An Orchestral Dream

For some reason last night I dreamed I was back in my high school orchestra... only everyone in the entire school was part of the orchestra and our project was that each group had to choose songs to work on in a given amount of time to practice and perform in front of each other. (I guess it was kind of like Glee) A large number of people in my group were from the South, but for some reason I was the one pushing to work on this sort of Western (like Cowboy) themed songs while other groups were going for Holst's the planets etc. Mr. Borg, our teacher, was excitedly explaining the joys and meaning of this song or another.

Anyway I decided when I woke up that I would start playing violin again everyday, just like I put aside time for Kung Fu, and for writing this blog. Much like Kung Fu and writing I decided I would focus on just doing it as an exercise. No particular song. I warmed up with a scale and then bascally, like my Kung Fu, played sequences of notes strung together in free form. Some of them were from this song or that song. Some were of this style (classical) or that style (folk, Chinese, American, or some sort of Russian sound.) But I didn't reach for a song until the end and then only simple Irish folk songs and then even then if I made a "mistake" instead of trying to find the right note to the song I simply changed the song to fit where my fingers were.
I tried doing shifting and chords and various types of bowing to switch it up... but of course I stay within rudimentary skills because that is simply what my level is as well as what I am used to doing. In other words, my free form was very predictable and not as intense as say, sight reading a difficult piece.

This practice reminded me of the last time I read music. (I actually learned to read music "incorrectly" in that when I see the written note my mind does not think "A" or " B" but thinks of the finger to the string or an open string. I cheated and it was difficult to unlearn my cheating way which made it difficult for me to sight read complicated pieces involving shifting later on. Part of this was due to the fact that I mostly played by ear.)

The last time I sight read was one spring while I was living at a Kung Fu school and going for a run on Boston Common. Just for context, I was sweaty, dirty, and probably scary looking. I came across a group of college students who were from the conservatory picnicking and playing their music together. I stopped and watched them. I probably stared very hard at them too. Anyway I attracted one of the girls attention who said hi from a difference.
"Do you play?" she called out from a difference.
"Only a little bit. Not like you guys."
"Do you want to play?"
And she let me play her violin! By the first drag of the bow across the string the sound that came out was so unfamiliarly rich that I knew the instrument must be worth a great deal of money to say the least.
"Oh" one of the other students said suddenly having looked up and surprised to see I had joined there group.
"Do You read music?" said a male guitarist.
"Yes but not well."
"That's okay."
And music was brought out. A simple piece. I don't remember it.
"Real slow guys okay." said the guitarist to the rest of the group. I thanked him inwardly as I stumbled through. But I did it. A goodbye and smiles and I ran off back to Chinatown, giddy with excitement.
That must have been more than ten years ago.