The postural changes I worked on in the lesson last Wednesday have done a number on my ability to be in tune.  Keeping the shoulder rest at the new angle brings the violin forward a bit for me, impacting the angle at which my hand approaches the strings.  So I have to figure that out and get back in tune.  It’s especially challenging working with my newest material, the Minuet in A Major by Boccherini and the etude from Wohlfahrt, my first piece ever in C Major.  I’m just not fully on board with “hearing” either of those keys yet, and sometimes my fingering slips into patterns from other keys with which I’m more familiar. Since I’m not yet well-versed in what notes I’m supposed to be playing next anyway with these new songs, I’m having some doubts about whether I’m getting it all right.

I do think the changes have made my angle of approach for the fingers on the strings better.  They feel a bit more spritely, like I can move them better.  Teacher is trying to get me to feel like the second finger is a bit of a balance point, versus the first finger.  It’s a subtle shift, but it’s helping me not need to put so much pressure on the strings, which improves tone production and makes me faster.

So really I just keep playing.

I’m having more comfort with decent tone production, with bowing confidently, and with working on dynamics.  On my older songs I’m just seeing what I can do to make them sound better.  Perhaps it’s time to revisit the music, to start to incorporate all the dynamics I previously ignored, maybe try to start incorporating those tenutos, for example, which I actually sort of understand now.

And it’s time to figure out when I can get out to the burbs to get my bow re-haired.

Thanks for reading.

Ryan