Week 9 Cello Update
Suzuki:
I'm currently doing French Folk Song and Lightly Row in Suzuki. I play through the Twinkle Variations every once in awhile because I want to keep them fresh.
I'm working on dynamics with French Folk Song. It's such a lovely piece and could be really pretty if I put some of that good old musicality into it.
With Lightly Row, I'm working on creating a "tunnel" with my fingers over the fingerboard. This way I can keep my hand in the right position on the D string while playing the open A.
Harvey:
With Cassia Harvey, I'm doing the last page of her Week 1 exercises (string crossings) and the first two pages of her Week 2 exercises. I like her finger exercises that go on all four strings, and I think her double stops and string crossings have helped me be more aware of my bow and where it is.
Essential Elements:
With EE, I'm working on Matthew's and Christopher's tunes (I think those are the names). They also help me work on creating the "tunnel" with my left hand. I've enjoyed playing Jingle Bells and Old MacDonald Had a Farm recently.
Since I've been working in Suzuki, I probably won't do a lot of the bowing techniques that come after this in EE.
Things I Need to Work On:
Bowing! Bowing is kind of the bane of my existence as far as cello goes right now. I really need to be more conscious of my bowing hand and not letting it crash.
I also need to be more conscious of *where* I'm bowing. I tend to bow towards the fingerboard, but you're supposed to bow halfway between the fingerboard and the bridge (generally speaking)
Things I've Gotten Better At:
A real bad tendency of mine has been to let the knuckles in my left hand fingers crash against the fingerboard. I would let my fingers go flat. I've gotten much better and more conscious about this; I'm starting to instantly correct it when I notice it now.
I'm also getting a much better tone; my playing sounds far less crunchy than it used to! Part of this is because I was able to upgrade to an Eastman, but I think much of it has been recent and has been me figuring out how fast I need to bow.
I'm also getting better at tuning! Tuning is one thing that is REALLY frustrating for me haha. My main instrument is piano, and I can call someone once every year or two and pay them to deal with my instrument's woes; I also played guitar and ukulele, so tuning was as easy as twisting a little metal gear. With cello, you have pegs which have to be shoved into the peg-box to stay, and fine tuners which are used for tuning in small increments. I've learned to tune my instrument when it's a small interval, but I still leave big slippages up to my teacher.
As much as I've said I need to work on my bowing, I will admit that it's starting to feel much more natural. I don't have to *think* about it as much as I used to have to. Whenever I pick up my bow, my hand automatically does the bow-hold thing, and I usually don't have to correct it much. I'm also getting better at only playing on the one or two strings which I intend to. :D And the whole thing with the weight in my arm transferring to the bow (kudos if you know what I mean lol) is getting much easier.
All in all, cello feels much less robotic this week than it has. It seems to be becoming more natural for me, which is exciting! I feel like I've made a lot of progress recently. Nine weeks ago, I never would've imagined myself playing anything other than Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. :D
-- Hannah
I'm currently doing French Folk Song and Lightly Row in Suzuki. I play through the Twinkle Variations every once in awhile because I want to keep them fresh.
I'm working on dynamics with French Folk Song. It's such a lovely piece and could be really pretty if I put some of that good old musicality into it.
With Lightly Row, I'm working on creating a "tunnel" with my fingers over the fingerboard. This way I can keep my hand in the right position on the D string while playing the open A.
Harvey:
With Cassia Harvey, I'm doing the last page of her Week 1 exercises (string crossings) and the first two pages of her Week 2 exercises. I like her finger exercises that go on all four strings, and I think her double stops and string crossings have helped me be more aware of my bow and where it is.
Essential Elements:
With EE, I'm working on Matthew's and Christopher's tunes (I think those are the names). They also help me work on creating the "tunnel" with my left hand. I've enjoyed playing Jingle Bells and Old MacDonald Had a Farm recently.
Since I've been working in Suzuki, I probably won't do a lot of the bowing techniques that come after this in EE.
Things I Need to Work On:
Bowing! Bowing is kind of the bane of my existence as far as cello goes right now. I really need to be more conscious of my bowing hand and not letting it crash.
I also need to be more conscious of *where* I'm bowing. I tend to bow towards the fingerboard, but you're supposed to bow halfway between the fingerboard and the bridge (generally speaking)
Things I've Gotten Better At:
A real bad tendency of mine has been to let the knuckles in my left hand fingers crash against the fingerboard. I would let my fingers go flat. I've gotten much better and more conscious about this; I'm starting to instantly correct it when I notice it now.
I'm also getting a much better tone; my playing sounds far less crunchy than it used to! Part of this is because I was able to upgrade to an Eastman, but I think much of it has been recent and has been me figuring out how fast I need to bow.
I'm also getting better at tuning! Tuning is one thing that is REALLY frustrating for me haha. My main instrument is piano, and I can call someone once every year or two and pay them to deal with my instrument's woes; I also played guitar and ukulele, so tuning was as easy as twisting a little metal gear. With cello, you have pegs which have to be shoved into the peg-box to stay, and fine tuners which are used for tuning in small increments. I've learned to tune my instrument when it's a small interval, but I still leave big slippages up to my teacher.
As much as I've said I need to work on my bowing, I will admit that it's starting to feel much more natural. I don't have to *think* about it as much as I used to have to. Whenever I pick up my bow, my hand automatically does the bow-hold thing, and I usually don't have to correct it much. I'm also getting better at only playing on the one or two strings which I intend to. :D And the whole thing with the weight in my arm transferring to the bow (kudos if you know what I mean lol) is getting much easier.
All in all, cello feels much less robotic this week than it has. It seems to be becoming more natural for me, which is exciting! I feel like I've made a lot of progress recently. Nine weeks ago, I never would've imagined myself playing anything other than Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. :D
-- Hannah
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