Goals moving forward

First off, I’m happy to say that I have definitely gotten over a major hump in my redevelopment as a violinist. My hand position is making more sense than it ever has and with daily stretching and awareness I am becoming less prone to tension, or at least have gained a better understanding of when tension has the tendency to rear its ugly head. I think most importantly I am continuing to develop better habits that I am working to incorporate into my daily routine (for example, I try not to let myself play until I’ve done some yoga, which makes procrastination that much more of a struggle).
I do have to say that I thought all of this yoga would make me a little taller, even a quarter of an inch, but I’m sorry to report that I’m still the same height that I was in the 8th grade, courtesy of my most recent measurement at the doctor’s office 😦

It’s amazing how hard it is to admit successes to myself, especially when they feel small, but I need to remind myself occasionally of the progress I’ve made. This is important because naturally as some things get better my thoughts immediately go to the next hump I need to get over:
Which leads me to…

Goals for this semester:

1. No matter how much I feel like I’m improving, continuing to review the basics is so important. I should never assume that I’ve perfected my technique, especially because things feel different every day.
2. Starting to reincorporate musicality into my practice routine – I spent so much time focusing on my technique last semester that I had to let musicality go a little bit in order to make sure I wasn’t compromising technique for sound. Now that I’m regaining control over my playing, I can’t forget that the goal is to make music and that needs to be practiced just like anything else.
3. Developing a deeper understanding of how to explain through words what I’ve learned and am continuing to learn so I can be an effective teacher to others.
4. Improving my teacher communication skills by A. truly making sure I know what I’m talking about (lol) and B. communicating this knowledge to others in a clear way.
5. Working towards projects I have in store for next year when I move back to the mitten. More on that later.
6. Traveling to cool places while I’m still in this part of the country (I have already done a little of that this year)

​Photo from my recent trip to Austin: Graffiti Park. Not pictured are the amazing tacos I had right
​before coming here.


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This year has been so focused on the technical which I realize can sound boring in writing (so thanks to whoever reads these posts) but I have to say that it has actually been a really exciting time. Every day I feel a little bit more command over my instrument and the sounds I am capable of producing. Violin is feeling less and less like an impossible task, and I can’t wait to start putting myself out there as a musician in a more real way.

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