Neglecting Practice

This past week practice has been hard to come by. I've realized that I need to grab every spare moment that I have, and what time I have is definitely not enough! I had 30 minutes today and played through some etudes, my Bach and the first movement of the Faure Sonata in A major. My teacher has told me that I should start working on the Shostakovich Violin Concerto in A minor as one of my audition pieces, but after taking a look at the second movement a few days ago, I'm scared! The first movement is pretty easy. The second will kill me! Too many double stops in multiple flat keys and in a presto tempo. Not to mention that I now have to buy my own copy of the music which costs over $60!

I've also been listening to the Bartok Violin Concerto No. 1. It's a lovely, lovely piece and I hope I can convince my teacher to let me take a crack at that as well! Not to mention the Lark Ascending ...

I have too many things to do and too little time to do them in! It's been hard to focus on one thing. I have told myself that when I have an hour or less to practice a day I will focus on scales and etudes. Since they are the foundation of all good violin playing hopefully this will keep me going!

The ABRSM diploma is a reality. I have to fill out the forms this week. The diploma consists of an exam in performance, an aural test, sight reading, and program notes. I'm not worried about my program notes, sight reading or the recital. I'm mostly worried about the questions I may be asked in the aural test! Not only do I have to find the time I need to practice, I have to research and know every little thing about my violin and about the pieces that I am going to perform. Hopefully it will be easier than I think!

My recital will run about 33 minutes and will include:

Bach - Partita No. 2 in D minor, Saraband and Giga
Mozart - Sonata in C major, 1st movement
Dvorak - Four Romantic Pieces
Bloch - Improvisation

It doesn't help that Kenya seems to have no libraries that contain good music resources, so it looks like my research for program notes will have to come from random resources and the internet. Just stay away from Wikipedia!

On a lighter note, I read in my devotional the other day about the pianist, Arthur Rubinstein. He once said, "If I neglect practicing one day, I notice; two days, my friends notice; three days, the public notices." It's the old principle "practice makes perfect." We must continue praying, believing and doing God's will. In any of the arts, if an artist ceases to practice, we know the result. If we would only use the same level of common sense in our faith that we use in our everyday life, we would be moving on towards perfection!

Contentment

Over the past few days I have been run almost into the ground with work. Many things are starting to come up and for a while I wasn't sure if I was going to handle everything that had been, literally, thrown at me. Being the head of a music department and trying to practice my violin consistently for a significant amount of time every day is starting to wear at me. I pleaded for changes in my timetable and tried to find other solutions, and when I was at the point of near despair, I read this passage in my "Streams in the Desert" devotional for January 10:

Beloved, whenever you are in doubt as to which way to turn, submit your judgment absolutely to the Spirit of God, asking Him to shut every door but the right one.

It's surprising what you can hear or read just when you need it, and I definitely needed that devotional on that day! Since then, I have been at peace. Yes, my schedule is still as crazy as ever. Yes, I cannot practice as much as I wanted to ... but I am happy. I am resting in the fact that God closed the doors that I did not need open and I am content to follow the path that He wants me to follow.

Reckon it nothing but joy ... whenever you find yourself hedged in by the various trials, be assured that the testing of your faith leads to power of endurance. James 1:2-3