Even if it's completely useless

Violin: So despite the problems I had this week that are discussed below, I've made some interesting insights. As I continue to work on arm weight and using direction and keeping my fingers loose, I have discovered the importance of sounding points. This was something that my old teacher talked a lot about, and I know it's "important" but I never really grasped it myself. I think now that I am relaxed enough to let the sound open up, the difference between certain places on the string makes an very audible difference. Also, I have to make sure to keep the arm weight going at the ends of bows, so that the sound sustains and carries over to the next bow. To find the arm weight, it seems to help to think about using the whole arm, so that my upper arm doesn't get "stuck." Using direction helps keep the fingers loose. Playing fast sixteenth notes is still uncomfortable sometimes, and I'm not sure what I need to do to fix it. I also discovered this week that I have paid a price for not using a metronome in my last few weeks of practicing - my tempos were fluctuating a lot, and hearing the metronome helps in filling out beats when there are fast notes, and in finding the phrase. I've also been working on hearing the larger picture as I play, which means that I try to keep in my ear what I just played, and adjust the next part accordingly. Doing this exposes intonation problems, phrase problems, sound issues, and all sorts of things. It is like recording yourself and listening to it, without having to actually record. I have to do that more often.

Life: As is clear from the interval of time between this post and the last, I got a little lazy this week. Mostly it was due to my descent into TVGA, which sounds like a fancy monitor, but actually stands for temporary video game addiction. During this period of time, my practicing went down the tubes and self-esteem was ravaged. But I was able to come through alive, having beaten the game, and now I can slowly resume my industrious way of life. Until the infamous revenge...of TVGA.

Practice Time: 2.5 hours + .5 hour rehearsal