It's been a while...

So, the other day I had a realization. Not only do I have to continue to study classical music ... I want to.

I was working on the Bach 2 Prelude for NRHS PAVE Alumni Show, and I was really working on playing it well by doing things like having structured phrases & consistent intonation and clean playing, in addition to my own personal musical inclinations. Not only was it so satisfying to work on this piece on a higher level, but it also made it clear that if I want to progress as a cellist, it's not enough for me to just work on scales and technique, because that type of work only makes up a portion of the required skills.


The PAVE show was incredibly cool. I got to meet some very awesome musicians and actors who were a couple of years ahead of me and who were apparently impressed with my playing. I played the Bach 2 prelude through the delay on my amp ... forgot part of it as I was playing, but connected things in a way that nobody noticed. Afterwards, we all went out to dinner & I got to sit next to an old (art) teacher of mine who, in addition to having a large impact on my development, is an incredibly interesting and fascinating person. We stayed at the diner until 2am! Talk about fun!

The next day I had rehearsal with Lachi (http://myspace.com/ulachi) for our upcoming gig at the Knitting Factory (um, holy shit, I'm playing at the Knitting Factory! This is beyond cool!). I've got a solo set tomorrow, Jekyll and Hyde in the near future, and Haydn's The Creation, as well as a set w/ Jason Fresta (http://www.myspace.com/jasonfresta). Some more things coming up after that...

I don't think I wrote about A New Brain/Sweeney ... they were both awesome, though made my last days at school much more stressful. For Sweeney, the commute really sucked, but I met some awesome people.


Anyway, here's what actually prompted this post:

Summer Practice Goals:
-30 hrs. a week (this will be achieved successively - 15, 20, 25, 30)
-Ability to play most metallica songs w/ ease
-Proficiency in thumb position
-Being able to play very fast with ease
-Reworking all of the classical pieces I've studied so that they sound good (Bach 1, 2, 4, Haydn C, Elgar mov. 1)
-Getting through as many Dotzauer and Popper Etudes as possible
-To be able to play on the level of conservatory graduates
-Progressing further than I think is possible


That's all for now ... tomorrow determines if I met my 15 hr. goal for this week.

Recently

1. Quad Jam - my school's outdoor band festival ... played 2 sets & got some really positive feedback. Used delay & flange on my amp & did some very cool stuff w/ it.
2. Recently formed a band w/ my brother & a school friend, named Josh. We're going to start rehearsing in June. May have a bass player joining soon.
3. May be joining a band in Queens in the near future. I will post more about this if/when it actually happens.
4. A New Brain - great, fun musical ... doing a 3 weekend run. This coming weekend is the last weekend.
5. Sweeney Todd - as soon as A New Brain is over, I start rehearsals for Sweeney & then do a 2 weekend run.
6. Just saw The Birthday Massacre (http://www.myspace.com/thebirthdaymassacre) - check em out, they're awesome
7. I might jam with this band (Remedy: http://myspace.com/remedynewyork) over the summer.
8. I just created a myspace for a music project I've got going on, check it out: http://www.myspace.com/PejorativelyYours

Basically, I've really got some stuff that's ready to explode & develop the second I'm out of school ... can't wait!

Weird!

So I have my recital on Sunday ... I had my dress rehearsal today ... it sucked!

Like seriously, it's great to know the worst that it could come out:

Why did it suck:
1. I'm on the verge of getting sick (thank you to my 9 yr. old student for having a cold 2 wks. in a row!! Ah well, I love my students so much! All of them!)
2. I took a *long* shower last night ... this is bad for callouses ...

And that's what's weird ... my playing went down for the first time in weeks, btwn. my inability to concentrate & all the extra muscle tension that comes w/ getting sick + my missing callouses ... it was all so strange.

Anyway, lesson + rehearsals + practicing means my technique's back up & in good shape ... just got some more note learning and crystallizing to do!

I'll get there & it's gonna be awesome!

Revelation

I realized something important today ... all of the folks who inspire me musically have the following characteristics:

1. Music is the most important thing in their life
2. Multi-Instrumentalists (or instrument + vox)
3. Extremely driven (creatively or technically)

The main part of the above, that's important, is the multi-instrumental part ... for the last few years, I've always wondered how to describe myself ... I compose, I play cello, keys, guitar & I sing ... so I realized the best way to describe myself is as a multi-instrumentalist who's main instrument is cello.

I really get just as excited and into all the other instruments that I do, and I plan to develop my skills on all of them - for their own sake and because of the synergistic technical effects, as well as the increased musical understanding.

I'd really love to learn some classical piano/guitar once I'm out of school ...

anyway, I should go to sleep now...

A Change of Program & The Future

Alright, so first off, I've modified my recital program (It's 2 weeks away!)

I've switched out the Schelomo for the Elgar, b/c it's a little bit above both mine & my pianist's head at the moment (and maybe I'd be able to get it done in the next 2 wks, if I tore my hair out, but I couldn't do an amazing job, and I don't want that). I'm still going to be working on it though, because it's really pushed my technique in the last couple of days ...


Now as for the future ... here's my plans for the moment (once school's over)

1. Driving taxis to make money
2. Finding more students & gigs
3. Putting together or joining a rock band (I think I'd rather put one together) & pursuing that professionally
4. Practicing like a devil & playing guitar/keyboard & singing too


I really, truly want to be in a rock band professionally ... it's not the first time I've had this feeling, and I always come back to it ... I really think it's what I'm meant to do ... it's the thing that inspires me the most, it's the music I love, and I really think it's what I need to be putting all of my energy into

And if it doesn't work out professionally, at least it will be fun.

So because that's my goal I need to think about what role things like classical music and taking lessons are going to have in my life. What I've decided is this: they're still going to be there, because I enjoy them & learn a lot from doing them, but they *are not* going to be the forefront of what I'm doing. I really need to focus on writing my own music & learning to play the music that really inspires me & doing completely new, expansive things with cello ... I need to be in the rock world, and that's what I'm going to do ... classical's gonna be my nice little thing I study on the side.

As far as gigs go, I'll obviously do whatever I can get my hands on ... I really want to get my chops up to a point where I can consistently do studio work ... the other thing I'd really like to do is pit work (which I already do a good amount of) ... I really love doing these things.

So that's where I am at the moment. I also really need to concentrate on always increasing my rate of progression ... I'm so dying to get out of school...

Edit:
My classical plans involve learning the rest of the Haydn C really well, and then after that learning the rest of the Elgar really well ... from there, I'll see where I want to go ... but those two are going to take a while.

I'm not doing Summit this summer, but that's more for financial reasons ... I really want to see where I am at the end of summer ... hopefully somewhere good and amazing..

Thanks to everyone who's read this/supported me in the past. Especially, thanks to Emily Wright for all your encouragement & advice.

Fuck!!

I haven't updated in a really long time for all sorts of reasons ... but basically being busy ...

Anyway. Had the concerto competition earlier ... I lost it (2 contestants, I came in 2nd) ... I was playing the Elgar Concerto (1st mov.) ... something I've been working on for almost a year and a half ... later I was talking with somebody, and basically the following came out: "I hate when I don't reach my full potential in anything ... and in 4 years here, I haven't really ever reached my full potential ... I don't have enough time to practice, and it's a cyclical thing" ...


It's really frustrating & really true ... I'm still not where I should be & that piece wasn't up to the basic level (it was close though) ... I'm still not making mind-blowing progress like I used to & I still don't have real callouses like I used to ... So I've got to change for good. I'm promising myself that on all weekends, I'm going to practice 3 hours every day ... every other day, I've got to practice 2, and wednesday will be my day off (b/c I have orchestra that day anyway, and it's just impossible to practice w/out waking up at about 6:00 AM ... but I need to do more if I'm ever going to make it or amount to anything on cello ...

The End.

PS. I don't mean to say I'm sore about the results of the competition ... I'm not ... I'm just pissed at myself for not being better and not being the best I can yet again... the other person in the competition did a great, amazing job w/ some really awesome pieces (Grieg Piano Concerto & Slow movement from the Pathetique ... can't go wrong w/ that shit!!) ... she deserves it & I'm sure it's gonna be an amazing performance!

Recent Musical Life

I haven't posted to this blog, or to my Livejournal in forever. In fact, I should be doing my Italian Homework right now ... but this is more interesting ...

Musical Life has been going very well ... To summarize, I'm doing the following:

Ensembles:
Mville MIDI Band
Mville Chorus
St. Thomas Orchestra
Mville Orchestra
Mville Small Jazz Ensemble

I'm also working on:
Bach Suite 4
Schelomo
Beethoven Clarinet Trio
Bacchianas Brasilieras
Elgar Concerto (1st Movement)
Vivaldi Double Concerto

I'm also currently playing in Into the Woods. So my musical plate is quite full! (as it should be!) & I'm beginning to feel like a cellist again (which comes w/ lots of practicing ... 59 hours for the month of October - shooting for *at least* 90 this month).

Most important to recent times though: I'm in a band. We're called the Faceless Quartet. We've had about 6 or 7 rehearsals, and every rehearsals it was just consistently me & this other kid showing up (and other people not showing!) ... on our most recent rehearsal, we brought in this kid on sax/flute & there was some chemistry there for sure ... we started jamming & stuff really came together quite amazingly. It was so unexpected & so much what being in a band should feel like ... I think we've really got something ahead of us & am quite excited to see what we can do... He's the first person I've met in a very long time who's made me want to really practice.

So that's where I'm at right now...
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Some things I've wanted to blog about over the last month:

1. Nacht Mystium/High On Fire/Opeth Concert - quite an awesome concert ... Nacht Mystium was interesting, though they had EQ problems. Their drummer was pretty crazy in the sense that he was playing pretty complicated stuff, but looked very relaxed/in the zone ... it's pretty rare to see a band where the drummer really stands above the rest so much. High On Fire is actually probably the worst band I've seen or heard live (and I don't mean that facetiously!). Their music was incredibly unoriginal, and almost never went beyond power chords and/or barred 4ths w/ a very occasional blues pattern ... absolutely not recommended! Opeth was quite amazing. They played a good variety of songs, and I recognized some of their newer stuff this time around, as well as their older stuff ... it's hard to remember specifically what they played. I also hung out w/ my friend Rebecca through most of this, it was quite cool.

2. Schelomo & Bach 4 have been going fairly well ... I finally feel a little more like I'm working on an advanced level in my playing and in my lessons. I wish I had gotten here sooner, but am very glad to be here. I feel like I could be moving a little bit faster w/ both, but I need to find more practice time in order to do so ... a bit challenging with all these school responsibilities.

3. I apparently wanted to blog about practicing ... probably that I'm practicing a lot better than I have .. I've got things pretty routine & am switching back & forth between a Galamian exercise, a chord exercise I invented, Thumb Position exercises & other exercises I come up with. I wish I had more time for it! Keeping a practice log is incredibly helpful

4. I also saw Apocalyptica (it really has been an incredibly long time since I've blogged!). They were pretty good/fun/interesting to see. I feel they could get louder earlier in their set, and I also feel that they could benefit from more tonal variety in their music. I also feel they could push the crowd more. Despite this, I still think they're quite good (especially to play all that they play standing up!)

5. I also saw Nightwish ... or well, I saw Sonata Arctica for free ... Nightwish cancelled due to singer sickness :( (Though I just found out they're coming back in May - can't wait!!). Sonata was very interesting ... I'm not sure I liked their music, but their performance was quite amazing ... they're something about older bands ... they've got something a lot of newer bands don't...

6. One thing that came up during lessons (in relation to bowing) is to imagine that there's a line between my elbow & 1st finger & to always be aware of that. There in fact is at least 1 line between my elbow and each of my fingers - they are called tendons ... it was very helpful to think of that connection!

7. I've started practicing scales for tone and playing as loudly as I can (without really forcing) again ... quite helpful.

8. We had our first cello class at Manhattanville a few weeks ago ... it was on positions. I'll try and upload things when I get a chance - it was so cool, even though there were only 2 of us! Our next one is going to involve mapping bow motion through reflective gloves in a dark room - quite exciting.

9. The Bacchianas Brasilieras is quite cool - I'm playing the 2nd part (my teacher is playing the first ... um, that's exciting) ... it's doing quite a number on my fingers (16th note tenor register pizzicato!! yikes) ... it's a good piece to work on my weak spots & we're going to put it on most likely some time next semester

10. I got to hang w/ Danny Gray recently for the first time since the summer - it was awesome & fun ... we did a gig & jammed & talked about music & stuff ... the jamming went well ... I think a lot better than previously ... I don't feel so far below him anymore (which is not to say that I'm quite on the same level either ... there's just not so much of a gap) ... the jazz education is really helping there...

11. One last thing ... the Beethoven Clarinet Trio - we had a very good performance of it at the informal recital - as in it was the best performance we had done, as well as the best performance on the recital ... we really performed it on an advanced level ... one person even commented that she forgot we were students ... quite exhilarating ... that was just the first movement ... lots of work to do on the 3rd ... haven't even gotten to the 2nd yet!

Some exercises I've come up with:
1. LH 16th exercise - this involves maintaining a single hand position & slurring bows (or not slurring) & doing different patterns in 16ths - it's great for building dexterity/finger strength ... particularly when done in double stops!!

2. Do Technical work with music blasting ... this forces you to play with a certain strength/tone - something I really haven't done in a long time... I also have a somewhat quiet cello (not up close)


That's all for now! I need to do my italian homework so that I'll have some practice time tomorrow ... so sick of these non-music classes right now! Though I guess they also help stop me from being a robot...