This looks cool!
I got a flyer in the mail for this, and it seems perfectly suited for adult student cellists. Here’s their gallery from last year.
Emily Wright
Choosing Happiness
There has been much tragedy in my life. At least half of it actually happened. -Mark Twain I get a lot of stick from some of my most beloved blog/Twitter pals for being largely upbeat most of the time. I…
The Perfect Teacher.
It’s me! No, not really. Good gravy. But I frequently am the recipient of students who bring with them some seriously low expectations and occasionally, horror stories. Yesterday, I offered a few tips to help get the most out of…
The Perfect Student
Ah, yes: the perfect student. Doesn’t exist. Can’t, in fact, exist. Humanity gets the better of all of us, at some point. Malleable students lose themselves. Bright students preempt new concepts. Astute students set unattainable goals. Which is what makes…
Sir Ken talks about creativity
I have such an edu-crush on Ken Robinson.
ex machina
I think the most common question I get asked these days is, “What do you want to do?” If blogging and writing and private lessons paid the bills, then I would happily do that and feel like I was putting…
Cello Shopping: The Italian One
The Italian One is orange. Flamed bird’s eye on the sides and back, fine stripes down its unassuming front. Heavier than most modern cellos I’ve tried, with a steel endpin I would replace with a tungsten carbide scepter of death…
Cello shopping
The other morning, I woke up with a bee in my bonnet. That bee has a name, and that name is, “Emily, you need a better cello.” I do not like this name, or the bee himself very much, but…
A word about regrets.
The perfect recipe for an unhappy life goes like this: make mistakes and either fail to learn anything from them or allow yourself to be so consumed by regret that you are not present for a single moment of your…
The how and what of good practice.
It happens more than it should: I walk into a lesson and the student is jaw-droppingly unprepared and the excuse offered is, “I didn’t have enough to practice.” It was a frequent occurrence in my own early lessons. I would…
HotLanta workshop!
This is starting to be a habit! For the third year running, I’m being hosted by Ann and the Atlanta Cello Project. This time around, I’ll be talking about memorization, offering tips, and passing along some handy information about short,…
The real me.
Ask anyone who has ventured into the deep end of music teaching about how they balance performance and pedagogy, and you are bound to get all kinds of answers. In my own experience, I can candidly offer the following: There…
2010: Lousy Post #2
While the last post was so awful and nebulous that it sparked a misunderstanding with one of my favorite cellists, this post showed me that people don’t come here to read about my non-cello life.† So up it goes, as…
2010: A Lousy Blog Post Retrospective, part 1
Inspired by Travis‘ idea, I now present you 2010: A Lousy Blog Post Retrospective. He noted that some of his favorite posts were the ones with either zero reaction or active disdain from his readers, and it’s funny to go through…
Happy Cellomas
It’s not uncommon to be a little more sentimental during the holidays. Heck, I’m easily touched as it is. This year I thought I would make a little video to put faces and names to some of the people who…
Talent on the horizon
They say that the North American natives were taken by surprise, even though the towering masts of the Spaniards were on the horizon for nearly two days before they landed. It is thought they didn’t see the Spanish explorers’ ships…
Thumb position Redux
I wrote this post about 2.5 years ago, and I thought that I might keep this blog perhaps a little cello-y while I finish writing my papers and whip up the Cellomas video by reposting it. The cello blogosphere has…
Eyedrop Failpocalypse.
Cellomas Mania and Teaching Tour Fandango!
Aah yes, yet another ghastly poster frame, courtesy of Blogger. Sigh.
This year’s Cellomas celebration!
Greetings, CelloFamily! I thought that it might be cool to make a little video card with pictures of the amazing cellists, friends of the blog, and rowdy band of supporters that have made these past 4 years so fantastic. I’d…
Just a thought
I’ve noticed that many of my students who are ready to start teaching hesitate, citing lack of experience. Part of the issue is that they associate teaching with taking payment (insert hilarious comment here), and feel they have no right…
Reminder!
Just a quick reminder for my New York peeps. I’ll be around tomorrow to give a little workshop, featuring the amazing Mike. Details here: I’d love to see you! New post to come within a few days. Many stick figures…
The quiet blogosphere: an anti-lament
Like many blogs, this little slice of the interwebs has been quieter than usual. I am in the lucky position to actually know many of the music bloggers I recommend here and follow over on Twitter, and save a few,…
Mendelssohn vs. Me, round 3: rusty!
….in which she begins to develop a neurosis about her hair as it appears from the side. Sigh. I really should just flat iron my hair every day to avoid these calamities. God help me if Nathan or Frankie at…
“why”
One of the things I never get asked that my adult beginners always get asked is why they play the cello. Depending on the company, the primrose path can lead to some pretty ugly places. Try not to feel put-upon. Look at this guy. Some…
Free Master Class in New York!
Hey New Yorkers (and other hardy Tri-Staters): I’m going to be giving a master class in SoHo on Sunday, November 14th. The flyer (click to enlarge and download) lists a 4:00 start time, but that may move an hour or…
Mendelssohn vs. Me, round 2: punchy tuner edition
Let’s do this.
Mendelssohn vs. Me, round 1
Here I am, risking a little bit of my pride to show you the practice process behind what will become a very good Mendelssohn excerpt at some point. I figure that part of the strength of this blog is a…
Thanks, Jackie.
If you had any questions about it, now you have an answer. You should play some cello. You just should.
The Audition.
This is what my life has been like recently. Everything always happens at once, but of course the audition has been the focus of my efforts. So last week, I did it. After practicing for months, chronicling my process, I…