Christmas practice!

I’m in the process of working out my practice recording setup so that a) I can archive my sessions and listen back; and b) I can post a little of what I’m doing for a combination of selfish and feedback-seeking reasons.

I had a quiet Christmas morning – Sara worked a 12-hour shift, necessitating her early departure, and the girls were gone the day prior, so it was just me in a quiet household for a change – something I haven’t had in a long time.

After a start and a couple of coffees, I headed downstairs to do the business:

Warm-up:

• Find the Weight (mm = 66)
• String Crossings (mm = 64)
• Long Tones – Ab Major Scale (3-octave) (mm = 45)
• Katie Thiroux Scales – Ab Major (2-octave) (mm = 60, starting with quarters for two beats, ending up with single 16th notes)

Etude: Billè No. 1

I then proceeded to have a little fun playing through “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve”. Might get a video together for those this week and post to Instagram.

I’ve been playing with bow arm weight a little. I think I’ve been holding back on leaning into the string and I leaned in (without pressing down) yesterday, which gave me a far better attack, and with the amount of rosin I appear to have on my bow I’ve been getting good results with mostly everything else. Having a warm instrument and having warmed up my brain and body also helps.