One Hundred Eighty Days of Practice 2020 edition

OK I'm calling it. End of year, need a break from this very hard year. I'm calling this the One Hundred -SEVENTY- Days of Practice and giving myself no commitments for practicing until the new year.

2020-12-27 - 173
5 min turned into 30 min lol

• so! I managed to take the octave violin up to AEBF#!
• figures that I'm trying to do this on the octave
• Salve took on a totally different flavour! even in the lower tuning this makes a lot of sense in terms of lift and life of the tune
• Neri Neset, however, turned into something else - something ethereal. The tune just really works on this tuning and becomes contemplative, something crystaline. The fiddle could feel it too and sustained incredibly rich harmonics throughout the high notes.
• I've never thought this fiddle as a beautiful fiddle - it's a brute, it's a powerhouse, but never beautiful. It took an ancient Norwegian tune to turn it into a crystaline blade humming the shimmering tune of another world
• I did a quick recording.
• Goal for 2021 - be more playful with my practice, less fully formed pieces, more practice sessions, play sessions.
• Things like this I'm sure have never been done before, I'm going to try them.
• I'm doing this to evaluate how much I like the hardanger fiddle tuning, and whether I'd want to go for it. From this experiment, I'd say it's a hell yes I think this tuning (and the versatility of Norwegian hardanger fiddle tunings) brings about totally different and new feelings and tone colours. The hairs at the back of my neck were standing through Neri Neset.

2020-12-24 - 10 min - 172

• mini practice
• "tried" to take my fiddle up to hardanger fiddle tuning - BEBF# - BUT I WAS SO SCARED so I backed down and retuned to standard. The G string in particular ... I didn't want to take that so far. That's so much tension and I don't think my fiddle wants to go there (the pegs were slipping so much).
• I replayed first few bars of Salve, and then put down the fiddle for the day

2020-12-23

goals

• relearn josefin's waltz
• practice and develop vibrato (veeebraatoh)
• make decision about hardanger fiddle
• relearn Scottish tunes
• that's a lot!!!

2020-12-22 - 171
30 min on octave violin

• originally didn't feel much like practicing

• but it's starting to become a habit where I can't stop... which is a good thing I guess

• went to octave violin

• started with the Brindavana Saranga review, together with broken chords up and down the scale

• went to an inspired re-bowing of Josefin's waltz. My fiddle isn't Natalie's cello, nor is it Aladstair's fiddle, so I am ending up with a hybrid approach. It's sounding pretty good

• went to the tuning phrase

• then to 3 or 4 playthroughs of Salve

• Should I go for the hardanger fiddle? I don't need a ten thousand dollar fancy fiddle, but I do need something that can get into the range and lightness of the tune.

• goals this Christmas - practice and get a vibrato - if there's one thing that I do this Christmas, it's vibrato. I am going to rewatch my vibrato videos and re-do the exercises - I will sound really really bad, but without this time of trial, my vibrato won't develop. Perhaps it is like this in life too. Without this dry spell, without these trials on my finances and on my character, I won't develop as a person.

• also thinking about streaming more of these practice sessions

2020-12-21 - 170
45 min noodling

• all on octave fiddle
• went through a whirlwind tour of tunes
• josefin's waltz, tuning phrase
• Sheebeg and Sheemore, Planxty Fanny Powers, Planxty Irwin (extra good on Octave), La Bastringue (extra good on Octave), Dusty Miller (good on Octave), Clinch Mountain Backstep (pretty good)
• Back to Sasha, which surprisingly works well on the Octave, better than the regular fiddle! The omnious parts are deeper, angrier, and the paranoid parts are eerier, and the la-di-da parts are more whimsical - the piece is like a vaudville show on the Octave!
• I think I'm going to do a recording of sasha on both fiddles on 4 parts when it's ready...
• I had thought I've ran out of things to practice, but a little bit of time going over the older tunes made things fresh, especially tunes like La Bastringue

2020-12-20 - 169
20 min in the park

• trying to get back to playing outside, at the park it was so cold
• my fingers were seizing up, and the fiddle was closing in, but after a bit of tuning the fiddle was back to its self
• tried to sight read first 2 parts of the Disney Love Medley
• it worked a little bit, but the key signature was ... C major (which is good) but changes to 3 flats which was ... not so good sounding hahahah
• It will need a bit of work this one.
• turned to Salve, and then to Neri Neset
• played Neri Neset's beginning about 10 times over - starting to get the pulsing and the feel of this tune into the playing of it, starting to have more feeling than just plunking the notes.
• It's starting to feel like a Norwegian tune
• When paired with Salve on the upper 2 strings, it's pretty fun and light and glorious.
• I still have one major decision to make by the turn of the new year. Do I stay in Toronto or do I leave Toronto? (it would mean leaving behind all my friends and connections..)
• I've been distancing myself from everyone lately, trying to get some clear headedness so I can make this decision.
• This winter I'm wanting to drive out to Thunder Bay - to complete my 5 great lakes tour. Once I'm done with the tour, I'll be able to figure out what I want.
• I am really missing romantic connection. I really thought that I would be able to find someone, but this some one seems farther away than ever. It's been a long long dry spell.
• Afterwards I went to get a falafel wrap at Shish and ate it. Now I feel a bit better.

2020-12-19 - 168
10 min mini practice

• didn't feel like practicing today but ended up opening the case just for the sake of ticking out the day
• however, just the act of opening the case made me think about some musical goals
• re-learned that to find the key, look at the 2nd last flat on the key signature. For 4 flats, that 2nd last flat is on the A (which I acutally do recognise!) so that would be an A flat major.
• whew - that's quite a bit of music reading for me, simple as it sounds, it's not easy for me.
• The A flat major key is a bit strange on the fiddle, with low 1's and low 4's. Not being able to use the open strings is a bit hard but gives it an ethereal sound - my intonation is all over the place and a bit wavery, but that will come with practice.
• I needed this key for Bruremarj fra Valsøyfjord which I really like as a choral piece, and heard on youtube someone playing it transposed onto a hardanger fiddle
• the sheet music is online, and there's a number of youtube choral versions, my favourite is someone's actual bridal march
• https://youtu.be/tqeG5HwB8wk

2020-12-18 - 167
30 min

• short and sweet practice
• exploration of the Neri Neset theme, Parts A1 and A2, but mostly on the first part of A, trying out different sounds, different bowings
• went through Neri Neset quite a few times until I can start to understand what it's sounding like
• moved into Salve - this tune I know quite well already - but I need to keep learning the high part C - which I don't have mental energy to tackle tonight.
• Instead, I went over Parts A, B, C, D, back into A, and into dreaming part - trying to get the transitions between everything smoothed out
• I'm also missing the repeated part D - lol I realized this after listening to Guro's original tracks and training tracks in the car ... I've been missing a repeated section in my practice and performance of this piece!
• Also trying out different bowings and voicings of Salve. It's a fun piece to throw around.
• I tried out and dislike putting a stet in at the end. I think it's better if it stays in tempo and finishes strong. at least I know what that sounds like with a stet at the end (which is not good).

2020-12-17 - 166
25 min mini practice

• feeling blue so did some work with the tuning phrase "will I ever"
• I always wanted to put together a series of arpegiated notes together to bookend will I ever, one set at the beginning, and one set at the end
• I finally got the idea to do a set of notes on the lower strings at the beginning, going up and down like scales, and then into the tuning phrase, and the at the end, going out with a set of the same notes but on a higher octave
• seems to work well, I need to see if I will remember this haha
• feeling a bit better
• started playing McFall's March and all the memories from that tune coming back
• This year I got instruction from Jenna who made this tune, and I took her advice to heart - do some slides, do some unisons, put in bowing where you want to emphasise. and this piece comes alive. I love it so much
• Then onto Josefin's Waltz - this time embracing: NO BORING BOW: put in some flourishes and tips and nips, and this time going way way lighter on the bow - it's a waltz, not a heavy metal jam! and it worked, this tune just came alive
• then onto Salve by Guro - also embracing the lightness, keeping to bow flexible and lively and keeping everything lighter than I've ever played, and it sounded so much better
• keeping with Guro's advice, I didn't care how many times I repeated a segment - it's "by feel" - it's a glorious feeling to be able to explore everything about a set of notes before moving on. I really like it.
• then on the B part, I tucked in the little first finger flick, and it actually worked this time!
• then onto Neri Neset by Guro as taught by Salve. This still needs a lot of work, but I loved how light everything feels
• It's like sprinkling snow on top of a vast frozen landscape - the snow brings everything alive
• finished with a bit of Buck Creek Girls as taught by Tatiana - the string tuning is out for this one (it's an ADAE tune) but I made do with moving my fingers on the G string. Also lighter.
• Main takeaway today is everything needs to be lighter. Don't clench. Don't hold it tight, let the music go away from you as you make it, and you'll get it back in tenfolds and hundredfolds what you put into it.

2020-12-16 - 165
45 min class

• last class of the year!
• learned sasha both melody and part A of harmony
• this tune is really fun, BUT has a lot of weird incidentals and fingerings
• the F major weirdness isn't helping either! Changes key 3/4 of the way through and all that jazz.
• Kinda a funky tune but when it works it sounds cool

2020-12-15 - 164
30 min

• octave fiddle, retune
• sally gardens on octave fiddle
• into a tune I haven't played in a loooong time - spotted pony. gotta keep up those old time tunes!
• then into Bach Cello 1
• which naturally morphed in a scales workshop!!!
• Blues Scale from the end of Cluck Old Hen, both downwards as well as upwards
• then into the Brindavana Saranga review, both upwards as well as downwards (it's an asymmetrical scale, where up and down have different notes)
• then into the first phrase of Sunrise Raga.
• I need to figure out what to learn/play during the Christmas holidays
• should I refine O Magnum Mysterium? to come full circle? Shifting confidence and vibrator are the two that I'm looking for, together with NO BORING BOW of Aladsdair and the rhythmic chops of Natalie, and put in the Shetland slides and unisons! Go off book!
• Make it sound my own.
• Finally tackle Shetland Nights in London and learn Neri Neset full tune.

2020-12-13 - 163

• Played for GM!!!!!!
• Worked really well - set was Josefin's Waltz, Sally Garden, Westphalia Waltz
• She really liked it!!
• She was so happy
• My Dad was there too and he said she was really happy!
• Hope they have a good week!
• performance jitters!!!!!!!!! in a good way! haven't felt this in a long time

2020-12-12 - 162
30 min group

• last group lesson in 2020!!
• over zoom
• played sally gardens, both parts, melody/harmony
• played for each other
• B wasn't feeling well, hope he's doing ok and gets better soon!
• 5 min after the class, I went over the first 2 bars of Neri Neset with the bowing, double stops, and without double stop
• went over first 1 lines of Salve as well.
• feeling really good about the fiddle

2020-12-09 - 161
45 min lesson facetime

• relearned/reviewed all parts of Sally Garden
• relearned/reviewed curly hair
• learned a new tune! russian tune that I gotta grow out my bushy eyebrows for!
• slowing down my sessions toward the end of year, even though I still have many days to go.
• will I complete 180 days of practice? Maybe maybe not, but I think I've accomplished the effort, all that's left is to try to tick all the days left before end of year.
• even if I don't finish, I think I achieved what I set out to do.

2020-12-06 - 160

• was going to play for GM, but ended up missing the call time
• did a little bit of 5 min review of Josefin's Waltz and Westphalia Waltz

2020-12-05 - 159

• group zoom class
• went over both sections of sally gardens, getting my tuning back
• more zoom class with Aladstair and Natalie - her cello rhythms are so enticing
• NO BORING BOW!
• restrung the octave fiddle (I had broke a D string)

2020-12-02 - 158
45 min class over facetime

• had some tech issues
• scratchy sound, can't do video
• I have a feeling it's related to my computer "fixing" that went awry.
• For about 2 days my computer died (no display, can't turn on, etc) while I tried to fix it in all sorts of ways...
• I guess there's something I have to look into, maybe it's just a matter of logging out of everything and rebooting.
• Re-learned curly hair
• funky left hand piz in rhythm and timing is tricky
• sounds fun though once everything fits together.

45 min discovery session

• I am calling it a discovery session because it was more about experimentation and figuring out what sounds I want to make
• practices short segments of Salve & Niri Nesset
• rewatched sunrise raga video, relearned the Brindavana Saranga (which is a child raga)
• figured out set list for playing on Sunday! Playing for GM!!!!!!
• going to do Josefin's Waltz, 1st time no doublestops, pure tones, 2nd time through with double stop of the G portion, then transition into 1 x Westphalia Waltz, ending with the 2nd alt ending that Ajineen taught me.
• Hope it goes well!!!!

I'm finding my practice sessions getting farther apart in days but going for longer sessions. I think this gives me a chance to get to know my sound a bit deeper.

2020-11-28 - 157
40 min group class + 80 min noodling

• group class over zoom!
• went over harmony of Sally Gardens
• I'm pushing too much. I need to let looser, free-er, let the violin do it's work and not push so much on the strings

after class I went over:

• parts of Salve that I remember by memory
• learned first 2 parts of Neri Nesset from Guro's Ethno Hope Session recording!!!!
• This tune is really cool and I'm putting in the grace notes and double stops from the beginning instead of learning single line first and then adding in the notes afterwards.
• hopefully this means that my playing will be integrated with the grace notes/double stops all at once
• AGAIN I have way too much tension. fiddle playing is supposed to be loose and free!
• I need to relax somehow. I think the latest lockdown is getting to me.
• I need to really relax! there's nothing in this world that should make me tense up like this!!!
• should do a writeup of my zoom setup for music.

2020-11-19 - 156
15 min micro practice

• went through the Sally Gardens harmony part a few times, until I could play the 3rd phrasing without stuttering

2020-11-18 - 155
45 min class

• polished up and learn/relearn the last part of harmony on Sally Gardens
• it's such a great tune
• learned a new tune with lots of left hand pizz
• it's kinda funky and really "cutsie"
• looking forward to a 1 week long break from everything
• Thinking about going out driving, of course with covid safety.

2020-11-15 - 154
30 min practice at 7am! Octave fiddle with mute on.

• called grandma in Taipei
• talked to dad in the longest time ever, probably in a few years
• I used my new mic setup and it works great!!!! I can hear the other side via skype, and via the testing playback, my voice goes through very clearly. It's amazing what modern audio equipment can do!
• went through phrase A of Wynton's Tune, which I'm calling Breakfast in Winter
• went through some G and D string exercises, trying to keep volume low (it is 7am!!!)
• played the first line of Bach's Cello Suite No 1. Prelude.
• played through my tuning phrase "will I ever..." on octave fiddle with mute on, this is where this tune belongs!!! It's so amazing
• The story of "will I ever..." I should write that!
• The truth is I wrote it for an unrequited love and it has lyrics. It's the centre melody for a piece I've wanted to write/compose for a long time. It's been about 3-4 years in the making. At some point I realised the love wasn't going to happen, so I started playing it for a tuning phrase, a way for me to reset myself at the beginning and end of practices. It goes through the 3 fingers on first position, but spread out over all 4 strings. So it's a good way for me to check my instrument setup and my fingering, but at the same time, it's not mechanical and I can put some emotion and feeling into it. Great for differing slurs/bowing, and also I've been sneaking in vibrato in there just to get used to the motions.

20 min practice at 8 ... what is wrong with me why am I practicing at this weirdly early hour??

• Canon in D on octave violin with mute
• I really need to learn this tune properly with the right timing and shifts, maybe put in a metronome.

1 hr learn a tune with Rayna Gellert workshop - Pretty Little Widow

• I'm on the right track
• it's a great tune
• I really like Rayna's teaching style!

2020-11-14 - 153
45 min group

• went through maple syrup tune (gotta keep practicing this one, I drifted a bit on the rhythms on this one)
• Aj taught us the 3rd position shift!!!
• A note on practice, tuning, etc: I always have this practice of "going back to zero" - When I play fiddle/practice fiddle, there's always this moment of resetting, starting over, the idea that you can have so much learning, so much under your belt already, but that time when you go back to something, some technique, some tune, some scale, you're facing it again, for the first time. There's always something new to learn
• In this case, the D major 2 octave 3rd position shift - I've done it before, but I'm looking and listening to myself hit that shift, and it's like starting fresh. I really like this feeling and it's part of what keeps me coming back to the fiddle.
• I really liked hearing everyone's shifting points! A has a good smooth shift, and each person has different shifts. It's amazing how we all learn!
• The best part of the class was playing Sally Gardens all together, and Aj on harmony, the group on melody - that was so beautiful.
• We learned the first phrase of the harmony too and that is just absolutely heart melting.
• I think we were all crying or almost gonna cry cause it's just such a great sound

2020-11-13 - 152
60 min full length practice

• missed wednesday class
• about 20 min on octave violin on Sally Gardens before
• moving to regular fiddle
• I actually cleaned my regular fiddle with a bit of moist cloth and a dash of water, and that loosed out the stuck-on old rosin, and the whole fiddle sounds different. brighter, more resonant, but also more depth and more gradations of sound.
• intonation is also easier to hear and harder to hide :)
• I spent a lot of time on sally gardens just getting the tuning right. it's all about microtones and microcorrections
• spent the second half on Guro's Salve!
• I love this tune so much! There's so much depth and so much more to learn
• Today's biggest breakthrough is on part B1, where I cleaned up the bowing AND finally got that first finger A string flick coordinated with the upbow - that makes the coolest sound - it doesn't seem like very much but it adds so much more flavour to the tune
• I decided not to copy Guro on part A, I really like playing part A straight without the flicks that Guro does; it sounds fine.
• My next breakthrough/looking forward would be whole part B1-B2 + C parts where it goes into the stratosphere and pairing with the first finger A string double stop - that's hard for me to finger, and I am hearing a lot more ornamentations in the bridge back to A
• hope for more practices like this - it was pretty good tonight.

After practice I looked up what the heck sus4 means ... turns out it's a pretty neat bit of chording that I have no idea but it sure sounds cool. I was watching this guitar based suspended chord explanation and it was pretty good re the concepts. As to how suspended chords work on the violin ... er, I have no idea

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu49nYaBfdM

2020-11-08 - 151
15 min practice - all on the octave fiddle

• Sally Gardens on octave fiddle "takes my breath away"
• all jokes aside, it's an amazing tune. So much air, so much time, so much space all inside of that tune
• Harmony on octave fiddle is amazing, so much so much depth there
• makes me feel a little better

2020-11-07 - 150
45 min group class

• hooray! new US president! I am kinda burned out on political news so I'll leave it at that. I'm glad there's a new chapter, but at the same time, it's been exhausting
• We played through Maple Syrup tune, once the group, and once with piano! both times it sounded great!
• I had to concentrate so much more than usual to keep my timing and my tuning.
• We learned Sally Gardens! what a beautiful tune!

2020-11-04 - 149
45 min lesson

• 40 birthday!
• re-learned Sally Gardens, both melody and harmony. It's so beautiful!!!!
• I love this tune
• did some freewriting about my experience from 2010-2020. And also thinking about what's coming up next? Where do I want to go with my life?

2020-11-03

• no practice today (yet)
• big news is that I took the plunge!!!
• Signed up for Streaky's Mastering class!!
• I was thinking about the "Hell yes or no" idea and seeing if I can apply it to my life, together with the "got anything else better to do" idea, sort of pairing them so the "got anything else" isn't so passive.
• In both cases, I think Streaky's class passes - I don't have anything that much better to do than to learn more about these tools, and I don't want to buy physical items like speakers, etc I just want to know how to make my recording sound better lol. In terms of "hell yes or no" I had a bit of trouble with this, cause I was pretty ambivalent about spending money in the first place, but I opened up Streaky's videos today, and realized that I actually find it fun listening to this dude talk about mastering and audio engineering for a few hours at a time and it's kinda fun.
• So here I go!!!

2020-11-01

• not practice related, taking a day off practice
• however, this place has become like a diary/journal for me, so I'd like to keep writing in it
• I attended a free online workshop for Mastering audio tracks from Streaky, who's this British dude with some good tips on music production. I started watching his youtube videos, and then on his website he had a link to the workshop today.
• He has a Mastering class, there's some kind of discount on it, but it's still moderately expensive
• Should I give this a try? Using the "got anything else better to do" question?

2020-10-31 - 148
45 min group class

• dressed up as some kind of Dexter impersonator with the lab coat
• the group tackled Maple Syrup tune together
• and we succeeded!!!! Hurray! We got from the beginning to the end, all repeats
• A mentioned the tune is so long the fiddle starts sagging down cause we're holding it for so long!
• It's a pretty good tune, especially with the octave changes and key changes

A little bit of jotting down where I want this practice to go?

• I'm about 32 days away from completing this year.
• It's been a weird, hard year. I hope I get to close it out with something sweet and fresh.
• I've been looking around for a hardingfele but can't seem to find any local used ones. It might be time to start checking specialty stores or the hardanger social club of North America
• The other direction might be to commission one from Salve in Norway, not the hardanger d'amour but a real hardanger.
• where do I want my practice to go? I think it's time to take a closer look at the Blazin' in Beauly materials, and to listen closer to the music of that region
• Need to make a decision on choir. What to do? Should I keep going with SoundCrowd and East End United choirs? It hasn't been connecting with me this half year and it's getting tougher and tougher to stay for a full rehearsal.
• Should I invest more in audio recording equipment? What's the use of it if I'm not recording?
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CsR2HYFv_E
• Got anything better to do?

2020-10-29 - 147
10 min micro practice

• kinda playing hookie on choir night
• for some reason that I can't explain, I just can't be at choir right now. maybe it's to do with my unresolved feelings for s? Whatever it is, I'm doing what feels natural to me, and what's natural is to:
• listen to Kristy MacLanagan's version of McKechnie's Farewell. Her version is full of depth and well thought out flourishes. I'm not sure if she's thinking about them or not, but it's a very nostalgic, very thoughtful playing
• learned the first phrase of McKechnie's Farewell. I won't be able to duplicate her grace notes, but the point isn't to carbon copy everyone I hear. The point is to come up with my own bowing and slurring to get my emotions across, and this tune is really great when it goes down into the D string. Just a great tune, quietly played.
• side note: this tune McKechnie's Farewell has been in my mind for a few days now. I'm glad I'm trying to play it.

2020-10-28 - 146
45 min

• lesson at AJ
• some cleanup and fine tuning of Maple Syrup tune
• Finally able to play through the tune without stopping!
• Some tuning near the key change needs special care
• Some timing in the slurs and triplet (actually a quintuplet) needs special care and fine-tuning
• excited for the next tune!

2020-10-27 - day off

• ended my streak
• took a day off
• returned my CSI RP badge :(
• took one last look around the space
• listened to the recording from my last practice session there and it still holds up a day later (so my feelings from the last posting isn't all sleep-deprived delirium :)

2020-10-26 - 145
2hr

• final practice at CSI RP before I end my membership
• It was a great 4 years there. I will really miss my night sessions at CSI RP
• I'll also really miss the people there, the night security guards, the custodians, Bashyr's cheerful presence, the many Deca's there, Denise, the artwork and general ambiance, and of course, the Cream of Earl Grey tea.
• Should I find a new studio space? That's still up in the air. I'll see how my financials work out, but it's worth exploring something new in terms of how I practice, learn, and record. Do I need a studio or is my new sublet apt sufficient?
• The Final Rehearsal was a great one - from about 10:15ish-pm to just after midnight :) Left around 12:20 am refreshed and feeling great about my playing
• Recorded King's Reel into Fern Cutter/Cutting Ferns
• They are both great tunes, and I feel really good about them.
• practice really makes it work.
• I might do more of a writeup about my time there, including some notes about the acoustics, and my learning progress there.

2020-10-25 - 144
15 min

• short practice
• didn't feel like practicing, but it's too soon to give up right?
• I did scales and arpeggios today
• I haven't done scales and arpeggios for the longest time!!! The last time I did a full scale workup was like .... 2 months ago?
• G major scale + G major arpeggios - 2 octave
• G minor scale + G minor arpeggios - This I haven't done in ... almost a year? I love the sound of it I need to keep practicing this so I have it in my mind
• A major scale + arpeggios - this is pretty fresh in my mind, with the lifted 3rd fingers on the G and D strings
• D major scale + shifting, and arpeggios. I don't know how to do shifted 2 octave arpeggios in the scale of D! I need to figure out the fingerings and when to shift so that it's not just me doing single finger ad hoc shifts all over the place
• only one left is E major - which is used in my Scandinvian tune that I'm trying to learn - I need to figure out E major
• Went right into Spotted Pony from D scales. It feels pretty good.
• Into Eighth of January
• and from there, I went into 2 spirited playthroughs of Salve together with the dreamy part.
• I know what I have to do. I have to mute-on and tackle the really hard high harmonies and double stops on the E string. It's not going to be pleasant. And it's going to sound super scratchy and awful but that's where I need to go next :)
• Hope my neighbours are not too "disturbed"
• PS I forgot to do D minor harmonic scale, from all the way back in April. I gotta figure out how that scale works next practice. LOL I like having notes cause I can do searches in my practice history!

2020-10-24 - 143
20 min + 45 min lesson

• morning started with a quick replay of the tuning phrase

• moved into Josefin's Waltz

• then into McFall's March. I like this tune a lot more now that I've heard of Anna's guitar backup track. It plays in my mind, and I get the feel of it a lot more

• I really feel deeply about this tune, and for Jenna, the creator of this tune, it has definite deeper meaning. For me, it's always tied to my grandmother and the trip I took back to Gaoshung to see her in the hospital. I drew out the dots and learned this tune on the plane going there and coming back.

• I will fly again one day, and it will be to Scotland, Shetland, Norway, then over to Japan, and then back to Gaohsung, where I will take this tune back home, to where my grandmother lived for the last few years of her life.

• Group lesson learning / relearning Maple Syrup tune.

• Learning to back off a lot more to listen to the mix of the entire group, learning to blend, learning to soften my own sound when I need to.

• Today I got a set of SRH840's to go with the Apogee Duet. I hear a lot more detail and they are a great headset to learn with - I played all my previous recordings and I can hear a lot more details and it will be helpful for learning what the heck the people are playing.

• On vocals these headsets are brilliant.

• Next up is to prepare for a recording of Fern Cutter + King's Reel, then moving into Planxtys and then ending with Sheebeg & Sheemore

• I met my Irish neighbour!

2020-10-23 - 142
15 min short practice

• started with my tuning phrase "will I ever..." - trying to put more emotion and more vibrato, and more tuning into this phrase. It'll get there
• went over Maple Syrup tune 2 times.
• This time, I remembered how the transitions go, but in thinking so much about the transitions, I trip up in the middle, where I used to play through without much trouble.
• It's a matter of thinking about one thing, forgetting about another!

2020-10-22 - 141
10 min short practice

• went over Maple Syrup tune 2 times - It's such a long tune that each go over is like 3 min long :)
• I'm still having issues linking one part to the next, but it's getting a bit more natural each time I play it.
• I think I just need to play this a few more times and I will be able to make the linkages.

2020-10-21 - 140
45 min lesson online!

• good call to stay home - I was feeling a bit off this morning too, but toward the afternoon got better
• spent all the time reviewing Maple Syrup tune!
• Parts A and B are pretty good, there's a quick sluring portion that's tricky timing wise, but I liked parts AB, CD on the other hand, needed a bit of work, and with the key change it's a bit hard to get tuning right
• I can feel my tuning getting dragged off farther as I play into part D, so gotta "pull myself back"
• I can really tell which parts I've practices (A and B) and those parts are feeling really comfy. Parts C and D I'm still very closely following the music!
• Glad I played today!

2020-10-20 - 139
15 min

• stayed home out sick today
• felt a bit off
• might call in to Aj asking to do internet lesson tomorrow?
• reviewed once through Maple Syrup - the key change is tricky
• reviewed More whisky before breakfast - this tune is really fun to play, especially now getting it up to speed. This is a cracking tune
• review Part A of flowers of edinburgh - need to listen to Aj's recording to remember what it feels like.

2020-10-19 - 138
30 min + 20 min

• I lost an entry due to saving over my existing page, I'll try to reconstruct it
• At lunch went through Guro's Salve!
• Main goal today was to get it up to speed. I can hang on with her official instruction video in parts A, B, in C, and D I can almost make it with her.
• I'm feeling pretty good at getting good sound throughout
• Also trying to figure out what she's doing with the ornamentations!!
• In part B she's using the 1st finger on D string (E) as a grace note for the 3rd finger A (D), which matches against the E string that she goes to right after, and that's what makes that "trill" sound. It's a different octave, but the same note, that's why it sounds like that!! I was having a hard time figuring out what she's doing
• She's going fast, but making it sound light and effortless. for me, I gotta lighten up a bit, cause I can make it fast, but I sound like a freight train going by.

Second part of practice, went through the BlaZoom in Beauly course materials, downloaded all the dots and the recordings

• love Rua's Hughie Rory and Lady Glenorchy! Gotta learn that properly
• also went through classics like Taigh Sia, Da Slockit Light - those 2 fit really well, they are slow but with vibrato.
• Listened to the recordings and they really bring back the Beauly Scottish feel!
• really liked all the tunes. In other fiddle camps there's usually one tune I really liked, but in Blazin' in Beauly, I really like them all. They feel so different from the usual tunes that I learn!

2020-10-18 - 137
7 min micropractice

• I need to do something to get myself to get over the mental block of the 7 day streak
• Every day, no matter how small amount I practice, just a little bit will do
• Today I practiced 2 minutes of Canon in D - I still do remember the first few systems of this music
• It's time to give my newfound vibrato a workout on Canon in D!!! mwahahahahahaa
• Did 5 minutes of Cockle Gatherers. Especially getting it sped up
• Cockle Gatherers is such a simple tune. Very simple notes, very simple bowing, nothing fancy
• BUT it's so hard to get right when I speed it up!
• this is one of those cases where slowly play is boring, but as soon as it's sped up, there's a swing and a gait to it that trips up when I try to play fast.
• also put in the slidey slide to 3, and put in unison 4th strings. starting to develop my own sense of embelishments

2020-10-17 - 136
45 min group class

• went through maple syrup tune
• Anna's "How are ya doing? Very well thank you!" tune is still in my head!
• I think I need to get a hardanger fiddle. either that or the hardanger d'amore. My finances aren't doing so well, but the heart wants what the ear wants.
• coming down from the BlaZOOM in Beauly

2020-10-16 - 135
Blazin' in Beauly - Day 5

• jam night
• I don't think I'll play
• but I really like having some craic
• mushrooms and marshmallows
• never be the last of the band to get there
• Bruce was raided by the police! (funny story)
• It's called "dots" for sheet music, as in, "you got the dots for this?"
• lots of singing
• I think the most brilliant part of Blazin' in Beauly is seeing each person's personality. Bruce is all brash and cockleburn, Anna is bright, forward, and grounded, Ruey is one laid-back Scottsman, Jenna is warm and welcoming, and Kristan, she's a lovely swearing soul who's on her journey through this world - her toes floating just a few inches above the ground wherever she goes.
• The music speaks to each of these people and in the group sessions, the personalities merge into one musical caudron
• I've never laughed so much at a fiddle camp!
• I'll be there next year.

2020-10-15 - 134
1.5 hr Blazin' in Beauly - Day 4

• last day of classes
• I recorded the early morning class but didn't stay online cause I was too bleary had to go back to sleep
• learned some hot tips from Rua
• learned a strathspey from Rua - finally heard a Scotsman say the word "strathsbey" - it's a Cape Breton Strathspey!
• also quickly learned a reel
• alwasy strasthspey before the reel

2020-10-14 - 133
45 min class
Today was a bit of a weird day

• missed the morning session (slept through my 3am alarm clock)
• went to Aj for class!
• reviewed and learned all of Maple syrup tune
• it's so tricky!!! so many parts sound the same but aren't actually the same (ie dotted eights, quarters everywhere, key change!)
• attended 1/4 of Rua's fiddle clinic
• missed the afternoon/evening session
• went to sleep wanting to get up early tomorrow (but didn't ...)

2020-10-13 - 132
Blazin in Beauly Day 2 - Tuesday - ~3.5 hours in total

• I'm not coherent so just random notes
• Shadowed Jenna's 3am morning class!
• It was wonderful. I didn't play cause it's 3am, but I tried to listen in and absorbe the lesson.
• The tune is wonderful, a slow meandering but lovely tune.
• Notes: try to look around open strings, to see what possibilities there are
• shifting into 2nd or 3rd in order to slide up into the open string and back
• having little wiggles in there makes the tune smoother, so it's not crashing down on the strings all the time
• that makes alllll the difference in this tune
• back to sleep and hopefully to learn more at the big tune session today.

Today more things happened than I have mind to write. My head has exploded - more like imploded with the awesomeness of Blazin' in Beauly!

• attended 3am morning class, but was muted and didn't play because my neighbours would kill me
• took the afternoon off to take the 2pm class, which turned into Anna teaches a tune, and shows us how to play rhythm on the fiddle, and then 1.5 hours of story time with Jenna. Jenna taught us a really smooth tune and it's super great.
• Rua, Jenna, and Bruce took us on a ceilidh at the end playing some fan favourites
• sightread Da Slockit Light.

2020-10-12 - 131
Blazin' in Beauly Day 1 - ~3 hours in total

• downloaded sheet music, class videos
• missed the 3am eastern early morning class, but I'll try to make at least one of these!
• learned Rua's tune even though I think I learned it out of order. It's a great tune
• Coming into the "scottish" frame of mind.
• listend to Harv's tune but didn't learn it too much
• Evening class at 2pm eastern with Harv

SO GREAT!!! B in B 2020 is off to grand start!

• Learned Cockle gather in A major a simple tune that has a ton of depth! from Anna
• Learned Maggie Watson's Polka from Orkney from Kristan Garvy
• More about rhythm than ornamentations, she uses a double-upbow which is really neat - in my mind it feels like a tractor, like it's pulling the tune ahead so that double-upbow I need to watch out for! it comes super unexpected and gives the tune a lilt
• make sure to play it swung, it's a dance tune so imagine dancers dancin' to the tune!
• Relearned Cockle Gather, this time from Jenna + Rua. Jenna plays it really great, with small oramentations here an there, Rua is brillian with ornamentations, doublestops, and variations, overlaying notes on top of each other
• I see how the group works in real time. It's brilliant. Jenna is brilliant, she comes up with chords in real time while Anna sings it, and Rua puts in layers in the back that pops it up.
• Kristan is very rhythmic, almost chopping
• I really love this experience!
• Each of the different musicians in this group has their own take on the same tune and that's really cool
• to see the way they string tunes together
• Maccallums road into Cockle gatherer
• learn McCallum's road (beautiful tune)!
• I was stomping my foot along to the music!
• I think the leveling is perfect, I can see where to go from here!
• I think that's what I've been looking for - inspiration and a pathway to go farther - the "where do I go next" question.
• I will definitely put Beauly on the list of places to go next in Scotland - and maybe to Orkeny and Shetland as well!

2020-10-10 - 130
45 min group class

• went through all of part A of maple syrup
• I think the group is starting to blend.
• we finally got our sound all matched up for that final go-around
• and it sounds super good!!! everyone was in sync and I am learning how to blend too!
• really love our sound together.

2020-10-09 - 129
60 min practice?

• spent a surprising long time practicing after eating mexican food and drinking red wine
• all of it on octave fiddle
• the strings are getting hard to stablise so I ordered another sensicore octave set - about time I got a new set!
• AEAE - full on practice for the tune after the dance from 2018
• almost got the transitions ready for going inbetween the different parts
• the original recording still had an "easy but fast swing" to it that I don't have yet, but I have my own sound, and the purpose isn't to replicate the tune. It's to play it how I want to play it!
• full on bow rocking, shuffle, and synchopated shuffle exercise on open strings and basic scales! This works super well on the octave violin
• retuned to ADAE (high bass) and gave it a try for Buck Creek Girls.
• The tune is still in my memory but I sure can't play it like I could this summer. I should get this tune back. It's one of my favourites
• Maybe look into getting another lesson from Tatiana? a different tune maybe
• BLAZIN IN BEAULY STARTS ON MONDAY!!! SO EXCITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2020-10-07 - 127
45 min lesson

• review part A of maple sugar
• it sounds pretty cool, there's quite a bit of intricate rhythm in there
• Part B is really cool!
• planning to do a recording of King's Reel into Fern Cutter.

2020-10-03 - 126
45 min group class

• reviewed Mick Duggan
• learned first phrasing of Maple Sugar
• everyone sounds so amazing!
• I really enjoy how everyone's tone and sound has developed
• I need to try to figure out how to develop my tone to the next step too
• I think my current learning is how to play softly but still with tone and hitch, and how to play loud but still blend

2020-10-01 - 125
15 min mini practice

• Octave fiddle
• go over tricky parts of Buck Creek Girl, getting those 4th finger stretches in and keeping the sound clear during double stops

2020-09-30 - 124
45 min lesson

• relearned MORE Whiskey before breakfast
• need to get double stops in finger memory
• parts of the B part are a bit tricky
• Learned the start of a new tune Flowers of Edinburgh
• Last day key return for the Upper Beaches apartment.
• I grew so much there. My new fiddle hasn't known any home other than that little bachelor suite.
• Now in the new place, the fiddle is stretching and changing tuning, getting used to the new place
• I'll need to grow too to adapt to this new place
• My re-learning the fiddle pretty much took place in between Greenwood Ave and Woodbine Ave on little india
• Looking forward what will come next in my musical journey?

2020-09-28 - 123
30 min morning practice

• tuned up both fiddles!!
• set up string swing and the new mic stand
• both fiddles sound great!
• regular fiddle is becoming more refined
• octave fiddle just wants to get out an play!
• went through Josefin's Waltz
• tuning phrase
• Octave fiddle in high bass - I think that's where it's going to stay!
• Buck Creek Girls (this sounds fantastic on the octave fiddle!!)
• Spotted Pony
• Eighth of January

2020-09-26 - 122
45 min group lesson

• first group lesson in forever!!!!
• everyone was masked, standing > 6 ft apart
• it was great to hear so many fiddles at once
• I had to concentrate to hear my own fiddle for intonation
• learned a new tune!
• MOVED!!! It took about 1 whole month of steady packing, unpacking, recycling, garbage sorting and took 2 trips to the Toronto city depot, and I think I still have 1 car load full to take to the city depot/dump.
• That took so much time out of my practice. I think I need to double-time back to make sure I get re-started on my practice
• Things to look forward to: returning to class and group class, reviewing and developing my vibrato from my summer classes with Amy Serrano, review and relearn off book all tunes from the summer, especially Sheebeg and Shemore, that's a great candidate for a recording

2020-09-16 - 121
45 min lesson

• FIRST IN PERSON LESSON IN FOREVER!!!!
• Lesson with Ajineen!
• Her fiddle sounds really mellow!
• My fiddle is brighter in comparison, but it's starting to match
• when we play together it's super duper duper duper awesome!!!!!
• Whisky before Breakfast full tune with double stops!!!
• Gotta remember when to not have double stops, when to have them.

2020-09-06 - 120
45 min

• first practice in a loooong while
• first practice in a new space, a wonderful Queen St. E sublet
• strings were very much out of tune
• the bridge collapsed during tuning! I was so scard the soundpost might have fell, but it seemed to be ok
• I should take the fiddle to Heinl's for a checkup
• went through Salve, Buck Creek Girl, Spotted Pony, both versions of Eighth of January, back to standard for Planxty's and ending with Sheebeg, Sheemore.
• I really like Sheebeg and Sheemore and really want to get this performance ready for my next recording.

2020-08-23 - 119
15 min

• short practice going over Salve and 3/4 of buck creek girls.
• it's been a chaotic few weeks. need to rest and restore.

2020-08-15.16 - 117, 118

• Meaford with MLT!!!!!

2020-08-12 - 116
60 min class

• continuation of Amy Serrano's Vibrato class
• remember to keep the entire left hand loose - it has to be able to move!
• Rachel mentioned keeping the left fingers "tabletop" meaning to keep the hand frame open and free, don't let the hand slip under the neck
• first time practicing vibrato on the other strings. it feels weird but sounds ok
• so it's actually 16 different vibratos... one for each string and finger combination. lol
• practice practice practice!
• G string is the hardest to vibrate on, I think because of my left hand hold.

2020-08-10 - 115
60 min class

• Amy Serrano's Vibrato class Part 2
• go over/review everything from Part 1
• I am getting the hang of the 8th note and triplete note rocks.
• 16th note I think I'm holding the violin too much (or not enough) - my fiddle moves around when I'm trying to rock my left fingers
• new exercise is to fit the vibrato onto a tune - it's getting there!
• homework: find 2 artists and listen to their vibratos

2020-08-08 - rest day

• Tatiana's fiddle recital!!
• Stars of SoundCrowd cabaret!!!
• I end both videos with smiles and laughter, and that is all that matters. The technicalities of whether I get a note or not, or whether I'm on beat or not, doesn't matter so much to me
• I'm willing to perform at the upper edge of my envelope - I can see and hear where the limits of my technique are, and I'm willing to go there, and beyond, in search of musicality and performance oomph. It's ok! That's my style.

2020-08-07 - 114
30 min class + 1 hour recording

• Re-learned Hobarts full tune!!!
• going to have to practice the set June Apple into Hobarts.
• Recorded Salve from Guro for SoundCrowd Cabaret tomorrow
• I omitted the double stops on C1,C2 on purposes. I can get the first finger B drone on those parts, but not at the speed that I wanted to play at, so I just left the tones pure and tried to make them as pure as possible - to the point where the fiddle start resonating on its own and I snuck in a little bit of vibrato in there. It sounds really good because there's a ton of contrast with the earlier A and B which is dirty (in a good way) with double stops everywhere.
• dreamy part is so good. I love that part - best part of the whole tune in my opinion - it just keeps you guessing what's coming up
• recorded the "random walk" during dreamy part, and upon reentry into the tune, cut back to some "sleight of hand" with books and SoundCrowd sheet music :D
• A lot of fun!!! I must have played the tune 20-30 times over.

2020-08-05 - 113
30 min

• June Apple! still remember it! I'm surprised!
• Hobarts!!
• remember to close crossword before class.
• strings seem to be better today. e string is a bit low today but it's ok.

2020-08-04 - 112
40 min

• learned June Apple, part A1 and A2
• there's something wonky with my strings :(
• I retuned all strings - took me about 20 min!

2020-08-03 - 111
40 min

• while getting ready for lesson with Ajineen I found the G string totally broke! At first I was wondering how the heck did it break like that - the ball end was half way up the fingerboard!
• the part at the scroll had completely snapped, and the metal winding was unwound. fatigued and pretty much the only thing holding the string in one piece. the winding was also coming apart if I tugged a bit on it.
• Good thing I bought a G string in preparation for this!!!!! It means my instincts about it not holding a good tune is correct two and a half weeks ago.
• I think the primary factor in this snapping is that I'm going back and forth between G and A for high bass tuning quite a bit these past few months.
• It's ok. I got a new string!
• At Ajineen's fiddle camp, we're relearning June Apple with all ornamentations.
• It feels familiar but different at the same time. I'm getting to know the tune again, but with new technique and bowing patterns
• I didn't practice my vibrato exercises. Maybe do those tomorrow morning?
• Found a good arrangement for the Scandinavian set: Josefin's Waltz into Salve! It works super well.
• Salve, the double stops in C1&2 are still giving me memory issues, but I think the rest of the song is solid enough to record. Just need to decide how long to do the dreamy part, and how to transition into and out of the dreamy part.

2020-08-02 - 110
35-40 min

• recorded Buck Creek Girl for Tati's online recital thingy!
• used ipad to record
• had a lot of fun
• hope I didn't go over the noise limit!!!
• even if I did I am ok with it
• used fourth finger!!!
• next to clean up the bowing/directions! also to make my double stops clearer.
• second part of Ajineen's fiddle camp next week!
• need to review vibrato
• also sent in notice re my apt. I need to find a new place stat!!!

2020-07-29 - 109
30 min - vibrato class

• progressive vibrato and blended vibrato with Amy Serrano
• moving from the structured slides-rocks - into the freeform blended vibrato
• it's tricky - gotta get it into muscle memory
• tip from Rachel - hook 4th finger on the inside of the fingerpad so you have leverage
• learn to count!!
• it's interesting
• 1st finger is my all-work-no-fun vibrato
• 2nd finger is the don't-know-how-to-dance awkward vibrato
• 3rd finger is my expressive emotive vibrato
• 4th finger is my baby cat (don't know how to move, uncoordinated, fall-all-over) vibrato
• homework - find violinists and fiddlers with different vibratos and find some to model after

2020-07-27 - 108
30 min - vibrato class

• very cool and informative vibrato class with Amy Serrano
• slide exercises
• 1/4, 1/8, 16th notes
• quarter I'm ok, 1/8 started losing the beat, at 16th just was barely making a sound
• needs practice
• lots of interesting details about my own posture and the motions
• don't tuck away the pinkie!
• learn to count notes (one, one-and-a, one-e-and-a)
• takeaway: learning vibrato isn't "1" vibrato, it's 4 different ones (1, 2, 3, 4th fingers) each one is slightly different

2020-07-26 - 107
30 min - shores of Georgian Bay

• Just outside of Awenda park, early morning, 8am ish, little parkette just outside of the park, on the shores of Georgian Bay
• Went through Salve, all parts all the time
• reviewed dreamy part.
• my life is in the dreamy part right now.
• 1st finger drone in C1 and C2 at about 20% speed. it sounds pretty scratchy right now, but with more work i can see this working well.
• done a lot of thinking this weekend.
• give up basement suite?
• go biking around the country? self-supported with car.
• take a look at property prices along "cottage country" on Huron shores
• the hammock is legendary. ever time I use it, I have incredible memories.
• Biked 30kish
• prepare for vibrato workshop on monday

2020-07-20 - 106
20 min - short session

• at the Toronto Zoo after a long bike ride
• The Zoo reminds me of the top of signal hill! good bike up the big ramp in order to get to the open space parking lot.
• reviewed all parts of Salve, starting to sound like a real tune
• tried the 1st finger drone in C1 and C2 but couldn't make it work. needs more listening to the original tracks.

2020-07-19

• went for a long bike ride, got tired at the end, no practice, but I wanted to put in an entry
• listed to Salve on very low speed (20%) and figured out Guro was holding down the 1st finger on A string (so that's a B) during C1 and C2 for the double stops.

2020-07-18 - 105
20 min

• short session, Days Inn in Kingston
• Savle full tune
• C1 and C2 are getting in tune and in rhythm - also verified whether I'm playing the right notes against the music - I'm ok mostly, one or 2 notes are a bit off/made up
• getting the dreamy part up to speed
• the critical parts are the junctions between the main tune and dreamy parts and then out again back into the main tune

2020-07-17 - 104
80 min

• SALVE FULL TUNE!!!!!!!!!!
• Got ABC, C1 is good, C2 is getting in tune (because of that 4th finger pulling up my whole hand, needs some fine tuning work)
• C1 and C2 are at about 85% speed, at least it doesn't sound disjointed anymore
• I didn't do double stops for C1 and C2 because I still need to read the music
• Dreamy Part go through - it's really cool!!! at about 30% speed
• Dreamy part harmony is sooooo beautiful!!!!
• decided that I'll do this for the 3rd soundcrowd cabaret
• need to record properly, but this is coming along really really well
• have some interesting ideas about recording the dance / walk, then during dreamy part do - pushups? change a bike tire? read some books?

2020-07-15 - 103
50 min

• took a day off yesterday
• came back after dinner to the school park
• reviewed Salve ABC1,C2
• speeding up C1 and C2 even more, getting it balanced with AB parts is the hardest because it's quite different in feel from the earlier parts
• I need to verify that I'm playing the right notes :D
• I think I'm missing a few notes or a whole section here and there, but it's ok - I need to get the feel, and then just listen closely and read the music to find out how I'm playing differently than the source material
• Retune ADAE for Buck Creek Girl
• going into Eighth of January
• Retune AEAE for Jen's tune
• Slow practice of Sail All Night
• Retune standard - practice King's Reel into Fern Cutter
• Fern Cutter I finally got the feel and the pulse as I sped it up - it's really rocking!!!
• Revisit Salve at end, just to make sure I can keep getting C1 and C2 cleaned up.

2020-07-13 - 102
25 min

• short practice today
• go over Parts A,B,C1,C2 of Salve
• speeding up C1 and C2, specifically focusing on C2 for now to about 40% speed
• the double stops on C1 and C2 are challenging
• Go over Cluck old Hen bluesy version
• getting better at tremolo - my speed is getting up, but not the intensity of the bow stroke

2020-07-12 - 101
60 min

• Parking lot at the Georgina Civic Centre in the Golden light of the sun going down and into darkness.
• building a habit
• it feels weird not to practice :D
• re-watched Arun's Indian Classical music session and reviewed Surise Raga and the specific scale from the raga
• Go over Parts A&B of Guro's Salve
• I can get part B in tune and in rhythm now! good accomplishment
• Part C1 and C2 - high parts on the E string - just getting the notes in, at about 30% speed: slow practice is good practice.
• At some point once I get the whole tune, I really need to sit down and review the chord structures and the grace notes.
• Chords are the newest takeaway from MBMC - I haven't been exposed to so much chords in my entire musical life, even in choir. Now instead of just appreciating or singing one note out of a chord (for example filling in a bass line on an Andrew Donaldson composition), now I have to learn the notation, the structure, what works within a tune, and to come up with my own chords.
• This applies in Ajineen's Cluck's camp as well, when she's saying "A chord" I will need to learn what that means.

2020-07-06--2020-07-11 - 95-100

• Mike Block String Camp at Vero Beach coincident with Cluck's Camp with Ajineen Sagal!
• Every day I spent about 90-120 min working on fiddle tunes, techniques, going over old tunes I learned, learning on zoom, playing outdoors 3 of the 6 days
• It was so HOT
• Got to the bottom of Page 1 in Schradieck
• At Cluck's Camp, relearned Cluck Old Hen, bluesy style, with double stops + the chucks/backing chords
• It was a great way to get back into the tune, to learn it over again. Next step is to know it well enough to speed it up, and also to remember how the chords work
• MBSC - learned and recorded/sang Fey O - a Haitian tune for the final group video
• Best lessons were the group sessions with Mike for Fey O, Trina's first elective, the Jazzy Abbey Lincoln tune, and the Indian Classical Music sessions with Trina and Arun
• I wouldn't hesitate to carve out time in 2021 to go to Vero Beach for MBSC 2021
• And that's 100 days of practice!!! I have 80 more days to go in the current challenge year, but I want to take some time to celebrate. This is the most I've ever played fiddle in my life! and it's getting awesome. I can see how far I still have to go, but I'm getting excited about getting there.

2020-07-05 - 94
120 min - first day of Fiddle takeover!!!

• Jonny Plays Scradieck has started!!! Book 1, Exercise 1, lines 1,2,3
• live stream 30 min.
• live stream groove is to do some Schradieck, and then reward myself (and viewers) with a piece of rep. Did fern cutter and king's reel.
• Tomorrow will be lines 4 - 9 and then play buck creek girls, the day after will be Guro's Salve mhwaahahahaha so excited!

2020-07-03 - 93
40 min - at the park

• first time back on the fiddle after about a week's break
• practiced Guro's Salve Parts 1 and 2, still not ready to work on Part 3 yet
• practiced Fern Cutter into King's Reel
• practiced Buck Creek Girls
• Biggest news this week is I reached out to Salve (a different Salve!) in Norway about the commissioning of a Hardanger d'amore. This is a 10 string (5 + 5) hardanger-like fiddle that is able to work in standard violin tuning as well as Hardangerfele tuning.
• Thinking about adding another to the family - it's kinda like having another kid :)
• Upcoming fiddle week - Mike Block Fiddle Camp + Ajineen's stayathomecamp
• Some musical goals, some personal health goals, some personal goals
• musical goals:
  • Jonny plays schradieck - get technical!!! play through Scradieck Book 1
  • build repretoire - review of all fiddle tunes I've learned starting from the 4 set Irish jigs
  • Get in the zone with Mike Blocks camp - try investigating Hanneke's scandinavian set and the carnetic set
  • come to a decision about thew hardanger d'amore
• personal fitness/health goals:
  • no junk food!
  • try to run every day
  • try to go on at least 2 long bike rides
  • eat healthy
• living goals:
  • clean the entire living space
  • rearrange furniture
  • get bathroom cleaned up
  • check with the landlord for future months
• that's actually a lot of things to do over the next week. Saturday and Sunday will be my decompression days, going right into a full jam packed week.
• wishing myself good luck :D

2020-06-27 - 92
30 min

• final day of Heart of Sierra!
• great to hear Guro and all the Scandinavian musicians play through Salve a few times before we all said good bye
• It was a great week of fascinating music
• Practiced Salve - Part A up to 95% speed, Part B with correct intonation and tricky bowing up to about 80% speed (on Part B1, the bowing is smooth and full of slurs, when it repeats for B2, the slurs are broken up and it sounds more jagged. At first I was wondering what's the difference, but after playing it through a few times there is a difference in how the 2 phrases sound).
• Part C and the terminus loop back to beginning of A still eludes me.
• Also practiced Part A of harmony!! The harmony parts are so cool!!
• Guro has a lot of grace notes that I'm not taking, and I identified another place where her version differs from the sheet music, so I'm changing to match.
• Eventually I need to go back and get all the grace notes so I'm getting the right feel - all the grace notes really add to the piece.

2020-06-26 - 91
10 min

• mute on, bowing through the high part of C of Guro's Salve
• Dancing to Guro's tune is one of the highlights of the summer for sure
• Heart of Sierra. Even though I wasn't able to attend many of the sessions, day 4 is all about rhythm - feeling and walking to Guro's tune and all the waltz and music.
• It's just amazing. I've never felt free to dance like that
• New waltz: La Luna sobre crisol by Galen Fraser
• Looking forward to friday and saturday!

2020-06-24 - 90
65 min

• Full lesson with GURO!!!
• Salve is pronounced SALvAy (stress on caps)
• So exciting so awesome and really cool tune.
• She showed us the full harmony parts and also the dreamy part.
• This needs a lot of work, but is a great one for doing multipart recording!!! I'm totally going to play this.

2020-06-23 - 89
50 min

• Part A Salve from Guro!!!!!!!!!! Amazing tune.

2020-06-22 - 88
10 min - noodling around at home in between sets

• watching some of the Heart of Sierra fiddle camp streams.
• I couldn't really get into it cause one, it's in Pacific time, and two, I had work inbetween, so I was disconnecting to take work meetings, and reconnecting after.
• Didn't realllly work
• I did find a really interesting sound in the Hardanger fiddle session Guro hosted. It's really cool and I think I want to try to learn it.
• Also listened in on the cello workshops
• noodled around on the octave fiddle - oh my it sounds so good. I'm not sure if the fiddle is changing or if I'm changing. I'll just say we're both changing - to make a better sound together.
• Afterwards, I took a longish walk to get some dinner, and shouldered the regular fiddle. Didn't play cause it felt like it was about to rain so I hurried home.

2020-06-21 - 87
Algonquin morning playthrough at Angela's airbnb !- 10am - 10:40am - about 30-40 min

• built a set!
• Cutting Ferns, King's Reel, Josefin's Waltz, Westphalia Waltz, Buck Creek Girls, Spotted Pony, end with Eighth of January!
• It flowed really smoothly!
• The only tune that needs a lot more work would be Westphalia Waltz. I'm getting the Part B notes mixed up so I keep going off into another key with no way to easily get back into the key
• Loved it. Lots of bugs though.

2020-06-20 - 86
Algonquin morning playthrough - Part 1 - 8:40 - 9:30 - about 40 min

• review all recent Green Book tunes
• Josefin Waltz - Westphalia Waltz - Dusty Wine Bottle - Sheebeg and Sheemore - Planxty Fanny Powers - Planxty Irwin - Cutting Ferns - King's Reel
• That's a solid set!!!
• Prepare for Heart of Sierra Fiddle fest - not sure where to do this yet since there's no wifi / connection here.

2020-06-19 - Juneteenth - 85
Drive and Fiddle Part 1 - Peterborough - 30 min

• performance and review of fern cutter, king's reel
• Buck Creek Girls
• review josefin's waltz
• review Jennifer's tune
• At the park, there was a couple beside me and a doggy having a great time

BNB recording - Part 2 - Harcourt - 30 min

• recorded a version of Planxty Fanny Powers to be muxed into Mary Lynn's version
• recorded Cutting Ferns into King's Reel

Challenge is getting the media onto my computer for mixing ....

2020-06-17 - 84
45 min - at the park

• review fern cutter, into king's reel
• almost at a place where I can play them back to back, still make small mistakes here and there, but that will come with more practice
• retune high bass for buck creek girls
• still having issues with bowing
• retune for aeae practice
• return to fern cutter, kings reel
• review mcfall's march - i haven't played this in a while and it shows
• review josefin's waltz
• finish with tuning phrase, a small fragment I originally wrote for SH
• it was a great practice, and I recieved the Delphina mic in the mail from Ear Trumpet Labs! I haven't started recording on it for real, but first thoughts are that it's well made, really high quality, and first "sneak peak" casual recording of the octave fiddle sounds clear, transparent, and exactly how I feel it should sound "in my head." Hope to work more with this mic in the fiddle camps upcoming.
• introductory work in Por una Cabeza - the popular tango from the movies

2020-06-15 - 83
45 min - at Jon Asbridge Park

• very peaceful, uneventful, excellent practice session
• Review full tune Fern Cutter, almost got the looping from the end of B back to beginning of A under control
• Review full tune King's Reel
• Retune, full tune review Buck Creek Girl, into Spotted Pony and Eight of January.
• key is to get the bowing right, and speed up the pace gradually
• Retune AEAE to try Jennifer's tune - I have the full A section!!! including the part where it loops around
• What a great place to practice, very out of the way, no attention which is the best

2020-06-14 - 82
40 min - in the sun outside of house!

• first time playing for our neighbours and the kids!
• King's Reel into Fern Cutter part A review
• review part B of Fern Cutter - had to re-listen to Ajineen's recorded track to remember this - had to make sure it was the PG13 version! :D
• Retune to High Bass for Buck Creek Girls - this tune always gets people dancing! It's such a danceable tune
• continue to go into Spotted Pony, Eighth of January
• Retune to standard for some sight reading work for Burden Lake and Flotern, which incidentally are both E major! I can string these 2 together in a set I think
• Played Schradiek Book 1, Exercise 5, Part 3
• Final review of Fern Cutter at the end
• It was pretty fun to play for the neighbourhood
• Should do it more often!

2020-06-13 - 81
30 min - lesson

• completed fern cutter tune!!!
• the Schradieck helped I can feel it!!
• break from lessons until the fiddle camp

2020-06-11 - 80
45 min - Jonny plays Schradieck.

• I was feeling a little lost when it comes to my practice, about what I'm going to do for the upcoming Fiddle Camp week
• It was so great that I came upon an instagram account just browsing around, who played Schradieck 1, Page 6. minjeongkoh1 plays schradieck
• It reminded me of things that I've lost with my practice for the last few months, which was about a lot of tunes, but very little technique.
• I want to spend some time going through Schradieck - the entire book, starting from Book 1, Page 1
• I ended up playing page 5, part 3 quite a bit tonight.
• The series will be jonny plays schradieck. Just getting technique honed is beautiful in itself.

2020-06-10 - 79
30 min lesson

• went through fern cutter
• rhythm is still hard to get
• we came up with some colourful language to help me remember

2020-06-09 - 78
45 min at the park

• review full tune King's Reel, especially where the tune repeats entirely - trying to stitch together the last part of B into the first opening part of A
• review Josefin's Waltz - it's hard to get everything back in tune!!
• review the cutting grass tune
• some string crossing, 4th finger, scale, and arpeggio work. Haven't done arpeggios in over 3 months and I'm surprised I still have it in my fingers. I need to do these technical practices more often.

Some thinking and planning required for the Upcoming fiddle camp(s). My original idea was to drive across the eastern coast over to NS and attend the fiddle camp while driving. But maybe not such a good idea.

2020-06-06 - 77
30 min lesson

• review and finish King's reel
• started a new tune that has that cape bretonny feel - rhythm is tricky

2020-06-04 - 76
45 min in the park

• Kings Reel full tune
• slow and fast review of Part B, especially where the part b1 and b2 link up
• successfully played 1 time over the whole tune, full repeats!
• retune to ADAE and practice Buck Creek Girl
• Part C needs a lot of work, in particular that 4th finger pinkie.

2020-06-03 - 75
45 min - lesson!!

• reviewed Part B1 and B2 of Kings Reel
• linked it all together !
• full tune!!!!
• gotta practice it

2020-06-01 - 74
30 min - lesson!!

• reviewed parts A, B1 of Kings Reel
• Corrected the bowing on B1 of Kings Reel
• UPBOW CUT!! what a unique bowing and sound! I need to practice it
• went on to learn B2 of King's Reel.
• It's going to be such a cool tune!
• I really want to play this on a fb stream of some kind - pair it with ... maybe the strathspey or the other reel.

2020-05-31 - 73
35 min - in the (new) park!

• Ate some Jamaican patties!
• Continue sightreading Burden Lake
• Practiced the repeating Part A of King's Reel
• Figured out what the first part of B of King's Reel was doing
• it's a really cool tune!
• Retuned to ADAE / High Bass and practiced Buck Creek Girls

2020-05-29 - 72
10 min

• Got the Burden Lake music booklet from Kevin Henderson and Neil Pearlman's new album!
• It's got some really great tunes in it
• Sightread Burden Lake tune, it's really peaceful and calming - adding it to my waltz to-learn playlist

2020-05-27 - 71
45 min lesson

• worked through full section A of King's Reel, with all the repeats! Count 4 times! 4 scoops of ice cream for the A section.

• learned first part of section B of King's Reel. This is a really cool tune!

• decided against the Berklee Ascend 5 week program - it seemed to be geared toward a younger audience, especially for wanting to get into the music industry. The Ableton Live, music production, and music theory coursework is really appealing, but the musical styles is more pop/funk/jazz which I'm not super into.

• however!!! I signed up instead for Ajineen's Fiddle Camp in July and August

• AND ALSO I signed up for Mike Block's String Camp!!! I am taking vacation time in order to dedicate a full week to fiddle music.

2020-05-26 - 70
45 min in the park

• first time I was more comfortable playing for people, people came by and told me they heard it from across the park over on Gerrard st.
• some doggies came to visit they were really cute
• Reviewed Kings's Reel
• Reviewed Buck Creek Girls in High Bass
• Retuned to DDAD and reviewed Bonaparte's retreat and Washington's March - 2 tunes I haven't touched in almost a year. They were still in my fingers!!
• This fiddle really loves the cross tuned DDAD.

2020-05-25 - 69
30 min lesson

• review King's Reel
• learned part A of Kings's Reel
• it's repeating! why do I always get confused with repeating sections? dunno!

2020-05-24 - 68
50 min - on the bench near the park

• review Irish Air, Planxty tunes
• full review of the repeating portions of Brenda Stubbert! almost got it
• review of segment of A part of King's Reel that I just learned
• review of Josefin's Waltz
• review of Shetland Nights in London
• review of Buck Creek Girls
• think about what to do for collab. Buck Creek Girls?
• think about whether to go for the 5 week Berklee program - due date is June 1st.

2020-05-21 - 67
30 min - in the park

• went through a little bit of Brenda Stubbert, listened to Ajineen's recorded tracks
• went through Josefin's Waltz, fiddle needs different technique than the cello line from Brittany
• went through Westphalia Waltz, starting to add more pulsing, leaving more time, making sure to take those dotted halfs out to their full length - it makes the tune a lot more atmospheric!
• crosstune to ADAE, starting some fundimental work on part A of Buck Creek Girls
• I have a tendency to reverse the bowing, but I should train myself to "come back" so that I have a better sound to fit the bowing to the tune
• Finally got the lowest Part D to sound right on the G string (tuned up to A)
• Crosstune to AEAE - started fundimental work on the tune from Rollick 2018
• On my way home, listened to the recorded track.
• It was a fairly productive practice, great weather!

Question: Should I register for Berklee's Summer Program in Strings?

Pros

• full time study for string performance for about 5 weeks
• all online, don't have to travel
• a really great opportunity for immersion
• been wanting to do this for a while now, but the travel aspect always got in the way. Now that there's no travel, I really should take the chance!!
• For this time in my life, I have the funds to do this!

Cons

• need to take time off work or negotiate a different schedule
• at a time when I'm not sure if I have the mental/emotional capacity to take on so much
• I'm already very fragile as it is with covid isolation and uncertain future

Turn

• this could turn into something new
• I've been needing something new for a long time
• time to get out (metaphorically) and learn some new things
• trailblaze
• the fiddle is the one thing left in my life that is working. I need to keep sustaining it, and one way to do that is to invest. Invest heavily in myself, in my musicianship, in building musical relationships

2020-05-20 - 66
45 min lesson

• went through Part B of Brenda Stubbert. I keep getting the sections confused and it took a while to get the ordering/flow of the tune!
• Gotta do some practice on that one.
• new tune King's Reel!

2020-05-19 - 65
45 min - in the park

• took the long weekend off, no playing/practicing which was actually really nice
• back in with practicing the notes of Buck Creek Girls
• I'm not getting the bowing right, since I always land on the opposite bow direction than I know what I should do, but for now, I don't care because I really want to get the fingering right
• finally got the fingering for the lowest/last part of the tune
• didn't practice Brenda Stubbert, but I really should
• ended up going to AEAE and playing a part of the tune from Ashokan 2018 :)
• that's procrastination for an old time fiddler (change to another tuning on purpose so I don't have to practice the tune I'm learning now lol)
• when playing live outside, the wind matters! my bow is catching the wind and changing how I sound unless I specifically angle it back.

2020-05-16 - 64
30 min class

• facetime class!!
• review full part A of Brenda Stubbert
• learn part B of tune

2020-05-15 - 63
45 min social isolation practice in the park

• Went through Buck Creek Girls
• Getting the speed up, getting fingering into memory
• need to review the lesson videos closely to get bowing
• still needs a lot of refinement, but it's getting there
• there was this little toddler who was watching from a dozen feet away. she seems to like it. it was the cutest thing
• went through Part A of Ewe with the crooked horn
• review part A of Brenda Stubbert reel

2020-05-13 - 62
45 min lesson

• feeling a bit under the weather, headache, sore throat
• hope it's not the cornavirus
• learned more of Brenda Stubbert
• going to put that together with ewe with the crooked horn.

2020-05-11 - 61
60 min at the park

• I felt really down and alone today due to covid self isolation
• the only thing I vowed to myself is to not let this get to me, so my solution was:
• I took my regular fiddle out to the park!!!
• Full length, full blown practice!!!!! FIRST time in forever since I just played without worrying about anything. I had enough precautions for viral defence and enough material to work through
• some small scale work with doublestops and with some bowing exercises
• Practiced Buck Creek Girls, full blown ADAE tuning which sounds fantastic out in the open air. It felt like I brought a little piece of the Rollick out into Toronto
• Once I went through Buck Creek Girls, I went straight into Spotted Pony, and into the 2 versions of Eigth of January. It felt really good to just play it out.
• Went into some major work with the Strathsbey - trying to get Part A to sound right.
• I'm not crashing hard enough with the bow, but I have a good start with the "scottish sound"
• Went into practicing the two Planxty tunes, which got a lot of (socially distant) attention! People really like the Irish tunes here in Ontario :)
• Also practiced a little bit of Brenda Stubbart, which was a bit harder since I didn't have Ajineen's recorded tracks on my cell phone.
• For the last 10 min, went back to Part A of Ewie with the Crooked Horn, trying to get that sound right.
• It was a glorious practice and made me feel way better. I can get through this!!

2020-05-10 - 60
10 min social distancing practice in the park

• octave violin and incredibow doesn't like the crashing technique
• it was incredibly hard to get the strathsbey to sound right on the octave violin - I think I've found the fiddle's limit

2020-05-09 - 59
20 min practice + 30 min lesson

• solidifying this as one of the most important weeks thus far in my fiddle journey
• practiced the first part of Ewe tune, got the tune sounding right
• the bow and fiddle combination likes the strathsbey
• continued onwards to practicing / learning Brenda Stubbart with Ajineen's recorded track
• continued learing the tune by ear with Ajineen

2020-05-07 - 58
90 min

• Is active listening a part of practice?
• YOU BET!!!
• Prepping for Hanneke Cassel's Cape Breton tunes workshop Thursday evening.
• Yah like I said, this week is pretty significant.
• I can feel it in my body, about how much stress is outside my musical life. It's like a bubble. When I play music things become easier. Calmer.

LOL!!!! HANNEKE'S Workshop just took all those things I wrote about and tossed it out the window. Calm? What are you talking about!!! I'm talking about the most dynamic, fastest paced, most insane workshop I've ever taken. It ranks up there with (or even above) Bruce's original workshop at Ashokan 2 years ago.

• To sound great you have to start sounding really really really really bad - and that's exactly what I did for 90 minutes. Sound super duper duper bad. BUT in the middle of all that garbage is the Scottish sound. I love it. There's a part of the tune that I love just so so much. I'll practice it. It's like the part when the piper breaks from the scale and plays a note outside of the scale.
• Speeeeeeeed is a good thing - seek it. Run with it. Run like the horses and play like a mad scotsman
• Hammer on, wiggle, backwards grace notes, new vocab
• Don't be afraid of the bow - throw it around a bit. Make the ugly sound and it works.
• find the bouncy parts and do a controlled bounce faster and faster until you can control the sound. At some point she just stopped bouncing but the sound is still there.
• THE CUT I NEED THE CUT
• I am just raving now it's so insane.
• 2 tunes in 90 min. Ewie with the Crooked Horn (strathspey) leading into Captain H. Munro (reel) (we learned the reel first)
• But seriously: isolation practice works. Isolate individual movements of the fingers, isolate the phrases, isolate everything so that when you put everything together there's a new sound.
• Made a bunch of sounds I've literally never made before. And my fiddle wants it. It's such a rough sound but it works!
• Homework: listen to Natalie MacMaster's Fit as a Fiddle Jean's Reel - which comes full circle. I grew up listening to this kind of music! It's like my heritage.

2020-05-06 - 57
45 min lesson + 30 min outdoors practice

• lesson with Ajineen, on the Irish Planxty tunes
• also going onward to a Cape Breton tune
• learning to calm down, take my time with the Planxty tunes
• delivered some Montreal Bagels to Ajineen!
• outdoor practice with the octave fiddle
• I was joking with Ajineen that I had a "outdoor fiddle" and an "indoor fiddle" - gotta keep things separate so I can clean and wipe down with my cleaning soap
• the 30 min outdoors practice really calmed me down
• I noticed how much tension I had in my body and tried to relax on my way home
• Practiced octave Buck Creek Girl, octave Josefin's Waltz, with double stops
• need to get my transitions working
• Interesting new social connections on Instagram. Maybe something New. Keep reminding myself that music comes first, the social connections will come as a result of me being more in tune with myself and the people around me.

2020-05-05 - 56
60 min

• This is probably the most significant week thus far for my musical development
• All day leading up to my planned online class with Tatiana Hargreaves, I was having bit of tension, some nervousness
• I told them at the start of the class, but Tatiana is such a great teacher and made me feel at ease
• They were really calm, we chatted a bit, and started the lesson
• Go over Buck Creek Girl
• Found out from Tatiana that I was missing notes and the transitions between phrases
• Went over with them really slowly (they said it ended up being around 40bpm, when their regular playing speed was 140ish)
• Set some musical goals:
  • learn the notes (especially the ones I was missing)
  • learn High Bass tuning (ADAE)
  • use the 4th finger in Part C
  • think about musical phrases rather than notes
  • connect the lines together, have transitions
  • speed up to about half-time, around 70 bpm target
  • think about the bowing, plan ahead for downbows on the special notes, watch the video to get the bowing
  • try to use some 3 note slurs
  • double stops are the doorway to heaven, especially that lower string 3rd finger double stop with the D string
  • each phrase has its own "personality" - let the phrases play a bit
• going to plan for a monthly session with Tati to review all these details

2020-05-03 - 55
10 min

• outdoors at the park!
• reviewed Josefin's Waltz
• reviewed cello rhythm exercise from Natalie Haas' workshop - the 1,3,7

2020-05-02 - 54
3 hours

• facetime lesson! finished Fanny Powers, next is Irwin!
• these tunes are really nice!
• Ashokan String Fling!
• Got some great advice from the faculty who was playing throughout the day.
• Best session was Natalie Haas's cello workshop - all the techniques she showed applied directly to my octave fiddle! It was so cool!
• Got tired from too much zoom-ing so dropped off the stream. I'll watch the replay next week.

2020-04-29 - 53
45 min

• facetime lesson!!!
• finished up Planxty Fanny Powers! full song! it's a really nice tune!!
• Also I learend that a Planxty is an irish harp tune

2020-04-26 - 52
3 hours of singing and a little bit of noodling around on the fiddle

• 2nd day of Online Rollick 2020
• Oh my what a brilliant camp!
• I'll be writing up my annual retrospective about the Rollick, but that will come

2020-04-25 - 51
8 hours of fiddle and banjo XD

• 1st day of Online Rollick 2020
• also fit in a regular class with Ajineen

2020-04-24 - 50

• 1st night of Online Rollick

2020-04-22 - 49
45 min

• complete learing full irish air tune, with double stops
• double stops provides the pulsing in this tune so it sounds even cooler!

2020-04-18 - 48
30 min + 30 min

• review irish air tune
• go over double stops
• go over some older tunes I learned with the group class
• lesson time!
• learned the full irish air tune
• it sounds fantastic!! really great tune

2020-04-16 - 47
45 min

• lesson time!!
• learned a new tune!
• need to focus on timing

2020-04-12 - 46
30 min

• Happy Easter!
• 10 min rehearsal, then
• 10 min fblive performance of O Magnum Mysterium, Westphalia Waltz, Josefin's Waltz on Octave fiddle
• I was having a bit of issues remembering all the notes on Westphalia, since I accidentally did it out of order! My music wasn't in the right order so I couldn't read the music and had to do it by memory :)

2020-04-11 - 45
30 min

• facetime lesson!
• Got timing for Dusty Wine Bottle!
• Put together parts A and B for Dusty Wine Bottle and played through whole song!

2020-04-08 - 44
45 min

• facetime lesson!
• Talked about which takeout places we use
• practiced D minor scale
• practices part A of dusty wine bottle
• remember to hold the dotted quarter for 3 beats!
• learned part B which is really beautiful

2020-04-06 - 43
35 min

• go over Josefin's Waltz in G, with double stops
• opened up Blazin Fiddles Tunebook 3
• Sightread Gamekeeper's Cottage, Shetland Night in London (remember that tune?), Taigh Sia (don't get the rhythm!), review McFall's March, Highlander's Revenge, Annie's Waltz
• Candidates for refinement: Shetland Night in London, McFall's March, Annie's Waltz, Gamekeeper's Cottage
• These are some great tunes!
• Tried to play Westphalia Waltz from memory, but the modification of the high parts are tripping me up - needs more practice, and also get double stops going.

2020-04-04 - 42
20 min + 30 min

• short practice of Josefin's Waltz on regular fiddle
• facetime lesson!
• practice Sicilian (d minor harmonic)
• learn second phrase of part A of the Dusty Wine Bottle (f major, but using d minor (not harmonic) scale)
• it's starting to sound like a tune

2020-04-03 - 41
10 min micro practice

• social distancing micro practice in the garage beside the car
• 2 time go through of Josefin's Waltz on the octave fiddle

2020-04-01 - 40
45 min

• facetime lesson with Ajineen!
• reviewed all tunes, learning a new tune - waltz!

2020-03-30 - 39
30 min indoors, 15 min at the park

• Social distancing practice.
• I need to wash my fiddle, will do it once my case dries up (I spray down my case with this scent free soap spray after every trip outdoors)
• Complete tune for cello parts of Josefin's Waltz in G.
• Finally got part B figured out, and also had to re-listen to the tune like a billion times to get that low ending to the entire tune figured out (it's a mild, shorter variation of B, but in a lower octave)
• The octave fiddle is uncontrollable, but that's the beauty of it. Uncontrollable sounds like a mess, but beautiful, resonant, wild, overtones everywhere. It's such an amazing intrument with its own history and it own will and mind. Every time I play it the world becomes quiet and I become quiet.
• Next is to learn grace notes and double stops for Josefin's and also variations and harmony for this tune.
• Gotta remember to practice Westphalia Waltz, with double stops and harmony - with Ajineen we're starting to make up parts and it's a little bit beyond my understanding of harmony. I can only close my eyes and just try it and hope it works out.

2020-03-28 - 38
35 min

• Facetime lesson with Ajineen!
• I'm getting better at this remote class thing. I'll post something about my setup
• SM58 mic (which needs to be fairly close to source) + Roland DUO-Capture
• reviewed Sicilian tune and Westphalia Waltz
• Found out (by instruction of Ajineen) that I've been "forgetting" to play a whole bar of music in the Westphalia Waltz! It's just missing when I play it! lol!
• Also tried out cleanfeed.net with Mary Lynn. The delay is still too long, 250ms is about a 1/4 note at 110bpm ish.

2020-03-26 - 37
10 min micro-practice at the park

• starting a new thing while on Covid-19 social distancing protocols
• walk to park, play 10 min, walk home
• Played Josefin's Waltz on Octave fiddle
• the octave fiddle is magnificent on this tune
• I've gotten Part A ready. Now need to learn and refine Part B

2020-03-25 - 36
45 min

• Facetime lesson with Ajineen!!
• Reviewed Sicilian tune, as well as review earlier tunes we learned
• Started relearning Westphalia Waltz, with double stops and grace notes
• Need to watch rhythm and timing in Westphalia Waltz

2020-03-24 - 35
45 min

• first few bars of Josefin's Waltz, playing octave violin together with Natalie Haas' part - I haven't fallen this hard for a voice before.
• Playing along to the track on youtube actually works and sounds really good together.

2020-03-21 / 22
listening party

• https:/stayathomefestival.com

2020-03-21 - 34
45 min

• online lesson with Ajineen! (no group because of isolation)
• went over the Sicilian song!
• learned all of the tune!
• the last phrase sounds really different from the first 2 phrases, so it's a bit of a challenge to get the transitions right
• it's in D harmonic minor
• dusted out the roland sound capture device and used an sm58 - worked great!

2020-03-18 - 33
45 min

• social distancing
• facetime lesson with Ajineen!!
• worked ok, need to retweek my sound setup - probaby need the sm58 for this
• learning 2.5 phrases of the Sicilian song!
• Really beautiful song in a D minor scale

2020-03-17 - 32
90 min

• D major scale
• D major broken scales
• memory exercise with tuning phrase
• O Magnum Mysterium review
• It was a bit rusty, but I could consistently get the first shift, but not the second shift.
• Switched over to the octave fiddle, and felt much much better
• Did a recording.

2020-03-16 - 31
30 min

• GDGD - go over Sail All Night, put in more bowing flourishes
• Neighbour saw I had a fiddle, and asked whether I play old time! He goes to Clifftop and plays banjo!

2020-03-14 - 30
45 min

• Back to group class!
• Everyone had to wash hands before and after class in order to keep from cross transmission
• Re-practiced all our group class tunes, with double stops and sliding, and it sounds great!!
• We started a new Sicilian tune, and that's in 6/8 time. Very beautiful song.

2020-03-13 - 29
45 min

• switched to Cross-G
• rewatched Becca's Sail All Night
• started figuring out what she was doing for Part A that I wasn't really getting
• Bowing galore! lots of bow rocking!
• I am getting close to the feel of it! A few more practice sessions and I can start polishing the sound of it
• Rewatched Allison and Tatiana's video.

2020-03-12 - 28
20 min

• short practice tonight
• re-watched Becca's video for Sail All Night
• noticed that I'm missing some notes in the A part, and missing a lot of the bowing and the ornamentations that make this tune come alive
• it's a good start, but I have far to go
• started fingering the B part
• Becca plays it in Cross G, I'm playing it in Cross A

2020-03-11 - 27
Unrestricted ~ 90 min

• After practice, as I'm driving home, I think this is the session that will go down in my memory as the time when I finally "got it"
• My fiddle has suffered through it with me, and is starting to accumulate scars from me mishandling my bow, but I think the fiddle likes it - it likes being played, and this scar from my bow scratching one of its side ribs will be like a marker of when I finally started playing old time
• Tonight was all about carrying forward the momentum from the past few days
• High Bass tuning - ADAE - Spotted Pony exercise - started speeding it up, and adding old time bowing
• I didn't review Buck Creek Girls, but I did listen to the recordings from Tatiana and Allison
• Started playing my 2018 tune jam bootleg. It's a pretty fun song, and I think I was starting to get it when suddenly I realise: This tune is in AEAE! That was when things clicked. It sounds like that because of the AEAE tuning!
• I put my fiddle into AEAE and suddenly I could play that tune! I'm still on the A part - getting it up to speed and into memory, but the basics of the tune is there
• Then the big one - I started play Sail All Night, a tune that I haven't even tried in a year. I learned of this tune from Becca Wintel from the 2019 Rollick's fiddle bowing techniques workshop, and she wasn't even teaching the tune itself! Just using it for us to practice bow rocking, shuffling, and the whao whao technique.
• This turned out to be really spectacular and I have a good handle on part A.
• Go onto wards part B next rehearsal!

2020-03-10 - 26
Unrestricted ~ 60 min - after midnight

• CSI mainspace!
• WOW what a productive practice session
• D major scale, 2 octave
• A major scale
• A minor scale
• Group class materials, double stops all the time
• Private class materials, getting this up to speed. I need to keep pushing on these 2 tunes
• What they say is true: techniques used for slow playing cannot be used for fast playing
• When you play fast, you aren't just "speeding up" your slow technique - your technique changes and the way you play a tune is totally different in order to get the sound going at the fast enough pace. The only way this is going to come is to practice fast
• Switch to old time
• Spotted Pony, Eighth of January (both versions) and I looked up my instructor videos from 2018. Hey I'm actually pretty close!! The differences are pacing, and stresses, and double stops - that's where I can make the next breakthrough
• Played through the notes for my favourite jam tune from 2018 - it's not unapproachable any more! Just go slowly, break down each part by part
• Started learning Buck Creek Girls from Tatiana's video recording from this weekend. It is such a fun song! I can get about 40-60% of the notes. I need to keep getting the notes so I can get to the fun part of the tune.
• Listening to Allison and Tatiana together is so much fun. It's a rocker of a tune!

2020-03-08 - 25
unrestricted ~ 90-120 min

• CSI space was free so I played in the main workspace
• didn't keep track of time with no restrictions on how much or what I played
• listened to the tracks I recorded from Saturday's masterclass and workshop with Tatiana and Allison
• looked up source recordings for Hobart Smith's version of Buck Creek Girls
• opened up octave violin, went through d scale, put in High Bass tuning, which is becoming one of my favourite tunings!
• slow and fast Spotted Pony, with double stops, Eighth of January
• picked up regular fiddle, also put in High Bass tuning
• shuffle and pulsing practice
• Spotted Pony, Eighth of January
• Double stop shuffle practice with our group fiddle class tunes
• went through all group fiddle tunes
• didn't go through our Wednesday material, but I'll review next time
• finished with a few playthroughs of O Magnum Mysterium - oof! out of practice! I can't hit the shifts anymore, but I'll practice some more
• The experiences this weekend has fired me up for more playing and more learning!

2020-03-07 - 24
60 min

• WOW! Fiddle and Banjo Workshop with Tatiana Hargreaves (on fiddle) and Allison de Groot (on banjo)
• Learned a new tune called Buck Creek Girls, a tune in D paired with High Bass tuning
• The lesson was really fast but I really got great ideas in the bowing patterns demo that we did at the beginning of the class
• Fiddlers and banjo players got separated parts to learn and then we came back together with the whole group
• It was arranged in a masterclass fashion - with volunteers playing with each of the main performers in a pair
• My first masterclass!!! but I didn't dare go up. Maybe next time!!
• Got recordings and notes from the class. need to keep this in my active memory!!!

2020-03-06 - 23
30 min

• noodled around with octave violin tuned to High Bass tuning (G string to A)
• Did a quick recording of Spotted Pony
• https://fosstodon.org/@jlin/103779747952789362

2020-02-29 - 22
5 min

• only got the violin out to see how the e string is holding its tune
• surprisingly stable! only a little off pitch, but a small adjustment of the fine tuner brought it back.

2020-02-24 - 21
60 min

• changed e string to the Pirastro No 1 wound e string
• my evah pirazzi gold e string was getting worn out (can see the parts where all the metal is rubbed off) and needed a replacement for a while now so it was a good time to change
• first impressions are great!
• very clear, but at the same time matches all the other strings.
• seamless transition between a and e strings which is really surprising to me
• i'll play with this e string for a while to see, but first impressions are that it's my favourite e string right off the bat from new (no break in, no squeeling, ready to play)
• A string is also pretty happy with the E string (no buzzing)
• D major 2 octave with shifting, A minor scale
• go through all group class and private lesson tunes
• review O Magnum Mysterium
• i like my sound - it's improving, not sure if it's the violin, the string, or the bow, or me? but the sound is improving.
• Preparing for Moonlight sonata on violin

2020-02-17 - 20
10 min

• very short practice with the octave violin at the Belleville Best Western
• I was visiting the rail line blockade at the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory
• D major, A minor scales
• short memory exercise of O Magnum Mysterium

2020-02-15 - 19
45 min

• Group class!
• learn 2nd phrasing of Mountain Backstep
• learn and practice double stops of all kinds
• that's the theme these days, to get double stops sounding good and even, while keeping the intonation right.
• Signed Up for the 2020 Old Time Rollick!!!!!!! I'm going back to Ashokan in April!

2020-02-13 - 18
45 min

• wasn't feeling too good today, but I decided to get out of the house for choir and fiddle practice
• I will not just stay home and wait for death
• D major, A major, A minor scales
• Review Rubby Dolly, Mountain Backstep
• Review Staten Island Hornpipe, Harvest Home
• learn a few bars of "Tune in Five" by Laura Cortese. This is a highly challenging piece in E major. I'm starting the ground work now, in the hopes that I have a chance to learn it this year.
• memory exercise for O Magnum Mysterium - I can remember a few bars of the opening line!

2020-02-12 - 17
45 min

• lesson at Ajineen's
• practiced Staten Island Hornpipe, got this tune down and it sounds great!
• review Harvest home 1st phrase
• learning Harvest home 2nd phrase, there are some tricky runs in this tune, they are very similar so I keep misplaying one for the other
• I think I got the pattern learned, but needs a lot of practice to make it smooth
• there is a whole section with burr's or Cape Breton "cuts" in it - getting those sounding good needs a bit of work.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcffL0vEgJE

2020-02-09 - 16
60 min

• first proper practice in a long time
• started with D major scale, 2 octave with shifting
• string crossing exercise
• memory excercise with Spotted Pony, and two variations of Eighth of January, McFall's March
• double stop exercise
• A major scale
• Rubber Dolly with double stops
• A minor (not harmonic) scale
• Backstep practice
• Back to D Major
• Review Staten Island Hornpipe - got it going well enough to take all repeats
• Review Harvest Home - got the run fingering correct
• finished with the tuning phrase
• I need to keep relaxing!!! Lots of tension in my shoulders and in my violin hold. Need to way way way relax!

2020-02-08 - 15
45 min

• group class
• double stop exercises
• new tune! A minor (not harmonic)

2020-02-05 - 14
45 min

• lesson at Ajineen's
• I got a great photo of Sadie the fiddle cat!!
• got caught up on latest with Ajineen
• learned and practiced double stops

2020-02-01 - 13
20 min

• I practiced my fiddle in the Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport!
• My flight back to Toronto was delayed for 5 hours and I was getting really anxious. I tried getting out of the airport to take a cab into the city to visit Warsaw, but I was held back at the security checkpoint because I was going in the wrong direction (I was outside of the Eurozone in the international terminal) and there was some other kerfuffle about whether the flight was really delayed or not.
• I was flustered, sweaty, the delay put a spanner into my day, the border officials confiscated my beer (no liquids!), and the only thing I knew that would calm me down was to play some tunes
• I found a secluded part of the terminal, and just started playing - It was right next to the border crossing so people were walking back and forth, and some people walked by me as I was playing!
• No real scales, just some memory exercises
• Tuning phrase
• Spotted Pony with double stops
• Eight of January with double stops
• ended with some sight reading of O Magnum Mysterium.
• After that I felt much better and so that was the first time ever I played in an airport!

2020-01-31 - 12
10 min

• can't really practice in a German Hotel! No matter how softly I play I always wonder if I'm disturbing the peace!
• went through a quick tuning process
• Spotted Pony
• Tuning phrase
• that's all.
• This trip I practiced the least out of all my trips abroad. For some reason I didn't want to break the silence that is so prevalent in Germany.
• I bought a bow case for 40 euros!

2020-01-28 - 11
30 min

• Pullman Hotel in Berlin Germany!!
• First time in Germany
• It's nice! very atmospheric place
• I got a Bam Cabin case in order to not have to deal with the busywork of going through security/airline/customs and getting hassled due to the size of my case
• I've travelled extensively with my old case, but that's always been at the allowance (and wrath) of the various arlines. Porter was best, followed by Air Canada, followed by WestJet. All airlines aside from Porter I've been cautioned that the violin does not meet cabin luggage size, and I've received all kinds of threats ranging from checking in my fiddle to cargo, to confiscation, to one time almost getting kicked off the flight, which I've had to "convince" the stewards and stewardesses with the conviction of all my wrath. I'd like not to have to do that, so I got this cabin case.
• Today after opening up the case, the fiddle wasn't happy with the surroundings. It went out of tune and I spent quite a while getting it back in tune, which in my regular case isn't so obviously bad. So this is just a travel case, in the long run I should still use my regular case
• Went through A major 2 octave scale
• Rubber Dolly exerise
• double stop exercise
• Went back through D major 2 octave scale
• went through the 2 tunes that I was learning with Ajineen
• Finished with a run through of O Magnum Mysterium
• That was badly out of practice. I really need to get back on learning this piece! It didn't sound so good.
• Part of it was also a disquietude - Reverend Sarah Miller my pastor was dismissed from her post last weekend. In playing this piece I didn't recieve joy or comfort. It's time to decide what to do next. I'd like to follow Sarah to wherever she goes next.

2020-01-25 - 10
45 min

• Happy Lunar New Year!!
• Happy Robbie Burns day!!
• group lesson
• today is all about double stops!!! group sounds great! and double stops are really fun!
• SoundCrowd concert
• debated buying a Bam overhead case to cut down on the worrying that I do whenever I get on a plane.

2020-01-22 - 9
45 min

• lesson at Ajineen's
• go over tune we learned last time, and started learning a new tune that's really awesome
• we watched Ian Walsh's version and ours is pretty close!
• amazed at how fast i can pick up tunes. before this level of progress was only something I wished for. Now it's actually real!

2020-01-18 - 8
45 min

• group class resumes!
• good to hear everyone again
• I was a bit more hesitant this time, but just getting back into the groove
• Group sounds good!

2020-01-17 - 7
10 min

• didn't feel too much like practicing
• did D scale, A scale
• double stops
• that's it for today
• getting on a plane to go back to Toronto.

2020-01-16 - 6
45 min

• D scale, A scale
• memory exercise with tuning phrase
• short spotted pony exercise
• broken scales, string crossing exercise
• today I went over Prelude of Bach's Cello suite No. 1. It still sounds much better on the octave violin, and I'm a bit rusty with the fingering, but it was a good mental exercise
• Went back over Blazin Fiddle's Tune book 3, for Shetland Nights in London! I finally have the sheet music for this but I think my self-learned version from memory is closer to the original.
• Went over O Magnum Mysterium two times, both times landing the shifts as well as hitting the 2 double stops right after. Feeling quiet in the snow. Every time I play this it sounds different.

2020-01-15 - 5
60 min

• started with d, a scales
• memory exercise with spotted pony, eigth of january
• go over the music from the red book that I'm learning with Ajineen
• go over O Magnum Mysterium, especially the 2nd phrase of the 1st part. keep infusing emotion and forward momentum into this piece. keep the line going forward, you're not just playing notes - you're going somewhere, into the next phrase, the next part of the meaning.
• everything sounds pretty good, at least to my ears (ha)
• the beginning of vibrato peaking in here and there. I feel that I can really experiment with vibrato in the piece without it feeling out of place.
• talked to Ir about going to music school, first time I spoke of it to anyone else other than myself.

2020-01-14 - 4
30 min

• first practice in Vancouver
• I took a trip to UBC School of Music - they changed a lot around, but it was good to see the familiar professor names on their door placards. The Music Library (where I spent a significant amount of time during my undergrad years) is now an open space lounge with pianos and rehearsal and lesson space. The record listening room is now a studio room, and there was a class in there playing the opening bars to the Young Person's Guide to the Symphony. I often thought about what if I had attended music school. There's all this procedural stuff (like auditioning, etc) but it might be interesting to try. I probably wouldn't do it at UBC though, as comforting as it might be. Probably Memorial over in NL, or Berkelee in Boston. Still, it's a dream I'm not sure I will ever be able to attain.
• Took about 15 min just going over Spotted Pony, variations, speed changes, double stop changes, tuning G up into an A (High Bass ADAE) to pair with the D major tune
• Some memory exercises with Eighth of January.
• Practiced Bow Rocking - it's starting to work!!! Wow I couldn't do bow rocking on all 4 of the strings before but it's starting to sink in, and I find myself doing the rocking and the stresses autonomously without really thinking about it
• Retune back to standard, and played through O Magnum Mysterium 2 times
• Showed my sister the score last night, and her comments are similar to mine - weird timing!! hard to coordinate with piano and violin - so the timing is the key aspect to this piece.

2020-01-08 - 3
45 min

• lesson resumes at Ajineens!
• we got caught up on all the cool things that's coming up in January and 2020
• got 2 new tunes! one in A major, one in D major
• told Ajineen about my goal to try to memorize more music
• she suggested learning / practicing off book to start and see where we go from there

2020-01-05 - 2
90 min

• went to MLT's house, to take a look at her new old fiddle!
• it sounds great!!
• played a bit of scales
• played a bit of O Magnum Mysterium
• rusty after this new year holiday!
• was a lot of fun
• talked a lot about the sound quality levers: bow weight, bow speed, sounding point, where on the bow, tilt

2020-01-01 - 1
40 min

• D major scale, 2 octave with shifting on E string
• Started marking up the score for O Magnum Mysterium (with a pencil!) with bow patterns.
• I'm having to break slurs and write down my own bowing because the score music is a bit too advanced. I'm using what makes sense to my skill level, and it's taken me a long time to start writing things down and marking up the page.
• At an Airbnb in Leamington, ON, near Point Pelee National Park