And My Long Musical Journey Begins!!

August 23, 2012 at 5:13 PM

So my journey with the viola begins!!...well it kinda already started but now it's official!!

I am a college student to be and I must start getting prepared for college auditions and prescreening and all that fun stuff. With only a year to get ready, I am nervous and worried, but excited and ready to work double time. Originally I was going to major in violin and take lessons for viola on the side, but this miraculous thing happened and I changed my mind.

Playing both viola and violin, I get to see the best (and worst) of both worlds. Recently the viola as been pulling at my attention and calling me name. So of course I answered thinking it was going to be a regular practice, but of course it wasn't. My viola spoke to me in a whole new way. So with only a year to go, I have switched to viola and that will be my major and my violin my 'minor'.

I can't even explain how overwhelmed I felt when I realized all the things I must learn in a years time. Those who think that the viola isn't that hard of a instrument, oh how very wrong you are!

What jolted me the most was looking at the Walton Viola Concerto for the first time. It's a beautiful piece, so one thinks 'oh I would love to play that for an audition.' When coming from the violin and looking at the standard concerti, you are used to the insanely fast(or beautifully or even painstakingly slow), gorgeous, emotion filled concerto. I did not expect so many time signature changes!! It's almost like an improv on the piano!! Every couple measures, another time sig. change. It even goes into seven-two. WHAT?!? So of course after seeing that, I couldn't help but hyperventilate a bit. Then to make that worse, I started thinking of how shifting was harder and playing faster, harder! And so many more things to learn! Then having to take everything I already know and switch it over to the viola and tweek things here and there to make it fit the viola (literally)

After a bit of freak out, I sat down and focused on my Beethoven Symphony No. 2 and began to learn my excerpts for seating auditions...on Saturday....which I just started working on on Wednesday. The music engulfed me and immediately I felt better. The viola will become my second limb and heart and I can't wait to been a very long, interesting journey with it. (And my violin will of course be tagging along for the ride)

Oh...did I mention I have only been playing viola for...oooh I don't know, 7 months? And violin for six years? (insert nervous laughter here) wish me luck, I'm gonna need it.

P.S. I just realized that this Noo makes me sound like I do everything at the last minute..I don't though!!!

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And My Long Musical Journey Begins!!

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