Learning the Violin as an Adult

It is now approximately a year and six months that I am learning to play the violin.

I started the violin because my friend and now tutor shared with me her philosophy of teaching children to learn this musical instrument. I was taken by what she shared with me. It resonated because I was experiencing difficult life events at the time, learning the violin appeared to be a potential solution to my problems.

She told me that she teaches the violin through the Suzuki method. Her main role as a teacher and mentor is to help her pupils to deal with and express difficult emotions through music. Learning the violin is hard and going through life is not always easy. Hence, being mentored and equipped with the skills to deal with those difficult emotions are an asset which is not only useful in playing music but also in dealing with difficult life events.

When I started to learn the violin, I was in a dark place. My father had just been diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia and I could not find a way to deal with the way I feel. She helped me in many ways in being present in the moment, in focusing my mind, in recognising where in my body I was feeling tension and pain, in focusing on the details to keep going when the overall picture was boring, to accept imperfection and appreciate the little and small achievements.

The road is long til I become ready for full concerto but I must say I revealed to be quite a good player.

Ultimately, learning to interact with an object such as the violin or one direct environment demand full attention. I was distracted by emotions that were not helpful in moving towards my goals. By learning the violin, I became aware of how much distracted I was. I became aware that I was getting distracted because I did not want to deal with difficult emotions in my being. I learnt to reduce distractions and deal with them. I gave my experiences new meanings which ultimately transformed me. I am now present for the better.

Push the Just Music shop door in Loughborough

Loughborough musicians, violonist and guitarist to be!

This is a call out.

Push the door of Just Music shop in Loughborough.

Their owner needs your help.

It is a thought. It is a cry out.

The shop is overflowing with stuff.

I just think that it is because the owner secretly wants to connect with people and unconsciously think that purchasing more things, eventually someone in need will appear.

It is unfortunately not the case and the place is becoming hazardous.

So, appear. 

Pop by to say hello. 

Promote his shop. 

Promote music. 

Together let's make Loughborough sing!

Bored and at peace

The situation is as follow
You have an appointment at 8.15pm every tuesday. To be on time, you have to leave work at 6.15. You are 45min early every single time
What do you do.
A) window shopping
B) write and plan
C) call
D) meditate
E) do nothing....
Why do you have to feel every single minite of your time. Learn to be bored and at peace

Paying attention to details to fight boredom and increase productivity

Packing my violin notebook in my bag, a student came in ready to have half an hour session of violin tutorial, tutor and student started to discuss how last week practice went.

the tutor asked:  'how is the practice going?,

the student answered: 'it is ok but it was becoming boring'.

The tutor responded 'this is interesting, it will be worth contemplating this feeling and pay more attention to details to move through it'.

It resonated.

I started to think about all the tasks that I find boring and wonder if there were some details I could put attention to keep the momentum and thirst for learning more.

What started like a small thoughts became a Ahaha moment. The following day became highlgy productive. I gamified details, obtained new insights and time flew.

Could it help you too?

Press the publish button

Did you have many thoughts going through your head today and yet no idea what you could possibly write. You had the thought to possibly draft something and publish tomorrow. NO,
there is always something worth sharing.

This is what in my dry-spell, I came up with:

[ - Living in Leicester? , learn the violin with Suzuki Violin instructor Zina Zelter, my main Footpaths partner in reducing carbon footprint. - Mindfulness in the making. ]

[ - Transition Leicester is still alive - Ask me, I'll tell you ]

[- OnlyWorn and Leicester Fixers discussing T-shirts, do you want to know more? ]

[ - There will be some sewing repair at the next restart party in Leicester - 6th May - check facebook page]

[ I dreamt of being a business/academic/fashion/laissez faire/actress - somewhere in my heart, there is a thirst to be on the stage somewhere in Broadway]