Due to my vacation days and my teacher's scheduled time off, I won't have any more cello lessons until mid-September. I've had a particularly helpful series of lessons lately, working out small, but important details on various pieces, that I am sad we won't have any more for a few weeks.
I have lots of music to work on, that Scottish fiddle camp in August, and helpful friends in the early music group and the fiddle group, so I won't be entirely bereft of guidance, but I will miss those lessons!
Showing posts with label lesson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lesson. Show all posts
Monday, July 30, 2007
Sunday, May 6, 2007
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!
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!
Thursday, March 8, 2007
My Lesson
My lesson was Monday, but it has been a busy week. My lessons are always good. Not necessarily because I have practiced effectively, but because my teacher always finds some bit of progress I have made and celebrates it.
I hadn't practiced for about three weeks, except for the imagined bowing I did when I was in Cincinnati, without either sheet music or CD. I had the piece sort of memorized, in that I knew the bowing, but couldn't automatically bow correctly, in three different areas of the piece where the bowing is just slightly different. So, I worked, with my imaginary cello, on making those bowings more automatic. Briefly, though, because it hurt my head.
So, the bottom line is that the imagined bowing exercise did actually help reinforce the proper bowing, and the bowing was cause for celebration this time. I will try to continue with the mental practicing, in hopes of being able to do it without the brain stress.
I hadn't practiced for about three weeks, except for the imagined bowing I did when I was in Cincinnati, without either sheet music or CD. I had the piece sort of memorized, in that I knew the bowing, but couldn't automatically bow correctly, in three different areas of the piece where the bowing is just slightly different. So, I worked, with my imaginary cello, on making those bowings more automatic. Briefly, though, because it hurt my head.
So, the bottom line is that the imagined bowing exercise did actually help reinforce the proper bowing, and the bowing was cause for celebration this time. I will try to continue with the mental practicing, in hopes of being able to do it without the brain stress.
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