Music Lessons.
Hm. I have had mixed thoughts on today. If you want my honest opinion the second half wasn't really great at all. The exhibition game was lagging and people were just tired and just watching some of their half hearted efforts was just annoying. I was just really cold and hungry by the end. And ended up sitting more at World Bowl and then went to bubble tea to sit some more.
I don't like bowling. I asked my sewing teacher the other day if her three daughters sew. She said no, and said it was common for children to not want to do the same thing as their parents so they don't have to measure up to them. My dad was apparently a great bowler in his earlier years. From what I remember he has won several trophies and used to take us out to bowl with him when we were little. Once he sprained his thumb on his second turn in a competition but kept playing and won second place trophy. My mom scolded him for irking his thumb even more.
Yeah so I don't like bowling. My dad used to try to teach us techniques on how to bowl and where to stand and how to finish but I never really wanted to learn.
The Violin.
I took violin lessons since I was in Grade 3 until Grade 12. And I expected to learn notes, scales, how to count etc... (did you know I never knew the quarter note was called that until Gr 9 theory? I just never learned terms but recognized stuff. Even now I am extremely lacking in theory. Can't remember how many sharps or flats etc).
But during my lessons back in Canada with a strict Russian teacher and his assistant teacher (who later became my main teacher because I was afraid of the Russian), I learned some interesting life lessons and more about myself.
When I'm uncertain of the notes and the tune, I usually try to play softly by lightening the bow but my teacher told me it just became a telltale sign that I was nervous and uncertain. She told me to play loud when I wasn't sure because hey, people may not tell the difference and if I did mess up, it would be just a few notes here and there.
I don't really remember much of those lessons but I know they were extremely backbreaking especially with my Russian teacher who basically drilled me and I died just standing there playing the same things over and over again for 1.5 hours.
Once he asked me whether or not my playing reflected my personality in terms of being an introvert and extrovert. He pointed out that though I was really quiet during lessons, I may be a totally different person with friends and family. He asked me if I ever got into some rape situation (and hopefully I will not) if I'd yell at the top of my lungs or if I'd stay still in fear. Some how he tied it in with how I was playing the violin- soft and timid and not vibrant and strong.
For a couple of exams I took, I had a piano accompaniment and at those times I felt extremely pressured to play well. Once he threw a chair in front of him because he was so frustrated at the earlier student (yeah I'm scared my old Russian teacher. He is basically Beethoven with a bad temper. He's great and I know he wants us to do well but I'm afraid of him). And I just had to give it my all- know what went next, be able to hear the melody before I played it, know the dynamics, shifts, changes in tempo etc... Let me tell you, the violin is all about the mind and more less the physical playing. It's all about preparing the mind to know what to do next.
And after I played one song, my body would just collapse from exhaustion. It's hard to explain if you don't play an instrument.
I found out my strength was slow songs and my weakness in fast songs. I just can't play notes fast- I can't let go of myself to allow my fingers to do the job. I try to grip onto every single sixteenth note and I just end up stumbling over myself. However in slow songs like the Thai Meditation (the most beautiful song ever) I can highlight every note. The hard thing about slow songs is that you have to sustain the richness of every note to its last breath before going onto the next one- you just can't rush. The note may start off with a beautiful vibrato but in your eagerness to get to the next note, the note will suddenly drop and deaden. My teacher said every bar was a golden nugget- it has to be polished, shined and cared for. It's about sustaining and lavishing attention on every single note. I think it's because I find slow sad songs more moving than fast crazy ones.
I also learned about the songs themselves that unravelled stories through the notes. 'The Swan' which is part of a whole series of 'Circus Animal' pieces (sorry I can't remember the French name of it.. crap. Anyway it was 'Le Cygne') was about a dying swan and there's one part my teacher pointed out that it was as if the swan was saying a last prayer and then fades away. If you've heard the song, you may understand.
I hate performing. Though as much as I'd like to join the worship team, I get extremely nervous (and my theory sucks). And when I get nervous my bow starts to shake and everyone knows because they can hear the inconsistencies. Once when I was on worship team, they asked me to play a really simple tune and I was so nervous I messed it up and kicked myself afterwards because it really was grade school easy. I just felt pressured. When I did the Easter service at RHCBC a few years ago, the hardest part for me was to do the duet with the flute player because I basically started the entire song with the piano softly playing at the back. You don't understand how much was going through my mind that time- I was trying to mentally prepare myself and to breathe slowly to prevent my arm from shaking. All I thought was "suck it up. Don't be nervous and breathe. Just play loud like your teacher said and they would never know you were scared. Just play confidently and strong." Omg and I was so happy because there was no shaking. Phew. Psychologically tiring though.
My teacher once said, your chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
Very true. She was applying this to the several bars in a piece I had problems with- just a couple of bars but every time I got to that part, I'd stumble. So though I was fine with the rest of the song, those bars just highlighted my weaknesses.
I think this could be applied to life as well but I don't care to make any connections at the moment.
I've noticed that fashion is about glamourizing the ugly or the uncool. And then when it becomes cool it quickly loses its appeal.
I don't like bowling. I asked my sewing teacher the other day if her three daughters sew. She said no, and said it was common for children to not want to do the same thing as their parents so they don't have to measure up to them. My dad was apparently a great bowler in his earlier years. From what I remember he has won several trophies and used to take us out to bowl with him when we were little. Once he sprained his thumb on his second turn in a competition but kept playing and won second place trophy. My mom scolded him for irking his thumb even more.
Yeah so I don't like bowling. My dad used to try to teach us techniques on how to bowl and where to stand and how to finish but I never really wanted to learn.
The Violin.
I took violin lessons since I was in Grade 3 until Grade 12. And I expected to learn notes, scales, how to count etc... (did you know I never knew the quarter note was called that until Gr 9 theory? I just never learned terms but recognized stuff. Even now I am extremely lacking in theory. Can't remember how many sharps or flats etc).
But during my lessons back in Canada with a strict Russian teacher and his assistant teacher (who later became my main teacher because I was afraid of the Russian), I learned some interesting life lessons and more about myself.
When I'm uncertain of the notes and the tune, I usually try to play softly by lightening the bow but my teacher told me it just became a telltale sign that I was nervous and uncertain. She told me to play loud when I wasn't sure because hey, people may not tell the difference and if I did mess up, it would be just a few notes here and there.
I don't really remember much of those lessons but I know they were extremely backbreaking especially with my Russian teacher who basically drilled me and I died just standing there playing the same things over and over again for 1.5 hours.
Once he asked me whether or not my playing reflected my personality in terms of being an introvert and extrovert. He pointed out that though I was really quiet during lessons, I may be a totally different person with friends and family. He asked me if I ever got into some rape situation (and hopefully I will not) if I'd yell at the top of my lungs or if I'd stay still in fear. Some how he tied it in with how I was playing the violin- soft and timid and not vibrant and strong.
For a couple of exams I took, I had a piano accompaniment and at those times I felt extremely pressured to play well. Once he threw a chair in front of him because he was so frustrated at the earlier student (yeah I'm scared my old Russian teacher. He is basically Beethoven with a bad temper. He's great and I know he wants us to do well but I'm afraid of him). And I just had to give it my all- know what went next, be able to hear the melody before I played it, know the dynamics, shifts, changes in tempo etc... Let me tell you, the violin is all about the mind and more less the physical playing. It's all about preparing the mind to know what to do next.
And after I played one song, my body would just collapse from exhaustion. It's hard to explain if you don't play an instrument.
I found out my strength was slow songs and my weakness in fast songs. I just can't play notes fast- I can't let go of myself to allow my fingers to do the job. I try to grip onto every single sixteenth note and I just end up stumbling over myself. However in slow songs like the Thai Meditation (the most beautiful song ever) I can highlight every note. The hard thing about slow songs is that you have to sustain the richness of every note to its last breath before going onto the next one- you just can't rush. The note may start off with a beautiful vibrato but in your eagerness to get to the next note, the note will suddenly drop and deaden. My teacher said every bar was a golden nugget- it has to be polished, shined and cared for. It's about sustaining and lavishing attention on every single note. I think it's because I find slow sad songs more moving than fast crazy ones.
I also learned about the songs themselves that unravelled stories through the notes. 'The Swan' which is part of a whole series of 'Circus Animal' pieces (sorry I can't remember the French name of it.. crap. Anyway it was 'Le Cygne') was about a dying swan and there's one part my teacher pointed out that it was as if the swan was saying a last prayer and then fades away. If you've heard the song, you may understand.
I hate performing. Though as much as I'd like to join the worship team, I get extremely nervous (and my theory sucks). And when I get nervous my bow starts to shake and everyone knows because they can hear the inconsistencies. Once when I was on worship team, they asked me to play a really simple tune and I was so nervous I messed it up and kicked myself afterwards because it really was grade school easy. I just felt pressured. When I did the Easter service at RHCBC a few years ago, the hardest part for me was to do the duet with the flute player because I basically started the entire song with the piano softly playing at the back. You don't understand how much was going through my mind that time- I was trying to mentally prepare myself and to breathe slowly to prevent my arm from shaking. All I thought was "suck it up. Don't be nervous and breathe. Just play loud like your teacher said and they would never know you were scared. Just play confidently and strong." Omg and I was so happy because there was no shaking. Phew. Psychologically tiring though.
My teacher once said, your chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
Very true. She was applying this to the several bars in a piece I had problems with- just a couple of bars but every time I got to that part, I'd stumble. So though I was fine with the rest of the song, those bars just highlighted my weaknesses.
I think this could be applied to life as well but I don't care to make any connections at the moment.
I've noticed that fashion is about glamourizing the ugly or the uncool. And then when it becomes cool it quickly loses its appeal.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home