Lesson 82 & 83 - New piece and Gracie

Lesson 82

Today's lesson started rather hastily; the lift to the train station had its access closed to the public, there was already a queue formed at the ticket booth, then with a mere 3 minutes to spare, the direct train was cancelled so I was left with the only option of rushing to the other station, 10 minutes of brisk walking with the cello on my back, under the blazing sun wearing shoes two sizes too large for my feet. T'was not a pretty sight :}

On the plus side, Deryn gave me a new piece to practise Sautillé on; mostly using the "windshield wiper" action on the bow to ensure a soft and flexible bow hold.

Lesson 83

The day started with great trepidation. Deryn got in touch a couple of days ago about the availability of a potential "forever cello" that might suit me. It was over my budget as much as a budget could be in such circumstances. I mean, how much should a life companion cost?

And so here I am with Gracie. An 80 year old antique, unassuming in every possible way. That was the name she was given by her previous owner. I say previous because she is now mine.

At first sight, the overwhelming fear and intimidation struck me so unexpectedly. What was this feeling? One could not put ones finger on it. It took some coaxing from Deryn before I even dared to approach her. Where should I begin to touch her? Stroking her pegs, I exclaimed at their appearance. "Rosewood", Deryn replied. They were different to the black ones that adorned Nameless.

Finally picking her up, Deryn handed me my bow and gestured me to give her a whirl. "15 minutes," she said. "I'll leave you to it."

So without the gaze of my teacher, I went all out. Hoping the walls were thick and my playing muffled, I played as I would when no ones watching.

With each stroke, Gracie sang. And my heart sang with her. The reciprocation was something I was unfamiliar with. What a beautiful voice, such resonance; even just playing the same note on loop, I could listen to her forever. She could do with better strings and she was much smaller than Nameless which meant she was lighter, I think. The action was nice and low and my fingers seem better suited to her note placements due to her smaller frame but most importantly, she was so, so, so much more than Nameless could ever be.

Deryn had a spare set of Evah Pirazzi Soloist strings to replace the Pirastro Chromcor she was fitted with as I didn't like the Chromcors at all. Much too "metal-ly" and the notes sounded like they were dampened with mutes. Much like Nameless was when he was fitted with Helicores. Of course, this is no longer the case with the beautiful Larsens but his voice is still far, far less impressive than Gracie with her new strings.

And now she's in the practise room, replacing the spot Nameless used to be as I've only got the one cello stand. I played her straight away once I got home and it's now been 4 times in total that I've picked her up to play; each time more satisfying than the previous.

Let's see if she's able to motivate me enough to play through the scales :}