I just had my birthday this past week. Birthdays and new years always makes me think about what's happened this year, and what to look forward to next year.
This year, I attended the Old Time Rollick at Ashokan for the second time. It is still my heart and home when it comes to meeting musical people and being with fiddle folk.
I started learning the Canon in D, Shetland Night, and the Pas de Deux from the Nutcracker. All three songs are in various states of understanding and learning, but this year, I think I gained enough confidence to know that I can actually learn these kinds of songs if I put my thought and effort into it.
I performed with MLT and will be at the fiddle party hosted by Ajineen, where we'll play some fun fiddle tunes.
All in all, this year has been a year of quiet musical growth. I didn't have the explosive urge to play everything, to hear everything, to make large changes to my life, but instead, it was a slow burn to figuring out the intricacies of fingering, rhythm, doing research on how other people have played various phrases and tunes. Learning more about how to be a better human in music.
Next year, I hope to attend the Rollick again, and perhaps finally get myself over to Shetland and Scotland again, this time with my fiddle.
I end this year with the two questions: Where am I and where do I want to go from here?
Oh yes! I didn't mention one major musical practice I've been trying during 2019. I didn't mention it because I still have a goal to reach and talking about it before the end of the year seems to put some pressure on. I've been trying my modified version of #100daysofpractice. It is a social media movement as well as a personal act, founded by Hilary Hahn as a commitment to practice every day, for 100 days in a row. Obviously, looking at my practice log, I didn't do that. For me I think it was too much (coming from a background where I didn't practice at all, for 25 years). Instead, I aimed to have my version: to play the fiddle at least 100 days out of the 365 days of 2019. I'm on day 71 now, and I've been tracking my playing in my practice journal. It's an enlightening and revealing personal goal that I will need to continue towards. I'll write up my thoughts on this attempt after the new year!