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I need good luck vibes for my recital: Bach Double Slow Movement

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:58:15 GMT

I need some good luck vibes, will be playing the bach double slow movement (2nd violin) shortly with my teacher for recital. & nbsp;

My goal is to have fun and really enjoy the music. & nbsp; Also

1. & nbsp; Land all my shifts accurately, no sliding around

2. Use as much vibrato continuously as my fingers will tolerate

3. & nbsp; Watch the dynamics, remember who's playing the melody

4. & nbsp; Bring out the moving notes more

5. & nbsp; Please don't miss those harmonic notes

6. & nbsp; Don't count wrong and come in at wrong places.

Some people like scales, but they make me sad

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:54:58 GMT

I'm reading Natasha's blog about loving scale and I'm so ashame of myself. & nbsp; I went to lesson last week, really stumbling on my C major scale. & nbsp; My fourth finger is weak especially on the last extension (I start with first finger, and my last two notes are played with 4th finger and then 4th extension). & nbsp; My shift on the E string on the really high position (I have no idea how high, 8th?) is really bad. & nbsp; It takes me forever to play the major, harmonic and melodic minor right. & nbsp; And then the arpreggios, broken thirds, chromatic scales, oh no, double stop 6ths. & nbsp;

I'm only a beginner, I wonder if this is overwhelming for me? & nbsp; It's alot easier if I do all this in 2 octaves. & nbsp; But 3 octave is really difficult. & nbsp; I'm feeling alot more comfortable with the scales that doesn't go that high on 3 octaves, & nbsp; e.g. G major, Bb, A etc...C is really making me sad.

I do realize the importance of scales, especially in orchestra, where loads of fast runs are scales of some sort, I & nbsp;just need to figure out how to get better at it!

Small vs large orchestra experience

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:05:48 GMT

My knees were shaking when & nbsp;I was walking from my car to the rehearsal hall. & nbsp; I wanted to turn around so bad, but I thought to myself, I gotta give it a try (for various reasons that I won't bore you with!). & nbsp; This is my first time playing some very difficult music with a community symphony orchestra. & nbsp; I've been playing with a smaller chamber orchestra for a year and enjoyed every minute of it. & nbsp; We have the summer off, so I decided to try playing with a larger group. & nbsp; Just a slight problem, the music is way over my head. & nbsp; Tchaikovsky 6..... I was so scared! & nbsp; But after 5 minutes into the rehearsal, I learned that when you have winds/brass blasting behind you, you can't even hear yourself play!! In my chamber string orchestra group, I was much & nbsp;more exposed, you can't make mistakes, but it's bit more forgiving in a symphonic orch group. & nbsp;

& nbsp;

I will, however, try not to fake that much and really try to learn the music and give it my best! & nbsp; I love violin, i love music!

Tchaikovsky in the summer

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 01:35:46 GMT

Summer is almost here! & nbsp; Does your orchestra play during the summer? & nbsp; I'm excited for this summer since I get to play Tchaikovsky 6. & nbsp; I looked at the music and sadly, the 2nd violin part does not contain that beautiful melody. & nbsp;

By the way, you veterans out there, how difficult is this piece (2nd violin part)? & nbsp; Compare to say, the Vivaldi Seasons (not solo, orchestra part that is).

Help me decide which Yo Yo Ma concert to see?

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 01:30:28 GMT

Yo Yo Ma will be coming to San Francisco for 10 days Jan 2010!!! & nbsp; I've seen him performed once when I was in college and would love to see him again now that I'm a violinist!

& nbsp;

What would you pick?

The question is, do i want to see him:

1. & nbsp;Recital Yo Yo Ma with Emmanual Ax

Program

& nbsp;

Schumann

Adagio and Allegro

& nbsp;

Schumann

Five Pieces in Folk Style

& nbsp;

Peter Lieberson

SFS Commission (World premiere)

& nbsp;

Chopin

Polonaise brillante

& nbsp;

Schumann

Fantasy Pieces

& nbsp;

Chopin

Cello Sonata

2. & nbsp; MTT with Yo Yo Ma

The brilliance of cellist Yo-Yo Ma shines in a program that features two dazzling masterpieces. Brahms & rsquo;s Concerto for Violin and Cello displays the lavish harmonies of the Romantic era, while Shostakovich & rsquo;s Cello Concerto & mdash;written in 1966 & mdash;is a superb example of the composer & rsquo;s late style. & nbsp;

Violinist is: & nbsp; Colin Jacobsen

3. & nbsp; Yo Yo Ma Chamber music

Program to be announced

Continuous vibrato

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 05:04:40 GMT

I'm getting very frustrated with vibrato. & nbsp; Something that I longed to do when I first started violin, yet I hate to do them now, because they are so hard. & nbsp; I'm very jealous of people where vibrato happened to them & quot;overnight & quot;. & nbsp; I had the urge to do vibrato only a few months after I started, watched alot of video, read about, and felt dyslexic when adding the bow hand together. & nbsp;Now, I've officially been taught vibrato by my teacher, I'm much better than before, but the only decent vibrato that comes out are from 2nd and 3rd finger, 4th is weak, but at least it's vibrating, first finger is just pathetic. & nbsp;

What is more frustrating to me is that, my vibrato is not continuous. I'm practing vibrato using The Swan from The carnival of the animals (holding it like a violin, not like a cello!!), and my teacher told me to do wide vibrato on quarter notes and longer. & nbsp; I just can't do them. & nbsp; I can only do it when notes are longer than half note or the note is at the end of a phrase. :(

I want to cry!!

Perlman's recital this weekend!

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 02:27:16 GMT

I can't wait to see Itzhak Perlman's recital at San Francisco & nbsp;Davies Symphony Hall this weekend!! This season, the SF Symphony has alot of great artist. I & nbsp;was able to see Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn (amazing), will be seeing Perlman of course, Anne Sophie Mutter, Julia Fischer and Gil Shaham!

& nbsp;

Anyone else in the bay area going to the Perlman recital? & nbsp;How excited are you!?

Should I bring my violin or not? Dreaded Delta

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 05:02:08 GMT

I really need to practice this week, and I don't like to be without my violin for a week. & nbsp; But reading from the horror stories with flying Delta, I am thinking twice about it. & nbsp;

I fly with my violin all the time (i travel alot, but always with United, and they are SUPER & nbsp;nice to musicians). & nbsp; & nbsp; I book this flight kinda late, and United does not have any direct flights anymore, I completely forgot about this Delta nightmare until now.

Many violinist here complaint that Delta would not let them bring their violin on board with them, although my violin is not expensive, I don't want to check it.

If you were me, what would you do?

Scales, scales, scales.... dead fish?

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 23:12:09 GMT

I'm just working on 3 scales at the moment, the most basic: & nbsp;G, A and C, and it is driving me up the walls. & nbsp; My intonation has improved alot, before, i cannot hear anything above the high E, and now I can hear them. & nbsp;

Now.... fingering, what the!???? & nbsp; I remember in piano, fingerings for scales are fairly standard, but I'm like, every scale has a different fingering in violin?? & nbsp; I'm using the Barbara Barber scale book, and so far, G and A is okay, I can play them, but for the G scales, I shift on the A string, but on the A scales, I shift on the E string. & nbsp; (teacher told me to do so), then on the C major scale, she asked me to start on first finger (and will do so for everything else), and my book does not have those fingerings. & nbsp;

What kind of fingerings do you use? & nbsp;Is there a standard somewhere at least for beginners? & nbsp;

& nbsp;

These are all 3 octave scales I'm referring to. :)

Scales... so annoying, yet so useful. & nbsp; Oh.... someone please rescue me from dominant and diminished 7ths. Can't hear them at all! LOL

Why can't I memorize music?

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 07:58:38 GMT

I am so ashamed of myself that I did not have ONE & nbsp;piece memorized after playing the violin for a year. & nbsp; I & nbsp;went to my uncle's place, took out the violin (my old VSO and he wanted to borrow it) and start practicing some scales. & nbsp; My uncle ask me to play something for him, and for the life of me, I cannot even play anything entirely from memory. & nbsp;I am not a Suzuki student, and I did not memorize any of the pieces. I just realized that I cannot play without looking at music!!! & nbsp;

I suddenly remembered bits and pieces of Reiding B minor, but I & nbsp;have not played that in 6 months. & nbsp; I only remembered maybe the first page and a half... I'm very ashamed.