Fiddling goals update

We had a fiddle performance yesterday, which made me think about the two-month Fiddling Goals I set for myself on April 9. It's been four months, and I haven't done very well, though camp was very helpful. Here's an update:


So, my cello fiddling goals for the next 2 months:

• Go to at least 2 fiddle sessions a month (I have been attending only one).
• I have achieved this goal. We have had lots of performances this summer, and I go to most of them. But I still miss more practice sessions than I attend.
  

• Practice fiddle tunes as part of regular practice (not just the day before fiddle session).
• I have not been good about this, except when I get immersed in a particular tune. I have learned a few more tunes on the cello, but they are not always hesitation-free, or fast enough.
  

• Practice reading from treble clef and transposing an octave down mentally, to avoid having to transpose tunes on paper, just to memorize them.
  
• I have been able to do this to some degree, but it is still easier to read bass clef, unless it is a slow tune. I still like to write the music into Coda Finale in bass clef and put it in my loose-leaf notebook of cello fiddling tunes.
  

• Study the cello fiddle accompaniment books that I have (the best one, I think, is by Renata Bratt).
• I have not done much with this, except for an hour or so at fiddle camp. The information makes much more sense after camp.
  

• Learn a few more tunes in Abby Newton's book, Crossing to Scotland, even if they are not in the fiddlers' current repertoire. I love this book, and the group is usually happy to learn new tunes.
• This I have done. though they are not totally memorized. I do want to continue with this.

It is interesting that I didn't include learning by ear in this list, or learning to play accompaniment by ear, both of which were priorities for me at fiddle camp. Thanks to camp, I have made some progress with these two things.

So, I should add a couple of goals:

• Work more on learning by ear, from other players, from CDs, and from working out known tunes by myself.
• Work out and memorize accompaniments for some of our standard tunes so that I am not always guessing what the next chord is. I think this will make improvisation easier, eventually.
  
• Practice fiddle tunes on a regular basis, perhaps according to a schedule.

I should mention that lessons, the early music group, and flute choir tend to take precedence over fiddling, even though I do not write about them as much as I write about fiddling. It is not that I am not practicing, just that my overcommitment to music ensembles tends to make finding time to practice anything difficult. There is a solution here (focusing, so very nice at camp), but I am not willing to give up any of the groups right now. (I've already dropped three groups this year!)

Playing the cello

If I had known how hard it is to learn to play the cello well, I would never have had the courage to begin. Fortunately, I didn't investigate the issue too thoroughly, and decided to jump right in.

After 7+ years of playing, I am now finishing up Suzuki book 3. I've been in book 3 for over 4 years. Kind of hard to believe, as I know there are many people in their 3rd year of study who are in book 4, 5, or 6. I take lessons with an excellent teacher who follows the Suzuki method closely. I memorize all the pieces, every fingering, every bowing; I have a book recital at the end of each book, in which I play all the pieces with a pianist, from memory. I was having a lot of trouble holding all of book 3 in my head at the same time, so, in December I had a "Half-Book 3" recital, and in a couple of months, I will have another recital for the second half of Book 3. I play with numerous other people in small ensembles and involve them in the recitals. My first book 3 recital included five Suzuki pieces and about a dozen ensemble pieces with others singing and playing cello, flute, violin, fiddle, banjo, piano, harpsichord, Irish drum, and guitar. I do enjoy this part of my recitals, but it does, of course, increase the preparation time.

So, while I am proceeding incredibly slowly through the Suzuki system, I work hard at polishing it, and I play a lot of other music. But I often feel I should be better than I am, for playing seven years. I used to practice 2 hours a day, but for a long time have had difficulty finding enough time to practice (in part because I have rehearsals four nights a week, sometimes more, so it is not that I am not playing at all). I love playing, I love the ensembles, but I know there is no substitute for regular, organized, disciplined practicing. (I also play other instruments, work more than full-time, have a family, and all the usual time-consuming obligations.)

I am hoping that writing this blog will encourage me to practice more (though it may just encourage me to write more).

I enjoy playing classical music, early music, fiddle and folk music, and want to try more improvisation. Maybe even jazz. My goals at the moment:

1. Always, to improve intonation
2. To feel more comfortable in the upper positions and tenor clef
3. To work on fiddle accompaniment and improvisation techniques
4. Generally, to feel more fluid and lyrical, more expressive and confident, to play the way the woman in the red dress looks.

Once, at a symphony concert, the cellist soloist came out on stage, looking gorgeous in her red dress. My young daughter turned to me and said, seriously, "Someday, mom, that will be you." Perhaps not, but it is good to have something to aim for.