i know i haven't blogged in awhile. so all this is just going to be a random grab bag of what's up in my life. right now, i'm still trying to get into the hang of things as classes start and so on. reeeally loving my western civilization class (also known as high scholars). discussions on the quad are very thought-provoking and entertaining at times, especially when you've got three different types of teachers ranging from always chirpy to super strict to pretty slack/talkative about un-school things. i don't mind. it's definitely good to have a little bit of each.
aside from that, i finally finally finally finally started my violin lessons again after a what-felt-like a super long eight months of break. well, "break" from my wrist problem. oh how i've missed my violin. it was good to meet my former teacher again! the first thing he did was switch out the chin rest on my violin that had been replaced by my previous teacher. and after discussing with him, we both came to the conclusion that i had wasted three stinkin' years in south carolina learning ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. it made me so mad, because it was so true. backstory: i switched off three different violin teachers in sc. the first one was nice but never required anything from me. which was useful when i didn't practice sometimes, but after awhile it got annoying. you could probably play a half step off and the guy would still be satisfied. don't get me wrong, he was super nice and encouraging, but he wasn't helping me much. about an year into it, he had to get a "real" sit-behind-a-desk job. (said he didn't have enough students to continue teaching full-time. go figure.) we took this as an opportunity to find a new teacher. star music academy was a music studio ten minutes down the road from our house. i took lessons from a semi-elderly man who knew viola, cello and violin like the back of his hand. he focused a lot on correcting my intonation which i really appreciated. i stayed with him for the majority of my time in sc. he also introduced me to his super legit orchestra, which he served as concertmaster in. it was an amazing experience. however, maybe about a couple months before i was to move, he was laid off from the studio and replaced with a female teacher, who was studying for her doctorate in violin performance. you would think that perhaps i would've liked her the most but no. let me say this as nicely as possible: she. was. a. nightmare. ehh, okay, that didn't come out the way i wanted it to, but MAN, it wasn't that she was strict or anything, she just thought that the way she had it was the right way so ALL her students had to play like she did. they had to hold the bow like her, stand like her blah blah blah.
<insert ragee>
let us call her, ms. K. so ms. K tore off my old chin rest, leaving a mark on my precious alex (violin), and replaced it with a worst one (according to my current teacher). she told me my posture was messed up and the way i placed my fingers were wrong. soo to correct that, she had me go back to basics to fix it. that being said, i didn't work on anything...just played scales allll day, everyday. on top of all this, she spent most of her lessons talking a thousand words a minute, which often lead to me being the victim of a flying spitball. ugh. not pleasant. she also told me the way i was shifting was wrong. said i wasn't supposed to let my wrist lead. uhh, that's wrong lady! never got the chance to tell her that... soon after i started lessons with her, my wrist problems came back so i quit happy to never return, but disappointed about no more lessons. well anyway, my current teacher is now setting me about the way i should've been taught the past three years. working up some vivaldi's four seasons. yeeahh, i know, i shoulda already played that, but like i said, i wasted my years.
<sad angry face>
oh well. i got this.
<insert hopeful smiley face>
oh, i also started piano lessons again too but wasn't as excited for that simply because my teacher in south carolina had been a pretty good one. yurp.
also, can i just say i am LOVING this weather right now? time to get diggin' those hoodies and sweats out of the closet. chyeah. alright, massive brownie points if you read through all this, cuz you're seriously one devoted follower if you did.
or you just have no life.
i'm kidding. peace out. <wink>
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