Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 8 : Don’t watch your fingers

As a beginner violinist, it is obvious that we are curious how the sounds differs just by moving fingers over strings tightened over a piece of wood. This curiosity jumps to next level when we become conscious of where we place fingers. This graduates to being cautious as to why we place fingers a certain way and why it is right or wrong. All of this becomes a habit, a bad one, reparable with practice. The next level of which is to play by the ear and know the relative positioning of the fingers on the string by mind. This spacing and relative positioning of fingers is strongly linked to how we hold the violin and how comfortably we can hold it there for a prolonged duration of play. This emphasizes the importance of practice, practice of holding, habit of practice, that it becomes second nature to the player like any language, or like any extensions to human body like a bicycle, mobile phone or using any clothing. Similarly, the violin becomes an extension to the body of the player. In time. In practice.

Watching our fingers during the play can be equated to micromanaging our play. This unwanted puts stress on us watching the fingers rather than the output of it, which is the sound generated. Instead of the action, if we become result oriented, then we start playing by the ear, listening to what kind of sounds we create, and what kind of fingering can improve, and match the requirements of the composition. This voids the need to mechanically adjust the relative placement of fingers and improve focus on the expected frequency output.  Hence it is imperative that we practice without watching the fingers and adopt a more result oriented approach.

Player’s focus improves with avoiding watching the fingers. Watching the fingers, rather than listening to the sounds, distracts the processing of the output. Staying on Focus helps because, the player gets a bigger picture than a mere positioning of finger on the string. In life as well as in playing the violin, if we can get to see the forest and not get lost in the trees, then we get our heading straight and would not let the minutiae obstruct the flow of thought/music.

Of course, this thought is for avoiding over-observant players who check each and every fingering position on the ebony. When moving to a different base position playing in the 2nd or higher, without a firm grasp of the basics and building the foundation.

The player learns Management by Objectives. The objective of the play is to play beautiful music, not just create some random sounds a.k.a noise. The objectivity defines our action. This lets our focus stay on the music emerging out of the wood and strings rather than micromanaging to the negative effect. Not watching fingers let us manage our play by objectives. The objective of making better music.

Fig. Basic Control Systems Play-Feedback loop for music practice.

Borrowing from Control Systems concept. Generally, music practice sequence looks like that shown above. Playing by the ear yields a difference between the expected and observed results giving valuable feedback, that helps in perfecting and bettering the play. This also applies to general activities in life with an expected result. Oftentimes, people miss learning from the observed result and matching and finding the difference. This differential knowledge if captured appropriately leads us to derive lessons learned simply by using observational skills and then performing corrective action. Any solid expected activity should also be defined with as much detail as possible, so that we can maximize the lessons learned and act upon it to provide consistent  results that improve with each dedicated practice and delivering consistently good music as close to the expectation.

 

Read more from this series here :-

• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 1 : Do not think ! - After learning some basic notes on the staves I was told to know it by heart. I had to memorize it, and then tell when I see a note. I used to count, say memorizing only the first not in space , the “F” on Treble clef. From there on I would count and then …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 2 : Don’t work hard - The power of doing work is a single most important criteria that distinguishes a human as a social animal compared to others. The collective and individual efforts towards a work makes one understand the minute and the big picture at the same time. All work is not easy. It is also possible that some workaholics …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 3 : Emphasize on Quality of Practice - I read “ Debunking the 10,000 hours rule “  after my previous lesson learned. My previous lesson learned said about not working hard. The working hard part is broken into small steps taken one at a time to overcome the hardness of the work. This works for people who are ready to be steady and …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 4 : Don’t tap your foot out loud. Focus on what you play. - In violin class I have been taught to keep the rhythm of the song by tapping with the foot. The human metronome works parallel to the song being played. Often we  have to shift attention from the song and listen to see if the rhythm and beat is correct per bar. This shift in attention …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 5 : Practice till perfection - Practice, practice, practice. Quantity and Quality all matters. Playing any musical instrument is all about practice. It is all the more true for the violin. As a student I have to practice. I know I can. I know I will. But how much ? Till my hands ache ? Till I feel it is enough …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 6: Health conscious practicing - If there is one thing in life,that is more dearer than the life itself, it is health. Life without good health is a misery. And life is maintained through good health. Longevity of life, if one wishes it, is not very pleasant without an accompanying good health. A good marriage between health and life makes …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 7: Start slowly grasp quickly - The v.v. age old saying goes an umpteenth time to say ” Slow and Steady wins the race” . This is because it is true. But the beauty of the truth lies in experiencing it in action. As with violin or any musical instrument, the beginning is really very slow. It is expected to be …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 8 : Don’t watch your fingers - As a beginner violinist, it is obvious that we are curious how the sounds differs just by moving fingers over strings tightened over a piece of wood. This curiosity jumps to next level when we become conscious of where we place fingers. This graduates to being cautious as to why we place fingers a certain …

Lessons from Violin: how to choose one

This is from the Book by W.C Honeyman. A very old book (1893)  borrowed through the inter-library loan had to be handled carefully. It is a small but dense book. Things to learn are written by the expert W.C Honeyman. In addition, the way in which the book is written is also very interesting , including the usages and references (mostly UK based).

First thing the book does is to bust the myth on the affinity for Stradivarius violin and why it happened, the history and the economics of it. It is interesting to find rating of violin makers in the sequence of priority as

Gasparo da Salo > Maggini > Guarnerius > Stradivarius > Amati.

For me , except for Stradivarius all others are new names in the field. This the author says is because of the known scarcity of violins from these and other makers. The comparative abundance of Stradivarius invited multiple copies of the same to be made, not from the legend , but due to the economy of popular demand became the known name for violins.

Lessons for choosing a violin include , among many tips, these >

• Check for the tone of the violin.
• Some notes may sound odd, these are called as “wolf-notes” based on the wood and position of the sound post, and full contact of the sound post. This may be a few notes, especially the higher notes which will be never produced right due to the manufacturing of the violin. There are many violin which goes in the market with the wolf- notes undiscovered, the discovery of which leads to decreased value of the violin, though it is named under many of the great manufacturers.

And then, there are some tips for practicing the violin given in the book:-

• First thing for a violinist to do is to practice scales daily.
• Secure first and third fingers before second and fourth.
• A long note, requiring separate bows may be played to sound continuous by taking the pressure away from the bow slightly, before the moment of reversing.
• Keep violin away from dust. Even dusting can remove varnish, if dusting is done frequently.
• It is good to keep in mind that it is not the string but the wood that makes the sound.
• Try to read Corelli’s solos Op.5 Book I
• Put weight on left foot , if standing.
• Grab the opportunity to play with others.
• Best violin is not always expensive
• Check for tone from pianissimo to forte
• Equal height for all strings
• Violin should be held upwards falling towards the player.
• And some tips to take care of the violin includes using a damp cotton and wire to clean the inside of the violin.
• This book is worth many re-reads and guides as a good reference.

Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 7: Start slowly grasp quickly

The v.v. age old saying goes an umpteenth time to say ” Slow and Steady wins the race” . This is because it is true. But the beauty of the truth lies in experiencing it in action. As with violin or any musical instrument, the beginning is really very slow. It is expected to be and it will be. Sometimes, it turns frustrating and sometimes it melancholic; because slow music is mostly applicable to monotonous and sad moments in audio-visual industry. Once you hear the melody and the density of musical oscillations that a really slow and patient player would bring to one’s ear the best of devotional and classical , esp. hindustani classical music, which may make one feel that the music is depressing than soporific, sad rather than boring. While the musician knows in its true essence what the music brings with its slowness, a meditative stance , crystallizing the tranquility of the mind and making everything around you at standstill. This is an art that occurs in a peaceful flow of music, just like Messi plays with the football, a movement that is so painless and untiring, for the player , for the musician but may not be for the unaccustomed ear. But it is true that the baby steps that we took as an emerging human being were much much smaller than what a grown up adult does. It goes in the same way for music and in life.

An age old Sanskrit saying goes like this

||जलबिन्दुनिपातेन क्रमश: पूर्यते घट:

रीतिरेषा हि विद्यानां धनस्य च धर्मस्य च ||

Translation:

“As the pot fills with tiny droplets of water

So does education (vidya) , money and virtues(dharma)”

The slow rate with which these accumulate sometime tests one’s patience. That is yet another learning curve. This acts as a self test and helps to ratify one’s decisions and path of growth. As in music , esp. and instrument like violin, the beginner would be playing the same song again and again, till it becomes a good stepping stone for further playing. And a true newbie would be playing just the open strings till the world’s end for weeks. And this basis is so important that my violin teacher would tell me to practice just open string everyday, even though I am aiming for the Grade 5 of Trinity.  Also for the tone to be perfect the singing practice just focused on sustaining the few notes esp. the open string notes, at the correct note. This was tough. But with practice it grows patience. With patience and longer bowing time, very very slow playing, enable playing two bars of slurred notes at a stretch that together would constitute  a fast folk song’s critical portion. This helps in quick grasping of the key notes. Since the mind is free from the more time consuming – fingering of notes and bowing the right way.

In the end, the slow practice pays off whereby the focus is on maintaining the rhythm or momentum and reducing the fidgeting with fingers on the bow and forget about the trialing notes.Life becomes easy so fast. But it takes time. I have seen this happen when you practice driving bike slowly in city traffic. The traffic around you is on any day capable of making you crazy and angry. The technique of being slow, helps one take swift turns and right decisions at right moments that you see , in fact you are in fact going ahead of the vehicles which were parking their money behind speed than tactics on city roads.

I have also experience this in my academics where the professor would go very slowly over the basic of math, physics even analog IC layout at the very start and later put  a sharp climb on the learning path, whose slope is just enough so that the momentum generated by the slow learning is able to grasp what is coming on and adjust and push us through the end goal of the posed steep learning.

This is one important lesson that I found applicable in widely different areas of study be it music, math, engineering or internet. Therefore this post.

Read more from this series here :-

• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 1 : Do not think ! - After learning some basic notes on the staves I was told to know it by heart. I had to memorize it, and then tell when I see a note. I used to count, say memorizing only the first not in space , the “F” on Treble clef. From there on I would count and then …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 2 : Don’t work hard - The power of doing work is a single most important criteria that distinguishes a human as a social animal compared to others. The collective and individual efforts towards a work makes one understand the minute and the big picture at the same time. All work is not easy. It is also possible that some workaholics …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 3 : Emphasize on Quality of Practice - I read “ Debunking the 10,000 hours rule “  after my previous lesson learned. My previous lesson learned said about not working hard. The working hard part is broken into small steps taken one at a time to overcome the hardness of the work. This works for people who are ready to be steady and …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 4 : Don’t tap your foot out loud. Focus on what you play. - In violin class I have been taught to keep the rhythm of the song by tapping with the foot. The human metronome works parallel to the song being played. Often we  have to shift attention from the song and listen to see if the rhythm and beat is correct per bar. This shift in attention …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 5 : Practice till perfection - Practice, practice, practice. Quantity and Quality all matters. Playing any musical instrument is all about practice. It is all the more true for the violin. As a student I have to practice. I know I can. I know I will. But how much ? Till my hands ache ? Till I feel it is enough …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 6: Health conscious practicing - If there is one thing in life,that is more dearer than the life itself, it is health. Life without good health is a misery. And life is maintained through good health. Longevity of life, if one wishes it, is not very pleasant without an accompanying good health. A good marriage between health and life makes …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 7: Start slowly grasp quickly - The v.v. age old saying goes an umpteenth time to say ” Slow and Steady wins the race” . This is because it is true. But the beauty of the truth lies in experiencing it in action. As with violin or any musical instrument, the beginning is really very slow. It is expected to be …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 8 : Don’t watch your fingers - As a beginner violinist, it is obvious that we are curious how the sounds differs just by moving fingers over strings tightened over a piece of wood. This curiosity jumps to next level when we become conscious of where we place fingers. This graduates to being cautious as to why we place fingers a certain …

 

 

Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 6: Health conscious practicing

If there is one thing in life,that is more dearer than the life itself, it is health. Life without good health is a misery. And life is maintained through good health. Longevity of life, if one wishes it, is not very pleasant without an accompanying good health. A good marriage between health and life makes things very easy. If health is lost, everything is lost.

This applied in all kinds of learning. Some believe that great thinkers, scientists et al are so focused on their work that they forget their health and put their life to risk. It is very untrue. How Great MK Gandhi took care of his health is a well documented in his writings. Thought the focus of his writings are more towards betterment of society in general, this point is often forgotten.

In a learning environment, we need practice. In this mood of practicing health should not be forgotten. A musical instrument, such as the violin, if practiced with right posture promotes good health. A wrong practice could deteriorate the health too. That is a direct relation between good practice and good health. Therefore, it becomes very important to practice in a correct way than head blindly towards quantity of practice rather than quality of practice.

My sister who went to doctor for any illness, straightaway got one same reply from all the doctors she visited. That is reduce your fat, take care of your health. It is common knowledge that a healthy mind resides in a healthy body. For it was written “Sareeramadyam ghalu dharmasadhanam”. (शरीरमाद्यं खलु धर्मसाधनम्).

Read more from this series here :-

• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 1 : Do not think ! - After learning some basic notes on the staves I was told to know it by heart. I had to memorize it, and then tell when I see a note. I used to count, say memorizing only the first not in space , the “F” on Treble clef. From there on I would count and then …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 2 : Don’t work hard - The power of doing work is a single most important criteria that distinguishes a human as a social animal compared to others. The collective and individual efforts towards a work makes one understand the minute and the big picture at the same time. All work is not easy. It is also possible that some workaholics …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 3 : Emphasize on Quality of Practice - I read “ Debunking the 10,000 hours rule “  after my previous lesson learned. My previous lesson learned said about not working hard. The working hard part is broken into small steps taken one at a time to overcome the hardness of the work. This works for people who are ready to be steady and …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 4 : Don’t tap your foot out loud. Focus on what you play. - In violin class I have been taught to keep the rhythm of the song by tapping with the foot. The human metronome works parallel to the song being played. Often we  have to shift attention from the song and listen to see if the rhythm and beat is correct per bar. This shift in attention …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 5 : Practice till perfection - Practice, practice, practice. Quantity and Quality all matters. Playing any musical instrument is all about practice. It is all the more true for the violin. As a student I have to practice. I know I can. I know I will. But how much ? Till my hands ache ? Till I feel it is enough …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 6: Health conscious practicing - If there is one thing in life,that is more dearer than the life itself, it is health. Life without good health is a misery. And life is maintained through good health. Longevity of life, if one wishes it, is not very pleasant without an accompanying good health. A good marriage between health and life makes …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 7: Start slowly grasp quickly - The v.v. age old saying goes an umpteenth time to say ” Slow and Steady wins the race” . This is because it is true. But the beauty of the truth lies in experiencing it in action. As with violin or any musical instrument, the beginning is really very slow. It is expected to be …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 8 : Don’t watch your fingers - As a beginner violinist, it is obvious that we are curious how the sounds differs just by moving fingers over strings tightened over a piece of wood. This curiosity jumps to next level when we become conscious of where we place fingers. This graduates to being cautious as to why we place fingers a certain …

 

As the Bird left the nest, once again

So I flew. I flew over the mountains and the seas. I flew leaving my country, my family, my comfort. My comfort is what I make of it, my friends are what I make of people. Family is what I make my friends to be. And my country is what I make of my surroundings. I would be exposed to International environment. Everything International starts in the United States of America (USA). The land of plenty. The land of ahimsa (non violence) did not care much about its own status. Similar is the case with the land of opportunities, land of rising sun, land of setting sun, land which has no sun and so on. It is this alternate beginning, a thread or branch that would be elaborated here. This is just experience and if there is any spicing up, then that is to be taken lightly at your own convenience.

I started from Kochi, my destination is Buffalo. I am once again moving out of job to school. I got admission to State University of New York at Buffalo (UB). Something which I could be proud of. And we; me and institution will be mutually sharing our names. Affiliation may be for the low minded. But that is the rule of life. We always stand on shoulders of giants. The steps to success is shortened by education, even more by affiliation, and yet more by personal effort and commitment to one’s motives and ambitions.

How I got admission is a separate story on its own. In short, I applied , got admission and got visa, got ticket and flew. I did not repeat my mistake of not using facebook this time. I got my future roommates through this. My apartment was awaiting my arrival. And my future roommates were  bang on time to pick me up from Greyhound station in Buffalo. And I have settled well with time and resources. So what next. The sharing of the story, of course.

I had my journey from my workplace, Chennai, the city which had fed me, helped me travel and see a lot of places, friendly people and the unforgiving summer. I will never forget the summer in Chennai even if it freezes in Buffalo, shivers me in the Rainy Miss Buffalo Cruise on Erie Canal, Buffalo or drains me in the Maid of Mist in Niagara. And no one would ever believe that Chennai was the place were I saw hail storm for first time in my life (this video was taken and loaded on youtube by someone at that time).  So, I had this trip , in my favourite, my second home, the divine Chennai Express (yes! the train)  from Chennai. The travel left a lump in my throat. I always wanted all my Chennai Express trips to be my last trip. I had not hated the summer of Chennai ( which is throughout the year 24 x 7) any lesser, in any day. There are lot of facilities that the city gives, most importantly the job, the music , the marina beach and the USA consulate general. But I like the MTC buses too. And one month into my stay in USA I had Chennai as my second home. And super excited to meet a Tamil guy eventhough they are loud and noisy sometimes but almost always friendly and pleasant. From that last trip by MTC bus to and fro the USA Consulate General I had an empty mind. The future is always uncertain. The way the University of Calicut has trained its students, any uncertainty could be overcome. So there I was looking outside the windows at the greeneries which wouldn’t see me for a long time. I am going for a Master’s in Electrical Engineering at the UB. What would the grass know? Or do I know? Does it even matter the grass!

I had to leave the country being sent off by my parents. And so I had a long holiday at home. Jobless and happy as it could be. The flights were booked, bags were getting filled up. Mostly the clothes . Most importantly underwears. Because the laundry cycle depends on it. The airways company was contacted for baggage information. Learned that I could carry 3 baggages each 23 kgs, a shoulder bag and violin. So it was.

Boarding at Kochi was like walking to a bus stop. I had flown all over the country so this was yet another trip. Boarding Jet airways , getting clearance and all was real fast. I chilled out at the airport. And ate whatever I had , some snacks made by mother and just watching people and waiting. Then the plane came picked me up. All luggages in tact, 3 in check in , a shoulder bag and violin with me as cabin bag. The jacket on me with important documents, ticket, passport and few toffees,mobile and that is it. The trip was eventless. Food was good and then we landed at Abu Dhabi. It is important to note this because Abu Dhabi has US pre clearance facility. This was un-planned but anyway good things happen. I could find a person in coat shouting out to people where which flight was, I heard the word Nagoya in between.

I had to get a new ticket for the onward flight. Got it promptly. I did not receive any tag for the bags. I was told that my check in bag will be taken care of, Etihad from Abu Dhabi was a code share partner of Jet Airways. This left me with my cabin  baggages, which was , as expected pretty heavy. Then I roamed the place. Found it as interesting as any other airport. I got a coffee for some dirhams. Yes! Coffee! and could not bother the conversion rate at that timeless hour.

The biological clock worked excellently within me. The call of nature was duly attended at the spacious restroom in the airport. One could actually live inside that, it was big and clean and pleasant. Then I had this queue for US pre clearance. I stood in the queue.Queue was big, I was sleepy and there was silence which aided the standing sleep. I got some slip to write my details and was led to a place where people fill up the form and go to counters of US pre-clearance. I had mine filled up in the sleep-standing queue. So I located an officer in the counter who nodded at me to approach him. I had my shoe belt and all stuff put on a basket. For this purpose it is important as my father said to keep the shoe in a plastic bag, and have an hand-sanitizer handy. I asked the office some questions regarding the declarations. I could see my three bags photographed and displayed on the screen. I was happy to see them. And then I had the admit stamp on Passport. I was out the place while most of the people were still inside. When I came out I had this dreamy feel. So I asked the security if I had been sent after check really fast, or did I miss something, or is there any other procedure to do, for I did not see any people come out other than me. Then there was this endless wait. I could not suppress my sleep. I laid on the floor. The carpet was good and I could sleep peacefully. The light inside was as bright as daylight but I couldn’t care about it. I set an alarm and had a long sleep. Later I asked the security guard again about the flight arrival. He was very happy guy and replied nicely. I waited for some more time and then I could enter the gate.

The Etihad airways onward had some fancy looking clothing for their associates. There was a bus which would take me to the plane. I felt the humidity of night air for another time. And then very soon I was inside the plane. This plane was big. Seat was big. Headset was big. Once the flight started the number of choices to watch onboard was also big. However, I did not get a neck pillow while most of the others had. Blanket was good and the headset did a good job of cutting out the cold. There were a lot of drinks in juices and others offered in flight. Food was good. And again the restrooms were better than local airlines. This was a long leg for most of the people. The person next to me was from Thailand . And that was reflected by her continuous sleep. I felt that my journey is so short in comparison. I also slept for most part with peace. Food was served at good intervals. I would switch between movies, food and sleep and repeat. There was this eye mask which read “do not disturb” on one side and “wake me up for food” on another. As you guessed correctly I had the latter facing outward. 16 hours or so later, I heard about USA and tracking of flight. People still in sleep state were somewhat alert. After some more food and juice it was landing time. Just like any other landing. And then I had arrived at the domestic terminal in John F Kennedy (JFK) Airport , New York. I could not find anyone to put seal on my F1 Visa. I waited for my luggage quite a long time. There were non standard luggage sizes, mattresses and what not that travelled on the conveyor. The trolley was charged at $6. There was a man who gave change as the machine ate the right amount that he fed in. This releases the trolley that I could take. I waited a long time. Airtel Mobile had range. I called up relatives. They were already there and had a trolley for me. I should have called them earlier at $2 to save the trolley money.

Rest of the story is like anyone who goes to their relatives place. Jet lag followed me for a few days. It would hit me hard on right time, my critical periods of sleep, back home. The feel was awesome. And as my relatives said I had to hold on for the first few days without sleeping much in the evening, which was the night time in India. So I tried, and after a week emerged an adjusted American Biological Clock. Greyhound from New Jersey would later take me to Buffalo.

On the way there was rain, I saw some major places like Binghamton, Ithaca,Syracuse, Rochester and finally Buffalo.And then as I have already told you my friends picked me up to my new accommodation.

If this amounts to be readable or a reference then it is good. I do not believe that I had a unique or obliquely different experience than most of the people. . This is because I tend to believe that I am you and you are me. Somewhat spiritualistic statement touching upon religion and emotions but still works perfectly fine. I know many of my friends would like to know my journey details If I had missed something, please feel free to e-mail me.

I thank the many instances of motivating fuel for putting this up, from family and friends alike.

Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 5 : Practice till perfection

Practice, practice, practice. Quantity and Quality all matters. Playing any musical instrument is all about practice. It is all the more true for the violin. As a student I have to practice. I know I can. I know I will. But how much ? Till my hands ache ? Till I feel it is enough ? Till some digression comes in the form of a phone call ? What actually is enough ? Who judges perfection ? There are some songs that need hours of practice and still sounds like hollow, with lot of space to improve and refine. Without a proper judge there cannot be improvement. One reason why people search and find a good guru, especially in music, is because of this. The value of a critic who can differentiate and tell what is wrong, where exactly and how to overcome the seemingly insurmountable. An examiner can give words of advice, suggestions and possibilities and his judgement, that remains on paper, making itself a glyph to be decoded later. A good guru (teacher ?!) solves the issues of analysis, training, comprehending, making things easy to understand, easy to play, treat the disease of wrongly placed notes and improve the overall music throughput from the violin, otherwise a collection of pieces of wood and strings.

In life at one point or other we have this feeling of emptiness, where there is no further progress from the current state. One has to go in search of a critic or mentor to find out places to improve. This guru could be one’s self, an imaginary tutor or an inspiration for great men. More than spiritual or divine intervention it is much about the way a human mind works. One tends to look at with jealousy at some valiant connoisseur. Sometimes we envy. Sometimes and most often with intimidation. The stages of thoughts tend to tempt the mind towards mediocrity. And it needs to be reminded that there is no limit to excel.

Whatever our work in life or profession we start with curiosity, interest, need and then slowly put effort to practice with quantity and then quality and then both. Then we reach a state of betterment. There is no stopping here, we move further. Get tempted to perfection. Practice more. Practice until perfection.

Read more from this series here :-

• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 1 : Do not think ! - After learning some basic notes on the staves I was told to know it by heart. I had to memorize it, and then tell when I see a note. I used to count, say memorizing only the first not in space , the “F” on Treble clef. From there on I would count and then …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 2 : Don’t work hard - The power of doing work is a single most important criteria that distinguishes a human as a social animal compared to others. The collective and individual efforts towards a work makes one understand the minute and the big picture at the same time. All work is not easy. It is also possible that some workaholics …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 3 : Emphasize on Quality of Practice - I read “ Debunking the 10,000 hours rule “  after my previous lesson learned. My previous lesson learned said about not working hard. The working hard part is broken into small steps taken one at a time to overcome the hardness of the work. This works for people who are ready to be steady and …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 4 : Don’t tap your foot out loud. Focus on what you play. - In violin class I have been taught to keep the rhythm of the song by tapping with the foot. The human metronome works parallel to the song being played. Often we  have to shift attention from the song and listen to see if the rhythm and beat is correct per bar. This shift in attention …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 5 : Practice till perfection - Practice, practice, practice. Quantity and Quality all matters. Playing any musical instrument is all about practice. It is all the more true for the violin. As a student I have to practice. I know I can. I know I will. But how much ? Till my hands ache ? Till I feel it is enough …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 6: Health conscious practicing - If there is one thing in life,that is more dearer than the life itself, it is health. Life without good health is a misery. And life is maintained through good health. Longevity of life, if one wishes it, is not very pleasant without an accompanying good health. A good marriage between health and life makes …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 7: Start slowly grasp quickly - The v.v. age old saying goes an umpteenth time to say ” Slow and Steady wins the race” . This is because it is true. But the beauty of the truth lies in experiencing it in action. As with violin or any musical instrument, the beginning is really very slow. It is expected to be …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 8 : Don’t watch your fingers - As a beginner violinist, it is obvious that we are curious how the sounds differs just by moving fingers over strings tightened over a piece of wood. This curiosity jumps to next level when we become conscious of where we place fingers. This graduates to being cautious as to why we place fingers a certain …

 

Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 4 : Don’t tap your foot out loud. Focus on what you play.

In violin class I have been taught to keep the rhythm of the song by tapping with the foot. The human metronome works parallel to the song being played. Often we  have to shift attention from the song and listen to see if the rhythm and beat is correct per bar. This shift in attention gives much too importance to the helping metronome to become a distraction. Beat is the basis for any music. Once the beat is acquired and plays by itself in the mind without tapping, then we are all set to play the piece of song peacefully. The idea is to get  the beat in the initial stages of reading the song and later do away with physically tapping since the moods, variations, rhythm and beat all will be blended by practice,automatically.

This is more or less what happens in life too. We need a set of rhythm for various tasks. When the task is new we tend to get helpers in the form of alarm, schedulers, timers, reminders and so on. Once the habit is formed then the rhythm goes in the background. The observer can see only the smooth blend of work with the mind set in action at hand. A lack of complete attention is show cased which goes a long way to make a lasting impression on people whom we deal with. Just like a perfectly played song on violin we enjoy the whole rather than scrutinise the details. The mind of the observer is also then devoid of unnecessary digressions.

Read more from this series here :-

• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 1 : Do not think ! - After learning some basic notes on the staves I was told to know it by heart. I had to memorize it, and then tell when I see a note. I used to count, say memorizing only the first not in space , the “F” on Treble clef. From there on I would count and then …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 2 : Don’t work hard - The power of doing work is a single most important criteria that distinguishes a human as a social animal compared to others. The collective and individual efforts towards a work makes one understand the minute and the big picture at the same time. All work is not easy. It is also possible that some workaholics …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 3 : Emphasize on Quality of Practice - I read “ Debunking the 10,000 hours rule “  after my previous lesson learned. My previous lesson learned said about not working hard. The working hard part is broken into small steps taken one at a time to overcome the hardness of the work. This works for people who are ready to be steady and …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 4 : Don’t tap your foot out loud. Focus on what you play. - In violin class I have been taught to keep the rhythm of the song by tapping with the foot. The human metronome works parallel to the song being played. Often we  have to shift attention from the song and listen to see if the rhythm and beat is correct per bar. This shift in attention …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 5 : Practice till perfection - Practice, practice, practice. Quantity and Quality all matters. Playing any musical instrument is all about practice. It is all the more true for the violin. As a student I have to practice. I know I can. I know I will. But how much ? Till my hands ache ? Till I feel it is enough …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 6: Health conscious practicing - If there is one thing in life,that is more dearer than the life itself, it is health. Life without good health is a misery. And life is maintained through good health. Longevity of life, if one wishes it, is not very pleasant without an accompanying good health. A good marriage between health and life makes …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 7: Start slowly grasp quickly - The v.v. age old saying goes an umpteenth time to say ” Slow and Steady wins the race” . This is because it is true. But the beauty of the truth lies in experiencing it in action. As with violin or any musical instrument, the beginning is really very slow. It is expected to be …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 8 : Don’t watch your fingers - As a beginner violinist, it is obvious that we are curious how the sounds differs just by moving fingers over strings tightened over a piece of wood. This curiosity jumps to next level when we become conscious of where we place fingers. This graduates to being cautious as to why we place fingers a certain …

Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 3 : Emphasize on Quality of Practice

I read “ Debunking the 10,000 hours rule “  after my previous lesson learned. My previous lesson learned said about not working hard. The working hard part is broken into small steps taken one at a time to overcome the hardness of the work. This works for people who are ready to be steady and commit themslelves to the small steps. The variety, in nature, of the behaviour of humans has also examples of those  who come up with greatness once in  a while. People who find shortcuts, whatever the height of task. The principle of least effort by Deepak Chopra also says something similar. The way a student learns to play the violin, to achieve some level of proficiency, is completely depended on his responsibility, openness to learn, patience and practice. In this lesson of practice there could be continuous effort put to overcome a difficult piece of score. There is another way too. Which is upheld as superior by my master. He says Quality practice is better than general practice. The emphasize on quality would decrease the time needed for regular practice, this gives better results and more time for other activities.

Rote learning is one thing, Mechanical learning is another. There is no coercion on mechanical learning. It is like a cycle knows the best way to tackle the hurdles of potholes and bumps on the road even before the conscious mind takes over the analysis of data processing. This is mechanical learning which repetitive practice tries to achieve. This is a state where the focus is no other things than the work at hand, viz. playing the violin. Short duration practice on quality does not assure the proficiency of mechanical learning. This automated form is avoided for fine tuning the sophisticated patterns of notes. This also demands the complete presence of mind duration presentation of a piece of music. The benefits includes keeping mind easy on the toughest portions of the music. This allows for enjoying the performance without tensions on quality being presented. Finally, good music comes from both quality of practice and quantity of practice. There are sections which need either one or both. A good player, knows which  way to go.

Read more from this series here :-

• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 1 : Do not think ! - After learning some basic notes on the staves I was told to know it by heart. I had to memorize it, and then tell when I see a note. I used to count, say memorizing only the first not in space , the “F” on Treble clef. From there on I would count and then …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 2 : Don’t work hard - The power of doing work is a single most important criteria that distinguishes a human as a social animal compared to others. The collective and individual efforts towards a work makes one understand the minute and the big picture at the same time. All work is not easy. It is also possible that some workaholics …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 3 : Emphasize on Quality of Practice - I read “ Debunking the 10,000 hours rule “  after my previous lesson learned. My previous lesson learned said about not working hard. The working hard part is broken into small steps taken one at a time to overcome the hardness of the work. This works for people who are ready to be steady and …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 4 : Don’t tap your foot out loud. Focus on what you play. - In violin class I have been taught to keep the rhythm of the song by tapping with the foot. The human metronome works parallel to the song being played. Often we  have to shift attention from the song and listen to see if the rhythm and beat is correct per bar. This shift in attention …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 5 : Practice till perfection - Practice, practice, practice. Quantity and Quality all matters. Playing any musical instrument is all about practice. It is all the more true for the violin. As a student I have to practice. I know I can. I know I will. But how much ? Till my hands ache ? Till I feel it is enough …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 6: Health conscious practicing - If there is one thing in life,that is more dearer than the life itself, it is health. Life without good health is a misery. And life is maintained through good health. Longevity of life, if one wishes it, is not very pleasant without an accompanying good health. A good marriage between health and life makes …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 7: Start slowly grasp quickly - The v.v. age old saying goes an umpteenth time to say ” Slow and Steady wins the race” . This is because it is true. But the beauty of the truth lies in experiencing it in action. As with violin or any musical instrument, the beginning is really very slow. It is expected to be …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 8 : Don’t watch your fingers - As a beginner violinist, it is obvious that we are curious how the sounds differs just by moving fingers over strings tightened over a piece of wood. This curiosity jumps to next level when we become conscious of where we place fingers. This graduates to being cautious as to why we place fingers a certain …

Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 2 : Don’t work hard

The power of doing work is a single most important criteria that distinguishes a human as a social animal compared to others. The collective and individual efforts towards a work makes one understand the minute and the big picture at the same time. All work is not easy. It is also possible that some workaholics are overpowered by the work that they do. Ways of doing work are generally classsified as hardwork and smartwork. Hard work is the way for the newbies for repetitive tasks. These are mechanical after a certain level of preparation and could be done with zero mental effort. This includes solving same kind of arithmetic, driving on the same road for the umpteenth time, cooking the frequently made dish, sewing and what not. Malcolm Gladwell’s study, comes up with the 10,000 hour rule, says that a person becomes efficient and definite expert in the field of his work when he/she completes 10,000 hours of practice.  The study was focussed on a group of violinists, the better players , a.k.a experts had put in more than this number of hours. Same goes for pilots and other jobs. Our Linux Device Driver teacher said in a crash course that with just 1/10th of that time put in the course, no one can claim to be an expert after the course, it will take time, and it is upto your tenacity and veracity with the job at hand that proves your expertise.

Having talked about hardwork let’s see the softer side of the work. The work in its true sense becomes easier , a.k.a “softer”, by repetition. The way of learning is one step at a time, for many days. This ensures consisted commitment towards the goal to be achieved, a perfect schedule and its adherence can also be ensured. This is what my Violin teacher John sir told me “ Don’t do hardwork, do only softwork”. Practice the violin 1 hour atleast per day. And keep practicing everyday. That responsibility of practice, the commitment to the self and the ultimate aim to be an expert with soft work keeps one grooved on the track.

Start with the first step , rest will follow

PS: The dailypost, postaday and daily prompts also say the same.

Read more from this series here :-

• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 1 : Do not think ! - After learning some basic notes on the staves I was told to know it by heart. I had to memorize it, and then tell when I see a note. I used to count, say memorizing only the first not in space , the “F” on Treble clef. From there on I would count and then …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 2 : Don’t work hard - The power of doing work is a single most important criteria that distinguishes a human as a social animal compared to others. The collective and individual efforts towards a work makes one understand the minute and the big picture at the same time. All work is not easy. It is also possible that some workaholics …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 3 : Emphasize on Quality of Practice - I read “ Debunking the 10,000 hours rule “  after my previous lesson learned. My previous lesson learned said about not working hard. The working hard part is broken into small steps taken one at a time to overcome the hardness of the work. This works for people who are ready to be steady and …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 4 : Don’t tap your foot out loud. Focus on what you play. - In violin class I have been taught to keep the rhythm of the song by tapping with the foot. The human metronome works parallel to the song being played. Often we  have to shift attention from the song and listen to see if the rhythm and beat is correct per bar. This shift in attention …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 5 : Practice till perfection - Practice, practice, practice. Quantity and Quality all matters. Playing any musical instrument is all about practice. It is all the more true for the violin. As a student I have to practice. I know I can. I know I will. But how much ? Till my hands ache ? Till I feel it is enough …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 6: Health conscious practicing - If there is one thing in life,that is more dearer than the life itself, it is health. Life without good health is a misery. And life is maintained through good health. Longevity of life, if one wishes it, is not very pleasant without an accompanying good health. A good marriage between health and life makes …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 7: Start slowly grasp quickly - The v.v. age old saying goes an umpteenth time to say ” Slow and Steady wins the race” . This is because it is true. But the beauty of the truth lies in experiencing it in action. As with violin or any musical instrument, the beginning is really very slow. It is expected to be …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 8 : Don’t watch your fingers - As a beginner violinist, it is obvious that we are curious how the sounds differs just by moving fingers over strings tightened over a piece of wood. This curiosity jumps to next level when we become conscious of where we place fingers. This graduates to being cautious as to why we place fingers a certain …

Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 1 : Do not think !

After learning some basic notes on the staves I was told to know it by heart. I had to memorize it, and then tell when I see a note. I used to count, say memorizing only the first not in space , the “F” on Treble clef. From there on I would count and then reach the desired note. So if it was the B on E string, it could take some time, but by practice I know I would know it by heart. There are some mnemonics such as “FACE” notes in space. This could come in handy. The objective is to t\know the not when it is written immediately, without counting. This needed some practice. I would stare for sometime and then tell the note. Especially the notes above and below the staves took more time. My violin master asked “ What is this note” pointing at one such note. I stared, may be I was thinking too long deciding whether it is a B or C on E string. And suddenly the master raised his voice and exclaimed “ Don’t think!” I was surprised knowing what he thought I was thinking. I told him I was counting up the notes. And then he said “ You have to know the notes, if you start counting there is no end to it. You may keep counting but never read the note.” So the saga of memorizing, which was a long lost talent was pushed up to priority. I took the book out when I got time. Started knowing the notes as pictures, and where each picture was to be. What the picture denoted, and I could grasp it with little seriousness. Later , after a week, for the next class my master put a test for me. He would draw some notes, I as supposed to tell it. It turned out to be easy. Next, I was told some notes and I had to draw them. This time, it was more fun, I knew exactly where all the pictures were placed. This continued till the master was satisfied with my performance.

After the class I was stunned at my own performance. A little bit of memorizing could make life easier. If I could bring back my talents of memorizing into some more aspects of life, then things will turn out to be simple. I decided to make a small start. Beginning with the IRCTC ticket booking, that I had to do 3 months in advance. I had to keep track of when the advance reservation period(ARP) would start, when all I had holidays, the dates for journey and the date for opening of ARP. Initially I used to check daily to know the ARP status, sometimes I had missed booking and had to travel in general. The distance of travel not being too healthy, the exercise to know the ARP turned advantageous. It is like the ARP is 60 days, but IRCTC would show some extra number of days beyond that in the calendar. This was the point of confusion which was duly resolved. Later came keeping track of money, where what went. Reiterating the point of purchase and arriving at a balance, would never tally with what was left in hand. With some effort, to remember, not to calculate later, I could fairly arrive at a close to hand value.

If life is made simpler by a simple act of remembering faces, numbers, names and places, then thinking is made redundant.

Thinking, also takes some time. This requirement is done away with the advent of remembering. But be assured thinking has its own advantages in certain contexts. But, mostly we need to think twice for decisions, think spontaneously for emotions and need not think at all in most other situations. This saves time, if you are a thinker. You can think about more pressing matters of the universe, rather than ponder over where you left that 1 rupee coin.

Read more from this series here :-

• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 1 : Do not think ! - After learning some basic notes on the staves I was told to know it by heart. I had to memorize it, and then tell when I see a note. I used to count, say memorizing only the first not in space , the “F” on Treble clef. From there on I would count and then …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 2 : Don’t work hard - The power of doing work is a single most important criteria that distinguishes a human as a social animal compared to others. The collective and individual efforts towards a work makes one understand the minute and the big picture at the same time. All work is not easy. It is also possible that some workaholics …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 3 : Emphasize on Quality of Practice - I read “ Debunking the 10,000 hours rule “  after my previous lesson learned. My previous lesson learned said about not working hard. The working hard part is broken into small steps taken one at a time to overcome the hardness of the work. This works for people who are ready to be steady and …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 4 : Don’t tap your foot out loud. Focus on what you play. - In violin class I have been taught to keep the rhythm of the song by tapping with the foot. The human metronome works parallel to the song being played. Often we  have to shift attention from the song and listen to see if the rhythm and beat is correct per bar. This shift in attention …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 5 : Practice till perfection - Practice, practice, practice. Quantity and Quality all matters. Playing any musical instrument is all about practice. It is all the more true for the violin. As a student I have to practice. I know I can. I know I will. But how much ? Till my hands ache ? Till I feel it is enough …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 6: Health conscious practicing - If there is one thing in life,that is more dearer than the life itself, it is health. Life without good health is a misery. And life is maintained through good health. Longevity of life, if one wishes it, is not very pleasant without an accompanying good health. A good marriage between health and life makes …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 7: Start slowly grasp quickly - The v.v. age old saying goes an umpteenth time to say ” Slow and Steady wins the race” . This is because it is true. But the beauty of the truth lies in experiencing it in action. As with violin or any musical instrument, the beginning is really very slow. It is expected to be …
• Life Lessons from violin class : Lesson 8 : Don’t watch your fingers - As a beginner violinist, it is obvious that we are curious how the sounds differs just by moving fingers over strings tightened over a piece of wood. This curiosity jumps to next level when we become conscious of where we place fingers. This graduates to being cautious as to why we place fingers a certain …