Tag approach

Auditioning

I’m taking some auditions around town in a month or two, so that means more than ever, routine and repetition rule my life. I love it: the sense of purpose and direction, the hours that seem to disappear, the wondering…

On being sure-footed

Traveling with Lucy the WonderCat has been an adventure. I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it when she gets her typewriter back. Anyway, as a loyal JetBluer, I went out to get the “Jet Paws” pet carrier in accordance…

It’s a cello-y post!

Oh, internets, how I missed thee! I seriously hugged my laptop just then. Due to a screw up of epic proportions, it looks like your friendly neighborhood cellist will be sleeping on the floor in her swanky (vacant) new place…

Hey, cellist.

When you have a large number of adult students, it seems like everyone takes turns being injured. It’s hard on everyone involved, especially because most people hurt themselves after a breakthrough. A simple case of overuse gets ignored to the…

Sitting in the fire

There are just some days where perspective fails and we are convinced that playing music sucks. Or rather, that as we are attempting it, music sucks. Both are false, but that’s not much consolation when you’re in the middle of…

Fired

Again, from the Twitter files: why would I “fire” a student? First, you should know that “firing” is a term I use with humor. Very rarely do I have to genuinely dismiss a student with unpleasant connotations. Normally, it’s a…

from the mailbag

Oooh weeeee I LOVE a request! Wendy wanted me to talk a little more about breathing after a conversation she had with a tuba player. (we won’t tease her too much about that). First stealthy secret about breathing: If you…

Cheerful Relentlessness

Maybe some of you remember Devin. He was a very special student of mine who, despite a massive brain injury that resulted in virtually no ability to retain information for more than 2-3 minutes, managed to make major strides on…

A question of priority

I’ve devoted numerous posts to jackassery. Students, musicians, massage threrapists, clamshell packaging, my own personal flailings. (flailing does not necessarily equal failing, but it sure looks dorky) I’ve even laid into other teacher archetypes from time to time. It was…

Turning an issue into an asset

Learning any difficult craft can end up being a metaphor for our relationship with ourselves. No sooner have we picked up the bow than a tree falls right in our path, preventing forward progress with its clear message of: Turn…

Rehabbing a busted arm

This morning, I played 100 notes on the cello. If this is the first time you’re reading my blog, that might sound like amateurish bragging. For SRCB veterans who know that it’s been less than a month since I had…

On the ninth day of Cellomas

My teacher told to me: Stay the course. Too often, aspiring musicians of all ages and echelons are swayed by things other people tell them. Various powerful people convince us that we’re worthless, or unpopular, out of sync, or nearly…

To the Men of Troy

Unlike many self-assured USC fans, this season’s rocky ride was not a surprise to me. Nor was it as horrifying or depressing for me as it seemed to be for other fans. I think the secret to my success and…

When to let your kid quit*

Parents have to tread a pretty fine line when it comes to encouraging/harassing/bribing/browbeating their kids to practice an instrument. My angle is that, after the age of 10 or so, it is up to the student whether or not to…

Do you really warm up?

Ask yourself this: is my warmup a truly physical warmup? There is a difference between warming up your technical chops and just plain getting your body used to the crazy things we ask it to do while playing. This is…

never good enough

I have a long-term student who has been very up, very down, all over the map in terms of her dedication to the cello. Of late, prodded on by the Galamian scales with martelé that every one of my students…

how to get good

One of the hardest things about teaching kids is that you have to watch talent languish. I routinely run into situations where a student just turns off to the whole learning process but, thinking that I can be fooled, turns…

Nathan talks about the Swan

I know I’ve made this point before, but you people need it hammered into you: Kids don’t have some magic ability to tame instruments. The main difference I see is they lack the self-loathing and expectations adults bring to the…

Change up your practice.

Try this: it’s like interval training for cello, and it got me over the hump when I was crashing on Rococo Variations. 1) Play a scale really slowly. As many octaves as you’re up to. Slur 2 to a bow,…

Frazier/Ali

It’s interesting how much I learn from teaching. Over the past year or so, I have had four or five students rise quickly to the “uh-oh this is serious!” level of intensity with their cello practice and approach to playing.…

great lessons

Well, as if to prove that there is some balance in the world, my lessons today were miraculous. My first student is a professional musician and an accomplished teacher with the most destructive habit of denigrating herself. She brings me…