MC part 2

It's still Friday and here is Part 2, as promised.

The viola professor. I don't know how to describe her. She's a super cool person, has very much her own style, and a way of speaking that makes everyone like her. Demanding at the same time though, it's a strange combo. By the end of my first lesson I was already so much better. I've been working on the same dratted piece on and off for about a year and a half. I didn't practice it much except for a few isolated measures because I didn't like the piece. I listened to other people play it, but couldn't get myself to enjoy it at all. Until music camp. My ears were opened up not only to how painfully lifeless and boring I was playing it, but how I could fix it, make it interesting to play and listen to.

Now I really like it. It's still probably not my favorite, but there is real music in there if only I pay attention. That probably made up half of the lessons I learned. Listen. Listen to yourself, both to what sounds bad and what sounds good. Enjoy what is pretty. We musicians too often get stuck on the bad, ignoring all the good and beautiful, never truly enjoying what we play.

Something mentioned during devos or a career lecture, can't remember which, made me feel pretty good about myself and music in general. About how music lessons are helpful in so many different ways beyond learning the instrument itself. The process of learning it teaches skills such as focusing on super small details. Working effectively to get the smallest trills perfect. A surgeon better pay darn close attention to little details, because if she doesn't, things aren't gonna go well. There was an amazing opera singer who went on to become a very successful lawyer using the skills she'd developed. Confidence from performances, and the ability to tell convincing stories which no doubt came from the many dramatic roles she played in operas.

I didn't get a lesson on the third day because my teacher has a couple week old baby and understandably can't be everywhere and do everything anymore. That was disappointing, but also means I have an extra lesson to look forward to over the summer. Instead of our lessons, I got to play the coolest viola duets ever with a councilor who is also a violist. We were given them with the instruction to have fun and enjoy great viola music together. Which we did. Who knew there was sight readable interesting music for violas out there?

My last lesson was super fun. Mainly because she said she wanted me to be in her viola studio class during the year. It's like a group masterclass lesson for viola majors. She thought it would be beneficial for me but also for her students. So I said yeah, I'd love to! And then she asked if I would babysit for her during a class she teaches. Of course I said yes! I got to start right away though because Baby was asleep and Mrs. G was teaching another lesson after mine. So I carried Baby around the halls for a little over 30 minutes probably. It seemed like a long time though because my arms got so tired. Mothers must develop huge muscles from having children. First iron feet and back before the baby's born, then carrying around weights balanced on their forearms non stop, weights which are always getting heavier.

Okay, sorry for the tangent. The last thing, non chronologically, that we worked on was vibrato. I know that I have a rather terrible vibrato. My hand is too tense and in order to have smooth and controllable vibrato, it must be relaxed. It might be the one technique that frustrates me more than any other. I've had numerous teachers give tips on learning it, one who I've mentioned before. He's kind of famous. He said to hold the wrist against the shoulder in third position so that it would stay still and only move above where it is stuck to the instrument. Work on it every day and it will be immensely better in two months. Two years and I'll have it down, worst case scenario.

I have a lesson with the camp teacher and she says that vibrato isn't or shouldn't be wrist motion, it's the whole arm. Which is so different! I can't just switch by thinking about it. My entire vibrato career has been from the wrist. I hadn't gotten far with the other instruction either, but arm vibrato is starting from scratch. So I'm not sure who to listen to. The older and perhaps wiser? Or the other who is also talented and uses arm vib? I suppose if I were to study with her further, I would go with her technique.

Enough musical terms. I think I've probably bored you to tears. I will finish with a description of free time, which there wasn't much of. One thing we did was square dance. Yep, musicians are cool like that. And we had real live fiddle music to dance to. When I say we, I don't really include myself because I was simply watching with some others. The dance only required eight. We also played Ultimate Frisbee, walked through downtown at 10:00 for ice cream that no one ended up buying, and watched big hero 6 while eating popcorn.

On Saturday we had a recital for anyone who had signed up and wanted to play. I soloed the exposition I had fixed up and my quartet played our piece. Both went well, as did the rest of the recital. Then came packing, number exchanges, a last lunch, and farewells. I could have gone for another week. It was an experience I shan't soon forget.