Teacher has been gently encouraging me to really hone in on vibrato.  Of course I’ve been working it for a while, but the recent encouragement is doing me some good.  I feel I’ve made some great progress in only two weeks or so, which is rewarding.  I feel I’m on the verge of “getting it,” so to speak, though where vibrato is concerned “getting it” is much more a process than a switch.  It’s starting to come more naturally, and I’m beginning to apply it on notes of shorter and shorter durations.  I try to keep a continual focus on the technique as I’m practicing, never letting it out of my sights.

Double stops, too, are coming along – this double stop bonanza in my newest Seitz concerto is obviously in the Suzuki repertoire for that express purpose.  Prior to this 20+ measure stretch, the most Suzuki includes is a couple of notes in isolation and one moment in another of the Seitz pieces with two measures in a row.  And those prior double stops do not require extreme finger contortions.  In last week’s lesson, Teacher played the whole movement through with me as a duet – we went relatively slowly.  I did get hung up once in the double stop section, but otherwise it went quite well and was a lot of fun!

Today is also going to be a lot of fun – we’re heading to see the great Itzhak Perlman over at the opera house for a matinee recital.  It’s hard to believe the day is finally here; we’ve had these tickets since last July!  The program promises Vivaldi, Beethoven, Schumann, and Ravel.  Palpitations.

Thanks for reading.

Ryan