Sunday, February 18, 2007

Cello-less practicing

I finally arrived in Cincinnati, a 32-hour trip. Both planes were late. All three airports were jam-packed with people. In Providence, I was told that the airport usually handled 5-6,000 people a day; that day there were over 9,000. In Philadelphia and Cincinnati, it seemed to me there were 9,000 people in each hallway. People, whole families, were sitting in the floor, camped out eating their lunches, working on their laptops in makeshift offices, making friends, sharing tales of missed connections and long delays. I expected to see chickens hopping in and around the suitcases.

But, I am here. The doctors are still trying to figure out the problem, but it looks like my mother is improving. It is good to be with my sister and her family.

I did bring my flute, so, I am not without music, but I do miss the cello. I am mentally practicing my working piece in my head, trying to remember all the bowings, though not for more than a few minutes at a time, as it stresses my poor brain. It would be nice to have a travel cello.

2 comments:

cellodonna said...

Glad to hear your Mom's improving and that you're enjoying time with your sister's family. That makes the trip worthwhile even though practice has to be placed on hold for a a while.

The next time that you have to be away from your cello you might want to consider taking along some recordings of the music as well as the printed music so that you can listen and follow along in the score. Fortunately our conductor has sent us sound files of several of the pieces we're working on. In fact, he just sent everyone an email this morning urging us to listen carefully to the recordings, especially since rehearsal is cancelled this coming week. He reminded us to listen for tempo, dynamics, rhythms and certain patterns that happen in the music. There really is a lot that can be accomplished away from the cello, like bowings, fingerings, and positions, but of course nothing can take the place of hugging your cello!

Maricello said...

Hi Donna,

Great ideas! Actually I do have CDs of the music I am working on with me (no sheet music, but they are memorized, for the most part). My sister, a professional pianist, assures me that mental practicing is very effective. She does a lot of it herself. Still,it would be nice to actually hear my cello.