Lesson 13 - Fooling the mind

Today started with the usual updates of last week's practise session. Deryn always asks about my progress after last week's lesson so we can look into any problems that need assessing or a particular technique that needs further probing.

This time it was Uneven Bowing, mostly my fault for not having spent enough time doing the warmups that were recommended by Deryn to 'fool' the body and mind that fast bowing is not as hard as it is made out to be. The warmups starts with scales following the metronome at 60 bpm which you then gradually increase.

This particular method proved very successful as the bow no longer skids over the strings but keeps constant contact confidently.

Having done the C, G, D and F major scales at a relatively fast speed (110bpm), it now seems easier to do the uneven bowing as the speed of bowing no longer seems as daunting. I will admit to not having used the metronome as much as I should during warmups. This will have to be remedied after today's lesson. I also need to work more on my intonation ~ the second finger sits too close to the first which makes the rest of the fingers go flat.

Next, Deryn had me play exercise 12b and 12c. I particularly struggled at the unfamiliar uneven bowing at the 2nd row, 5th bar where the uneven bowing was the opposite of (and went against) what I had been practising. This confused me as it needed me to use an entire down bow for a crotchet so that the next pair of slurred crotchets could be played with an entire up bow. Still, with Deryn's hawk-like observations and patience, I managed to overcome the method eventually. I will have to remember to be extra lucid (pay very, very close attention) when it comes to interpretating bowing methods via sight reading.

One tends to get carried away with making the music and slacking on technique. The term 'function and form' comes to mind here (yes, I do think function precedes form).

We touched briefly on Chapter 13 for dotted crotchets and quavers. After playing a few exercises, it seems I'm able to grasp the concept naturally.

Chapter 14 touched on a technique I've been practising on my own (mostly so I can be ready to learn the Bach Suites) so that went fairly well. Exercise 14a and 14b also touched on a familiar piece from chapter 6 so that made it easier to focus more on the slurred cross string bowing. For these exercises, middle bowing creates a better sound than if it was played closer to the frog or at the top half of the bow. I will be expected to play the exercises of the chapter for next lesson.

The acoustics of the practise room (or Deryn's living room) probably made my playing of Rigaudon by Rameau sound a lot better than it did when I practised it at home (a tiny, low ceiling flat). This definitely boosted me to play it a lot more confidently. After a piece, Deryn usually asks for my own assessment to address any issues that needed addressing. I thought this a very effective method for students to recognise their own weaknesses and strengths. String crosses seem to be an ongoing issue for me since day one. However after playing the piece again, Deryn notices that my problem was playing too close to the frog and not at all muddy/messy/unclean string crosses. A breakthrough! It never occurred to me to not play too close to the frog as the piece started with a down bow so automatically, my brain tells me to play on the lower half of the bow, closer to the frog.

We played the piece together and in the middle of the bow this time; lo and behold, the sound was much better and it was even easier to bow the entire piece without putting too much strain on my bow hand. At this time, I will say that I was instructed to only learn the first half of the piece but in typical shi-fashion, I learnt the entire piece; which was just as well since the second half of the piece included techniques that were not covered in previous lessons. Deryn of course knew this would happen so we eased into tackling those issues :}

Before the end of the lesson, Deryn thought it a good idea to find me a study to strengthen my left hand technique as that would be the focus of *Langin's Book 2. Exercise 9 of the New School of Cello Studies : Book 1 Preliminary Grade by Percy Such is the piece I will be learning to play next week. I'm excited. An entire new book to explore!

All in all, another very fun and fruitful lesson. The cello is indeed becoming a very close and reliable friend.


* I am currently on Folkmar Langin Praktischer Lehrgang fur das Violoncello-Spiel Edition Breitkopf 6934/Heft I.