2013-03-20 22:20:06
Today was sludgy. The combination of freezing weather and sudden pour of rain definitely did not help my fingers, arms, overall being and brain to function as well as one should in class. I am lucky to have a patient teacher who constantly reminded me to start on the upbow each time I played a short phrase. I got it in the end but it took awhile!
However, before we even began class, something exciting happened - my new strings have arrived! As Deryn changed them for me, I noticed that the strings had the packets wax sealed individually. How quaint :) I also asked Deryn how long it took for her to not be deathly afraid of changing strings and she said it took her a few years!
After tuning the new strings, we then proceeded with the tackling of Mr. Wolfnote who seems more or less as vocal about his existence as ever. The new strings, however are marvellous. Deryn allowed me to try out her current favourite rosin, the Larica Gold after she helped cleaned my bow as I have applied rosin just this morning before class. I felt justly pampered when I played my first note on my new strings. What a freeing feeling unlike the previous settings! I feel as though I have been upgraded to a newer model and I could do anything!
We worked mostly on establishing familiarity with the second position, lower and upper positions. Unlike the other positions, there are landmarks for intonation checking which I really should utilise more often.
Deryn also observed that I had a lot of tension in me, specifically the upper half when my shoulders kept raising throughout the class. I blame the weather! Also my nerves which I need to get a grip on when performing for anyone watching. But mostly, its just getting into the right position for ultimate comfort in playing which seems to be the case for me. This is definitely due to not practising enough especially as I was away from the cello last week for a total of 5 days due to housesitting. Never again one hopes!
I managed a weak few hours yesterday for the cello and tried to optimise learning the new piece as well as I could. Patience is not a virtue I have. When I played the new piece for Deryn today, I explained to her how it took me looking up youtube videos of the song to familiarise myself with the piece and how I should approach it. It took a few tries before I settled with one that *spoke* to me and with this, it helped me understand the piece for interpretation.
During sight reading, I kept confusing Grieg's Solveig's Song with Chopin's Waltz No.19 in A minor which I had played many eons ago on the piano. It's also one of my most favoritest pieces to play during the time or rather, it was one of the few pieces I remember playing.
Lesson notes from Deryn:
- Always aim to be balanced and comfortable on whatever string you find yourself.
- Pay attention to rising shoulders and a collapsing left wrist.
- Aim to stay fully connected from the roots of your arms to the tips of your fingers.
- Be more exacting about your bowing: follow markings and factor them into your practising
- If you find yourself playing the opposite to the marking on the page, find out why this has happened and what needs to change in order to play as marked.
- Unless otherwise marked, always aim to be on a down bow on the strong 1st beat of the bar - especially at the beginning of a new phrase.
- Always aim to be on a down bow on the last note of a piece, especially when it is a sustained note.
- Upbeats should be up bow unless there are an even number of notes contained in the upbeat, e.g. 2 separate bow quavers.
- Bowing on upbeats should always lead to a down bow on the strong first beat unless otherwise marked.
Second Position
- Very good progress here.
- Sliding exercises will help you to move between positions more confidently and develop a string sense of what notes belong to each position.
- Exercises will be sent within the next 48 hours.
- Extended 2nd position: this is a backward extension from upper 2nd position.
- The 2nd finger will be an octave above the lower open string and the 4th finger will be at the same pitch as the higher open string.
- The 1st finger will be a semitone above its place in 1st position.
Solveig's Song
- Excellent work so far!
- Attention to bowing (see general points) and intonation, especially backward shifts.
- Think about phrasing, shape and dynamics and how these aspects are affected by bow control and vibrato.
info
Learning the cello as an adult started as a dare but has now turned into an ongoing love affair; I hope to one day make her sing to her full potential. In the meantime, all spare time and moments are dedicated to this wonderful instrument as I am unable to think about anything else, much to the dismay of my other half :}
This is an attempt to remember the classes I have taken so that I don't forget.
My wonderful teacher, Deryn ~ http://cellostudio.info/
This is an attempt to remember the classes I have taken so that I don't forget.
My wonderful teacher, Deryn ~ http://cellostudio.info/