Originally published 7 January 2008. The main takeaway I have, now that an additional 12 years have elapsed, is that while the larger aspects of this post hold true, bow hold is wildly variable. The video I posted about visualization…
Originally published 5 Jan 2008. I really wish I had somehow been able to wrangle the bow in the picture into my life. While the current Sasano bow (I’ve had since my second year at CSUN) is wonderful, I can…
Originally posted 26 June 2007. It’s wild that this is all words and no images, although I suppose there is some utility in having to visualize the movements independently. It reminds me of the Eddie Izzard skit where he talks…
Originally published 18 June 2007. I’m still a bow-centric teacher. Maybe even more so now, even though there are lots of really insightful instructors whose philosophy centers intonation as the first goal. It’s not that I don’t think intonation is…
This may be the simplest “hack”, but it’s also one I wish more students used. Something as rudimentary as a bandage can work wonders to draw the physical attention (that is, the body’s awareness of what is happening while other…
I wrote about this nearly ten years ago, but it’s stood the test of time for a tense/hyperextended/jerk of a pinky. My school of bow technique asserts that the pinky is largely inert during most actions, and although there are…
Vibrato may be describable in words, they’re not easy to come by. For most students, it’s a bit of a long haul to add it to the list of techniques considered well in hand (pun resisted). I’ve had several freakish students…
There are techniques that feel, for some, completely unnatural. It gets to the point that struggling students can’t even feel what right is, so they either give up on the technique (this is common with vibrato, for instance) or develop…
So last post we talked about getting a feel for the distance the arm travels to put the hand in the right place for an accurate shift. Today is all about the mechanics involved and a bit of the mental…
Originally posted 7 January 2008, as part of a series on the bow. Ah, the heady days of cello blogging! This is still an exercise I prescribe to develop the most relaxed bow grip possible, and one I practice, myself. …
Originally posted 9 January, 2008. This, and the next one, are two of the most popular posts on SRCB, according to the Google-mo-tron. Another darling of our community, CelloGirl has stress when it comes to her pinky joint. A portion…
Post originally published 28 April, 2009. Does this sound like you or anyone you know? Calloused hands, a closet full of full skirts and/or ‘comfy’ black pants, referring to people in strange code languages (“I was just thinking about…
I work really hard when I write. It’s some of the most enjoyable time I spend (tied with practicing cello, dancing, and flying). A few years ago, I hassled the folks over at Strings into letting me scribble a bit…
Back for more, eh? Here are some additional questions from the Q&A on Twitter: @CatePolacek asks: Oh, oh, can you explain the false string thing? I’ve yet to change mine, but your recent experiences are…
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…
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…
Just a quick response to Terry’s question about practicing with martelés in the previous post. My apologies to those of you who get this on RSS or other subscription and got this yesterday with the very Kermit-like still frame before…
I wrote a wee little article about shifting over at Tom’s blog, and thought a mini exercise might be just the thing to accompany it. One of the points I was driving at is the sense that a shift is…
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…
After some technical difficulties rendered a new student’s camera useless, I was forced to give a first Skype lesson via audio-only. What was interesting is that I could tell what shape her hand was in by the sound she made,…
I’ve been sitting here trying to come up with the right opening for this post, and nothing is working. You know that thing that happens with the stuff and the other thing? Well I’ve Once upon a time there was a…
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…
Well, no matter what crazy antics I’m up to , there’s always room for Cello. Technique. *rimshot* Since I’m not sure if this is going to make it into my book, I thought it might be cool to post some…
Not that you’re looking for anything more to complicate your practice, but I did something fun the other day. Try to play through a substantial portion of your current piece (I was sparring with old Saint Saens) using just one…
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…
Jessie and I have had lessons for the past 2 summers, and this summer, we’re really going for a solid, efficient left hand. What she has going here is an interesting overcorrection; I cautioned her against playing with flat/smashed fingers,…
Eigen John T was telling me about a student of his that collapses her left arm when playing on the A string. This is fairly common, and universally destructive, as it causes tension, injury, and unreliable intonation. Try this exercise…
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.
Hahaa! I bet you didn’t expect a technical post today! Well, I enjoy the element of surprise now and again. One of my newer readers, Eigen voiced a pretty common question about left hand technique: What is up with 1st…
I got this fantastic email from our Far and Away friend in the Philippines, who wanted to talk some more bow. Twist my arm! (so long as it’s onto that right index finger, of course) “Ola, Ms.Wright 🙂 My student,…