Fees

by jon laa on February 25th, 2009

My dad decided to take the opportunity to ask how much were my music fees in total. Of which I took a long time to count, it’s difficult to get your brains working after spending a whole day looking at scores, and ended up not telling him. That, in my opinion, isn’t entirely a bad thing.

The opportunity came because he ferried me home from the bus stop, it was drizzling and I had my violin with me.

But as I continue to do my mathematics, I realise I can’t sustain myself any longer.

Dropped by esplanade, spent far too much time looking at scores instead of grabbing just what I wanted, and ended up being too tired to do more than one theory question. I figured I will work on it again tomorrow or on friday, I will. There wasn’t stock for shoulder rests, didn’t know they are that popular. Then checked out the prices of replacing the sound post, bridge and the cost of re-hairing a bow. Decided against everything for now.

Now that the theory examination is drawing near, I realise there’s so much I do not know to warren myself a distinction. And at the same time, I realise there’s so much more I’d rather know than what is in the syllabus. Like how the teacher lamented about examinations, I see myself lamenting. Either way, I am equipped with my theory workbook and it should give me enough practices for a merit. Le sigh.

Moving on from all that, I borrowed two violin studies from the library. They were easy and good for me to warm my fingers up. It’s not that schradieck is not good but to play the first exercise at the tempo desirable means I am not given the luxury of time to listen as slowly as I will like to. And so the two violin studies are somewhat useful. I am looking at key signatures at a different light and being kept alert to figure where should my fingers be hitting.

I just played beetle-ball with bailey with a DVD-bat. The ball was obviously a beetle, and all I had to do was to hit the ball with a DVD-bat in the direction of bailey and she scores by killing the beetle. It’s a simple game. No, she doesn’t gobble it up.

Bailey is slow today, I had to play a second game. Le sigh.

:D

by jon laa on February 24th, 2009

Oh my goodness. The banana cake is awesome. I baked it, but it is my parents who salvaged the baking. It was browning on top with the inside was still wet and rummy but I had to go for class so my parents handled it. And I came back to see some awfully yummilicious banana cake sitting on the dining table.

The recipe is from chubbyhubby:

21?4cups (295g) flour
2tsp baking powder
2tsp bicarbonate of soda
1?2tsp salt
1cup (210g) sugar
240g unsalted butter
4 eggs, beaten
4 bananas (roughly 375g), mashed
5Tbs milk
1tsp pure vanilla essence

Sift flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a medium bowl. Cream butter and sugar until creamy white. Add beaten eggs a little at a time. Beat well after each addition. Add vanilla, milk and mashed bananas. Fold in flour and blend well. Pour mixture into muffin cups and bake at 180?C for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

I used self-rising flour, so I skipped the baking powder and bicarbondate of soda. I misread and used 395g of flour so I increased the portion of everything according to my estimation, probably more butter and banana (800g) than listed above. Less eggs, my maid spilled some egg mixture. I am going to lay layers of mashed banana instead of mixing them together next time. I will like to have something wet oozing out of my cake.

That’s probably why I love my parents. They got brains!

ETA: the recipe is somewhat for muffins but I baked them in a tin. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, probably on the lower rack instead of the mid rack. The temperature was around 160?C, with lots of adjustments according to how the cake was baking.

Beyond

by jon laa on February 23rd, 2009

I don’t think it’s the grades or fairness I am fighting for. Perhaps it does make sense that I shouldn’t be getting a C for what is not my fault.

In many ways, I am shortchanged.

And I should be doing something about it.

Fiddles

by jon laa on February 23rd, 2009

This lecturer told me to lodge a formal complain to the lecturer-in-charge about my grade, because of the unfairness I received.

Unfairness is not entirely new, and something you eventually get used to for being different and for being a non-conformist. It is not my fault that the society isn’t accepting towards somebody different. In as much as innovation and creativity is always said to be lacking, everybody is still looking for what is of textbook standard without any bit of deviant.

Pity me, oh.

Pity me on my pilgrimage to Loch Derg!
O King of the churches and the bells
bewailing your sores and your wounds,
but not a tear can I squeeze from my eyes!
Not moisten an eye after so much sin!
Pity me, O King!
What shall I do with a heart that seeks only its own ease?
O only begotten Son by whom all men were made,
who shunned not the death by three wounds,
Pity me on my pilgrimage to Loch Derg
and I with a heart not softer than a stone!

Monday morning, sunny. Great. Probably head out to the gym before coming back in time for lunch. Then to durian to check out shoulder rests and borrow a copy of some violin technical exercises from the library to look at. Not forgetting to collect my workbook from the copier. I got some homework to do as well. I’d like to make it back in time for a run before theory begins, which is probably possible.

Now, do I have time to fiddle too? I have to find time, please.

Offline

by jon laa on February 21st, 2009

Um, the voice went on a selah this morning during lesson. It is an unapproved selah, obviously. Didn’t feel much about it, given the voice has been on an unapproved selah for nearly the entire week.

Left the studio thinking about it, plugged my ears and started listening to pavarotti. Listening to his vocal production and trying to imagine myself doing it according to whatever the teacher said. Exhausting. Eventually dosed off in the bus and dragged myself home.

I can’t count dotted rhythm very well. Didn’t do the dotted rhythm as it was penned in concone. I think I did dotted rhythm, but it wasn’t according to the rhythm penned. Probably misread the score when I was reading, which isn’t entirely new. Going to relearn it. I’ll have to skip class next week if I can’t fix that, she isn’t going to teach.

In short, bad day. But it is always good. In an antagonising lesson, I was told what is probably wrong and could work something to revive my voice. The teacher was going along the lines of, you are practising wrongly. That is partially true. Given my voice is/was on selah and that I didn’t practise as much as I will like to because I was afraid of doing everything wrong anyways. Guess it was the right thing to do.

Back to the keyboard after lunch and tried to sing a little. Managed to bring the voice back, front and out. Yay-ness. I don’t get that wavering anymore. Now, I need to remember how to sing it right or I’ll be cursed with more wavering.

Exhausted. It is difficult to deal with being wrong without know how the fault came about. But now that it is cleared, life goes on. Probably can afford a nap before I’ll wake up to practise more. I need to fiddle too. Before my fourth finger goes and before I forget what I have been working on.

Oh dio!

There’s no such thing as a break.

Inept

by jon laa on February 21st, 2009

My awesome web technology skills have failed me. Never mind, it wasn’t a big deal. It was kinda evil anyways. To be using what is not mine and changing it to my liking. Let’s see what’s going to happen, you know, I am sure there will be some annoyance. Yay!

Moving on from that, my shoulders and back are aching. My feet are fine. It’s kinda weird because my feet felt as if they were breaking apart yesterday and my shoulders/back felt fine. Going to attempt a recovery jog tonight, probably a 25/26 minute over 4km jog and I hope they will recover so I can go for my sprints tomorrow. Maybe I should try tempo runs tomorrow, they are easier on the legs.

Don’t think I will attempt tuck jumps anymore, even though they are good for standing board jump. I’ll just work on my legs at the gym instead. I read that they are bad for the knees and I thought the impact was bad for more than just the knees. Felt quite off after doing quite a bit over the past two days. If I can’t jump better after three gym sessions, I’ll consider going back to tuck jumps.

There’s going to be a family discussion of sorts tonight. I am sure they will do a good job in coming out with a solution, we have capable people in the house. But I am sure those incapable ones will be making a misery out of it. It’s amazing to see how some people can indulge in their emotions and dwell within it and not do anything about it.

Oh dio.

They should tell them to get alive or a life. Either works.

Trough

by jon laa on February 20th, 2009

Didn’t manage to do everything I am supposed to do on thursday but made up for it today. Decided to scrape the tempo marking because it is rather irrelevant.

Today isn’t that great. Found my voice back and I shall attempt to sing in a while, didn’t exactly work on the pieces. The run was terrible, took 30 seconds more. Going for a recovery jog tomorrow, I think they will stiffen up then. Gonna put it at 11 next time, I need more comfort. The fourth finger is in a better shape today, still not anywhere near good though. Fiddled for three hours, which is a little too long for me - I was playing everything terribly in the last hour, not constructive.

I did everything else fine, so that is great.

Found out that I can’t exactly jump, so that is fret-worthy. I am going to go on some leg training routine so my legs are going to die further.

Besides jumping, I am going to get a silver for napfa. Praise be. Now, I need to jump well so I can get a silver, then it will be praises be.

:)

by jon laa on February 19th, 2009

It is amazing how time flies. And how I/we never come close to getting used to it.

Pushing anything to tomorrow or later really doesn’t work. It is always better done now, that’s what I figured from experiences. Like that somewhat extra effort it takes to do it now is probably going to be minimal compared to that extra effort you have to put in to do it later, another day. It’s just strange.

I didn’t manage to play the pieces, but it’s fine. I was working hard on my fourth finger, which was more important than to being able to play pieces. Decided to put on the disintegrating shoulder rest today, and it still works, and it actually helps. I am quite surprised it stayed on, given it kept falling off and that it is literally disintegrating.

Feeling a little unsure if my voice is back, I will check on it tomorrow. I am still dying at G# and A, perhaps it has to do with air capacity and support. I have been trying to gain weight and I think I have been successful at it. Been running and hitting the gym, I don’t know if they are both going to help but I shall just try.

Food, time for food. Good night!

Plan(s)

by jon laa on February 18th, 2009

It is much easier to work with a plan. Like somewhat your life becomes more define. I think there are too many concerts/recitals to attend, too many distractions and too little time for practise.

For a start (tomorrow):

1) gym.
2) start working on the first four bars of both violin pieces. Play them perfect, memorise, at the tempo mark of 60 to 80.
3) work on schradieck - 1 to 25, focus on 1 to 8.
4) find my voice back.
5) 20 tuck jumps.

Friday:

1) run 2k in 9, at most 10, minutes, followed by a 2k easy run.
2) work on concone & the pieces.
3) next 4 bars of both violin pieces, memorise.
4) work on schradieck - 1 to 25, focus on 9 to 12.
5) work on concone & the pieces.
6) 3 sets of swinging on the pull-up bar.

I don’t think I can manage tomorrow.

On the bright side, I did a 4km run today. Better than expected, probably expected too little. That means I am going to complete my 3 runs a week plan.

But my voice is like shit. Throat has been itching. Lots of junky food. Perhaps. Late nights have to go.

Diligence

by jon laa on February 17th, 2009

Probably need more diligence, and focus too.

I tried to play half a scale on the violin so fast that I can’t hear the individual notes. I am going to blame the violin, the bow, or my bowing. My fingers were working great.

In some sense, yesterday was a bad day. I raised my voice, more like yelled at the top of my voice, at my maid. And so my voice was damn tired. It didn’t help that I went back to school and started rattling like a boiling kettle, no joke. The rosebud tea (an entire pot) over theory class and early night kinda helped. Probably need more early nights. Oh, and I was feeling guilty too. Given that she was on the verge of tears. I figured she may not have meant to lie but ended up lying because she can’t construct sentences properly. But whatever it is, she’s fine already.

And because of the guilt and tired voice, I didn’t practise. Uh, I was lazy and not in the best state of mind as well.

The weather is finally normally. I hope I move out soon, the ac in my room is not working!

Omg! There is a masterclass at yst at 3pm today, I am obviously going. That means that I need to go get ready. I plan to hit the gym today, so I better go now. And I guess I will come home first before heading out to yst.

Grr. I was supposed to hit the gym yesterday. The body is complicated to understand. Like how you are just too lazy to move, but when you actually go it works out fine. Like the awesome run I had on sunday.

My voice teacher is in love with the lilies I bought her. I must say that they were still in buds when I bought them last friday (v. day eve) and I think they finally bloomed today. LOL!