Lesson 61 - Improv, compositions and goals

When I explained to Deryn that the past couple of weeks had felt almost aimless in terms of cello progress, Deryn brought up a couple of suggestions that could help alleviate this limbo I was experiencing; ABRSM grading or assessment from the same institute. Half expecting a disappointed response and half hoping for some sort of release (moreso in being told I just couldn't cut it and I should just quit), I was instead now faced with a few choices to change my situation; hopefully for the better.

Firstly, I was not aware that ABRSM did any sort of assessment without including grading or examinations. Apparently this is catered more towards adult students and I think its a great idea. As Deryn said, its more like a second opinion about your playing from a learned individual. I then asked if she knew of any of her students that might be interested in, perhaps, playing with me in a sort of cello group setting. And there is! A lady who plays duets with her husband on the piano somewhere away in North Yorkshire. Location aside, this could be something possible. Deryn suggests a practise at her place a couple of times a month where she could oversee us which seems ideal to me. Now to wait and see how this melody goes :)

We spoke mostly throughout the class about my aspirations and what I wanted to achieve from the cello lessons. We then got on to composition and improvisation. I have done my share of both, mostly on the casual side of things; nothing major. I do create short loops of melodies for my projects (I'm a games developer) but these were mostly functional tunes than musical compositions. Although I must say, after this discussion with Deryn, I am approaching our lessons from a totally different perspective.

Deryn mentioned that she was grateful for my speaking out like this and there were many instances of past students dropping out instead of voicing out their concerns about stagnation of purpose. Thing was, I was actually in two minds about my present situation - talk to Deryn about it or drop out. I went for the former but had very strong inclinations for the latter. I'm glad I talked to Deryn first!

So we did a few warmups using Feuillard's Daily Exercises and spend the rest of the class improvising. Deryn had me do a "Call and Response" exercise where she would play something in a certain key and I would reciprocate on the cello, a little unnerving but Deryn was very adamant in reminding that she was not there to judge. This helped alleviate a little bit of anxiety but not as much. Still, I decided to trust her and went through with the exercise. Although my responses were not as verbose as hers, I learnt a lot from the exercise - mostly that I needed to learn those darn key signatures and be fearless. Deryn said that it didn't matter if I made a "mistake" since there were no such things as mistakes during improvisation; you just had to be convincing. Hey, it works for jazz musicians!

Later, she had me doing improvisation along to her playing on the piano. This was more challenging as she was cycling through more than one key signature (C major - Eflat minor - A minor - F major - G major) so I was somehow trying to fit in a melody, a guitar solo of sorts, if you will. I came up with something Deryn described as very Sarah Brightman which I will interpret as "mostly harmless". Suffice to say, I thought the exercise was a very humbling experience and one I would very much like to do again.

In the off chance that this might work, if you or anyone you know wants a 3/4 (jazz size) double bass or a rather handsome acoustic amplifier, Deryn is selling her wares at the respective sites below. The funds are for a new computer since the one she's using is 6 years old! If you can spread the word around, I would be very grateful.


AER Domino 2 in excellent condition - hardly used


Boosey & Hawkes 400 Double Bass and Bow (3/4 size)