Sunday night cello thoughts

Sunday night is the night I usually remember that I have a cello lesson on Monday morning that I am in no way ready for. But, I have long ago realized that canceling due to lack of adequate practicing is not a good idea, and tends to lead to yet another week of less than brilliant practicing.

This week, I am actually fairly well-prepared, having recorded myself over and over again (comparing five different bows, three on trial, one loaner, and mine), and listened to, and tried to learn from, the recordings, working on intonation and expression. Either I am getting slightly better, or I have gotten used to how I sound in the recordings.

In any case, memory is coming along, thanks to multiple practices with the five different bows, and use of various analytic techniques. I haven't gotten out the colored highlighters yet, but I intend to. I have a zillion of them that I use in my work. I normally avoid highlighting music (it gets too raucous for me to look at), but for memory work, it makes sense.

I've been working on the fiddle music, too. Friday night, in fiddle session, I watched the bass player and copied some of his rhythms for the pieces on which I play accompaniment. I couldn't hear him from across the room-full of musicians, but I was glad to see that there was some similarity in our approach. The bluegrass festival is a little over a month away, just 4 more sessions before the big event (plus a pre-concert thank-you barbecue/jam session next Saturday for all the bands, which I am shyly attending, wondering if there will be another cellist). I have ordered a lightweight folding camp stool for the performance. I am not going to try to stand up and play this time!

Cello bow trial thoughts

I tried out cello bows today. I was a little worried about not being able to tell the difference between the various bows. After all, I have worked part-time at the shop for several years, and I have tried many bows without really feeling the differences between them. I felt it was silly to spend money on an expensive bow if I didn't play well enough to really appreciate them. I continued to play my $150 eBay bow.

Today, my cello teacher (also store manager, so this was kind of a unique sort of cello bow trial) selected several bows for me, more expensive than the shop bows I usually experiment with. I began to feel the differences in balance, weight, sound quality from behind and in front of the cello, and articulation. She gave me a very expensive bow to try, and I suddenly felt the bow as an extension of my arm, with control over the full length of the bow. Great bow! I am not going to buy that one, but it gave me a better understanding of what to look for in the less expensive bows.

Great fun, this trying out instruments and bows! I do believe my cello playing has already improved.