Emily Allen on Violinist.com

Making History- Part II

Mon, 21 May 2012 13:06:47 GMT

Yesterday I got to participate in a really unique experience. The Crown Point Bridge is a local piece of history. It connects New York and Vermont and (although I don't know any of the details) played some sort of role in the Revolutionary War. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to play for the 400th year anniversary of the bridge. We had a small orchestra who played a suite by a local composer that chronicals the bridges history. It includes traditional melodies from the times when the bridge belonged to the French, was passed to the British and, finally, became an American bridge. Recently, the bridge was put out of service (I mean, the thing is over 400 years old so it's understandable) and rebuilt. Yesterday, we celebrated the re-opening of the bridge! We performed the same piece as well as some other tunes with a small group of string players. I think it is so cool to be able to pay such a tribute to a historical landmark!!

Summer Goals

Thu, 17 May 2012 04:55:45 GMT

I am officially back home! And what better way to spend my first night home than with a late night practice session? I definately got an idea of the thhings I want to accomplis over the summer. Here are a few: -Develop a good spicatto for my bowing etude (which is not Mazas 5) -Get the majority of my pieces for next semester learned (which include some solo Bach, the deBeriot and Sarasate Playera) -Work on my new scale packages (3 scales and 8 arpeggios...ahhh quite scary) and memorize the fingerings -When we get our orchestra excerpts, practice those like crazy! So, those are my plans for the summer. Hopefully i can accomplish most of them! I also plan on playing at a lot of different places. I had to laugh because, the minute I got home, I got a call about a gig for this weekend :p It's going to be a busy (but fun) summer!

<3

Wed, 16 May 2012 02:01:36 GMT

I have to say that I have the best teacher ever! At the end of every semester, he and his wife invite our whole studio to a party at their house. They make delicious food and we just all hang out and have an excellent time. It's a great stress-free way to end the semester!

de Beriot Concerto No. 9

Tue, 15 May 2012 20:49:14 GMT

This is one of the pieces my teacher assigned me for next semester. I really like it, but it sounds super hard. Has anyone ever played it? Is it as hard as it looks/sounds?

What Musical Genres Do You Listen To?

Sat, 12 May 2012 23:06:28 GMT

We had an interesting discussion in my last cello class. Our professor was basically saying that, as music educators, we should expose ourselves to as many different musical genres as possible. I have always agreed with this, because I think it is important to be able to relate to what our students are listening to. I mean, chances are that our students will not be blasting Beethoven on their iPods. Our professor was interested in seeing what everyone listened to outside of class and, let me tell you, I was quite surprised at the variety. In this small group of string players, we had interests that ranged from alternative to rap to Irish rock. Personally, I mostly listen to classical (including movie soundtrakcs, which I love!), Broadway, contemporary Christian and some pop (just to keep up with what's current). So, I am interested to open this question up to a larger community of string players. What musical genres do you listen to?

What A Year!

Sat, 12 May 2012 04:36:58 GMT

Today was officially the last day of classes for the semester. I figured now would be a good time to look back and reflect on how I have grown as a musician this past year. When I first came to music school, I realized that I was quite behind violin-wise. Although I certainly wasn't a "bad" violinist, I was lacking a lot of technical skills. I had never played a 3 octave scale. I had never worked on etudes or solo Bach. I had very little experience with "real" orchestra music (although I loved listening to it, the orchestras I was in were never good enough to play any of it)...I was so used to playing arrangements. It was really frusterating to realize how unprepared I was and how much I had to do to catch up. I spent the first semester working on a lot of technique. I worked on Mazas and Trott etudes, most of my scales and Presto from Bach Sonata No. 1. In addition, I was exposed to some great orchestral pieces. We played Symphonie Fantastique for our first concert of the year! I left first semester with a pretty good idea of what I needed to do to succeed the second semester. When I came back from break, I knew I was going to be doing my level, so I worked really hard to prepare all my pieces, etudes and scales perfectly. And, in the end, I think all my hard work really payed off. Even though I didn't pass my Kreutzer etude, when I look at all the stuff I DID pass my hard work really shows. I passed my scales, even though just a few months earlier I was learning them for the first time. I passed a double stop etude, I had never seen anything like it before coming to college. And I passed both a Bach and Vivaldi piece. So, I guess what I'm saying is that, even though I am still upset about not completely passing my level, I can now realize and appreciate that 4 out of 5 isn't too bad. And I plan to work just as hard this summer and come back to pass Kreutzer like nobody's business. I guess, for now, all I can say is...What A Year!

Failure...

Thu, 10 May 2012 03:50:23 GMT

It's the one thing that is hard to understand as a musician. How can we "fail" at something we love? It's like failing at watching TV or eating chocolate cake. But the fact is that failure presents us with the oportunity to improve and we are faced with some tough questions to answer before improvement can begin: Why did I fail? How am I going to fix it? Who are the best people to have help me fix this problem? Unfortunately, the answers to these questions aren't always the answers we want to hear. Failure can make us realize things that we never wanted to realize. So what do we do with these realizations? How do we use them to help prevent failing again? Well, I honestly don't know the answer to that...but I will let you all know if I ever figure it out.

Bad News, Good News and a Little More Bad News

Tue, 08 May 2012 22:28:11 GMT

So today was my level. I was super confident going in because I had a really good practice session before hand. We randomly select our scaled from a hat which is the most nerve-racking part. And wouldn't you know...I picked C#...the one scale I have had so much trouble with. I also picked B and Eb. But guess what???? I played them all perfectly!!!!! I was so excited because that was the one part I was worried about! So heres the second bad news: I failed my Kreutzer 2 bowing etude. I am really mad because that has been the one thing throughout the semester that my teacher has said was solid. Apparently my spicatto was not correct and this was related to my bow hold. But here is why I am really mad: my teacher never told me there was anything wrong with my bow hold. If I would have known that there was a problem, I totally would have fixed it (that's how I passed everything else...he told me there were problems and I worked my butt off to fix them). How was I supposed to fix something that I didn't know was a problem? Sorry for the unusually negative tone of this blog. I just really wanted to prove to myself that I could pass this whole thing on the first try. (Basically now I just have to re-do the etude next semester). Hopefully I can solve these issues by then!

The Battle of C# and More

Mon, 07 May 2012 22:17:40 GMT

So I went to have practice session part one and started out with a lovely Ab scale. Then I attempted to play my arch enemy...C#! I played the major and minor scales with out modulating but I ended my minor arpeggio on a sharp C# and by the time I finished the major arpeggio I was on a D. UGH! I tried it like a gazillion more times and was semi-successful...I sometimes ended a little sharp but I guess that is better than full out modulation. I totally pulled a muscle in my lower left shoulder. I don't know if it's from practicing cello a lot for my cello final or if it's from violin. Either way, it really hurts :( And I still have to practice viola tonight for my test tomorrow. Well, that's enough ranting for me. Tomorrows level day and I can't wait to see what happens! Wish Me Luck!!!!!! (and that I don't pick C#!)

One Day Left....AHHHHH

Mon, 07 May 2012 03:12:15 GMT

So tomorrow is the last day before me level. I am sort of freaking out because I have been working so hard and want to pass SOOO badly! I will be playing: - 3 randomly selected scales (major, melodic minor and the respective arppegios) - Kreutzer 2 (with diff bowings and rhythms) - Trott 18 - Vivaldi Winter, 3rd Mvt - Bach Partita 2, 1st Mvt My etudes are great (as long as I keep my focus) and my pieces are for the most part fine. Although, I do still have some blurriness in my eye from having pink eye so I am hoping that doesn't get in the way. But it is the scales that I am really freaking out about. I had a "scale convention" with a friend and played them all right ecept for C#...so hopefully I will be able to work out my problem with that tomorrow. Throw in the the fact that I have 5 other exams this week (and 3 more next week) and I am in for a CRAZY two weeks. I am so glad the semester is almost over!