Prompted by Elisabeth's post (I don't want to hi-jack your thread Elisabeth ):

How is everyone getting on?

A few of us began around the same time... Jojo? etc... but everyone can join in here with their end-of-term reports

I'll go first..

It's been a busy time in work for me since Grade 3 in March so my practice has been sometimes as low as just once a week!!! Around my exhibition opening in the beginning of June I even suffered three weeks without any practice at all .

But I'm back now to around 3-4 times a week for about an hour to an hour-and-a-half. Grade four preparation is going well; the pieces are improving although the scales are very rusty and slow. But I'm not spending much time on the exam work; I'm playing Handel's Sonata No.4 in D, Kinsey studies, Mazas duets and I'm about to start looking at the Czardas by Monti.... well, the slow introduction anyway

So no great leaps forward in musical terms but my HUGEST improvements are in shifting position and vibrato. Both are really starting to feel secure and confident and I am having great fun leaping around the position shifts just for fun sometimes (hence the Czardas... I'm learning it by ear!).

My biggest problem at the moment though is my bowing. It's just not straight. I'm curling it round over my shoulder when I play at the heel of the bow and it's driving me bonkers trying to improve it but I am working on lots of exercises... but as soon as I go back to my pieces it goes off squint again. Lack of concentration My tone could be better too and once I can control my bow position between the fingerboard and bridge that should improve... but it's so frustrating (I am still a perfectionist )

But it's still great fun and I'm hugely in love with my violin still

So c'mon then - how are you all getting on.. progress reports please (gold stars for all of us of course )

In my late teen I tried viola for a few months and got nowhere.

Fast forward about 18 years and to help and encourage my younger son when he starts playing violin I pizz along with him. He gets the gist of it and overtakes what I can do so the violin is put away again.

About 4 years pass and last October I decide to start lessons so I can join in the family music making. It was very scary making the initial phonecall but I don't regret it for a moment.

I discovered that the years sitting in my son's lessons and helping him with his practise weren't wasted as I understood what my teacher was talking about. Progress has been good. The better I've got the more I've wanted to practise and the more I practise the better I get.

I've joined in with the rest of the family a couple of times when they've played chamber music. I've played lots of duets with my son. It's been a great confidence boost for him to be able to help his mum. I've recently found a string orchestra to join and although it's a bit scary at times it's great fun too.

Looking back on the last 9 months I've made more progress than I thought possible. Flat keys no longer scare me. Moving in and out of 3rd position is becoming more fluent. My vibrato is developing well as is my double stopping. Even the dreaded Wolfhart hasn't put me off. My bow control still needs working on and I have to remind my right elbow it's not allowed to droop on a regular basis but all in all my teacher is happy with my progress and so am I.

My mother in law has even put into my head the idea of doing an exam. Not decided on that one yet but I may decide to take the plunge. I'm never going to be a fantastic violinist but I enjoy it and that's all that matters.

well...

at the end of my 10th year of playing the violin...

and its not going too badly> Having done the grade 8 the exams are over, so I'm working on increasing my repertoire. This term I've made significat progress on the Bruch, and the Mozart double violin/viola concerto, had an audition for solo slots next year at school today so fingers crossed we'll be playing the Mozart!

Technically, my bow control has improved this term, especially my spicatto, and am moving around the higer positions much more comfortably.

Targets: Finish learning the Kreisler Zigeuner Caprice.

x

My recent progress has been rather hampered by flare-ups of my shoulder problems again. But despite this, I did my grade 5 (on a mixture of willpower and painkillers) a couple of weeks ago, and am waiting for the results.

I'm going to be playing a solo, and as part of a trio, at the Stalybridge Adult Learners' Concert, and I'm really looking forward to those


Am I glad that I chose the violin three years ago to do the grade 1 challenge? You bet I am!

Well,
I am now just learning/playing anything that I fancy, yes I am learning a Grade 5 piece (Tambourin A1) but that's just because I like it, also playing/learning Meditation (without the vibrato!) and the three sonatinas from Schubert (started with the 3rd in Dmajor). The next exam I'll take is Grade 5 but that's when I am ready for it which is by when I don't know, the future will tell.
I am not learning/practicing vibrato yet, have not been interested to be honest, I guess I will tackle it at some point but haven't just yet. My spiccato bowing has really improved so am 'chuffed' about that. It used to drive me 'potty' to do a 'jumping bow' then having to land on a string and carry on with legato on the next note, but now can do it with no problems My shifting has hardly any problems, have gone up to 7th (I think) in some pieces but normally stick to half/first/second/third and fourth (fifth to push it LOL).
what else? mmmmmm I think that's it for now?
Nice to hear from everybody
Lottie: I also have had some troubled times over practice lately and have done a fortnight with no practice a couple of times, you're not alone....same as you, just working too much here

Hey, I'm learning that piecetoo and also A3 (forgot its name!) and the B piece beginning with A... that has lots of shifts (forgot that one's name too !) and Buskin - that one's my favourite! I think I started around the same time as most of you..Its been a year and a few months for me! My tone has improved but I still don't believe I'm very good, I swear people still cringe when they hear me play!! I can kind of do vibrato, though its different to my teacher's...
I'm glad I took up the violin, although still don't believe its MY instrument, if you know what I mean. All in all, I'm quite happy with my progress and am learning the Grade 5 scales, they are hard
Lil_miz_music xx

Just passed Grade 5 viola, (heard last week) and am so relieved. Now looking at Grade 6 pieces and scales and hoping to do some chamber music over the summer. Doing lots of music with the children.

We're supposed to have made some actual progress?? Oooops! ;-)

I got my violin out for the first time in a very very long time in the autumn and took it along to a forum play day. I also borrowed some exam books from a friend and had a little go at them to work out roughly what level I was at (maybe somewhere between grades 1 and 2), then got busy with other things and forgot about violin for a while.

A chance comment from one of my music teachers a few weeks back led to my joining a string ensemble. I'm out of my depth (it's for grade 2 upwards), but it's fun and it gives me a reason to take my violin out of its case once a week. I've ventured into 3rd (unintentionally - there were notes too high for me to reach from 1st, so I had to scoot up the fingerboard for them) and I think my bowing is slightly less dire than it was before. Not sure if this counts as progress, but it's all I've got.

T.

Not really musical progress as such, but here are some snaps of the latest instrument I made (Amati Bros. model viola completed just last week)
front

back


scroll side

scroll front

I'm no photographer, I'm afraid!

My daughter (9 ) is taking her Gr 3 next week. Her scales were nearly all correct this evening (phew). Her arpeggios weren't bad tonight. They were strocious last week. She's playing Grande Valse, Sweet Lorraine and the alternative Gossec piece. She has learned nearly all the pieces in the exam book. She is up and down..... she can play nicely but doesn't always!!!!!! We'll see what she is like next week.
She has an orchestra day tomorrow so that's good sight reading practice for her.

Just taken my G5 cello after 2 years learning. Exam didn't go very well ...but we shall see...

I think my main progress report, other than the stuff folk may have seen on the 'Prep Test' thread, is that I've discovered that music is keeping me sane at the mo! I was feeling really low, that everything in life was just work and even my music had been mostly exam prep of late, but I had my first normal lesson for a while yesterday afternoon and we talked about what we're planning to do for the rest of the year and I must say that it really seemed to blow some of the cobwebs away. I remember last summer how awful I felt when I lost my first teacher, that I was losing the one thing that was just for me! Well, yesterday's me-time, my lesson and warm up before that, really helped get my umph for life back a bit.

I'm even quite sorry we're going away for 12 days soon and that I daren't take my viola with me....

In Dec07/Jan 08, i asked if an adult can learn the violin (with some piano background) here, and took the plunge. Fast forward to now:

I'm working on Vivaldi A minor (Suzuki Book 4), and enjoying playing in my community orchestra!!

This instrument is bring ALOT of joy into my life, it's not even funny!! I am not in the UK, so I won't be taking any exams!

You don't need to be. AB exams are available internationally!!

This time last year, i barely knew how to play violin I think this time last year i had just bought my stentor II to mess around on for fun. Fast forwards a year and i adoreeee violin, have bought a really nice old violin and am working on grade 6/7 pieces, and practising about 2 hours a day I love it i think it's a really good instrument for me. I keep thinking i wish i'd have started earlier... (i've just turned 17 now) but then if i'd have started ANY earlier atal i would have had the old rubbish teacher ( seriously though, the year 7s had been having lessons with her for about 3/4 years and have just managed grade 1) - but now i have such a great teacher
At the moment i'm working on my grade 6 pieces (taking the exam next term) - A3, B3 and C1. (i think). And the Monti Czardas and Schindler's list - what a lovely piece, me and my friend (pianist) are thinking of playing it in our school's next christmas concert

I've come to realising lately, i think i prefer violin to flute I'd rather play my violin... and am having 2nd thoughts about auditioning for uni/music college on flute which isn't good as i'm in a dilemma - and i feel really bad having worked so hard on flute for so long etc. but hmm I'm doing my grade 8 violin next June so am even thinking about taking a year out after year 13 and then going to uni on violin. I still looove flute but will there always be the thought of 'i wanted to be a violinist.' But would i be good enough on violin? By the time i'd audition i'd have done my grade 8 and then had another year, so i should be =/ Aaaah problems. I'll solve them soon

Fflwit - go for whichever one you want to. You need to make the decision that works best for you now and in the future, regardless of the past.

Well done on your progress and, yes, you're right, having a good teacher makes a world of difference!

Violin is having its ups and downs for me at the moment - partly because I'm now having piano lessons and loving them which I feel very guilty about.

The main thing I'm working on is the Haydn concerto in G, and I'm also learning Praeludium and Allegro - but I can hardly play any of it! I think my violin is sounding a bit dull and needs some new strings to cheer it up so that should get me practising again!

My first progress report ever in violin! It's not much but after owning the violin for 2 days and having 2 lessons i can manage half twinkle twinkle (learnt on my own by ear) without too many odd notes. Not much but i'm quite happy about it. Today i'll go for my 3rd lesson and impress... (obviously joking).

I haven't had a great deal of time for my violin lately ( ) but when I do have a spare half hour I'm working on my technique and learning lots of scales etc... Hopefully it will all help in the long run.

I'm determined to get somewhere with my violin over the summer! For six years, I've only been taught how to pass exams and saw the instrument in half, but... onwards and upwards!

I am hating technique...I'm meant to be doing 3 hours of it per day but it's no fun at all. However I recently performed Shostakovich 1st vln concerto and now I'm onto Wieniawski 2 which is great, and off to a summer camp in Israel in August in preparation for music college auditions. I'm just praying I will get in somewhere...that's the focus of my practice at the moment.

I don't think I'm making any progress on the violin at all! I had planned to do my grade 5 this summer but I haven't got anywhere because I couldn't afford more regular lessons and my teacher has moved to a different country. Now I have the hassle of finding a new teacher!

I think I'm going backwards with my bowing technique and getting into bad habits. But my position changing and sight reading has improved - which is a good thing. I've mostly been teaching myself the 2nd, 4th and 5th position. I've improved on my 5th position intonation, but I don't know why I find the intonation for the 2nd and 4th position a bit harder. I don't like even number positions!

My aim is to find a good violin teacher, get back on track with my technique and to do my grade 5 by next Easter.