3…2…1 and it’s March 1st, the day I kick off my 31-Day Practice Challenge. Today marks the beginning of a new journey towards honing my musical skills, and I can’t wait to see how I improve.
As I sit down to start, I realize I haven’t nailed down a detailed practice schedule for the entire month just yet. But that’s okay; for the next few days, my focus will be on fine-tuning my intonation, perfecting my timing, and learning keys.
I pulled out some of my practice books I’ve collected over the years. They hold a wealth of knowledge and guidance that I’ll be delving into during this challenge. Additionally, I’ve enrolled in some online classes to supplement my learning and keep me inspired along the way. Here are two online schools that I have used in the past (one I’m using now) that I recommend:
- FiddleVideo – Irish fiddlers Kevin Burke and Niall Murphy (among other teachers and genres), teach a variety of different tunes and tune types. They give you 3 videos for each tune; a performance video, a tune learning video and a video for ornamentation. They also give you the written music and sometimes backing tracks to practice with.
- Artistworks – Fiddlers Darol Anger and Brittany Haas teach online classes from beginner to expert where you can send in videos of yourself playing for feedback from your teacher. You can learn anything from how to hold your bow, tune your instrument to more advanced things such as improvising, double-stops, and backing up singers. (I’m currently enrolled in a 3-month course with Brittany). There are a other instructors teaching various other instruments including guitar, banjo, ukulele, mandolin, etc.
Though today officially starts my 31-Day Challenge, tomorrow brings an exciting opportunity to kick it into gear. My band and I are playing at a community ceili part of the Burlington Irish Heritage Festival. It’s a chance to showcase what I already know and share my love for music with others.
As I embark on this journey, I’m filled with determination. Each day presents an opportunity for growth and improvement, and I’m ready to embrace it wholeheartedly. Here’s to a month of dedicated practice and musical exploration!
Happy practicing!
Session Obsession 