The problem with being honest and ambitious on this stinking blog is I end up looking like a jackass more often than not. Going back and reviewing some of my announcements of “exciting things to come” that are actually “still underway” 6 months later makes my skin crawl. I really am revamping my website! But it happens in unpredictable spurts, in between lesson pandemonium, medical mysteries and the occasional manicure. And... Read More
200th post, for real
Those last two don’t really count. Taking a cue from my cross-country blog sweetheart, Eric Edberg, I’m going to be a little unguarded and ramble a bit about Emily stuff. If you’re looking for advice on your bow grip, I’m sure I posted something useful a while back if you do some digging. So first off, I’d like to apologize to the folks holding their breath for installment #2 of Haydn C major blogcast. I hope you know... Read More
hypothesis
Possible reasons for no blogging action/comments/emails/internet ghost town vibe of late: 1) Phelps mania among blogging cellists, no time for interwebs. 2) Clik-pad caused cubital tunnel issues, cannot type. 3) Blogging cellists running that race in Queens, can’t blog while running. 4) Blogging cellists flocking to South Ossetia to join in solidarity with Georgians. 5) Emily not invited to blogging cellist summer BBQ. Blogging hard from inflatable... Read More
Happenings
Some exciting news around here at SRCB! I am submitting query letters to some publishers over the next month, and I am going to draw upon your numbers and strength to help me make my case. Part of what makes an author attractive to a publisher is a built in market and stature in the community to which their book is directed. In my letter, I am telling them that this is a heavily traversed site (especially when I am actually posting, I know, I know!)... Read More
so in case you didn’t know
…moving sucks. It’s horrible. I was cheered to see that even though I had fallen off of the map, the good peeps of the cello blogging world were posting and reading and generally preventing what seemed like an impending mental collapse. I may still go bazooty, but you all have postponed it by at least a good week. Thanks! And now a list of things I really should have done by now and have not yet done: 1) send the manuscript of my book... Read More
Hey, big spender
There are things to spend on, and things to skimp on. Here are my thoughts on getting the most bang for your cello buck. Spend on: initial beginner celloGoing the $200 cello route is like Russian roulette. Sometimes you get a cello that plays, other times you’ll be out the $500 you were trying to save because you needed a new bridge, tailpiece and gut, longer endpin, fingerboard adjustment, and a set of decent strings. You don’t need to... Read More
Maximizing your lesson experience
Nearly everything about the cello is, upon initial inspection, prohibitive. It’s big. It’s low. It’s difficult. It’s expensive. It reads that clef you didn’t really master when you took piano lessons. If you manage to get past all of those obstacles and move onto lessons, there are a few things you can do to make sure you get as much out of the process as you can. 1) If you’re reading this prior to beginning lessons,... Read More
Really good practice session
Ever the masochist, I have decided to go crazy on concert studies. In addition to the audition repertoire, I have added the 4 Bukinik studies, with a special focus on the 2nd one. People, if you don’t know these, well…I suppose a kinder person would advise you to run. They are awkward and lumpy and sort of poke at you with this unrelenting demand for fingerboard gymnastics. I find that the practice of pieces like this can lead to transcendental... Read More
Don(ting) Juan {sic}
There’s an audition coming up in June, and I am thinking of taking it. Whether or not I do, I enjoy dusting off the excerpts and Haydn D for some critical work, which is amazingly never finished, even after 15 years of assault. The erstwhile Blake characterized Don Juan best when he said that it was a panic and then a blackout until the high B. It’s funny, but I have always escaped that excerpt in auditions. Even when it’s been assigned,... Read More
The recital
It went well. First off, lots of people attended, though not too many performed. My lovely cousin Natalie, who I have always felt lucky to be related to, showed up, as did my dad and a near stranger (a lapsed cellist, himself) who I had met earlier that day while buying party favors. Most people had at least 1 supporting guest, and one of my youngest had a whole flock of people to cheer her on as she nailed a pizzicato version of “Long Long... Read More
