June 26, 2005 at 7:01 AM

My next lesson with Mr. Zukerman is Monday morning bright and early at 8:30. I had one of my best practice sessions so far at the program today. I feel that gradually I am beginning to figure out some new directions to take my playing, and I'm excited. It's helpful for me to practice with a mirror more, as I'm trying to alter my bow grip slightly and the mirror helps me keep it in check and see when it slides back to the old position. With the bow grip that I'm used to, my index finger is a little too far apart from the others--in moderation that helps with power, but when it's too much it makes me stiff. In general I need to to curl my fingers more and keep my knuckles down and wrist low at the frog, and of course always try to bow with flat hair and with straight bow direction (in and out). I worked well on the Beethoven development. My mom just mailed me my recital CD, and I have listened to a little bit of it. The first movement was considerably more out of tune that I had thought, which is a little distressing, but it just motivated me more to really work on intonation today. In particular I've been focusing on expressive intonation--higher leading tones, higher major thirds, flatter minor thirds, etc. The sound is much more intense, so it's probably not best to use in every single bar, but it's certainly very useful. For me, practicing intonation to this extreme is a way to hopefully overcompensate so that it sounds right on in performance. Another thing I need to do is just get in the habit of recording myself more, as that is the only objective way for me to really judge for myself whether I sound better when focusing emotionally or physically or with some combination of the two.

Besides all these things to work on in the practice room, I really need to change my set up or experiment with something new. I have long used the Wolf Forte Primo shoulder rest as well as a rather cupped chin rest, and it has essentially gotten me into a position in which I cannot be very mobile or free. I hold the violin quite forward in order to reach the tip, but on the E string I'm a little crunched for room and need to be able to hold it further out on my shoulder. Zukerman essentially advocates any kind of sponge or towel as preferable to a shoulder rest because of the idea of pressure and counterpressure--that there should be a certain amount of tension (but not too much) in the chin holding up the violin to counter the bow pressure to produce sound, and that anything that literally rests the violin upon the body defeats that possibility. A sponge provides some support, especially for people with longer necks, but doesn't "do the work for you," and is flexible. Of course, this is just one theory, and everyone's body is quite different. I do feel, though, that I haven't at all experimented enough with finding the best setup, and so I'd like to try things out over the summer and hopefully have found something more comfortable by the fall.

I'm also excited and a little anxious about having some time to spend just working by myself once I get home. The program has gone by awfully fast and in this last coming week there are concerts nearly every day. My Mozart Flute Quartet performs on Tuesday in a midday concert in the National Arts Centre lobby. Usually after coming home from a summer camp I'm apt to slack off for a while, but I have a feeling that for the next year of my musical life I'll always have new things to be working on, or old things to be digging deeper into. I'm not quite sure where my playing is going to go, but I know I still have a lot of learning to do and I'm looking forward to it.

On a more personal note, another aspect of the program that has been just as important for me as working with the faculty is meeting such wonderful fellow musicians. We have a lot of opportunities to hang out and socialize here, and at no other program have I bonded so much with my peers. The level is quite high and I think that allows us to have unique and honest conversations about music--from the struggles we face to exactly which fingerings we like in such-and-such bar of the Franck sonata. And when all else fails, we bond over "Family Guy" and "Superman: The Animated Series." I'm not sure whether I'd like to return next year; I'm also very interested auditioning for some orchestra festivals like Kent/Blossom or the Pacific Music Festival. Overall I have great memories of Ottawa, though, and as my playing still has a long way to go, I have a feeling I may be back here again at some point in the future.

June 26, 2005 at 7:01 AM

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