Ms Blog,

I made progress on my viola yesterday, after I put my tapes on. I just have problems knowing the general vicinity of where the fingers go. Once I get more comfortable with that I will remove the two middle strips. 

I love the sound of my a soloist Viola. It has a lot of fullness to the sound. 

I actually did White Christmas, I think I was doing Viola 1. If I have time, I will do that and record it and submit that as well. I have. few more days to brush it up a littlw. We will see. Sometimes, life just gets in the way, you know? 

Once if life's things is my trying to make a nice special holiday card for my sister, a sister card. I had an idea that I started yesterday, but this morning, I looked again, and I am not quite fond of it. I will have to think of something else, using what I already cut. I am not buying any more items, I am using what I already have. I could go on the Cricut and Scan n Cut sites and find something and cut it out, but I like to do my own ideas, that is a last option.

So, we donated the two cellos to the neighboring school district earlier this week. I have a lot more room in the room they were in! They were in my sewing/machine knitting room. I am sire the school will find a couple students who need one at home, or have in the school. I don't think the students haul their instruments back and forth. I can't imagine the students hauling a cello onto the bus. This school district buses everyone. So, I think there are orchestra instruments in the school for use, and they their instruments t hime? I have no idea. 

Back to my playing. See? Life got in the way! 

I am also loving the Fiddlerman carbon weave fiber viola bow. I opted for that bow. It has a great weight for me, and feels really nice when I hold it. I like the stability, for lack of a better term, of it. 

I use the Strad Pad on my viola chinrest. It is the same one I use on the violin. It is so comfortable and covers the hardware at the end and protects the neck. 

I got the geared pegs. They work nicely. I have to get used to using them for fine tuning, also. I usually get the fine tuners on the tail piece and geared pegs. I have a hard time reaching the pegs and playing the strings to fine tune, so the fine tuners on the tail piece help out with the fine tuning. So far, it is working just fine, no pun intended. The A string does have the fine tuner. 

I am paying more attention with my bowing: pressure, angle of the hair on the strings, placement between bridge and fingerboard, speed, etc. I believe a lot of my sound issues re bow related. It does seem to make a difference when I actually get it right, so I am concentrating on that. I am concentrating on that with my cello and viola, also. I am moving along slowly, but it suits my learning ability. When this COVID gets under control, I will think about just getting a few lessons to deal with bowing, if I am still not secure with it, then maybe some lessons just for vibrato. 

Well, Ms Blog, I have things to do. Be back another time. 

Anyone visiting, Welcome To My Home. Feel free to leave a message, ask a question, or just ramble about must about anything, My home is open to you.

Ms Blog,

I will be using the Violaman for most of the viola and cello blog posts. I will use you for my violin blog. If there is information on all three, I will use both, or if there is something that would be informational to me on all three instruments, I will use both for easier reference for me. 

Thanks for the comments, @Retired. My knee is well on its way to back to normal, now.

I did my viola for a little while early last night. I was playing around with bow pressure, speed, hair/string contact. I do believe that is one of my many problems, bowing. I could notice differences, depending on what I did.

I have issues concentrating on more than on issue at a time. If I concentrate on intonation, bowing goes out the window. If I concentrate on bowing, my fingers are all over the place. I thought I was able to multi-task until trying bowed string instruments, 😁.

Cookies today. Viola later. I think I will do bowing again and work on that. I also have to watch what I am doing with my right arm/wrist when bowing. I think that, doing Perpetual Motion and one octave G scale for a while, while I get comfortable with proper bowing, will pay for itself in the long run.

Thanks for the input.

Ma Blog, 

Just finished baking 54 cookies and cleaned up. After I rest a little, I will begin my violin lesson. I'll be working on the one octave G scale and Suzuki's Perpetual Motion. I do this starting on each string except the E string, of course. The book has it start on the A string. It only uses two strings, so I do it starting on strings G-A. 

So, this morning I practiced my viola. I swayed from my lesson plans. I did a two octave C scale and D scale, s well as the G scale. I have not ventured up to tne G on the A string, yet, so the one octave is it for now. I have to get the D on the A string down pat, first. Hence, the two octave C and D scales. 

I also played a couple of songs. I did not do Perpetual Motion. I was in a mood for some older songs that I have memorized. They are not as intensive for fingering, etc, but I was working on the bowing with familiar, simpler songs. 

I tried doing the songs without looking at my fingers on the fingerboard towards the end. I am not there yet, so the tapes will be on for quite a while longer. I really don't mind. If I need the tapes to sound ok, then tapes it will be. I do not perform or play in front of anyone, so I do not see the point in rushing it. Been there, done that, a few times. Tapes are back.

Ms Blog,

Katie m created a post about goals for 2022. It got me thinking about one of the goals I have. This is one of my 2022 goals:

I would like to feel more comfortable recording myself. To me, that is the same as performing in front of people and with people. I think my thoughts on that might be good for my blog, so I will leave what I have issues with or what goes through my mind and its goofy way of thinking for my blog, in a few days. But, it takes me forever to record myself. I need to get over that. It might be that if I can achieve goal 1, this goal might be easier.

I think being able to record myself is also linked to needing more confidence in my playing. I do not play in groups. I do not feel I would actually add anything. I would feel too much pressure to not mess up. My intonation is sporadic, at best, non-existent at worst, rarely spot on or in the vicinity, without many many attempts. Playing with groups or in front of anyone is just too much pressure. 

When I record myself, that same pressure appears and I have to record it so many times. I am not talking about re-recording it because I missed a note or two. The minute the record button is hit, everything flies out the window. I can't find 1st position to start with, the bowing arm stiffens up, the music I memorized, is gone.

The locations of the parts on the actual sheet music I memorized, that I knew where to locate on the sheet music in case I need it, well, I can't find it, even though I was easily able to find the location on the sheet music I needed, without missing a beat, when I was playing without recording. That was a confusing mouthful. 😁

I associate recording myself with playing in front of an audience or with other musicians. That is not something I do. It is not something I am comfortable with. Never have been. 

I absolutely know my intonation is not great. It is true. There are not enough times when I am spot in, or in the vicinity. I am not great at reading music that is meant to be played fast, has a lot of 8th or 16th or shorter notes. I refer to this as having, "Too much black on the sheet music." That causes panic. I am not good at counting beats with too much black on the sheet music. Nothing to do with the color. I love to put a spot of black on cards I make, and quilts when I made them, because it causes quilts and cards to POP. But, on sheet music? Too much black on the paper is the trigger for panic. All of that makes me a bad candidate to be playing with a group. I will just hold them all back.

I think that the issue of recording myself, playing with other people and/or in front of an audience, all has to do with confidence. 

Ms Blog, this is a bit of a jumble mess of a post, but that is sort of the issue with recording myself. It is like playing in front of an audience, and all the above is my issue with playing with a group and/or in front if an audience. It is all linked. I posted it in my blog so that I could read it and maybe address it in the future.

When I took lessons, my instructors had to keep asking me to play louder. I did not even feel comfortable in lessons. So silly.

Ms Blog,

I did an hour on the viola this afternoon. I feel like I did pretty good. I found an old lesson book, mostly in German with English translation. I found a song in it that I can add to my lessons. I can't remember where I got this book, or when. 

I actually found a song in Book 2 of the main lesson book I am using that I have added, also. 

All in all, my session went well. 

Thanks, Stringy.

Ms Blog

Yesterday evening I played my cello. I did the pieces in post #114. But I also,started positioning songs.

I am working on 4th position. I am using, Fourth Position for the Cello, by Cassia Harvey. I really like this book. It is nicely thought out and presented. I have ordered the study guid for this book. It will provide additional pieces. Since the pieces in this book are good selections, I am assuming the study guide will also be good. I have her Study guide for a Bach Suite, and it is really nice.

I feel I accomplished a lot in my trying to slide up to 4th from 1st finger in 1st position, 2nd finger in first position, 3rd finger in 1st position and 4th finger in 1st position on each string. The pieces accompanying the lesson really are appropriate and not forced to use the 4th position when tou normally would not, as a lot of books do to just use a particular song.

I will continue today by repeating these lessons.