Winter Practicing

Written by Joshua Iyer
Published: January 7, 2014 at 6:10 PM [UTC]

This morning, I had a practice session from 11am-11:45. And for some reason, the time flew! Maybe it was because I am starting to love and enjoy the violin again. (I often have bits of time where I obsess over something else, usually non-musical, for a week or so, and then go back.) Maybe it was because I was really focused and knew what I wanted to get done. Such as intonation problems because I'm going all the way up to a high C on the E string (not in third position) and there are some crazy shifts along the way, or the numerous accidentals. (I was working on excerpts from Brahm's Academic Festival Overture for auditions coming up.) Whatever the case, it was still amazing how the time flew, and I really hope all my future sessions will leave me feeling exhilarated like I am now. I feel almost like I just had a piece I wrote played by a real orchestra. :)

And it's always nice to play violin when it's extremely cold outside. Yesterday the electricity was out for about twenty minutes (we had no who'll today and yesterday), and although I was playing the piano, I could have just as easily picked up my violin and played, as neither of those things require electricity. And it was very relaxing, just staying inside the house, while it was cold outside. To quote Vivaldi, "To rest contentedly beside the hearth,/while those outside are drenched by pouring rain." (From his sonnet for "Winter")

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