Welcome to our forum. A Message To Our New and Prospective Members . Check out our Forum Rules. Lets keep this forum an enjoyable place to visit.
Check out our 2023 Group Christmas Project HERE
Log In
Register
Home
Topic RSS
(1 votes) 
Regulars
Offline
Hi All
I practiced on and off for three hours this morning and couldn't put a finger right. I even sent a SMS to my teacher saying that I was considering canceling today's lesson.
Her reply was that, that would be OK , but, maybe the lesson was what I needed. So off I went.
The lesson went OK. I was happy with what we did and I went on my way.
Tonight I have been practicing for about the same amount of time and it's been one of the most productive practice session that I've ever done.
I seem to be 'all over the place' lately. Do the experienced players ever have the same problem?
Seen it all. Done it all. Can't remember most of 
..... What was I saying???? 
Members
Offline
You're probably just coming up on one of those plateaus in the learning process, Ferret.
Right before a little bit of a breakthrough, your ability can seem a bit spotty, especially to *you*. I've never been sure if it comes from expecting and trying for more or just the last stages of a jump in getting some stuff you're working on down better. Maybe either, maybe both.
But your teacher was probably right. A lesson or jam session can sometimes give that little push it takes to "bust the rut" good and proper.
"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman
Offline
@ Ferret - I have the same problem. Sometimes I can play the most difficult passages in a tough virtuoso piece with great ease and other times I stumble on some passages having to do it over and over till it sits comfortably again.
The mind works in mysterious ways.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
King
Regulars
Offline
Fiddlerman said
The mind works in mysterious ways.
As does the fiddle. I picked it up at 4:00 am this morning, and was really startled at how lousy it sounded, dull and no beauty to the tone's coming from within. I'm beginning to think it's time for another new violin. The G string just doen't produce the sound it did when it was new. Maybe I've worn out the string's already.
Maybe it's just the fact that I don't play with vigor at that time of the night because I'm afraid of waking my next door neighbor's. 
Offline
My violin goes through those stages as well. One thing that one should not underestimate is the results from changing strings. When my violin sounds like what you are describing above, it usually means the strings are tired and need to be replaced. It's night and day for me.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
King
Regulars
Offline
The "Ultra's", that came on the violin were immediately replaced with "Zyex", then a few day's later I changed to "helicore".
I just now played it as I'm writing this post, I guess maybe I don't play quite so aggresively at 3 and 4 am. I doesn't sound too bad now, but I think I'll go back to the "Zyex's" again, just for the heck of it. Thinking more about it, I just can't see how it could be mainly the G string, as it's the least played string of the four. 
Advanced member
OfflineAdvanced member
Offline
Offline
I had almost the same exact experience recently. On one lesson day, I was extremely tired because I had had a long day at work and a two and a half hour drive home in a snow storm. I practiced briefly before heading out in the storm to my lesson, and it wasn't pretty.
I warned my teacher to keep his expectations low that night. He said to never worry about that. As it turned out, I actually played fairly well during the lesson.
Go figure.
When the work's all done and the sun's settin' low,
I pull out my fiddle and I rosin up the bow.
Regulars
Offline
I have those "bad days" also. I hated it before. But now i think that those days give me a chanse to pay more attention and try harder - so next day i feel much better, playing those pieces that i've learned in a "bad day".=)
1 Guest(s)
Mouse
tonyluo
ELCBK
