July 2005

July 3, 2005 00:49

DM and I have spent two more hours on bowing, and I can now play an open D, E, F#, and G on the Ding, as well as some of "Three Blind Mice". But I hate playing "Three Blind Mice" because DM won't let me play anything on the Aing yet, and I'm transposing the "See how they run." and it sounds stupid.

Form-wise, my grip is pretty good, although, if I concentrate on my left hand, I often allow my fingers to become too loose and move too much on the bow. But my general upper body weakness has made bowing much more difficult than it has to be, I think. DM came up with some clever ideas, like leaning the right side of my body, including my upper right arm against a door/wall while playing. They do help some.

My husband bought me a cheap bow online, and I carry it around with me and use it to practice my grip. Although I didn't intend to use it to play the violin with, DM rosined it up and tried it, and it doesn't sound too bad. But mostly I got it to bring with me in the car or to practice my grip with while I watch the Red Sox on TV, things like that.

And DM is being much more patient with my glacial progress than I am, right now. I'm sure I'm far behind the average student, as far as progress goes, and I get frustrated a lot, but she takes it all in stride. As long as I'm motivated, practicing, and making some progress, even at a snail's pace, that is all she asks of me.

The good news is that I've been going to a personal trainer for a week, and have had one Alexander Technique session, and they have made a big difference in my ability to play and practice. Today I was able to practice longer, as much as 10 minutes, in a productive fashion. And the wavering sound on the down-bow is much less noticeable.

I can't say enough for the Alexander Technique. I know it's been discussed extensively elsewhere on this site by more knowledgeable people, but I must add my two-cents' worth. In my case, for the last 15 minutes of the session, which I spent on a table (like a massage table), my right arm and shoulder felt normal for the first time since I fell last October 4th. No pain, no tension, just normal and relaxed. After being in constant pain for so long, it was a revelation. And it has given me hope.

I haven't started practicing the technique at home yet, but I intend to do so tomorrow, and to try to recapture a little of that feeling.

The personal training is exhausting and somewhat painful, but has already produced results as far as upper body strength is concerned. So, the extra effort is paying off in a lot of ways. And the small improvements in technique and practice time have made me less impatient.

Maybe the thing that most keeps me going right now is something my husband said to me the other night when I made it through the first part of "Three Blind Mice" and had moved on to practice keeping my bow straight on the open Ding. He called to me from the kitchen, "I recognized that! See, you *are* making progress. Not only can you play "Three Blind Mice", but you can play the first note of Partita No. 2."

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More entries: March 2006 • June 2005

July 2005

July 3, 2005 00:49

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