A hundred days on

On 1 January, I committed to the #100daysofpractice challenge – so what happened next?

The crazy climbs of Dounis

I bet you’re all eager to know whether I completed my #100daysofpractice challenge, begun somewhat impulsively on 1 January (see below for my original post). Well yes, I did. Hurrah.

This is the second time I’ve done it (see my BBC article about the first) and I confess this time I felt a little less energised about the whole thing. Nevertheless, I was consistent – mainly practising scales and studies, learning orchestra parts and occasionally fiddling with Bach or showpieces. There were occasional evenings when I got home late and ended up miming Kreutzer studies without a bow, and several points where I stopped prematurely because I felt guilty about disturbing my neighbours with squeaky 8th-position Basics exercises. However, I picked it up every single day, with open ears and intentional thoughts.

I don’t have many new blinding insights beyond the bleedingly obvious, that if you do something every day, you get better. I certainly sound sweeter, play more in tune and feel more secure when playing in orchestra and chamber music. And my violin sounds very happy with the attention. Maybe it was unambitious of me not to work towards performing a specific piece, but I actually enjoy the clarity and calm of studies – my new favourite being Schradiek.

Perhaps the most salutary lesson has been today. Having allowed myself a few days off as a reward, picking up my violin again, I could feel my fingers being a little sluggish. So it’s really true – if you don’t use it, you lose it, and that happens very quickly indeed. I suppose I’d better get back to Schradiek and Dounis…

So, did you do it? What was your experience?