Free lessons

I was elated to come across a great collection of free video cello lessons at http://stringslessons.com/. Being a visual learner, these videos are tremendously helpful.  I’ve even learned some new tips for handling my bow.  Check it out!

Still plugging along…

Currently  working through the second to last song in Suzuki book 1.  This little minuet is delightful to play.  Not sure why but it seems easier than the last song.  Maybe all of that work on slurs is paying off!  And finally, my New Years goal is to log at least 365 hours of cello practice this year.  I know…as my husband would say, “Good luck with that.”

Slurring my way home

I’m working through The Happy Farmer right now. It’s taken me about two weeks, but I think I’m finally figuring out how to handle slurs. It’s like patting your belly and rubbing your head…er…I mean patting your head and rubbing your belly at the same time. It seems I’m retraining my brain again. Hmmm…I wonder if taking up an instrument can reduce the effects of aging on the brain? Let’s hope so for this late bloomer.

14 Months Later

Struggling happily through Rigadoon and Etude, I’m only three songs and two pages away from finishing Suzuki Cello School Volume 1.  The eighth notes in piece 14, Etude, make Rigadoon seem like a piece of cake.  In fact after practicing the first eight measures or so of the Etude, I went back to Rigadoon and found my playing had improved!  My tone  continues to even out as I work on my bow grip and bowing technique, I’ve also been reading A Modern Cellist’s Manual by Emily Wright.  What I like so much about this book is that the author’s tone is very encouraging.  And she focuses primarily on helping cellists’ improve their technique.  The advice is very clear with lots of helpful pictures as well, and there is also plenty of helpful reference material for further study.  I’d definitely recommend this book.

Square One

Since the last time I posted, my twins have turned one, and I’m still working my way through the Suzuki Cello School Book 1.  Right now I’m practicing songs 10, 11, and 12.  I’m still wrestling with finding a 30 minute block each day when I’m uninterrupted, and when I have the energy to practice.  I wish I could practice more, but I do appreciate the slow progress I have made.  My  tone sounds less like a tortured cat, and my sight reading is getting a little smoother.  There are times when I’m tempted to give up but I remind myself of how far I’ve come.  The biggest step being just getting started, if I quit, it’ll be that much harder to start again.  So I keep trying.  I can only bet better right?

Balancing Act

Here’s a word problem I never got in school.  A mother has four loads of laundry, one set of twin babies, one dinner to prepare, eight rooms to clean, 12 emails to check, 2 bills to pay, 30 groceries to buy, and one cello to practice.  Assuming she gets at least 6 hours of sleep, how does she fit all of her “to dos” into 18 hours?

The answer:  Prioritize:  Make sure the kids are fed, changed and happy, clean the bathrooms, throw dishes in the dishwasher, order pizza, and practice the cello.  Everything else can wait.  My sanity can’t.

I asked my teacher for feedback this week, and being a man of few words, he said, “You could practice more.”  That’s all he said.  And although I wanted to explain how finding 20 minutes of free time to practice with two demanding twins is as easy as playing the Bach cello suites with my toes, I got the point.  I’ve been making time to practice for at least 15-20 minutes a day.  Somehow I’ll need to find an extra slot of time for 15 – 20 minutes.  Nonetheless, I do feel myself getting better…in tiny increments of course, but I never asked for lightning speed progress.  Just progress.  I’m in for the long haul because I believe this exploration is so much more about the journey than the destination.  So far, the view is still nice from where I’m playing.

Exercises

During my last lesson, my teacher told me that my left hand is fine, but I need to work on my right hand.  Bowing in general is really proving to be a challenge.  I prefer pizzicato right now because bowing just kills the tone every time.  That’s why I was so happy I found Erik Friedlander’s site: “Make it Count.”  I’m working on a few of the exercises now and am looking forward to seeing how they help enhance my playing.

And I love this one, “the spider”, which teaches my unruly fingers “teamwork”.

Practicing

I’ve been taking private lessons for about a month now, realize that I’ve bitten off much more than I can chew with this cello  and couldn’t be happier.  This is the kind of mental, physical, spiritual challenge I was looking for — My “just for me”.    The goal right now is being able to coax from the cello something that sounds less like a tortured cat, and something a bit more, dare I say– melodious.   And though my bowing technique still needs work (having a hard time bowing straight and evenly), and coordinating bowing with the left hand is a real challenge, I am seeing improvement.  Funny though, from the angle I sit at, looking down on the bow, it’s hard to get an accurate view of what a straight bow is supposed to look like.  Still need to work on that.

Just picked up a great ebook:  “Ten Minute Music Practice” and learning to maximize the little time I have to practice.  The author’s argument is that one can make the most of ten minutes if that time is used to challenge oneself.  As a busy mom of newborn twins, I appreciate the hope this gives me.  I can get better using the time I do have.  It also forces me to make the most of my time.  Since becoming a mom I keep asking myself, “What did I do with all of that free time I had before I had kids?”  As the saying goes, you don’t appreciate it until it’s gone.  But then again, learning to manage the little I do have is helping me to grow.

Here Comes The Sun

In the Meantime: The Space Between Things

“When you drive around the city and come to a red light or a stop sign, you can just sit back and make use of these twenty or thirty seconds to relax – to breathe in, breathe out, and enjoy arriving in the present moment. There are many things like that we can do.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

I’ve been doing a lot of waiting as I pursue these dreams of mine. I excitedly called around for a cello teacher, and when I found one, he said he’d call back in September to arrange our lesson. Like a kid waiting for Christmas, I feel the days leading up to that first cello lesson are moving as slow as molasses. Then I’m reminded of a certain principle of mindfulness: cherish the present moment–it is all you have.  So the question is:  How do I enjoy the cello now?   In the meantime, I’ve been listening to cello music. Of course, I have Yo Yo Ma, but another cellist that’s caught my attention is Rufus Capadocia. His song “Forgiveness” is one of my all time favorites, reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix in the way the cello tells the story with its rich tones. I’m still refreshing my site reading skills. And once in awhile, I let myself dream of what it will sound like when I can play Bach’s Prelude to his Cello Suite.