Week Five of 2007 on the doublebass

Now it seems like I have developed the habit of updating my progress on the double bass here. Read on if you wish to.

It looks like I have managed to reach my target set, i.e. practise four times a week, for at least 15 minutes on each occasion.

28 Jan 2007, Sun: I spent about close to an hour practising all the four movements of the Marcello's Sonata in G major. I practised the first and third movement with a metronome. For the second and fourth movement, I practised certain sections at a slow tempo just to work on getting the intonation and articulation right. It was a satisfying practice session despite the fact that my body felt pretty tired from the day.

31 Jan 2007, Wed: Orchestra rehearsal was from 7 - 9.30 p.m. Prior to the rehearsal, I stole some time to practise the 4th movement of Marcello's Sonata in G major.

For the rehearsal, we practised Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter Festival Overture and Sibelius' Second Symphony. I am beginning to like Sibelius' music.

After the rehearsal, I stole yet some more time to practise the 3rd movement of Marcello's Sonata in G major. It was very much easier playing the 3rd movement on my boyfriend (the double bass that I use in the orchestra) than my husband (my personal double bass). I wonder if it was due to the instrument itself, or the fact that I have had practised the 3rd movement for quite a couple of time.

If it was solely the instrument, I should start dreaming that someone would love my playing so much, and would offer to be my sponsor for a $40000 double bass. My boyfriend doesn't cost so much, but I know that there is an Italian handcrafted double bass standing in one of the music shops at this price-range.

1 Feb 2007, Thu: I had double bass lesson that evening, and I hope playing on the double bass during the lesson would be considered a form of practice? Anyway, I deemed that to be such. I practised Keyper's Romance and Rondo. By the end of the one-hour lesson, my tutor commented that my rendition of the Romance section sounded better than when I had first started out.

3 Feb 2007, Sat: I was not in the mood to do have a too intensive practice session for today. As such, I decided to practise a work that is not part of the DipABRSM syllabus. I worked on Pachelbel's Canon in D major, scored for a double bass quartet, arranged by David Heyes so as to figure out suitable fingerings for several of the challenging sections. 35 minutes on the double bass today.

With workload piling and other commitments demanding my time, I shall keep my fingers crossed here that I find enough time to practise on the following week.