A long list, but this is all stuff I hope to achieve... ideally, I'll go far beyond this in the new year
Goals:
1. To consistently practice 3 hours or more a day.
2. To record a cd with a combination of acoustic and electric cello material that I can be proud of, and can sell commercially (on a small/local level... we're not talking getting signed to a label or anything). Also, to make good use of facebook and myspace for networking (check my profile for links...)
3. To get technically in shape & play at the top of my potential. Particularly to be able to play at fast tempi with ease & to have a relaxed, controlled vibrato, along with very strong bow technique
4. To get a good tube amplifier & a good carbon fiber bow.
5. To develop a solid understanding of jazz & to be able to to improvise and play well in a jazz band setting
6. To continue to write music for acoustic/electric cello & to expand to include other instruments (particularly clarinet, violin & piano)
7. To continue to work on and promote music by living composers
8. To start playing in clubs/getting gigs that are outside of my school
9. To continue to transition from being a student studying the cello to doing professional work, and to eventually quit my retail job
10. To play acoustic/electric cello in a band
11. To make at least 3 times as much progress as I made in 2007
12. To work through the entire Elgar concerto on a very high level, and to win my school's concerto competition with the first movement. Then to rework the Haydn C and possibly move on to either Saint-Saens, Schumann, Dvorak or all three...
13. To take on one or two more students
14. To inspire others and continue to meet new and interesting musicians
15. To impress my first cello teacher
16. To learn Bach Suites 3 & 4 (ideally to learn all of them)
17. (AND MOST IMPORTANT) To have fun!!
Some reflections and comments about the musicals I'm involved in probably to follow... if I can stay awake that is...
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Sunday, December 30, 2007
So can you teach Improvisation??
In my opinion, the answer is a resounding yes!!
First of all, what is improvisation? Well, it's composition, but without writing it down. Generally, most people would agree that composition can be taught, so if composition can be taught, why not improv?
Assuming it can be taught, what does it mean to teach improvisation. Well, like anything else in music, there are a million different things to look at. There's form & harmony & theory. Then there's styles, and then there's story-telling. On top of that, you can look at things melodically, harmonically, orchestration-ally.
For me, I'm interested in styles mostly. So how do you understand one? Well, first you have to look at the scales used in the styles. Take the classical style for example, generally it uses either the Major scale or the Minor scale. So first there's this world of scales ... then from there, you have your world of harmony and triads based upon those scales. Almost every style has some kind of tension & resolution, so you can look for that as well.
Today, working with Hillary, we did a little bit with folk music (she asked if we could work on styles and I was a little thrown off... so when in doubt, I thought the pentatonic scale would work - after all, it's applicable cross-style, and the blues scale is a modified pentatonic, so that covers blues & rock as well as folk music). First we went over the basic scale, the notes, what degrees of a classical scale they would be (In this case, EGABDE - 134571). From there we went into story-telling I started the story with a one liner about an Indian (native american) chief, followed by a musical line. She then followed and we went on, basically ad libbing for a few more turns.
I hadn't really though of the story telling approach, but with purely instrumental music, it makes a ton of sense (I think) & it's basically what we do when playing classical music (part of what draws me so much to Steven Isserlis and his playing is his focus on the composer and the story they tell through the piece).
Any thoughts? anyone worked on improv. here, either on your own, or with teacher? If so, what did you do and how effective did you think it was?
First of all, what is improvisation? Well, it's composition, but without writing it down. Generally, most people would agree that composition can be taught, so if composition can be taught, why not improv?
Assuming it can be taught, what does it mean to teach improvisation. Well, like anything else in music, there are a million different things to look at. There's form & harmony & theory. Then there's styles, and then there's story-telling. On top of that, you can look at things melodically, harmonically, orchestration-ally.
For me, I'm interested in styles mostly. So how do you understand one? Well, first you have to look at the scales used in the styles. Take the classical style for example, generally it uses either the Major scale or the Minor scale. So first there's this world of scales ... then from there, you have your world of harmony and triads based upon those scales. Almost every style has some kind of tension & resolution, so you can look for that as well.
Today, working with Hillary, we did a little bit with folk music (she asked if we could work on styles and I was a little thrown off... so when in doubt, I thought the pentatonic scale would work - after all, it's applicable cross-style, and the blues scale is a modified pentatonic, so that covers blues & rock as well as folk music). First we went over the basic scale, the notes, what degrees of a classical scale they would be (In this case, EGABDE - 134571). From there we went into story-telling I started the story with a one liner about an Indian (native american) chief, followed by a musical line. She then followed and we went on, basically ad libbing for a few more turns.
I hadn't really though of the story telling approach, but with purely instrumental music, it makes a ton of sense (I think) & it's basically what we do when playing classical music (part of what draws me so much to Steven Isserlis and his playing is his focus on the composer and the story they tell through the piece).
Any thoughts? anyone worked on improv. here, either on your own, or with teacher? If so, what did you do and how effective did you think it was?
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Back to the Meaning of Cello!!
I played with my old hs Orchestra again tonight. I love doing it. For one thing, the music is almost always fun, and for two, I absolutely love Mr. O, he's such an amazing person. But on top of that, it reminds me of what I'm not. Especially when I get to see my old friends from high school & where they're at and how they've progressed and what they've studied. It makes me value this whole classical music thing again in a way that I don't really get to value it at Manhattanville. Recently, I've had some debate over whether or not I wanted to take time off from school, and also whether or not I actually want to do grad school. Being back home & playing gain is making me feel like I'd be crazy to take time off or not do grad school. I have so much freaking work to do though. Time to start now!!
So back to the meaning of cello. I started practicing again (finally) after seeing Steven Isserlis (I had been not playing for about a month due to all sorts of problems & being burnt out and stuff of that sort ... no complaints there; I needed to develop in other ways, and I'm so glad to have done that.) but anyway, I finaly started a bit of actual practice tonight (with scales & such. i'm finding the challenge is to focus and not lose ight of the music and sound in favor of technique. The challenge is also to play relaxed & constantly find new ways to do this. I know I need to do some callous building. I've noticed with my 3rd and 4th fingers, I don't always put the previous finger down when it would be beneficial. I also noticed that I can use the other fingers to control vibrato in a way that I haven't really done before. I also noticed that even when I'm concentrating on the left hand, my bow still has to move... I have a bad habit of stopping it, which creates tension and interrupt the music ... it seems the trick is to think about both simultaneously, and how they relate (kind of like listening to a symphony, or heavy metal - you want to be able to hear all the parts and more importantly how they all go together)
.
Regarding the right hand, I've noticed that I have a tendency to remove my 2nd and 3rd fingers, which serves no purpose, creates tension and reduces the tone quality of the sound. I find with both hands, I really need to think of all 4 fingers together. Also I want to quote Isserlis (not verbatim) that on a string instrument, the bow is the primary method of expression - so true, it really creates almost everything. The left hand just allows for some tweaking. I've also noticed, that after seeing Isserlis, my left hand techniques reverted more to what it used to be (getting the tapping noises on the fingerboard, and releasing my fingers in order to stop notes - instead of pressing). It's really inspiring. Once I get back in shape & get some more vibrato control, I'll finally feel that my technique is truly where it could be and that I'm actually fulfilling my potential (which so far, I've never done at school, with the possible exception of my recital).
On another note, Kodaly is amazing (Elgar too, but Kodaly really truly makes me want to push my technique further) & I can hear music more and more in ways that I couldn't before - it's so inspiring.... can't wait for the xmas eve masses. Those should be fun!!
Ostrofsky gave me a copy of the Beaux Arts doing the Dumky Trio and of his trio (when it still existed) doing Dvorak's F Minor - man did they have energy!! (and this is off the crappy internal iMac speaker). I can't wait to put that on my ipod.
Finally, I'm beginning to update my myspace (http://www.myspace.com/mlunapiena) a bit more and hope to have a few more recordings, plus some vids up there by the end of the break. Actually... last finally, I'm getting a new case: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEBTOX:IT&item=280183288801&_trksid=p3984.cTODAY.m238.lVI I'm so excited, especially since mine's been giving me trouble/falling apart lately.
That's all for now... might go practice some more (or go to sleep since it's 2...)
So back to the meaning of cello. I started practicing again (finally) after seeing Steven Isserlis (I had been not playing for about a month due to all sorts of problems & being burnt out and stuff of that sort ... no complaints there; I needed to develop in other ways, and I'm so glad to have done that.) but anyway, I finaly started a bit of actual practice tonight (with scales & such. i'm finding the challenge is to focus and not lose ight of the music and sound in favor of technique. The challenge is also to play relaxed & constantly find new ways to do this. I know I need to do some callous building. I've noticed with my 3rd and 4th fingers, I don't always put the previous finger down when it would be beneficial. I also noticed that I can use the other fingers to control vibrato in a way that I haven't really done before. I also noticed that even when I'm concentrating on the left hand, my bow still has to move... I have a bad habit of stopping it, which creates tension and interrupt the music ... it seems the trick is to think about both simultaneously, and how they relate (kind of like listening to a symphony, or heavy metal - you want to be able to hear all the parts and more importantly how they all go together)
.
Regarding the right hand, I've noticed that I have a tendency to remove my 2nd and 3rd fingers, which serves no purpose, creates tension and reduces the tone quality of the sound. I find with both hands, I really need to think of all 4 fingers together. Also I want to quote Isserlis (not verbatim) that on a string instrument, the bow is the primary method of expression - so true, it really creates almost everything. The left hand just allows for some tweaking. I've also noticed, that after seeing Isserlis, my left hand techniques reverted more to what it used to be (getting the tapping noises on the fingerboard, and releasing my fingers in order to stop notes - instead of pressing). It's really inspiring. Once I get back in shape & get some more vibrato control, I'll finally feel that my technique is truly where it could be and that I'm actually fulfilling my potential (which so far, I've never done at school, with the possible exception of my recital).
On another note, Kodaly is amazing (Elgar too, but Kodaly really truly makes me want to push my technique further) & I can hear music more and more in ways that I couldn't before - it's so inspiring.... can't wait for the xmas eve masses. Those should be fun!!
Ostrofsky gave me a copy of the Beaux Arts doing the Dumky Trio and of his trio (when it still existed) doing Dvorak's F Minor - man did they have energy!! (and this is off the crappy internal iMac speaker). I can't wait to put that on my ipod.
Finally, I'm beginning to update my myspace (http://www.myspace.com/mlunapiena) a bit more and hope to have a few more recordings, plus some vids up there by the end of the break. Actually... last finally, I'm getting a new case: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEBTOX:IT&item=280183288801&_trksid=p3984.cTODAY.m238.lVI I'm so excited, especially since mine's been giving me trouble/falling apart lately.
That's all for now... might go practice some more (or go to sleep since it's 2...)
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Ugh, This irritates me!!
So a while ago, this kid posted on the ICS about learning cello... don't remember the original post much, but a lot of ppl shot him down for trying to teach himself/learn without a teacher (and don't get me wrong, I am always in favor of taking lessons and learning from someone who can play an instrument well)
Anyway, this kid comes back and posts this video (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4GUOLRXsrBY) going "hah, I told you I could learn" and one of the first posts in response calls what he did noise (as opposed to music) & puts him down for not learning the cello ... personally I found that really irritating.
Not only did I think what he did was really cool (musically & technically) ... I'm also not sure I could do the same (probably with a bit of work I can - just need to figure out all the things he did... plus what the source material is)... and finally, just cuz you're not into a certain type of music doesn't give you a right to put down others for doing things different from you... certainly not in a setting like that... I dunno, anyone have thoughts on the video, or the posting??
By the way, Eric Edberg recently posted some improv stuff that I haven't had a chance to check out too much, but if you haven't I suggest you do. He's a very interesting guy. Greg Sandow also has some interesting stuff...
Anyway, school's out, so I'm starting to get back in the swing of things... I saw 3 concerts last week... planning to write those up soon.
Anyway, this kid comes back and posts this video (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4GUOLRXsrBY) going "hah, I told you I could learn" and one of the first posts in response calls what he did noise (as opposed to music) & puts him down for not learning the cello ... personally I found that really irritating.
Not only did I think what he did was really cool (musically & technically) ... I'm also not sure I could do the same (probably with a bit of work I can - just need to figure out all the things he did... plus what the source material is)... and finally, just cuz you're not into a certain type of music doesn't give you a right to put down others for doing things different from you... certainly not in a setting like that... I dunno, anyone have thoughts on the video, or the posting??
By the way, Eric Edberg recently posted some improv stuff that I haven't had a chance to check out too much, but if you haven't I suggest you do. He's a very interesting guy. Greg Sandow also has some interesting stuff...
Anyway, school's out, so I'm starting to get back in the swing of things... I saw 3 concerts last week... planning to write those up soon.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Recent Happenings
1. 2 Concerts - Orchestra & Small ensembles... After the small ensembles concert, someone added me as a friend on facebook & complimented my playing... very strong possibility we'll be forming a quartet next semester!
2. One of my teachers wrote a piece for a voice student here & asked me to play the cello part!!
3. This same teacher also asked me to come up with a working title for a piece that she will write for me ... I'm thinking of doing something with Loki, or maybe turning it into a bigger idea... like a whole mythology suite... or even different... I'm thinking of commissioning one piece from each mythology from a different composer - that would be neat!!
4. I got hired to play Amahl & the Night Visitors with my old high school in february
5. I'm done with Ear Training!! NO MORE SOLFEGE!!!! ... I love ear training & and do it all the time on my own... I *hate* solfege.
That's all for now... just trying to get through the end of the semester... it finishes with a Trans-Siberian Orchestra Concert... can't wait... anyway, need to go get food..
2. One of my teachers wrote a piece for a voice student here & asked me to play the cello part!!
3. This same teacher also asked me to come up with a working title for a piece that she will write for me ... I'm thinking of doing something with Loki, or maybe turning it into a bigger idea... like a whole mythology suite... or even different... I'm thinking of commissioning one piece from each mythology from a different composer - that would be neat!!
4. I got hired to play Amahl & the Night Visitors with my old high school in february
5. I'm done with Ear Training!! NO MORE SOLFEGE!!!! ... I love ear training & and do it all the time on my own... I *hate* solfege.
That's all for now... just trying to get through the end of the semester... it finishes with a Trans-Siberian Orchestra Concert... can't wait... anyway, need to go get food..
Monday, November 19, 2007
Teaching!!
Teaching is amazing!
It's been a great trip so far. I now have two students & I've had a few lessons with each.
Hillary:
Is applying for music therapy for grad school & so is taking up cello again. She used to play regularly, but then took about 2 years off, so we're rebuilding technique and things of that sort. I'm slowly working on getting her to practice more, and she seems to want to go in that direction. I alos might tell her to go buy an actual bow (she has one of those $30 fiberglaass bows that come with beginner cellos...) at some point... But anyway, we're currently working on "The Swan" & scales & using a metronome to improve one's playing. Her left and right hand techniques need some adjustment, but she's getting there & we've been able to talk about things like breathing while playing & learning to be aware of tension... I'm just slightly worried about whether or not I'll be able to prepare her for auditions in time... gonna have to start stepping things up on both ends, I guess... We should be starting some improvisation next week...
Declan:
A 13 year old with a really busy schedule, who also plays guitar. We've had 2 lessons so far. He's definitely got a good sense for music, not to mention a good sense of pitch. His orchestra program at school is only 3 days a week (it started a few years ago) & he has limited practice time, but he seems interested and I sort of figure my job is to talk as much about technique as possible & really just to inspire him & keep throwing more music at him - we've been reading some stuff out of Solo Time for Strings... speaking of which, I need to pick up extra copies of those.
So, those are my two students & teaching them is great, beacause I get to think about my own technique and go over things I do in my lessons, as well as be aware of things I don't go. I'm hoping to find another student or two during the next month/two ... I'm gonna put up flyers to that end really soon.
I also came across this thread recently:
http://p078.ezboard.com/Any-pointers-for-someone-starting-to-teach/fcellofuncellochat.showMessage?topicID=18008.topic
Particularly this part of it:
So: where do you start when teaching:
1. How to sit. Stand in front of chair. Sit on front half. Legs in correct position, sitting upright so back is neither curved nor hyper-extended (arched).
2. How to position the endpin. (You need that before you can play!) Stand back up. Extend endpin so the scroll comes just under the student's nose if it's a bit up in the air, as if he/she is a bit snobby. It won't be perfect - you'll adjust below - but that trick will get you close.
3. Sit back down and show how cello is positioned. Check that the cello is adjusted to the student, not the student the cello. Lots of people seem to want to bend out of the instrument's way - which will only cause them tension and pain later. Talk about how the cello will contact the chest at the breastbone and the sides at the knees with the pegs behind the left ear. If you haven't done this yourself lately, take a look at your posture and see that the left knee is at the corner and the right knee is more on the lower bout. You'll have an easier time explaining it if you check yourself out first!
4. I teach pizz first, then left hand, as everybody wants to play a song. Experience tells me that they'll happily practice bowing open strings for a couple weeks IF they can pluck a song. So for pizz, I teach: Thumb up! Thumb down! Thumb against the fingerboard. Reach out and pluck with 1st finger. I know that sounds kinda silly, but it seems to prevent the thumb under the fingerboard trick that invariably results in plucking with the nail. (Eww!)
5. At this point, I teach the names of the strings. Top to bottom, bottom to top, it doesn't matter. I let adult students choose, actually. I think it makes them feel like they have some choices in it all!
6. Then left hand. I use pencil marks; maybe you like tape. Whatever. I mark the 1 and the 4 only; the concept is that the 2 and 3 get evenly spaced. So we do the "hold the coke can" trick and then turn the hand over and put it on the strings. ALL FOUR FINGERS DOWN AT FIRST. (If you put just 1st finger down, you'll end up with the other fingers going someplace strange. Put all four down and then learn to lift up and set back down.)
7. Practice fun little tunes like D - G (with 4 fingers) - open G. Teaches tuning 4 to the string below. Teaches getting hand into position. Theoretically, if the 1 and 4 are in the right place, it's teaching the spacing, as well. Work on making a good sound that rings, rather than the "thook" that comes when you don't have the string quite right. Show your student that squeezing harder doesn't help make "thook" go away, but making an small adjustment to the finger should.
8. Teach picking up 4th finger and playing 3rd finger. Show how 4 should hover in place, ready to play again as needed. Now you can play Here Comes the Bride: D-G-GG. D-A-F#,G.
9. Finally, teach picking up 4, 3, and 2 to play 1. Check that the hand retains its shape and isn't tipped entirely back for 1 and nothing else is in place any more. (Try it again, because it all WILL be tipped back and out of place!)
10. Now you can teach exciting things like open-string scales going down (4-3-1-0, 4-3-1-0). Once that concept is there, go back up the scale.
11. Now you can play all those exciting beginner pieces - Twinkle, Mary Had a Little Lamb, etc. How fun. All of this is Pizzicato, you realize, right?
12. Now teach the bow. I have students pick up a pencil off my palm first. They'll reach with their fingertips in a surprisingly bow-hold-like way. They also won't grab the pencil with a death grip, which is a good example of how to hold the bow! I transfer that to a bow hold - at the balance point. (Next week, we'll start moving back down towards the frog.)
13. Now you get to teach about making sound - weight, contact point, and bow speed. I usually spend 30 seconds telling adults about how these three relate, then show them how to make a basic sound in the middle of the bow, using average weight and speed with a central contact point. They can play around a bit with changing those things - and knowing about them will help them solve the inevitable problems of crunches, squeeks, and such.
14. I usually ask adults to practice for 5-10 minutes at a time. They can do 1 practice a day or 10 if they like, but limiting the time should limit the problems of sore fingers, tension, etc. I ask them to practice bowing back and forth on all strings -having picked up a pencil first to remind them of the mild grip one uses on a bow. I ask them to practice getting into 1st position - open string, 4 fingers, open string, 4 fingers, etc. on every string. Then scales downwards, a few little ditties, etc.
Next lesson, you'll fix all the problems and work on some basic pieces in whatever book you choose. I usually put hands together on lesson 2, but it depends how they look alone! Then, when you start a piece, go back to pizz. Learn the notes pizz. Then add the bow. The hardest thing is to do both at once - so don't try to at first!"
So anyway, hopefully in the near future, I'll be able to start blogging some more & getting back to talking about technique, cuz I've noticed I haven't been doing too much of that lately... I've also barely been playing lately, but that's because I've had some other stuff to focus on & am a bit behind on school work... can't wait to get back into it though... it's gonna have a new intensity that I can't wait for.
Anyway, guess that's all for now.
-Mike
It's been a great trip so far. I now have two students & I've had a few lessons with each.
Hillary:
Is applying for music therapy for grad school & so is taking up cello again. She used to play regularly, but then took about 2 years off, so we're rebuilding technique and things of that sort. I'm slowly working on getting her to practice more, and she seems to want to go in that direction. I alos might tell her to go buy an actual bow (she has one of those $30 fiberglaass bows that come with beginner cellos...) at some point... But anyway, we're currently working on "The Swan" & scales & using a metronome to improve one's playing. Her left and right hand techniques need some adjustment, but she's getting there & we've been able to talk about things like breathing while playing & learning to be aware of tension... I'm just slightly worried about whether or not I'll be able to prepare her for auditions in time... gonna have to start stepping things up on both ends, I guess... We should be starting some improvisation next week...
Declan:
A 13 year old with a really busy schedule, who also plays guitar. We've had 2 lessons so far. He's definitely got a good sense for music, not to mention a good sense of pitch. His orchestra program at school is only 3 days a week (it started a few years ago) & he has limited practice time, but he seems interested and I sort of figure my job is to talk as much about technique as possible & really just to inspire him & keep throwing more music at him - we've been reading some stuff out of Solo Time for Strings... speaking of which, I need to pick up extra copies of those.
So, those are my two students & teaching them is great, beacause I get to think about my own technique and go over things I do in my lessons, as well as be aware of things I don't go. I'm hoping to find another student or two during the next month/two ... I'm gonna put up flyers to that end really soon.
I also came across this thread recently:
http://p078.ezboard.com/Any-pointers-for-someone-starting-to-teach/fcellofuncellochat.showMessage?topicID=18008.topic
Particularly this part of it:
So: where do you start when teaching:
1. How to sit. Stand in front of chair. Sit on front half. Legs in correct position, sitting upright so back is neither curved nor hyper-extended (arched).
2. How to position the endpin. (You need that before you can play!) Stand back up. Extend endpin so the scroll comes just under the student's nose if it's a bit up in the air, as if he/she is a bit snobby. It won't be perfect - you'll adjust below - but that trick will get you close.
3. Sit back down and show how cello is positioned. Check that the cello is adjusted to the student, not the student the cello. Lots of people seem to want to bend out of the instrument's way - which will only cause them tension and pain later. Talk about how the cello will contact the chest at the breastbone and the sides at the knees with the pegs behind the left ear. If you haven't done this yourself lately, take a look at your posture and see that the left knee is at the corner and the right knee is more on the lower bout. You'll have an easier time explaining it if you check yourself out first!
4. I teach pizz first, then left hand, as everybody wants to play a song. Experience tells me that they'll happily practice bowing open strings for a couple weeks IF they can pluck a song. So for pizz, I teach: Thumb up! Thumb down! Thumb against the fingerboard. Reach out and pluck with 1st finger. I know that sounds kinda silly, but it seems to prevent the thumb under the fingerboard trick that invariably results in plucking with the nail. (Eww!)
5. At this point, I teach the names of the strings. Top to bottom, bottom to top, it doesn't matter. I let adult students choose, actually. I think it makes them feel like they have some choices in it all!
6. Then left hand. I use pencil marks; maybe you like tape. Whatever. I mark the 1 and the 4 only; the concept is that the 2 and 3 get evenly spaced. So we do the "hold the coke can" trick and then turn the hand over and put it on the strings. ALL FOUR FINGERS DOWN AT FIRST. (If you put just 1st finger down, you'll end up with the other fingers going someplace strange. Put all four down and then learn to lift up and set back down.)
7. Practice fun little tunes like D - G (with 4 fingers) - open G. Teaches tuning 4 to the string below. Teaches getting hand into position. Theoretically, if the 1 and 4 are in the right place, it's teaching the spacing, as well. Work on making a good sound that rings, rather than the "thook" that comes when you don't have the string quite right. Show your student that squeezing harder doesn't help make "thook" go away, but making an small adjustment to the finger should.
8. Teach picking up 4th finger and playing 3rd finger. Show how 4 should hover in place, ready to play again as needed. Now you can play Here Comes the Bride: D-G-GG. D-A-F#,G.
9. Finally, teach picking up 4, 3, and 2 to play 1. Check that the hand retains its shape and isn't tipped entirely back for 1 and nothing else is in place any more. (Try it again, because it all WILL be tipped back and out of place!)
10. Now you can teach exciting things like open-string scales going down (4-3-1-0, 4-3-1-0). Once that concept is there, go back up the scale.
11. Now you can play all those exciting beginner pieces - Twinkle, Mary Had a Little Lamb, etc. How fun. All of this is Pizzicato, you realize, right?
12. Now teach the bow. I have students pick up a pencil off my palm first. They'll reach with their fingertips in a surprisingly bow-hold-like way. They also won't grab the pencil with a death grip, which is a good example of how to hold the bow! I transfer that to a bow hold - at the balance point. (Next week, we'll start moving back down towards the frog.)
13. Now you get to teach about making sound - weight, contact point, and bow speed. I usually spend 30 seconds telling adults about how these three relate, then show them how to make a basic sound in the middle of the bow, using average weight and speed with a central contact point. They can play around a bit with changing those things - and knowing about them will help them solve the inevitable problems of crunches, squeeks, and such.
14. I usually ask adults to practice for 5-10 minutes at a time. They can do 1 practice a day or 10 if they like, but limiting the time should limit the problems of sore fingers, tension, etc. I ask them to practice bowing back and forth on all strings -having picked up a pencil first to remind them of the mild grip one uses on a bow. I ask them to practice getting into 1st position - open string, 4 fingers, open string, 4 fingers, etc. on every string. Then scales downwards, a few little ditties, etc.
Next lesson, you'll fix all the problems and work on some basic pieces in whatever book you choose. I usually put hands together on lesson 2, but it depends how they look alone! Then, when you start a piece, go back to pizz. Learn the notes pizz. Then add the bow. The hardest thing is to do both at once - so don't try to at first!"
So anyway, hopefully in the near future, I'll be able to start blogging some more & getting back to talking about technique, cuz I've noticed I haven't been doing too much of that lately... I've also barely been playing lately, but that's because I've had some other stuff to focus on & am a bit behind on school work... can't wait to get back into it though... it's gonna have a new intensity that I can't wait for.
Anyway, guess that's all for now.
-Mike
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
7 Things about Me!
Well folks, I've been tagged by Emily Wright - http://starkravingcello.blogspot.com/ - for 7 things about me, so here goes
1. I started the cello in my junior year of high school when I was 16. I had the privilege of working with the orchestra teacher (a phenomenal cellist named Fred Ostrofsky) every day & I played about 6 hrs. a day once I got into it ... man I miss those days... before that I jumped around on any of the following: keyboard, electric guitar/bass guitar, trumpet, pan flute, ocarina, flute... anything I could get my hands on... I would really love to try out an oboe someday
2. My experiences with guitar still sick with me a lot!! I'm actually something of an anomaly I think... my main musical inspiration is & always has been heavy metal. Metallica's self-titled was my first cd that I bought & from there, add in some Iron Maiden & Pantera, then some of the more progressive bands (Queensryche, Dream Theater & more) and you've got about half of my musical foundation (oh yeah, can't forget Manowar & Nightwish!). To this day, I'm way more enthusiastic about metal & its derivatives than I am about classical & to that end, I'm working on learning metallica songs on cello. One of my larger artistic goals is being in a band & really pushing the heavy metal cello thing (check out Apocalyptica & Break of Reality)... we'll see what comes of that...
3. I really need a planner!! Because... I take on too much all the time & everything gets very chaotic, and while that's often very fun, it doesn't work very well when it comes to professional obligations & school work and grades and stuff...
4. I like to draw & write poetry/song lyrics (though never any songs... I must change this in the future..). I'm also really into anime & think it's a much better medium than live action film.
5. I'm constantly seeking new ideas & ways to push/inspire myself. Right now, musically, that's Cliff Burton & improvising & modes ... also, jamming with friends as much as possible (including a friend who plays a Duduk - an armenian double reeded clarinet type thing that sounds more like a sax. & less like a clarinet) ... you learn so much just from being around others and hearing all the cool shit they do!
6. I like depression (to an extent) ... I mean, it always sucks to go through it, but I feel like it helps me see life so much more clearly ... it reminds me that I'm alive & it really makes me appreciate all the times where I'm happy & inspired & even the times where I'm not... plus I've just always learned so much from it... my first experiences with depression started at the end of middle school & particularly in my first 2 years of high school... I'm lucky I never saw a therapist or any of that crap, they probably would have tried to put me on pills, fuck that! I also like depression b/c it's related to creativity for me (which is cool afterwards when I get these giant bursts of energy & inspiration ... it's also kind of a scary thought...)
7. When I was young, I wanted to be Mark Hamill... well Luke Skywalker more accurately! Star Wars Trilogy is damn awesome... only thing that compares to it (movie-wise) is the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
Edit: Whoops! Forgot to tag people... I tage Eric Edberg (http://ericedberg.blogspot.com/), and Terry (http://folkcello.blogspot.com/)
Thanks to Emily for the Tag!
1. I started the cello in my junior year of high school when I was 16. I had the privilege of working with the orchestra teacher (a phenomenal cellist named Fred Ostrofsky) every day & I played about 6 hrs. a day once I got into it ... man I miss those days... before that I jumped around on any of the following: keyboard, electric guitar/bass guitar, trumpet, pan flute, ocarina, flute... anything I could get my hands on... I would really love to try out an oboe someday
2. My experiences with guitar still sick with me a lot!! I'm actually something of an anomaly I think... my main musical inspiration is & always has been heavy metal. Metallica's self-titled was my first cd that I bought & from there, add in some Iron Maiden & Pantera, then some of the more progressive bands (Queensryche, Dream Theater & more) and you've got about half of my musical foundation (oh yeah, can't forget Manowar & Nightwish!). To this day, I'm way more enthusiastic about metal & its derivatives than I am about classical & to that end, I'm working on learning metallica songs on cello. One of my larger artistic goals is being in a band & really pushing the heavy metal cello thing (check out Apocalyptica & Break of Reality)... we'll see what comes of that...
3. I really need a planner!! Because... I take on too much all the time & everything gets very chaotic, and while that's often very fun, it doesn't work very well when it comes to professional obligations & school work and grades and stuff...
4. I like to draw & write poetry/song lyrics (though never any songs... I must change this in the future..). I'm also really into anime & think it's a much better medium than live action film.
5. I'm constantly seeking new ideas & ways to push/inspire myself. Right now, musically, that's Cliff Burton & improvising & modes ... also, jamming with friends as much as possible (including a friend who plays a Duduk - an armenian double reeded clarinet type thing that sounds more like a sax. & less like a clarinet) ... you learn so much just from being around others and hearing all the cool shit they do!
6. I like depression (to an extent) ... I mean, it always sucks to go through it, but I feel like it helps me see life so much more clearly ... it reminds me that I'm alive & it really makes me appreciate all the times where I'm happy & inspired & even the times where I'm not... plus I've just always learned so much from it... my first experiences with depression started at the end of middle school & particularly in my first 2 years of high school... I'm lucky I never saw a therapist or any of that crap, they probably would have tried to put me on pills, fuck that! I also like depression b/c it's related to creativity for me (which is cool afterwards when I get these giant bursts of energy & inspiration ... it's also kind of a scary thought...)
7. When I was young, I wanted to be Mark Hamill... well Luke Skywalker more accurately! Star Wars Trilogy is damn awesome... only thing that compares to it (movie-wise) is the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
Edit: Whoops! Forgot to tag people... I tage Eric Edberg (http://ericedberg.blogspot.com/), and Terry (http://folkcello.blogspot.com/)
Thanks to Emily for the Tag!
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