Lesson 116, 117 & 118 - The new bow

Lesson 116 & 117

For the past couple of lessons, we focused mainly on testing out possible new bows using String Zone's bow approval scheme which allowed me 4 bows to try for period of 7 days.

The first batch of bows were mostly carbon fibre with the exception of 1 Pernambuco. For some reason, Pernambuco bows were not even on my radar as they seemed beyond my reach price wise and since I was currently using a carbon fibre, I figured this was a much safer choice in terms of longevity as I was prone to being a klutz and didn't want to risk it!

At the first try, I found myself preferring the sound of the Pernambuco. It seemed warmer and more natural than the carbon fibre. Surely I was just hearing things! So I played through the scales, all the pieces I could think of, far from the bridge, closest to the bridge, recorded the sounds and compared them; I was devastated. Still preferring the Pernambuco, I passed the bows to Deryn for a second opinion.

She said that the Pernambuco was nothing special and I could be falling for a bow that was different that I was used to. A trap bow! The Pernambuco gave a sweet tone but push it harder and it was obvious that it couldn't sing pass the regular registers.

The only other bow that 'spoke' to me was Jon Paul's Legacy but I wasn't fully convinced by it. So I called String Zone and ordered another 3 bows, keeping the Legacy for another week. This time all 3 bows were Pernambuco with the exception of 1 being a hybrid mixed with carbon fibre.

By this time, my mind was already more confused than it previously was before any bow testing! For a moment, I fooled myself into thinking that I was so sure about the bow I wanted but now; now I didn't know what I wanted.

I needn't have worried. One thing was certain, playing with the Pernambuco bows were a far more pleasant experience than the carbon fibre ones. The make of the bows felt much superior when welded, they looked and sounded beautiful. Within the first playthrough, I was already quite certain which bow I wanted and this was further confirmed when Deryn agreed on the same one!


Lesson 118

We played through the G minor melodic 2 octaves scale but it was obvious that more of these were urgently needed in my practise regime especially knowing where I'm shifting to on string crosses.



Deryn had to put on her scale fascist hat and ordered that I do 2 scales (major / minor melodic & harmonic, 2 octaves) per day including arpeggios. It was also most pressing that I was not to attempt 3 octaves until I was absolutely confident doing 2 octaves so much so I can do it in my sleep.

For the Beethoven cello sonata, Deryn advices to rapidly learn the notes. We went through new fingering and bowings but mostly, getting the overall feel of the piece and phrasing. To play this well, I had to be the absolute core of calm where my internal metronome remain strong not persuaded by emotions.

Practising the piece alone was far different when playing with Deryn on the piano. There were cues and an equal partnership leaning towards piano for this particular sonata with plenty of give and take during the entirety of the performance. Knowing the piano part well certainly plays a huge role in performing this duet convincingly!


And now for something completely different.

Franchomme’s famous Stradivarius cello, how he acquired it, and what compositions were (and weren’t) played on it by Louise Dubin



Louise and guests artists have released an album of works by Auguste Franchomme which you can find here along with a transcription of some of Franchomme's unpublished cello quartet manuscripts which will be published this year.