Day 18

Another lesson today in the morning was on Dancla’s Bolero. I suddenly discover another problem I need to address. Bolero - is a romantic piece with rich dynamics and big vibrato. And this is what makes it so difficult to do: combining them! Big dynamics means a faster bow (more weight) and wider vibrato, and for me, this is the opposite. I slow down my bow on a wider vibrato. I focus more on the right hand for broader dynamics, and the left hand becomes rigid. I think the main problem is that each component by itself is still tricky. Complexity causes tension, and tension leads to poor execution. So, I should not try to combine them but improve each separately first. When each component becomes much more natural, I should put them together (so the second ball does not fall every time I focus my attention on the other one).

Another technical problem in the piece is the glissando. Fortunately, this is the simplest type, but it is still tricky to make it sound good. But for now, the main goal is to shift with good intonation.

Because of the lesson, my usual routine was upside down. I started with the piece and (after the break) was working on the technique. I did ten more one-liners from Hanley’s book and tried to implement a practice idea from the morning lesson.

In fact, there were two interesting ideas. The first one was not only focusing on what you did not like but also on what you liked. I was missing this point before. If you only focus on correcting your mistake, you can lose part you did well (sometimes subconsciously). The second idea is when you practice deliberately focusing on a particular issue, you also listen to only this issue (and might ignore the other). But I decided to modify it slightly. I listened to what I liked and what I did not like, and after that, in the next attempt, I tried to keep things I liked and improve on what I did not. So, I recorded myself (just one line). I listened, and for the next attempt, I decided what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to improve. I probably played (and recorded) each line at least five times and moved to the next time when I saw an improvement. That gives me instant gratification and positive reinforcement to continue my practice.

Interestingly, I cannot tell if it is better (or worse:) ) while I play, but when I watch it, I can. And this way, you become your own teacher:). Anyway, recording yourself every single time and watching it to determine the next step helps me a lot.