Things are going well with my cello playing, even though I haven't been able to practice as much as I would like. I ordered a practice mute so that I can practice when the mood strikes late at night without bugging the neighbors or driving my husband to extreme acts.
In related news, my teacher loves my cello. She's petite and has tiny hands like me, and she mentioned that if she got a cello she'd need it to be a 7/8 size like mine. I didn't think about it when she said it, but it dawned on me today that she might like to try mine out for size and see how it felt, so she did and kept remarking on what a lovely cello it is :) Lucy is very proud of herself, I think she might be developing a complex about it, LoL. There's also a guy in my class who plays cello and has for a long time, but he's now learning the violin, and he keeps telling me what a nice sound she makes and how beautiful she is, so yay! I am always proud to take her out amongst string people, LoL. I cannot rave enough about Scott Cao cellos and about the expertise and service I got from Ellen at Cellos2Go! Whether you've just started or have been playing for decades, she is a wonderful person to buy a cello from, you will get exactly what you want!
My callouses continue to build up, and my bowing is improving too. I'm learning that making a good sound is not really a pressure issue. You can make good and horrid sounds by pressing harder or by bowing lightly, so there are a lot of other things that determine how it turns out. Haven't quite mastered what they are yet, but I've been experimenting a lot with it, and I figure the more I practice, the more intuitive it will become. Also discovered in class today that you don't have to push down really hard on the strings to make the note you're trying to hit, which will be immensely helpful when I'm practicing and I'm sure it's the first step to me improving my left hand performance. If you don't press down too hard, it's easier to go from note to note, and I'm sure it will make everything sound better, too.
My teacher introduced me to a cellist who is visiting the area and there is a possibility I might take a few lessons from him. I wish I could take lessons from him every week, but it's $30 per hour and I'll be doing well to afford a lesson or two here and there. She introduced me to him as a "very keen student cellist", which was nice to hear, too. I think if anything separates me from some of the other students is that I have a lot of musical experience, and I've been wanting to play the cello for ages and ages, so I think it makes me work at it harder. Not that there aren't some marvelous players in my class, it's only some that I think are only experimenting with it. One of my friends in the class is shaping up to be an incredible fiddle player, for sure.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
The Takacs Quartet, and practice continues...
Tonight, Chris and I went to see the Takacs Quartet at my school. It was really amazing! And god, do they make it look perfectly effortless. They're so animated, too, that it's almost like they're dancing, and they somehow manage to play the most delicate, soft notes. The range of sounds was really awe-inspiring, although in my present mental state it also frustrates the hell out of me when I have to work pretty hard to make a decent sound.
The cellist was amazing to watch. At times, he seemed to be dancing smoothly back and forth with his instruments, while at other times it looked like more of an attack, like he was engulfing or devouring his instrument. His bow movements seemed so light and airy always, more like he was moving the bow through just air, instead of against the string. There was no real tension to be seen at all, and least not that I could see. His left hand movements were equally as effortless, and by the tension in his arms it didn't look like he was even pressing down. The whole time, he was in motion. I honestly don't think him or the instrument stayed static for more than a second at a time.
The whole thing was like watching a dance or a conversation, and the lead violinist was particularly spritely, at times stomping his foot during particularly pointed sections of the music.
I practiced quite a bit this weekend and feel like I am making some progress, but the going is still slower than I would like it to be. It's hard, because after my first instrument (the flute), I could pick up almost any other wind instrument and learn it really quickly, but this is a whole new ballgame for me. There are so many complexities in the string instruments, from the angle and segment of the bow, to the amount of pressure, to the speed at which you move the bow, not to mention finding the right pitch with the left hand, and pressing the string down hard enoough without tensing up your entire body. Chris said I'm playing too much like a robot, which I think is true. It's hard not to tense up, and when I do, it's really hard to get the bow arm to move properly. I'm especially having trouble coordinating both hands well. It seems like they're always a little bit off from one another when I'm playing. I really need to practice each little song slowly and then gradually increase my speed when I start to get it down better, which is what I've been doing, and I think it's working.
I ordered a mute tonight, that way I can practice later at night without disturbing the whole complex. This should give me a lot more flexibility in my practice schedule, which is good, because I get home pretty late in the evening sometimes, and now I can practice anyway without worrying about disturbing people. I hope it gets here soon, I really need to practice more often if I'm going to improve at a decent rate.
I'm also starting to build up my callouses, which is a slower and more refined process on the cello than on the guitar. On the guitar, if I play too long my fingers bleed, but on the cello, my finger tips just feel a little bit tougher every day, less sensitive to anything. I guess it's because the cello strings are thicker and don't cut so well as the ones on a guitar.
The cellist was amazing to watch. At times, he seemed to be dancing smoothly back and forth with his instruments, while at other times it looked like more of an attack, like he was engulfing or devouring his instrument. His bow movements seemed so light and airy always, more like he was moving the bow through just air, instead of against the string. There was no real tension to be seen at all, and least not that I could see. His left hand movements were equally as effortless, and by the tension in his arms it didn't look like he was even pressing down. The whole time, he was in motion. I honestly don't think him or the instrument stayed static for more than a second at a time.
The whole thing was like watching a dance or a conversation, and the lead violinist was particularly spritely, at times stomping his foot during particularly pointed sections of the music.
I practiced quite a bit this weekend and feel like I am making some progress, but the going is still slower than I would like it to be. It's hard, because after my first instrument (the flute), I could pick up almost any other wind instrument and learn it really quickly, but this is a whole new ballgame for me. There are so many complexities in the string instruments, from the angle and segment of the bow, to the amount of pressure, to the speed at which you move the bow, not to mention finding the right pitch with the left hand, and pressing the string down hard enoough without tensing up your entire body. Chris said I'm playing too much like a robot, which I think is true. It's hard not to tense up, and when I do, it's really hard to get the bow arm to move properly. I'm especially having trouble coordinating both hands well. It seems like they're always a little bit off from one another when I'm playing. I really need to practice each little song slowly and then gradually increase my speed when I start to get it down better, which is what I've been doing, and I think it's working.
I ordered a mute tonight, that way I can practice later at night without disturbing the whole complex. This should give me a lot more flexibility in my practice schedule, which is good, because I get home pretty late in the evening sometimes, and now I can practice anyway without worrying about disturbing people. I hope it gets here soon, I really need to practice more often if I'm going to improve at a decent rate.
I'm also starting to build up my callouses, which is a slower and more refined process on the cello than on the guitar. On the guitar, if I play too long my fingers bleed, but on the cello, my finger tips just feel a little bit tougher every day, less sensitive to anything. I guess it's because the cello strings are thicker and don't cut so well as the ones on a guitar.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
the journey has begun!
It's been a long time since my last post because it's been a long and intense summer, but school has begun again and I am a few weeks into my cello adventure.
First, my cello. I'm no expert or anything, but I love my cello. It's capable of lovely tones, even if I don't always get them (user error, LoL). The majority of the time even I, who have been playing for a total of three weeks, can make it sound good, and I've gotten compliments on the tone. My teacher also confirmed that Cao cellos are good quality, and that the one I have is well worth what I invested in it. My bow is a Cadenza carbon fiber bow, which I got because you can't really study primates and yet be willing to purchase anything made out of rainforest wood. I've heard that they're trying to sustainably harvest pernambuco wood for bows, but I've also heard that it takes nearly 1,000 years to reach average height and can produce only a few good bows, so those are definitely conflicting stories, and I like my carbon fiber bow just fine, so I'm not too worried about it. If I start playing professionally maybe I'll do more research and reevaluate that, but this works for me right now. Besides, my teacher pointed out that carbon fiber bows are much harder to damage, which, considering my clumsiness, is definitely a good thing.
My oh my, playing the cello is an intensely physical experience! I've played a wide variety of instruments, and this is definitely the most fatiguing, but you experience the sound in a much different way as well. It requires a lot more concentration and coordination, and it's going to be a challenge to work both arms together effectively. I've been practicing a couple of times a week, which I need to up to every day, but I can tell I'm improving a little bit every time. It's not just a matter of learning the coordination, though, but the endurance as well. Proper positioning doesn't hurt, but after a while my arms and shoulders begin to get tired and I can tell that this requires a special and refined upper body strength. Especially in the little finger! I'm starting to build up my callouses, though, which is the mark of dedication right? I also got my first battle wound - a blister on my right index finger from playing pizzicato for too long, LoL.
Eventually I hope I can afford private lessons, but so far it's going well, I just need to practice more often so that I can really get the most out of my class.
First, my cello. I'm no expert or anything, but I love my cello. It's capable of lovely tones, even if I don't always get them (user error, LoL). The majority of the time even I, who have been playing for a total of three weeks, can make it sound good, and I've gotten compliments on the tone. My teacher also confirmed that Cao cellos are good quality, and that the one I have is well worth what I invested in it. My bow is a Cadenza carbon fiber bow, which I got because you can't really study primates and yet be willing to purchase anything made out of rainforest wood. I've heard that they're trying to sustainably harvest pernambuco wood for bows, but I've also heard that it takes nearly 1,000 years to reach average height and can produce only a few good bows, so those are definitely conflicting stories, and I like my carbon fiber bow just fine, so I'm not too worried about it. If I start playing professionally maybe I'll do more research and reevaluate that, but this works for me right now. Besides, my teacher pointed out that carbon fiber bows are much harder to damage, which, considering my clumsiness, is definitely a good thing.
My oh my, playing the cello is an intensely physical experience! I've played a wide variety of instruments, and this is definitely the most fatiguing, but you experience the sound in a much different way as well. It requires a lot more concentration and coordination, and it's going to be a challenge to work both arms together effectively. I've been practicing a couple of times a week, which I need to up to every day, but I can tell I'm improving a little bit every time. It's not just a matter of learning the coordination, though, but the endurance as well. Proper positioning doesn't hurt, but after a while my arms and shoulders begin to get tired and I can tell that this requires a special and refined upper body strength. Especially in the little finger! I'm starting to build up my callouses, though, which is the mark of dedication right? I also got my first battle wound - a blister on my right index finger from playing pizzicato for too long, LoL.
Eventually I hope I can afford private lessons, but so far it's going well, I just need to practice more often so that I can really get the most out of my class.
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