A miracle

I got an absolutely brilliant whassap message this evening from my violin teacher. Both she and I are in agreement that my passing the ABRSM grade 7 violin exam is a miracle. ( Examiner must have felt sorry for me and been lenient) So here is my absolutely LOVELY news. I Passed!

Tis a shock. ( A nice one) I took up this instrument as a adult. I have learnt that as a adult learner you tend to go both ways depending on the mood. Either be very very enthusiatic ( me at the begining) or slag off when your progress starts plateauing( Me last year ). And here is where a good teacher plays an important role, in encouraging and not giving up. And for this I'ld like to say a big thank you to SA.

ABRSM grade 7 violin exam

My violin

When you're old, you should avoid exams. It's not good for the nerves. Your sleep is disturbed one month before. And the day before the exam is possibly the worse. Your old mind decides to scare you into imagining the worse. And trying to remember the notes for the scales brings palpitations and a bit of dry mouth. Everything ( and I really mean it) appears much more appealing to do rather than play your songs.

I survived my grade 7 exam on Monday. It was held at Hotel Istana. The staff there are lovely. And they don't cringe when you frantically practice your scales quietly in the lobby. ( With the mute) Sadly I must confess to being less prepared than my grade 6 exam also the nerves got the better of me during my first song.

Was a little down after the exams ( post-mortem done ....ie high chance of failing) so I cheered myself up by changing my violin strings to Obligato ones. I must say they sound divine. My violin "sings" once again. And I don't hear the squeak from the "e" strong any more. Happy!

Nerves!! Can we control them?

violin playing, originally uploaded by the ghost of me.

Fear is a reaction to something. If that is true, you can control fear. In the same way you can control the bubbling of anger when something unpleasant comes your way. I have learnt that if you want to perform in front of a group of people, you should memorize your piece before. You should also play the piece just before your perform and you should listen to yourself when you play. Have I conquered fear? Maybe just a little.

Pieces for my Grade 7 ABRSM exam
1. Adagio. First movement from sonata in G BWV 1021 by J.S.Bach
2. Meditation from Thais by Jules Massenet
3. Reverie by Angela Morley

I wish I had an internal metronome and yes you cannot run away from counting. If your maths is good, you'ld be able to keep time with the darn metronome.