So, for almost a year I have struggled with a cellistic goal ...
The Dotzauer Etude vids. I posted have received an unbelievable (from my perspective) amount of attention ... I really don't know what to make of it ... but obviously there's some power to them ... I stopped after problems with tendinitis & then after my father died ...
I think I'd like to restart them ... but it's so hard to go backwards ... I need to find a way to go forwards to them & incorporate them into my busy life and studies ...
Also, I think there's value in me making vids. of Bach ... I've had some people comment that my vid. of the Bach 2 prelude has helped them in some way ... My playing in the vid. really isn't even that developed (technically or musically) ... I'm worlds better now ... If I was able to affect people from a vid. that poorly recorded, I know I can do so much more if I make them now ...
Food for thought ... but I also think it's the beginning of a plan ...
I need to build a career and this may be one way to help myself do so ...
So I think goals for the next week:
1. Record a demo cd
2. Record the Bach 2 Allemande vid.
3. Pull out the Dotzauer Etudes again ...
Part of the problem is that initially I was doing this 1-2 weeks thing ... I wonder if that's what attracted people or if it's just that it was a vid. of the Dotzauer Etude ...
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Irish/Celtic Fiddle Music
Now that I'm all moved to Queens and have regularly functioning internet, one of the things I'm making it a point to do is always learn ... musically, I'm pursuing one of my oldest and deepest passions: Celtic Fiddle Music ...
I love this stuff like no other!
I feel really connected to it for some reason (I guess in part b/c I'm half Irish) ... but I love the reptition & variation nature of it & just the sound and feel of it all, especially with the ornaments and little stylistic quirks... there's so many great resources on YouTube & the internet for learning this stuff...
There's also a bar right next to me that has an Irish Music night on Fridays ... I'm going to go check it out ...
It's so cool becoming a part of an underground tradition of music that really resonates with me ...
that's what I'm going to do ... it's going to define my musical style in a very strong way & I will record a cd of Celtic music one day!
I love this stuff like no other!
I feel really connected to it for some reason (I guess in part b/c I'm half Irish) ... but I love the reptition & variation nature of it & just the sound and feel of it all, especially with the ornaments and little stylistic quirks... there's so many great resources on YouTube & the internet for learning this stuff...
There's also a bar right next to me that has an Irish Music night on Fridays ... I'm going to go check it out ...
It's so cool becoming a part of an underground tradition of music that really resonates with me ...
that's what I'm going to do ... it's going to define my musical style in a very strong way & I will record a cd of Celtic music one day!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Cello/Guitar/Piano Lessons in Westchester & NYC
So, to go along with some busking, I've decided that I'm going to start expanding my teaching into NYC as well ... Particularly Manhattan ... I figure if I can combine the two, then I'm really making the most out of my city trips & just generally improving my income & making my name known more & more ... I hope someday that somebody will upload a vid. of me busking onto YouTube & it will get popular ... that would be so cool ...
Niche Markets...
I think I've discovered two things I can start to carve myself into:
1. Coffee Houses, Cafes, etc. I think I can start to do these like once a month ... already have 1 or 2 set up & it's totally my kind of setting ...
2. Ren Faires & the like ... I feel like the universe is pointing me in this direction & all I need to do is write a few medieval-y/folky tunes & then take a few cool photos in a forest or something and throw together a demo cd ... but anyway, I feel like I'd fit in very much with this kinda crowd/thing ...
Also, just started with 2 new students (piano & cello) & the lesson went awesomely well ... it's amazing what comes out of being able to teach people how to learn!
I'm tired...
Edit:
3. Library Concert Series ... I've already done one of these with Trio, must get on this!
1. Coffee Houses, Cafes, etc. I think I can start to do these like once a month ... already have 1 or 2 set up & it's totally my kind of setting ...
2. Ren Faires & the like ... I feel like the universe is pointing me in this direction & all I need to do is write a few medieval-y/folky tunes & then take a few cool photos in a forest or something and throw together a demo cd ... but anyway, I feel like I'd fit in very much with this kinda crowd/thing ...
Also, just started with 2 new students (piano & cello) & the lesson went awesomely well ... it's amazing what comes out of being able to teach people how to learn!
I'm tired...
Edit:
3. Library Concert Series ... I've already done one of these with Trio, must get on this!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Busking Take 2!
This was *much* more successful than my first attempt ... I made a little over $60 for 4 hours of work/playing (how awesome is that for a day job?) ... I started off in GCT only to discover that I had taken someone's spot by arriving before them ... I was nice enough to move on out and relocate to another spot in GCT ... did alright, though I think I might have done better in the original spot ...
From there I took a break & went over to Times Square & played in the Hallway btwn. the Shuttle and the rest of it ... while it was chilly, that was probably my best in terms of draw ...
From there I took a break & got lunch with a friend, and then spent a few hours with another friend ... afterwards, I headed to Union Square ...
Some things I learned:
1. Remember Rosin!
2. People respond well to Drones, Indian Ragas, Gladiator Theme Song, Star Wars (occassionally), Irish Folk Music, Grooving Jams with myself
3. There are battery-powered amps that sound good ...
4. After Peak Trains end in morning is a good time
5. Union Square is kind of Challenging
6. Little kids are godsends
7. In order to make this work, I need to bring lunch so I lose as little money as possible.
8. Playing standing up is very demanding on the knees...
May go do it tomorrow for a while depending on my schedule ...
I hope the next few times are as successful
From there I took a break & went over to Times Square & played in the Hallway btwn. the Shuttle and the rest of it ... while it was chilly, that was probably my best in terms of draw ...
From there I took a break & got lunch with a friend, and then spent a few hours with another friend ... afterwards, I headed to Union Square ...
Some things I learned:
1. Remember Rosin!
2. People respond well to Drones, Indian Ragas, Gladiator Theme Song, Star Wars (occassionally), Irish Folk Music, Grooving Jams with myself
3. There are battery-powered amps that sound good ...
4. After Peak Trains end in morning is a good time
5. Union Square is kind of Challenging
6. Little kids are godsends
7. In order to make this work, I need to bring lunch so I lose as little money as possible.
8. Playing standing up is very demanding on the knees...
May go do it tomorrow for a while depending on my schedule ...
I hope the next few times are as successful
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
YTSO Audition - What I learned (Technically)
Here's some technical stuff I learned:
1. The slow it down method really does work very effectively.
2. Tackle the hardest bits first & always keep in mind the way things are connected/relate to each other.
3. Practice the relative scales in at least 2 different fingerings is immensely helpful
4. I tend to use the wrong muscle groups a lot, or go horribly out of alignment when trying to hit something tricky - this is a downward spiral, because going out of alignment generally makes things tricky.
5. I am trying to figure out what exactly the other cellists' (who are all waaaay more advanced than me) have that I don't. One thing I'm noticing relates to the giant mess of my left hand technique. It seems like the other cellists are commonly keeping the general weight of the arm down into the string, and it also seems like they are keeping there fingers generally close to the string. All their movements are very efficient.
I tend to release my weight a lot and use some very ineffective movements to try to accomplish things. This would explain in part why playing Haydn C is still a major struggle for me/why a lot of my technique doesn't seem to work on any long-lasting level.
I think the next key in my practice is to constantly look for the most efficient movements possible & to consciously work on keeping my weight down (so that I can at least have control over when I use it and when I don't. I feel like it's very important to a general tonal/expressive palette to be able to do both.
One of my goals is to learn to be more imaginative in my playing and to be able to play the same riffs in many different feels/ways.
That's what occurs to me for now ... the YTSO audition really pushed my technique a lot & is giving me tons of food for thought with watching other cellists...
So glad I did it, even if the vid's a bit embarassing (for non-technical reasons): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ea9HrKNdQQ
1. The slow it down method really does work very effectively.
2. Tackle the hardest bits first & always keep in mind the way things are connected/relate to each other.
3. Practice the relative scales in at least 2 different fingerings is immensely helpful
4. I tend to use the wrong muscle groups a lot, or go horribly out of alignment when trying to hit something tricky - this is a downward spiral, because going out of alignment generally makes things tricky.
5. I am trying to figure out what exactly the other cellists' (who are all waaaay more advanced than me) have that I don't. One thing I'm noticing relates to the giant mess of my left hand technique. It seems like the other cellists are commonly keeping the general weight of the arm down into the string, and it also seems like they are keeping there fingers generally close to the string. All their movements are very efficient.
I tend to release my weight a lot and use some very ineffective movements to try to accomplish things. This would explain in part why playing Haydn C is still a major struggle for me/why a lot of my technique doesn't seem to work on any long-lasting level.
I think the next key in my practice is to constantly look for the most efficient movements possible & to consciously work on keeping my weight down (so that I can at least have control over when I use it and when I don't. I feel like it's very important to a general tonal/expressive palette to be able to do both.
One of my goals is to learn to be more imaginative in my playing and to be able to play the same riffs in many different feels/ways.
That's what occurs to me for now ... the YTSO audition really pushed my technique a lot & is giving me tons of food for thought with watching other cellists...
So glad I did it, even if the vid's a bit embarassing (for non-technical reasons): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ea9HrKNdQQ
YTSO Audition - What I learned (Psychological)
I learned quite a few things from doing the Youtube Symphony Orchestra Audition
1. Be Prepared. Underpreparedness is something I'm really fighting ... it's been a constant in my life & one of the things I'm really good at is making things work that I am not prepared for or don't already have skills for. It's a double-edged sword though. Anyway, what I learned is that I need to start preparing earlier & I need to start preparing with a better general awareness of what I'm trying to achieve. Part of the way I will achieve this is by listening to classical music more often.
2. When Auditioning, set an earlier deadline to have the rep. playable by. Then work on having them playable consistently. Too often when I prepare things, they are not thoroughly prepared enough & they are too at the edge of my technique. In order to have a successful audition, the pieces need to be somewhat easy.
3. Do not wait until the deadline day to do the takes and then also try and put together the video the same day ... this results in disasterous, embarassing video ... not to mention leaves you with a narrow selection of takes & possible technical failure
4. Set goals prior to playing - this is super important! It's so easy to just waste time ... yet a minute or two's thought/reflection prior to practice does an amazing amount to focus one's attention. The results are drastically different.
1. Be Prepared. Underpreparedness is something I'm really fighting ... it's been a constant in my life & one of the things I'm really good at is making things work that I am not prepared for or don't already have skills for. It's a double-edged sword though. Anyway, what I learned is that I need to start preparing earlier & I need to start preparing with a better general awareness of what I'm trying to achieve. Part of the way I will achieve this is by listening to classical music more often.
2. When Auditioning, set an earlier deadline to have the rep. playable by. Then work on having them playable consistently. Too often when I prepare things, they are not thoroughly prepared enough & they are too at the edge of my technique. In order to have a successful audition, the pieces need to be somewhat easy.
3. Do not wait until the deadline day to do the takes and then also try and put together the video the same day ... this results in disasterous, embarassing video ... not to mention leaves you with a narrow selection of takes & possible technical failure
4. Set goals prior to playing - this is super important! It's so easy to just waste time ... yet a minute or two's thought/reflection prior to practice does an amazing amount to focus one's attention. The results are drastically different.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)