Played a lively and vibrant piece—Vivaldi’s autumn for my Grade 8 violin examination. It overflows with the joy of harvest season. Its lively rhythms and vibrant violin melodies bring to life scenes of dancing, laughter, and celebration. It features conventional melodies from the baroque period, light and bouncy.

Packed with frequent running notes, this piece really challenged me to play those sections cleanly. This helped me practise my articulation, bow control and dynamic range.

In the slower, dream-like section in the middle, I had to change the way I used the bow and my vibrato to create a softer, sleepier mood.

One of the fun parts about this piece was imagining the scenes while I played. I could almost picture people dancing in a field or dozing off under a tree.