Okay, we started out calibrating things by seeing how far you’ve already come. Then put some visions and plans out there about where you’re headed. (I love how everyone’s answers are different, with some subtle overlap here and there. You are a one of a kind player!) One last question: What challenges (if any) are you experiencing now or could see coming up this year?

Okay yesterday we did a little look back at 2025. Y’all crushed it! Now imagine yourself holding your violin, and it’s August of 2026. What’s the dream of how that could be in an ideal violin year? Is there a piece you want to play or an audience you want to play for? Or a new technique you’d like to work more by then? (Cough- vibrato- cough…)

I need your help planning activities for this year! I’m going to make 3 posts with 3 separate Qs for you guys. Let’s face it- there’s always some new mountain to climb on violin. That’s the beauty of it! (And can also be frustrating at times. 😅) So first I’d love to hear a little about what you overcame in 2025. Did you try anything new or meet any milestones large or small? If you’d like to do this exercise and give yourself some credit, please list those out and send over to me as a comment on this post.

What did you do to ring in 2026? For me, it was watching the Stranger Things finale and in bed by 10:15p. Slept right through the fireworks no issue! I also lived vicariously through my student who sent pictures of her and her husband at the Goo Goo Dolls concert in Atlantic City NYE. Do you stay up to midnight or are you a sleep enthusiast like me?

Congrats @Graham Acres and @Michael Miller for getting something up on the tune share thread! If you wanna check out the videos, Mike posted his as a comment reply to my post, and Graham’s is its own post in the ‘🌲❤️‍🔥 Hot Holiday Tunes’ category thread. Either way works! Also, it doesn’t have to be a holiday tune, for the record. It can be anything, and it’s just cool that it will be here for you to look back next year and see how far you’ve come. As a side note, I do love Christmas music as a tool for violin learning. We’ve heard the tunes so many times, like it or not they are seared into our brains which is a short cut for working intonation and rhythm. And/or with New Years coming…. Auld Lang Syne anyone?!? Always love to hear you play, Jenny