Whilst studying at Trinity College of Music and afterwards at the Royal College of Music, I was able to play all of the Arban studies with consistancy, except for the 1st study, with which I felt challenged. It had some areas of low playing that I couldn't be sure of playing well every time. It wasn't the most pretty of the group of studies and so with that excuse, I let it go as if it didn't really matter.
From January 2021 I challenged my low range to open up with a new type of warm up. It became 100% consistent and so I decided to record the piece the following April. (See videos.)
I also challenged myself to learn how to diminuendo to absolutely nothing and therefore use it as a tool to play melancholic music more expressively. I chose to work on 'Wenn wir in hoechsten noeten sein' as a tool to explore these dynamics and then record the music. (See videos.)
My challenge was....
to allow my facial muscles to slowly 'let go' and to allow my ego to not return to the 'old ways' and allow the new sensation to continue to flourish.
In the build up to the recording- to be able to play the music (well enough to be proud of) a month before I needed to record it.
Also, with 1 week to go before the recording, I challenged myself to be strategic with my preparation time (listening to the accompaniment and just singing the part through in my head, aiming to be as fast (or slow) or expressive as I possibly could be. Having the mental strength to not play my instrument very much during the week.
I challenged myself to grow mental strength, by thinking through the recording day.
I found positive mantras and ways to look forward to the big (recording) day.
