Last night I had a redeeming practice. The kind of practice where at the end I said to myself "maybe I won't chop this cello into small pieces after all".
I shared my struggles with my dad. His advice was to focus more on the notes and rhythm. He is also a bass player in a blues/rock band out of Denver CO. Prior to that he studied classical guitar for 15+ years. So of course his advice is going to be to focus on the rhythm.
I told my instructor during my last practice that I was getting frustrated with the tone and inability to produce solid notes on the attack (is that what we call it in the cello world? When I played trumpet the attack was the beginning of the note--try to hit it right and stay with it. Don't hunt for the right tone, hit it right away). What I heard my instructor tell me was that as I get more comfortable with the other things, like bow hold, bow speed, arm movement, those problems will diminish.
During last night's practice I didn't worry about the tone and just focused on getting the notes and rhythm. Remembering back to the last lesson, and last weeks practice, I remember being so anxious about getting the right notes to play at the right time that the rest of me tensed up (like my right hand). Then my right arm started looking like how a robot would play the cello, not smooth, round and leading into the next note as it should. But last night after an hour of getting more comfortable with the notes (and ignoring the awful tone I was making) I could then start to think about the rest of my playing. It was kind of a light-bulb moment for me. I don't know if any of this is the right way to learn or practice but it made sense to me and seems to work. I know I'm still not practicing as much as I want to but I'm doing the best as I can being a working adult. After fighting through each exercise last night I forced myself to go through them all again once and it was much easier to then think about things like bow grip, arm movement, etc, now that I had committed the notes to muscle memory.
I met another programmer at church this past Sunday who is also an adult beginner cello player. He taught himself over the last 1 1/2. When I asked him why he picked the cello he said because it's highly technical, difficult and he needs a challenge in his life (like marriage and a kid aren't challenging enough?). Which is funny because those are basically the same reasons why I started on the cello. I wanted something to focus my extra time and energy on. Something productive and sometime in the very distant future play with other musicians.
Hopefully I'll get a chance to practice tonight but my wife is already starting a list of things for me to do tonight so not sure how much time I'll have. Next lesson is on Thursday. Looking forward to practicing still!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Week 4
Into my fourth week as an adult beginner cello student. My instructor, Tim Anderson, is very encouraging. He says Im one of the better students that he's had. Tomorrow is my fourth lesson.
So far I can play D, G, and C major, scales. This week my exercises have focused on crossing the strings. I think it means to play multiple notes in the same bow movement. He also assigned me a simple song called "In the Garden". It says in my lesson book this is a Japanese folk song. So the notes used intentionally sound dissonant, which makes it harder for me. In addition to dynamics, the song includes slurred eight notes across strings. I was pretty discouraged when I started practicing for this week last Thursday. But I did get 30 mins of practice in yesterday and feel better about it.
Other things I am supposed to be working on is posture, raising my left arm for the lower strings, and keeping my right hand relaxed. Something Ive noticed is that on the occasion I am doing these things the tone sounds like a cello, instead of a loose fan belt that it usually does.
Something else, learning the cello for me right now is more than learning a new skill. Im going through some pretty difficult things in my personal life. Learning and making music is therapeutic. Having a productive hobby and something that enriches my life helps me in the other areas of my life which are unmanageable right now.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Second Lesson
It's been a busy week and I haven't had time to write an update. Monday night was my second lesson. My instructor is very encouraging saying I was progressing great and saying "I wish all my students learned as fast as you do". Which is funny because I don't think I'm progressing fast enough.
We covered more of the basics like bow movement. He said imagine a fairly small tube that you have to keep your bow in as you play. I think what he was saying was that I was moving it around too much and not keeping it under control. He also had me work on using less of my upper right arm and more of my lower by opening at the elbow instead of moving the whole arm. I found when I concentrated on these things it was much easier not to hit the wrong strings and to keep the bow contact with the strings closer to where it should be.
He also stuck a thumb pad to the back of the arm where my left thumb goes. I guess that's cheating but makes it much easier to find the right place where my fingers go on the finger board. That helped tremendously.
He's also a great instructor in that he knows just when, and how much, to push me. He wanted me to learn the song Frère Jacques. I went over the first few bars with him there and he said this song contained an "advanced" technique called the slur. On a trumpet it was easy, just don't tongue the notes but on the cello you have to play multiple notes in the same bow stroke. He demonstrated then I tried it. He said I wasn't supposed to learn that for a few more weeks.
I've only had two 10 minute sessions to practice since Monday. Not that I'm neglecting it but my schedule has just been so crazy this week so far. I have nothing planned for tonight so hopefully I can get a solid hour in and this weekend also practicing more. It's weird how now I look forward to practicing my cello but hated practicing my trumpet when I was younger. I guess that's the difference in being an adult student, you do what you want.
We covered more of the basics like bow movement. He said imagine a fairly small tube that you have to keep your bow in as you play. I think what he was saying was that I was moving it around too much and not keeping it under control. He also had me work on using less of my upper right arm and more of my lower by opening at the elbow instead of moving the whole arm. I found when I concentrated on these things it was much easier not to hit the wrong strings and to keep the bow contact with the strings closer to where it should be.
He also stuck a thumb pad to the back of the arm where my left thumb goes. I guess that's cheating but makes it much easier to find the right place where my fingers go on the finger board. That helped tremendously.
He's also a great instructor in that he knows just when, and how much, to push me. He wanted me to learn the song Frère Jacques. I went over the first few bars with him there and he said this song contained an "advanced" technique called the slur. On a trumpet it was easy, just don't tongue the notes but on the cello you have to play multiple notes in the same bow stroke. He demonstrated then I tried it. He said I wasn't supposed to learn that for a few more weeks.
I've only had two 10 minute sessions to practice since Monday. Not that I'm neglecting it but my schedule has just been so crazy this week so far. I have nothing planned for tonight so hopefully I can get a solid hour in and this weekend also practicing more. It's weird how now I look forward to practicing my cello but hated practicing my trumpet when I was younger. I guess that's the difference in being an adult student, you do what you want.
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