summer Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso Saint-Saens
Summer Solo Sonata Bartok
Summer Hora Staccato Dinicu-Heifetz

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Wow, twice in one day

October 2, 2005 20:58

I usually don't enjoy listening to solo piano but tonight was the exception. I attended a Duo Piano Faculty recital by a husband and wife team who teach piano here on campus. It was absolutely amazing and I'm so glad I went. The entire recital hall was nearly full for these two which is absolutely amazing and they are really in synch with other. They had a nice variety of pieces and exquisite control of piano technique, it's been a long time since I've heard a really good pianist, let alone 2 in one day.

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October 2, 2005 11:39

Well, I hadn't intended to go this long w/out updating but sometimes time just gets away from me. My lessons are going really well and I have noticed improvements in my playing already. Symphony is going really well and I have practically all the time I want to practice. I have time to get all of my homework done and all that fun stuff. I enjoy all of my classes now, especially the music ones, but I love spanish because my Professor is hilarious plus I'm learning a lot.

On the not so good side, I don't really feel like I have made any friends yet. I know that it might eventually come but it is just getting really tiresome. I have tons of people I say hi to everyday but that's about it, there is nothing more than that for me here. There are people who I eat meals with but a lot of times when I'm in the Cafeteria first and they come in after me they go and sit in a group together with other people even though I could be sitting there completely alone and just barely started eating. What makes it worse is that sometimes when they do this they look at me and just keep right on going as if they really don't know me. I feel like a complete outsider here most of the time. I enjoy the music and my classes but not trying to make friends part. I just don't know right now. Last night I was severly depressed about it. Why do people never want to do anything with me? I'm nice to everyone and I talk with people and it seems like we might just become good friends and then I don't see them for a week. It's just so hard...it will come with time though, I just hope it doesn't take as long as it did in high school.

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