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Strings of Ineptitude
I had my first violin lesson today in two weeks. Since the last lesson I have just not had time to put in proper practice... and frankly, it shows. I'm embarrassed when I struggle on some of the things I do when I'm working with Julia. I'm only a few months into this, but still I feel like I should be better than I am, and I'm positive my wall is my lack of regular daily practice. I don't know how adults do this. I've found that I have a choice when I get home from work... I can workout or I can practice violin. The working out is important because it's working. My weight is getting back under control and I'm feeling like I will get to my goal. But I chose to learn violin because I want to be good at it. I love the violin. When I am playing well (it does happen from time to time) I'm happy and excited and everything looks positive, so it's not like I'm torturing myself.
Sadly, so often I get home too tired for either. I still try to get the run in though because trying to learn violin when I want to sleep is bad, running...well, I lose all choice in the matter when I'm pounding the pavement for an hour or so.
I leave my lesson sometimes just hoping that she doesn't feel like I'm wasting her time. Sure, I'm paying for it, but still. I don't even know where I should be skill-wise by now. Perhaps I'm over criticizing myself, or perhaps I truly am just too lazy to get my ass to the level of ability I should be at. They say, all over the place, to not expect to actually be good for at least a couple year. I just can't let myself believe there's any one thing that takes two years to just be competent at. I tend top pick thing up quickly... though I also tend to pick up too many things quickly.
She did recommend a couple sheet music books to get that have more familiar and interesting pieces to play. We'll see. Right now it might be a little more money that I should spend, but I'll look up the prices. She also loaned me a book. Maybe I'll scan some pages so I can get it back to her right away.
The good news is that even though I have some serious struggles, I am still ever so happy I've taken up this challenge.
2 comments:
Came thru from BAVS group. I've been playing violin just over 1 year.
Re Exercise vs Violin. I find that I need to do both. After returning from work, I need the exercise to re-energise, no matter how sleepy I am. So if I don't succumb to sleepiness & laziness, a 30 minute brisk walk would do the job (no runs nor jogs for me - knee problem). I find that I can concentrate on violin practice better after that. Of course the exercise helps to loosen & relax my joints/arm so that's good warmup for violin practice too!
Whatever it is, it's good to maintain regular practice, even if it's a short practice.
Have fun!!! It's sure enjoyable!
SAM
My run is usually at least 60 minutes long, after which I'm sweaty like mad, need to take a good 10-15 minutes to stretch and then shower. If I'm running after getting home from work, that puts me likely close to 6pm, dinner time-ish (depending on who's cooking) and past the time I feel OK with playing the violin in my apartment - not wanting to disturb the neighbors.
Yeah, a ton of excuses, especially when I don't work out either. A walk doesn't cut it either, I need to run to get a workout that I feel does the job.
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