2023-06-10: malachite's jig

a couple summers ago my teacher suggested i try some fiddle music, something different. she gave me a piece annotated with shifting and marks for vibrato, carefully including all the things she wanted me to work on.

it didn't take. i practiced a bit, but it wasn't fun. just another vehicle for the endless work on technique. there were too many things to think about it. it was an exercise.

today i picked up some fiddle music to work on over the summer, a pdf of a couple dozen pieces put together by someone over in the uk. something i wanted to do, this time. pencil away. no working on new technique. just something to learn with what i can do now.

and you know what? it's great. today i played through south wind and out on the ocean, and i'm loving it. no intention to do anything with this, to ever play out. like a lot of what i do, this is just for my interest. but it feels good to really fall in love with something. pick a piece. rosin the bow, raise the fiddle, and play.

next week: swallowtail jig, morrison's jig.

a good reminder for myself: not everything has to be a step towards some larger goal. some things can just be for fun.

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