My Virtuous posture

Published: Aug. 26, 2007 at 9:28 AM
My virtuous moment today, was very very cool. I started feeling my left elbow under the instrument in a somewhat instinctive way, and it was surprisingly fluid though not perfect. Months and months of crunching do not easily go away. I really wonder if Aleve should not pay me a few dollars, or at least grab me some strings.

Ron, I wish I could give you all the credit, but it was many many people who got me here over what feels like a long long time in some ways, but in other ways I'm somehow oblivious to the actual passing of the time.

Raphael, Buri, Sue, teachers, grit, a long long long list,... got me here. When I play cards I always say the winning card out loud for posterity's sake. It was Ron's exercises over the strings that won the game for me.

I started slowly just relaxing and flowing my elbow, then I furthered this by reducing the arcs each string might experience. Then I started focusing on a flow from the center of my neck and back left-wise. And I started feeling the swinging and adapting for notes in a light and fluid fashion. Some days being legatomeister do pay off. Today as tired as I am, I would have no choice anyway--use all moments folks.

So, I felt this flow starting to communicate with my fingers being over the strings actually as the reference point rather than the elbow, as the mental and physical connection was made. Dang, that's clear.

So, given the mountains I've climbed, this is major epiphany again--what for the third time this month?--and opens a lot of new doors for being able to focus on other things.

But the significance of the moment is that it is clear that for months and months and months I've been struggling with this. And just the idea of being able to refocus on technique more is darn awesome. Equally so, the idea of getting to push forward in my actual music isn't half bad either.

Ron, your exercises are finding allies all over the place in what little bag of tricks I've put together over the months. I feel like I'm being ganged up on by Oliver, Clayton, Milstein, Perlman and Hahn on my right side; and, you, a whole darn list of people darn near everywhere on my left side, a little old lady on my overall body, and I'm still a bashful little legatomeister who pants over my violin like a dog over a bone. Life is so unreal some days. I could've have made theoretical math my hobby! Dang. (uh-perhaps sadly, seriously;).)

Raphael's ditching the rest experience loaded the bases, and gracefully eased me into my girl's bosom. A teacher's coaching gave me an idea of where I needed to go overall, and inspired me with less than ten notes. And Hahn melted my Milstein fantasies with the most beautiful beautiful graceful control.

Just feeling my fingers adapt quickly for a vibration is a personal thing, that also deserves another mention concerning having been 'born' on violin with pain. I cash in another chit for having persisting, in taking the fingerboard for my own consistently, even if in an adolescent spirit so far. It's a step beyond the football player learning to dance in "Footlose". By gosh I got the bruises too!.

Also tonight, I felt the instrument floating in my hold, to adapt across the strings. And that showed also, or sounded rather. And I was able to adapt from my waist to augment my G/--somewhat D reaches. I'm currently feeling for my ranges of motion that compliment what I'm working on with my right side. But I'm also minimizing every motion as I go--I luv Hilary!

So this virtuous moment really is a consortium of ideas, angst and basic ability. A posture Festival is good for anyone.