I haven't attempted practicing any pieces yet either (the cat-excuse and all...), but Clayton also added some alternative fingerings for me before he left for his music festival for most of the summer.
So, from the last time I attended a workshop, do a few research tasks:
- Find videos or audios: find YouTube videos to see how it should sound. Listen to the audios/videos to get it in my ear and get a sense of how it's supposed to sound like.
- Find the music: if possible find the music so someone can play it with me before the workshop. This way I'm familiar with what is going on with the other parts and can listen for cues, and I always find it helpful to have the score.
- Look up markings: Look up and write in definitions of markings I'm not familiar with: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_musical_terminology
- Fingerings: Add any reminders for myself - I always forget what key I'm in and it's easier to just write it down than have to think about whether it's my second or third finger. Although at some point I should probably be able to do that...
- Road maps: Find repeat signs and figure out where I'm supposed to be going and put in markings/reminders.
And, I can make it as difficult or as easy as I want. For the most part, all of the music can be played in first position, but they sent it with fingerings in 2nd and 3rd position so I can work on that if I wanted to... or if I stay in first position, than I won't be too stressed about doing 2nd and 3rd position and can try some vibrato...hmmmm.... decisions, decisions... although I should probably start practicing the music in the next couple days or so! :)
More procrastination...
I adopted another kitty since doing a little research showed that it's best to adopt two kitties at the same time so they can keep each other company and out of trouble - although it's more the case that I wanted two cute little fur balls running around! This time we adopted a grey 2 month year old tabby. His name was Ernie (which I thought was cute, but my husband didn't like the name), so I renamed him Cello because with his markings I can spell out cello - C on his left side, E on his hind leg, two L's on his back and an O on the other side, although it looks more like a D or a heart if he sitting, but close enough! ...or I guess it looks like a copyright symbol... Hopefully, when he's no longer a kitten he'll still have the markings.
They're favorite game is called a Game for Cats. Both Snuggles and Cello will play it for HOURS!
LOL - even cats get addicted to video games!! :)
An eye infection? Most likely its rhinotracheitis which is a common virus that attaches itself to a feline optical nerve and makes the eye weep when theyre stressed out. Its highly contagious, so hopeully your other cat has its vaccines already, because its a week before they provide good protection.Its not life threatening but i feel bad for kitties who get this and suffer even more when under stress. I find that using a damp q-tip to "wind up" the eye goopies helps them recover faster ;) and massaging the back of the head
ReplyDeleteI think you're right! :) The vet said that it was stress induced too. My other cat had vaccinations more than a month ago so she's good. I'll try the q-tip trick, but he's already a bit squirmy with the whole eye drop thing. They're both getting a lot of cuddling and back head massages though. :)
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