TRENDING:

knowing the signs
It lives!
high maintenance
0 Items
emily wright dot net
  • Home
  • About Emily
  • Contact Emily
  • Emily’s Book!
  • Shop
    • Downloadables
    • Merchandise

Select Page

on impersonating cellists, falling down and Pavel Datsyuk

Posted by Emily Wright | Jan 7, 2014 | Performing, Teaching & Learning | 6 |

on impersonating cellists, falling down and Pavel Datsyuk

Share:

Rate:

Previousand now for a moment of hockey rage
Nextworking it.

About The Author

Emily Wright

Emily Wright

Related Posts

So you wanna go to music school?

So you wanna go to music school?

October 15, 2007

fermata

fermata

December 20, 2017

focus on: at-home prevention and treatment

focus on: at-home prevention and treatment

May 17, 2019

ICS answers: what’s the best scale book?

ICS answers: what’s the best scale book?

May 29, 2020

6 Comments

  1. Rex Westen
    Rex Westen on January 7, 2014 at 6:08 pm

    I love this idea! Instead of handing out a bunch of bricks and windows and mortar and telling the student to build a house, it is more like the house is already there, and we only have work on remodeling parts. The student gets to keep on building on an image of what playing really well is – i.e. with expression, power, dynamic range and great variety of sound character. Which makes me think of having the student impersonate a mean cellist, a happy cellist, a goofy cellist, a grandiose cellist. Helping the cellist refine the impersonation is a lot more positive than breaking the whole thing into parts.

    Please let me know how your students are reacting to this.

    Reply
  2. Ben
    Ben on January 9, 2014 at 2:41 pm

    Thank you so much for this wonderful and creative idea. I had been using slowed down audio files to try impersonating the sounds of other cellists, but it hadn’t occurred to me to try imitating their physical movements! Suddenly my vibrato is more even and stable on each finger and nearly all of the tension in my arm, shoulder, and back have disappeared!!

    Reply
  3. g.hickey
    g.hickey on January 11, 2014 at 5:55 pm

    Emily,
    I just found your website while looking for string reviews and now you are on my favorites list. I grew up in the the south far removed from hockey but still learned to play hockey and became a huge red wings fan; and honestly, i want to be Pavel Datsyuk (i am not above envy). As an elder newbie cellist, i would love to get your recommendation on strings. I need the ones that are most forgiving of a bow that is devoid of all skill. I love your using the impersonation idea. Thats what i do when alone with my cello and a glass (or two ) of wine. I put the sheet music away and just try to make pretty sounds and motions so that at least I feel like Yo Yo, or Pavel.

    Reply
    • emilywright
      emilywright on January 11, 2014 at 6:04 pm

      I find that Larsen A in “mittel” is fabulous on any cello, and then you can experiment with less pricey options on the other 3. Kaplans have been good for many students and even professionals with instruments that aren’t divas. Jargars, too. Dominants used to be the old stand-by, but Larsens and Spirocores kind of eclipsed them.

      Good sound is all about control: bow speed, trajectory, point of contact and pressure have to be uniform, right? So pick one of those things and work on it with your wine. 🙂 Oh, and remember also that if the pressure at the point of contact is going to be even, you have to apply more pressure to the stick as your hand gets further away from that point. (and vice-versa, as your hand comes back on the up bow)

      Pavel is amazing. His edges are so clean. I really admire many of the Russian skaters- Grabovski here in DC, too. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Susan
    Susan on February 11, 2014 at 9:21 pm

    Love this! I’ve been playing the cello for a gazillion (like 40) years and I finally have my first student. That alone makes this very relevant. The fact that I’m a figure skating-hockey wife-Detroit Red Wings/Datsuk fan-cellist makes it even better.

    Reply
  5. Rex Westen
    Rex Westen on February 12, 2014 at 6:19 pm

    I just saw the post about the strings. I recently invested in the Larsen Magnacore C and G strings. They are really something special. They will make any cello sound better, and the uniformity with upper Larsen strings makes playing much easier. The Spirocore C and G had a very small sweet spot on my instrument – the Magnacores sound wonderful from bridge to fingerboard. This makes string crossing very much simpler. The other thing that I love about the Magnacore strings is that it is possible to start a sound pianissimo. This makes possible a pianissimo pedal tone. This changes my playing of several of the Bach Suites. The response time for these strings is much quicker than the Spirocores. Finally, the sound is very big, and very warm. I am used to making the sound warm with my hands, but with these strings it is a given. Again, with Larsen strings up top, the uniformity of this big warm sound makes playing simpler.
    I don’t think there are any discounts anywhere for the Magnacores, because I think these strings are light years ahead of the competition.

    Reply

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Products

  • strategies for common practice problems $0.00
  • Emoting handout $0.00
  • Practice flowchart $0.00
  • The Swan $5.00
  • La Cinquantaine $4.00

Recent Posts

  • Lonely Cello Podcast!
  • first time in a long time
  • first book of the year: effortless mastery
  • 2021 project
  • Lonely Cello

Recent Comments

  • SEAN WARD on Thoracic Outlet Update
  • Neal on Fired in front of Zubin Mehta and Sophia Loren: an excerpt
  • Emily Wright on Dear Emily: when you can’t afford a teacher
  • Neil Stannard on Dear Emily: when you can’t afford a teacher
  • Alan on Pre-Halloween Update SpookTacular!

Categories

  • Being
  • Books
  • Cello Illustrated
  • Events
  • Fundraising
  • Humor
  • Misc
  • On the Docket
  • Performing
  • Practice Guides
  • Teaching & Learning
  • Thirsty Cellist
  • Uncategorized

Pay for lessons, sponsor a student, or make a donation!

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress