frog leg syndrome and others
Like most things, all it takes to work on the pinky is a little discipline. Ok, a lot of discipline. If you have already injured yourself, there might be steps in between, like some rest, taping 3rd and 4th together…
Tag approach
unfair
I got a letter from your pinky the other day. I’m used to whole cellists writing to me asking for technical advice, but this was…a little awkward. What a conflict of interest! But I have decided to address the issues…
Tax Man
I went to the tax guy last week. After reviewing my finances, he advised me to “go to school and learn some real skills” to ameliorate the situation. My first instinct was to go home, open up my in-progress Glossary…
Avoidance mode
You have étude books. And in those books are certain pages that make your guts churn and your eyes sizzle. I know because I, too have Popper’s High School of Cello Studies. But you don’t need to bust out Popper…
a reminder
I’m in my Atlanta hotel room, watching tv. This show comes on about kids playing music, and this guy still has me smiling. There were some other kids too, including an amazing brass band made of siblings. Sometimes I hear…
chop wood, carry water
Anyone who knows me knows that I love sports. In fact, with the exception of golf, I have a hard time walking past any television with some sort of sport on it without sitting down and talking trash. It follows…
getting ready for a master class or one-off
I don’t know that I ever really got the most out of the master classes I participated in. I might have gotten marginally more out of the one or two-off lessons I had with visiting artists, but as I frequently…
The impossible dream
Though we sometimes hesitate to admit it, even professional cellists and teachers have bits of technique that we develop “work arounds” for. It seems like forever ago that I developed one such habit to adjust for my weak left pinky…
take one!
What a learning curve this week has been with Final Cut Express. I’m posting this as an exercise in humility as much as a beneficial lesson for students. Clearly, I got the compression wrong…I recorded this in HD (without a…
the secret Zen of clamshell packaging
So we are in yet another Hell house. I am now on a first-name basis with the people at all of the local plumbing, hardware, and lumber stores, which also means that I have had to do the self-checkout tango,…
upon your return
The early stages of coming back from an injury or a long break can be like starting over, except that you have these remnants of knowledge, muscle memory, and expectation to tempt you right back into pain and frustration again…
I am impressed
I have a relatively new student (13-ish, taking for about 6 months) who reminds me very much of myself at that age. H has a lot of energy, natural ability, and a tough time settling into lessons. Don’t get me…
a new way to think about progress
Sometimes a change in perspective makes a long process more bearable. Enjoyable, even. I came to this realization a few days as I looked ahead with dread to the longest day of the year. I thought of the miserable summer…
becoming what you are
I am a big believer in messages to (and from) the universe. I think that everything one does is a message, a request. It’s that “you get what you give” thing, where the style of life you live is, in…
June=Left Hand Month!
I have a student who I am going to be photographing and modifying in terms of her left hand technique, but I invite you guys to send me your own queries.
real time, part 4: really real
Yesterday, Jen had to take a little break because of a long-standing back issue (which does not benefit from tense cello playing, or any cello playing for that matter). So here’s her 2 cents worth. We have a lesson tomorrow,…
real time, part 3: attack of Alligator Arms
Says Jen: Just as I thought I was beginning to get a handle on playing with complete relaxation……….I tried the thumb position. My left shoulder seems to lag behind in this shift. I spent the majority of my time telling…
real time, part 2: giant steps
Here’s the next entry in Jen’s battle, tentatively named CelloQuest ’08: Today was all about learning to feel the strings. I would not allow myself to squeeze at all with my left thumb and this caused me to change the…
real time
One of my students has agreed to chronicle the progress in her battle with arm tension here on SRCB. A little preface: She has been playing for 2 years, has participated in every recital I have scheduled in that period,…
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…
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…
100th post: The Sound and The Fury
It’s spring, so you know what that means. Baseball is underway, open season has been declared on the LA roadways, and my students are dropping like flies, starting with the recital. I like to have at least 2 recitals a…
lookin’ good (soundin’ bad) (for a while)
Other possible blog titles include: Acting the partAll for showTest yer gesture (ha) As many of you know, I am in the business of teaching how to play the cello. I was about to write, “I teach the cello” but…
up there
Back in June, I wrote about extensions. I recently revisited the post and noticed that Terry had posed a question of upper position whole tone movement, and thought I would go over my approach to this potential nightmare of advanced…