So, my teacher thinks I might have carpal tunnel & not tendonitis (and that computer may be the cause of it.. im gonna try to elevate it...) ... I'm getting it checked at school tomorrow, and then eventually by a medical person outside of school (well that's complicated actually, b/c I think I'm lacking in health insurance atm) ... another teacher gave me contact info for an acupuncture specialist & someone recommended a dr. in the city (walk in clinic $35 per session)
I'm managing it as well as I can, and typing on computers doesn't help :( (nor did having a piano final) stretching the area frequently really did though!!
I'm playing as lightly as possible, and when i get to a point where I can play comfortably, I'm going to do some *serious* technique re-evaluation, with a focus on breathing well, minimizing movements and excess tension & using a strong source of energy coming from the back and shoulders ... I wish I could work on the stuff Julia & I talked about right now, but I know I can't play too much... on the other hand, I'm now stretching regularly/constantly, and am absolutely going to maintain that ... it will help to get some sleep too .. anyway, have to conserve my typing for the psych papers I need to finish ...
getting off the comp more... gonna read instead...
on a brighter note, new 6 yr. old student soon...
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Lesson with Julia Lichten
That was exciting!! We worked on Elgar for an hour ... and I guess it would be more accurate to say that we worked on the opening of Elgar for an hour ... some stuff we covered:
Bowing: Arm weight & the resistance of the strings ... apparently I use a lot of horizontal motion, but I also need to use vertical motion ... also, we talked about grip & not bowing with the fingers ... the fingers mostly stay in the same position (though as you venture away from the frog, the hand naturally rotates & you have to release the fingers). Bowing strength comes from the change with the elbow ... the force/energy for bowing comes from the shoulders and upper back ... I have to not raise my shoulder when moving from frog to the tip ... I also have to move sufficiently with my elbow when going from the higher strings to the lower strings ... I should pay attention to how I move/pick things up naturally & apply that to my cello technique
Left Hand: Same idea about using weight to produce bigger sound ... here there were also serious issues about keeping the fingers aligned and over the fingerboard, as opposed to hanging them off, which I always do. We also talked about angle of the arm to the fingerboard, and she kind of repositioned my arm the way the Alexander Technique instructor did when we had the workshops last semester/year. We also talked about not always playing on the tips of the fingers, depending on the sound I want to produce... it's more of a paddier feeling, which is how I used to play (only recently that I began to alter that) ... Once I get the alignment down, I have to work on not locking up/tensing when I vibrate ... one step at a time though ...
Elgar: He has a tremendous amount of detail about articulation marked, and prepared a piano score, so obviously he cares a lot about how his music is interpreted ... don't invent extra slurs
... pay attention to dynamics & use slower bow ... get as much from the resistance of the strings to the bow as possible
It occurred to me mid-lesson that I probably should have recorded it ... didn't think about that until then though ...
That hour really flew by though ... I feel like I really learned a lot & there wasn't anything to be nervous/stressy about ... she's so supportive and helpful and felt I had improved ... altogether, very helpful/encouraging ... really want to study with her more ... so much more focused than my teacher ... she said to ask him about some of the stuff we talked about
In other news... I had 4 concerts last week, which was fun & I started to develop very small tendon problems in my wrists over the weekend (I'll be taking it easy as soon as I can, and already, I'm paying close attention to them and making sure to shake them out constantly and to stretch) ... in a way the tendon issues are sort of a mixed blessing, because they'll serve as a reminder that I need to always incorporate relaxation and awareness of muscle tension into my playing ... something I had developed at one point, but have lost a bit of ...
Bowing: Arm weight & the resistance of the strings ... apparently I use a lot of horizontal motion, but I also need to use vertical motion ... also, we talked about grip & not bowing with the fingers ... the fingers mostly stay in the same position (though as you venture away from the frog, the hand naturally rotates & you have to release the fingers). Bowing strength comes from the change with the elbow ... the force/energy for bowing comes from the shoulders and upper back ... I have to not raise my shoulder when moving from frog to the tip ... I also have to move sufficiently with my elbow when going from the higher strings to the lower strings ... I should pay attention to how I move/pick things up naturally & apply that to my cello technique
Left Hand: Same idea about using weight to produce bigger sound ... here there were also serious issues about keeping the fingers aligned and over the fingerboard, as opposed to hanging them off, which I always do. We also talked about angle of the arm to the fingerboard, and she kind of repositioned my arm the way the Alexander Technique instructor did when we had the workshops last semester/year. We also talked about not always playing on the tips of the fingers, depending on the sound I want to produce... it's more of a paddier feeling, which is how I used to play (only recently that I began to alter that) ... Once I get the alignment down, I have to work on not locking up/tensing when I vibrate ... one step at a time though ...
Elgar: He has a tremendous amount of detail about articulation marked, and prepared a piano score, so obviously he cares a lot about how his music is interpreted ... don't invent extra slurs
... pay attention to dynamics & use slower bow ... get as much from the resistance of the strings to the bow as possible
It occurred to me mid-lesson that I probably should have recorded it ... didn't think about that until then though ...
That hour really flew by though ... I feel like I really learned a lot & there wasn't anything to be nervous/stressy about ... she's so supportive and helpful and felt I had improved ... altogether, very helpful/encouraging ... really want to study with her more ... so much more focused than my teacher ... she said to ask him about some of the stuff we talked about
In other news... I had 4 concerts last week, which was fun & I started to develop very small tendon problems in my wrists over the weekend (I'll be taking it easy as soon as I can, and already, I'm paying close attention to them and making sure to shake them out constantly and to stretch) ... in a way the tendon issues are sort of a mixed blessing, because they'll serve as a reminder that I need to always incorporate relaxation and awareness of muscle tension into my playing ... something I had developed at one point, but have lost a bit of ...
Monday, April 14, 2008
Now I don't know what to do!!
So, I got in touch with Julia today ... so exciting!!!
I'm gonna play for her on the 22nd ... I'm so excited ... but I'm also incredibly nervous & I have no idea what I should play at all ...
Is it better to play something that I can play well & have a lesson on that, or should I bring in something like the second Bach prelude, which I can play, but really still have no idea what to do with musically ...
I'm thinking it might be cool to bring in Elgar 1st mov. and then the 2nd bach prelude for the reason I stated above ... but I really don't know ... she said she could meet with me between 2:30 and 3:30 ... so I guess that makes it kind of a lesson ... I've got a few questions for her ... guess I should write out over the next week ... I'm so nervous though ... and it's during my last week of classes, which means I have a crazy amt. of work to do *AND* a crazy amount of practicing to do...
I'm gonna play for her on the 22nd ... I'm so excited ... but I'm also incredibly nervous & I have no idea what I should play at all ...
Is it better to play something that I can play well & have a lesson on that, or should I bring in something like the second Bach prelude, which I can play, but really still have no idea what to do with musically ...
I'm thinking it might be cool to bring in Elgar 1st mov. and then the 2nd bach prelude for the reason I stated above ... but I really don't know ... she said she could meet with me between 2:30 and 3:30 ... so I guess that makes it kind of a lesson ... I've got a few questions for her ... guess I should write out over the next week ... I'm so nervous though ... and it's during my last week of classes, which means I have a crazy amt. of work to do *AND* a crazy amount of practicing to do...
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Oh My God! So Cool
So today consisted of:
1. Recording the Manhattanville Orchestra
2. Playing with the St. Thomas Orchestra
3. Getting a call from Julia Lichten!!
Recording the Orchestra was an exercise in "How the fuck do I get this to work" ... it was very interesting ... the new theatre (Gymatorium) is uh ... really not built for an orchestra ...
Playing with St. Thomas Orchestra was amazing ... I got involved by randomly meeting my teacher's stand partner & discovering that we both played cello ... so I show up for rehearsal today & read through Dvorak's Slavonic Dances & for the most part kept up (had to drop out at some of the crazy runs, but I still kept with the orchestra)... it was really encouraging ... means I've been doing good work ...
Then we pull out the Bruch Violin Concerto ... turns out the soloist has been studying with Itzhak Perlman since she was a little kid ... so cool!!!!
That's the only time I can remember that I've come out of an orchestra rehearsal really excited ... also, Julia Lichten called me back!!! I'm trying to go to a concert of hers on Tuesday (with the rest of the Purchase String Faculty) ... depends on whether I can get my student to reschedule ... either way, I'm gonna find a way to get in touch with her... can't wait!!
1. Recording the Manhattanville Orchestra
2. Playing with the St. Thomas Orchestra
3. Getting a call from Julia Lichten!!
Recording the Orchestra was an exercise in "How the fuck do I get this to work" ... it was very interesting ... the new theatre (Gymatorium) is uh ... really not built for an orchestra ...
Playing with St. Thomas Orchestra was amazing ... I got involved by randomly meeting my teacher's stand partner & discovering that we both played cello ... so I show up for rehearsal today & read through Dvorak's Slavonic Dances & for the most part kept up (had to drop out at some of the crazy runs, but I still kept with the orchestra)... it was really encouraging ... means I've been doing good work ...
Then we pull out the Bruch Violin Concerto ... turns out the soloist has been studying with Itzhak Perlman since she was a little kid ... so cool!!!!
That's the only time I can remember that I've come out of an orchestra rehearsal really excited ... also, Julia Lichten called me back!!! I'm trying to go to a concert of hers on Tuesday (with the rest of the Purchase String Faculty) ... depends on whether I can get my student to reschedule ... either way, I'm gonna find a way to get in touch with her... can't wait!!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Arlene Kaplan, Popper & Mutes
The three are actually pretty unrelated...
My school had its Arlene Kaplan competition today. I entered, along with 2 pianists (one of whom had tendonitis!). I was playing the Courante from the first Bach Suite, Haydn C Maj. 1st movement & Elgar 1st movement ... I have also been sick for the last 4 days or so ... So, minus a memory slip or two in the Bach, and a little bit of slop in general (from fighting against my body just to play normally), I played the pieces the best I've ever played them (and man does that mean I need to up my level by *a lot!!*). I was also awarded one of two prizes, which was pretty awesome. I didn't really enter the competition for the sake of winning, or anything of that sort, just for the sake of the process you go through in preparing for them (that is, after all, why they're important/valuable). Anyway, I'm really proud of myself for earning that, and for the progress I've been making lately ... got a lot more to go though just to get any of those pieces into *real* shape ... but anyway, I'm breaking on them for now, because I have 4 concerts next week and am working on a Popper etude, plus the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto for this week ... it's amazing how much easier the Popper Etude is at this point ... it should be a breeze to get through...
Well, guess I've covered the Popper bit ... while doing Popper/afterwards, I discovered that playing with a mute makes deficiences very clear (like unintentional slides, or pitch errors, poor bowing ... stuff like that) ... so, I'm gonna play with it more often ... if I can get an amazing tone with one, then I can get an even better one without one ... exciting!!
Playing on fingertips is something I've rediscovered (though I never thought of it that way before) & finally my fingertips are callousing the way they used to ... so inspiring ...
Can't wait to get to practicing tomorrow ... so much to work on ...
P.S. - Emily - I got the Strings Magazine & have been meaning to call and say hi/thanks, but have been pretty busy and sick as you can see. Hope all is well.
-Mike
My school had its Arlene Kaplan competition today. I entered, along with 2 pianists (one of whom had tendonitis!). I was playing the Courante from the first Bach Suite, Haydn C Maj. 1st movement & Elgar 1st movement ... I have also been sick for the last 4 days or so ... So, minus a memory slip or two in the Bach, and a little bit of slop in general (from fighting against my body just to play normally), I played the pieces the best I've ever played them (and man does that mean I need to up my level by *a lot!!*). I was also awarded one of two prizes, which was pretty awesome. I didn't really enter the competition for the sake of winning, or anything of that sort, just for the sake of the process you go through in preparing for them (that is, after all, why they're important/valuable). Anyway, I'm really proud of myself for earning that, and for the progress I've been making lately ... got a lot more to go though just to get any of those pieces into *real* shape ... but anyway, I'm breaking on them for now, because I have 4 concerts next week and am working on a Popper etude, plus the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto for this week ... it's amazing how much easier the Popper Etude is at this point ... it should be a breeze to get through...
Well, guess I've covered the Popper bit ... while doing Popper/afterwards, I discovered that playing with a mute makes deficiences very clear (like unintentional slides, or pitch errors, poor bowing ... stuff like that) ... so, I'm gonna play with it more often ... if I can get an amazing tone with one, then I can get an even better one without one ... exciting!!
Playing on fingertips is something I've rediscovered (though I never thought of it that way before) & finally my fingertips are callousing the way they used to ... so inspiring ...
Can't wait to get to practicing tomorrow ... so much to work on ...
P.S. - Emily - I got the Strings Magazine & have been meaning to call and say hi/thanks, but have been pretty busy and sick as you can see. Hope all is well.
-Mike
Friday, April 4, 2008
Purchase
Been practicing like crazy lately. It' been so great... My rate of progress is finally starting to go up, which is really inspiring ... trying to get the rate back to where it was in high school ... I've come to the realization, that no matter how well I practice and learn, the only way to do that is through quantity, through practicing at every moment that I get & through practicing with the fullest intensity ... recording practice sessions helps tremendously ...
I'm gonna try to get a playing group together for next semester, where me & any other interested students play for one another on a weekly basis & then maybe have a listening or discussion or presentation time afterwards ... hopefully it will take off... need to generate interest...
I wanted to plan an outdoor concert, but I really don't know if I have the time to ... hopefully I can though ... if things calm down a bit, I'll try and put things together ... would be so amazing ...
So anyway ... on to the title... I played a piece for Kyle Welch's Sr. Recital at Purchase tonight ... it went pretty well ... there were some timing/communication issues, but we had only had one rehearsal, so not bad all things considered ... I also got to watch some interesting music that Bridget Ellsworth had composed ... particularly, a string quartet & a viola/piano piece w/ a dancer ...
The players there were all very good ... I've come to the conclusion that it's not that they're necessarily more talented, but it is that they work at things more/are more devoted & that they have better tools than the people here, and that's really what it comes down to ... I'm still trying to get in touch with Julia Lichten ... it will happen at some point ...
The piece we did was a Song Cycle for Voice, Flute, Clarinet, Violin/Viola & Cello ... kind of an allusion to Pierrot Lunaire (sp?) as far as instrumentation goes ... was very cool music overall & everyone was really friendly and easy to work with (not to mention quirky in their own ways ... so much more going on than here!)
The cellist who played in the other quartet had such a focused tone and bow control ... his left hand was very relaxed/controlled too. In one sense, it almost seemed too clean, on the other hand, very focused and efficient ... I'm glad I didn't start in a conservatory, but I can't wait to get into one some day...
I'm wondering if I should try to get in touch with teachers from other conservatories over the summer, b/c as much as I want to go to purchase, it might be shooting myself in the foot not to give myself other options (on the other hand, if I can't get in to Purchase, I doubt I can get into the higher level conservatories, though I think it's worth it to try auditioning for Julliard & MSM & Mannes and all the rest ... how amazing would it be if I could get into MSM??!!! Maybe I should make that my goal.)
Anyway, I'm exhausted and gonna take a break for the night, but can't wait for tomorrow so that I can practice like mad and then go to Symphony-X/Epica/Into Eternity ...
Also, Arlene Kaplan (my school's instrumental/vocal competition) is next friday (1 wk from today) .. I'm preparing the Courante from Bach Suite 1, Haydn C 1st mov. & Elgar 1st mov. ... it's all stuff I've done before, but not on the level that I'm beginning to play at now (a level where I can begin to put technique more aside & concentrate on things like phrasing and listening and making music), so I have a *ton* of work to do on those & not enough time to do it, but I'm gonna get it done!!
That's all for now ... will definitely try and blog about the metal show tomorrow night ...
I'm gonna try to get a playing group together for next semester, where me & any other interested students play for one another on a weekly basis & then maybe have a listening or discussion or presentation time afterwards ... hopefully it will take off... need to generate interest...
I wanted to plan an outdoor concert, but I really don't know if I have the time to ... hopefully I can though ... if things calm down a bit, I'll try and put things together ... would be so amazing ...
So anyway ... on to the title... I played a piece for Kyle Welch's Sr. Recital at Purchase tonight ... it went pretty well ... there were some timing/communication issues, but we had only had one rehearsal, so not bad all things considered ... I also got to watch some interesting music that Bridget Ellsworth had composed ... particularly, a string quartet & a viola/piano piece w/ a dancer ...
The players there were all very good ... I've come to the conclusion that it's not that they're necessarily more talented, but it is that they work at things more/are more devoted & that they have better tools than the people here, and that's really what it comes down to ... I'm still trying to get in touch with Julia Lichten ... it will happen at some point ...
The piece we did was a Song Cycle for Voice, Flute, Clarinet, Violin/Viola & Cello ... kind of an allusion to Pierrot Lunaire (sp?) as far as instrumentation goes ... was very cool music overall & everyone was really friendly and easy to work with (not to mention quirky in their own ways ... so much more going on than here!)
The cellist who played in the other quartet had such a focused tone and bow control ... his left hand was very relaxed/controlled too. In one sense, it almost seemed too clean, on the other hand, very focused and efficient ... I'm glad I didn't start in a conservatory, but I can't wait to get into one some day...
I'm wondering if I should try to get in touch with teachers from other conservatories over the summer, b/c as much as I want to go to purchase, it might be shooting myself in the foot not to give myself other options (on the other hand, if I can't get in to Purchase, I doubt I can get into the higher level conservatories, though I think it's worth it to try auditioning for Julliard & MSM & Mannes and all the rest ... how amazing would it be if I could get into MSM??!!! Maybe I should make that my goal.)
Anyway, I'm exhausted and gonna take a break for the night, but can't wait for tomorrow so that I can practice like mad and then go to Symphony-X/Epica/Into Eternity ...
Also, Arlene Kaplan (my school's instrumental/vocal competition) is next friday (1 wk from today) .. I'm preparing the Courante from Bach Suite 1, Haydn C 1st mov. & Elgar 1st mov. ... it's all stuff I've done before, but not on the level that I'm beginning to play at now (a level where I can begin to put technique more aside & concentrate on things like phrasing and listening and making music), so I have a *ton* of work to do on those & not enough time to do it, but I'm gonna get it done!!
That's all for now ... will definitely try and blog about the metal show tomorrow night ...
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