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!