V.com weekend vote: What is your most important music goal for 2009?

January 2, 2009 at 7:41 PM

Have you set your goals for 2009? Perhaps you've decided to exercise more, eat more leanly, spend less money, make your own coffee instead of buying expensive lattes...

But what are your violin or music-related goals? It's a good time of year, after a little bit of holiday rest (or maybe it's just been full-on gigs all December long, nonetheless...) to step back and think about what really matters.

Do you want to improve your technique? Or is that all for naught, until you find the right bow? Or perhaps you have a career goal, like getting into an orchestra or finding the right group to work with. Perhaps you need to find a teacher or mentor. Usually most people want to practice more, but that might not be number one. Then again, if you've fallen out of the routine, that might be just what you need.

So among your goals for the violin (or viola or cello, or whatever you play!), what is your most important goal for 2009?

 

Vibrato ... That's my goal this year. I'm sure it's possible, but so far, no supporting evidence. :-)

Wendy

I voted for find the right teacher but another one I would have voted for is improve my standing in orchestra. But, I didn't because I still don't know where I'll be sitting! I've got to wait till Monday when I figure that out.

Since my real response is very nearly "all of the above," to practice more is my most important goal because that will help me realize nearly everything else up there. ;-)  I keep telling myself and my teacher that I want to eventually play difficult pieces well, I want to be able to play solos confidently in front of people, I'd like to improve in orchestra, etc, and all that comes back to spending focused time in the practice room, something I have been very lax with lately.

* Get my health stabilized that will allow me to pick up taking lessons again.

I chose "learn a piece or pieces" (the Anton Stamitz viola concerto No. 4) but I also wanted to choose "a successful recital or solo performance," because my teacher suggested a recital for the first time and I know what I want to play for that already (the Clarke Passacaglia).  However, both of those will be done by the summer (I hope).  It's hard for me to think as far ahead as next fall/winter.

Voted for Practice regularly. I am an adult and time is seems to be not enough on some days..

Wish us all luck this year!

Happy New Year!

p.s.  love your holidays break project with your daughter Laurie, your very good with your hands..

 

I chose "Find a group to play with" because it's true and because it would give me some new goals and encourage me to practice more.

I forgot to add, Eat More Prunes!!!!!!

Speaking of prunes... Where is Buri?

Things have been oddly "quiet" around here. His presence is missing.

 Great poll idea! I'd say my first goal is to return to my full playing capacity after getting tendonitis this past summer. My goal is to be back to 4 hours daily by the end of this summer. So far, so good. :) I'm also preparing for my junior recital this fall and hopefully some competitions. Technique-wise, I'd like to continue my work on posture and relaxation, and hopefully start developing a more mature sound.

One of my music goals is to get my husband to teach me music theory. I’m not sure why he is so frightened by this idea though.

I voted "Learn a piece or set of pieces".  Actually both apply: still working on that Bach by 40 goal (one more year left!!!), and I got the Bloch Suite I'm working on.  Next year I'll be voting on the successful performance :)

I'm so sorry I forgot to include the prune goal.... ;)

I'm now well-versed in the advantages of going rest-less and I want to try it.  It's hard, though...the temptation to cheat is overpowering!

My goal is to get into an orchestra this year, but with the way the economy is who knows if any will be around...

I did come up with a three-year goal of bringing back the Tschaikovsky and Mendelssohn accompaniments back up to performance level, and made the appropriate related one-year goal (100 days that include piano practice this year).  Played through Op. 35 (in about eighty minutes over three days to avoid sloppiness and injury, respectively) and am currently going through the E minor at a similar pace for triage.

 I'll be starting college this fall. My goal is to be able to survive. I've heard that the college I'm going to requires the music majors to practice 15-25 hours a week. I practice alot but not 3 hours a day!

What college are you going to?

Weber state, which is a college in my state requires a minimum of four hours a day which I don't find a lot especially at a college level.

I've got a few questions concerns about college/conservatory that I'm going to start a discussion on.

More analysis of what I am doing before I am doing. I want to be able to look at parts and be able to analyze them mentally and quickly. 

Vibrato of all types, especially finger impulse. Better sight reading. Who am I kidding - better everything!

I put in practice more regularly, which includes learning more works and re-learing audition matrerial as some orchestras are not doing well in this economy and I may need to start taking auditons again-not a thing I want to do, but may have to do.

in addition to doing well on my auditions (which is only through february, so not all of 2009), my resolution was not to practice more, but more efficiently, thinking more about what i'm doing. that way i won't just mindlessly slog through pieces like i still sometimes find myself doing. even if i were to practice six hours a day doing that kind of thing, i doubt i'd improve much. so yeah... practicing more efficiently. 

My goal is to conquer a technical problem (sautille), but I think I can over come that if I can practice more  regularly.

I voted "conquer a technical problem, but I was hoping that there would be "all of the above" in the choices presented. I would like to do it all, but will settle for the technical problem, since really, solving the technical problem will go a long way toward achieving everything else!

How about instead of prunes (not a bad choice, though) we eat more bananas?

More practice, but actually, more focused practice. I also decided that when I find myself wanting a new piece of gear (better violin, bow, rosin, chinrest, etc.) I would probably be better served by putting the effort into more/better practice! I mean, if a good player can make a mediocre violin sound good, I'm halfway there-I've already got the violin. A better violin is always nice but what I really need is better chops!

Forgive the misspelling please!

Work on bowing tecniques! AND!, I'm 50+% Wolfahrt Book 2 and 1/4 in Schreadiek book 2, 75% Shreadiek book 1 and 80% Wulfahrt book 1. Where to go from here? I would like to learn songs. I can't just play etudes!!!!

Javier put me on two songs in Fritz Krieslers book(s). Perhaps get kreisler book(s) and start there again?

Cheers,

Royce

PS: I hope that whatever everybodies goal(s) are I wish all of you success and a great year!

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