"Miserere mei, Deus..."

It really has been awhile. Haven't updated for sssooo long man. I made a few, I must say, BOLD resolutions for 2012. One of which I'm still constantly struggling with of course, is to get into the habit of praying more, and not just praying for myself, but for others especially.

I fired my viola teacher today. I've had enough of her antics and am seriously sick and tired of her last minute cancellations on me. No more "my husband complains that he wants to rest, I need to meet my maid agent, I need to meet my bro-in-law, I have a big headache, my husband wants to spend time with me, and my kids are sick" episodes.

He is Richard Yongjae O'neill, a Korean-American violist. I really enjoy listening to him playing the viola, his tone, expression, interpretation and technical skills is exceptional. He is also very musical and inspirational.

When I first decided that I am going to invest time and money to pick up an instrument, I had initially thought of the violin. The dream instrument is of course the piano, but it didn't make practical sense in terms of space and $$. The violin looked like a cool instrument to play, but the only problem was, I didn't quite like its sound, it was too high pitch for my liking.

Then I came across his playing in a cameo role in a Korean drama serial. I was totally owned and blown away by that beautiful tone and sound and thought, "man, that violin sounds special." I know! Such disrespect for viola!

Well of course, I googled and did some CSI-ing on him and found out not only his bio of course; that there is such an instrument as the viola and that was what I had heard him play! I knew then the viola is what I wanted to learn (well not just because of him but more because of its beautiful sound).

Anyways, he has recorded 5 albums to date and I have bought them all. I don't understand why they are not available in local stores tho, I had to order all 5 of them online.



This is his 5th album, it is titled "NORE" which basically means "Sad songs". I ordered in online the very date it was released and just got it in the mail yesterday! Am so enjoying it! :D

Click on the video to hear him play!

It's my viola's birthday, I've had her for a year now, and yes, it means I have been playing the viola for a year now! Been a violist for a year! It's my first year anniversary as a violist! Man, it feels dang good to be called a violist! :D

I love my viola!

I am in a very happy mood today, so I'm doing something extraordinarily rare - which is, to update, and during office hours too :D

Anyways.

For the past few days after my first viola lesson, I've have been struggling with how to hold the bow correctly. I've watched like countless of video tutorials on youtube and even seen thousands of pictures on correct bow hold, and yet, still could not get it right.

I was seriously, very frustrated and was very depressed and discouraged. I mean, if I could not even learn how to hold the bow correctly which is of course the first step, then how am I ever going to be able to progress to different and more difficult bow techniques?

BUT!

Last night I think I'm beginning to be able to appreciate and understand the so called correct bow hold. While it ain't exactly perfect, at least it did not hurt my fingers when I try to use the whole bow. Teeheehee.

I'm obviously quite glad with myself. Anyways, back to work.

Laters.

For the umpteen time I'm starting yet another blog entry with a "it's been so long since I last updated" sentence. I've decided to blog today because of one lame, bimbotic reason: I am doing so much for my company's blog while my own blog is collecting dust.

Right anyways. I am excited! (few things in life get me really excited by the way) I have finally decided to take up music lessons! I know this decision came sorta late (very late in fact, to the extent of ultimate retardation), especially since people usually start at the age before they even attend elementary school.




You know how its like when the older you are, the greater the fear when it comes to learning new stuff. So yeah, I was really afraid when I started my first music lesson, about 3 months ago though it was only theory. I must say that each time I finish a lesson, I feel frustrated with myself and obviously cannot help feeling that I was erm... stupid.



3 months on now, things are much better I must say. A colleague was telling me that I was probably giving myself too much pressure for learning to even be enjoyable. Perhaps she's right. Anyways, my teacher told me during the last lesson that I can advance to grade 2, so I'm quite glad with myself heehee.

So, after a good few months of procrastination/denial/delusion/contemplating cycle, I am finally going to start my viola lessons like tomorrow, and I'm so looking forward to it.




I got my first musical instrument of my life! (if you exclude the primary school staple the recorder of course) I got my 15" viola from Synwin as recommended by my teacher and it cost me $600 with an adjustable tailpiece and shoulder rest.

While I cannot yet play it, I must say I love its sound! (I can't understand why so many violin players say nasty stuff about the viola actually)

Anyways, here it is: My new baby!!



Yes. It's huge, and it's heavy. I got a bruised collar and jawbone trying to hold that under my chin cos of its weight and size, (I can't help feeling like a clumsy bimbo) but I'm probably holding it the wrong way. Anyways. Laters.