Practice....practice....practice

So....really need a post to put up for today...thought I'd explain my practice regime.
It goes something like this:
1. Step/Shuffle exercise
2. Hop/Spring exercise
3. Sit on chair with feet on board - walk through first/first progression/second/third schottiche (easy when siting down. lol!).
4. Stand up and run through first schottiche all the way through.
5. Go back and do the bits I did wrong right but slower.
6. Have a go at other schottiches in book.
7. Anything I'm not sure on....put DVD on and watch, annotating the book with things that will remind me of how to correlate the two. e.g. with first schottiche worked out instead of pausing to turn the page over that it just repeated....(so if I just drew brackets - round first 2 paragraphs of steps and wrote x3 it was the same).

Latest vid...now with sound

So I managed to finally record Fisherman's Hornpipe with few enough mistakes that it might be dancable. Took me a while to figure out how to play the music and record the tap sound of the steps at same time.

Went with melodeon rather than fiddle version....as easier on the ear.

Springing to action...

Last night I managed to follow along with the 'slow' video and keep up. Only got the wrong foot twice. lol! (Case of wrong foot right rhythm). At least I kept going rather than crumbling to a halt.

Which was a nice milestone.

Only thing is I'm starting to doubt myself. Was reading the glossary at back of book. And started to think but that's not what I'm doing..but it looks/sounds okay to me?* Maybe I'm getting the wrong end of the stick?

*Spring R Straight tap L in place...I think I might be doing more of a hop than a spring


btw. On a side note. Managed to get dots for fisherman's hornpipe the other day...and I'm noticing a nice 'bounce' when I play it on fiddle. Maybe learning to dance does help playing music. Gotta get the hang of it on melodeon next.

Walking before I can run...

Decisions, decisions...should I keep working on first schottiche till I get it perfect, or try first schottiche (progression)?
Should I work on my, erm, balance a bit more?

Update 12/06/2011

So got the board on saturday. And today I decided to record some videos to show where I'm up to.
Firstly the shuffle step exercise Brenda mentioned.

then the 'break' on its own

then me trying to do first scottiche all the way through

comments and advice welcome...

Stepping on concrete

So I had a sneaky quick go at trying the steps on the concrete while the weather was good and no one was watching.
Didn't slip over!
Getting further...although still adjusting to being on toes all the time (I don't wear heels...but can walk on stilts).

Only thing is the concrete has left the bottom of the clogs of pockmarked. Experts is this a bad thing?

All the right steps but not necessarily in the right order...

To misquote Morcombe and Wise. ;)
Well at the moment I'm saying the steps out loud as I do them slowly. In hope of memorising them. (Can't read the book at watch the screen at same time. lol!)
Remembering what foot I started on by the time I get to the end, so I know which foot to start on next is the problem at the moment.

Going to practice on the tiled floor in the kitchen at work at lunch...while I wait for the microwave to cook my food. lol!

Left, shuffle right, hop....erm....what was that again?

Why is it whenever I hear music I suddenly forget which is right and which is left?
The Book/DVD arrived yesterday...had a quick speed read of the book, watched all the DVD.
Then tried to go slowly but for some reason hoping in slow motion doesn't work...especially when I haven't got a board only got carpet. Ended up sitting on the floor a few times. lol!
My solution hang on to the radiator to keep upright. ;)
I think I've got the hang of the first scottiche (shouting left, right! to myself)....well except the 'break'....now if only I could do it in time to the music.
I never realised how tiring it would be...maybe I'm just unfit? Actually no maybe about it I am unfit.
I expected it to be more like those dance mat games
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_pad
But its actually not that easy. lol!