Days 24/25

Ok, first, about yesterday's practice. It is an excellent example of what you should not try to do when you have only two days before an audition/recital/concert etc. :). You should not rush, and you should not try to show everything (you think:) ) you are capable of. You will fail miserably if you do something on the edge of your current ability. It took me only two hours of practice to realize this:)). My initial plan for the scale was to start G major (in three octaves) in four notes per bow and then go to eight in the andante tempo. Nope, it will not happen. This kind of practice completely destroyed my (very shaky) intonation in the fifth position. I will begin with two notes per bow (going to four and maybe more if things go smoothly) in a slow tempo.

For the Riding concerto, I will make the same type of adjustments. Slower tempo, no shifts, no higher positions. It took me several attempts to readjust to new fingerings. For some reason, I was stressed yesterday and much more rigid and tense than during my routine practice. Once I began paying attention to relaxing my muscles, my performance improved substantially.

After yesterday's adrenalin rush (or whatever it was:) ), my body was tired and aching:). It took me a couple of hours to warm up and begin to feel more or less normal before starting my practice. Today I reverted to the practice more similar to my regular one. The only significant difference was that I was playing everything through and not stopping if I made a mistake. I also was paying much more attention to being more relaxed (and, not surprisingly, became much calmer than yesterday:) ). I practiced for about 90 minutes, but I feel much better about today's practice:).

For now, the best strategy is to stop and give my body some needed rest before tomorrow's audition. Drinking chamomile tea is also a good idea:)).