Excited about lessons!

October 30, 2007 at 11:37 AM

I'm really excited: I have a violin/viola teacher! After a few days of phone tag (because she's busy with rehearsals), I connected with the teacher my former teacher recommended. Based on the phone conversation, I think it's going to work out well.

She plays and teaches both instruments, although she's currently doing more violin than viola. She has similar preferences and outlook to me, though, in terms of liking the inner voices--2nd violin and viola--in an orchestra. She has played and performed several of the Bach cello suites on viola and is happy to work on them with me. She's also enthusiastic about Rebecca Clarke's music and says it's very playable for someone at my level. She said that she wouldn't feel comfortable teaching me Walton and Bartok, but we're not there yet.

However, since I'm going out of town on this business trip this weekend (the one that nixed my first orchestra performance), I can't start lessons until the 12th of November. At that time, I will have Fantasia on Greensleeves and the Bach Double to work on on the violin, and I will have the orchestra music for the December concert on the viola. I am going to try a lunch-hour lesson schedule. My workplace is pretty flexible and I believe that a 2-hour lunch every 2 weeks will be okay with my boss. I can take the T two stops and get to my lesson in about 20 minutes at the Longy Music School. I'm hoping this will provide a nice break, and that I won't be too tired to get anything out of the lesson, the way it might be if it was at the end of the workday or in the evening. I will end up bringing 2 instruments.

Last night I dreamed I had a viola that was really beat up but sounded really good. In the dream, people came from all over to see and hear this instrument with big divots out of its back. This is not the reality of my viola all, which is quite new and in very good condition. It does sound good, though not enough to attract people from miles around or anything like that. I think I'm missing the viola right now because I'm working exclusively on Bach and Greensleeves and don't have time for more.

From Karin Lin
Posted on October 30, 2007 at 4:43 PM

Congratulations, Karen! I know the quality of my own playing has skyrocketed since I started working with a good teacher. Good luck to you!

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on October 31, 2007 at 5:32 AM

I'm glad you found a teacher who is so compatible with you. I hope your lessons with her are rewarding.

From Anne Horvath
Posted on October 31, 2007 at 1:20 PM

Good luck with your new teacher! Have fun!

Also, don't forget the most important cliches of the Adult Student Music Lesson:

"It sounded better at home", and "Sorry", inserted after every wrong note. (Insert smiley face here.)

From Karen Allendoerfer
Posted on October 31, 2007 at 1:46 PM

Heck, I used those cliches at lessons before I was an adult ;-)

From Anne Horvath
Posted on October 31, 2007 at 3:19 PM

I had a lesson Sunday morning, and after playing through my concerto movement, the first thing out of my mouth was: "Sorry about the two wrong notes". I went on, quite proudly, "I played B-naturals instead of B#s".

Grr. I SWORE I would not fall into that pathetic, defensive trap. Fortunately, I am taking lessons from the World's Kindest Man...

Anyhoo, I hope things work out for you! Best of luck!

From Yixi Zhang
Posted on October 31, 2007 at 9:40 PM

Yeah! I’m so excited for you, Karen! Having a good teacher makes me feel like I didn’t have a (violin) life before that. I always feel high after each lesson and I hope you do too, and bring violin to work on the lesson days is just adding another fun to work itself. Enjoy what I believe to be one of the best gifts you can give yourself!

Haha, Anne, now my teacher is saying that cliché to me instead… don’t know what to make of that:)

From Terez Mertes
Posted on November 2, 2007 at 5:14 PM

>"It sounded better at home", and "Sorry", inserted after every wrong note. (Insert smiley face here.)

Anne, were you listening in on me at my last lesson, or what?!

Congrats, Karen! Sounds like a great fit for you.

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