... and I'm back in the game!

Practicing again. Into a routine. Making progress. The amount of orchestra material was starting to be an issue in keeping me from practice, so I took all of the music for the holiday program and marked it up in the appropriate places with memos such as "intonation" "fingering" "rhythm" "tempo change" "key change" ... all issues that need to be dealt with in various places, so that rather than playing a piece all the way through I can focus on one section at a time that needs work. And I am reminded at a glance exactly what the problem is at that given section.

Lesson woes lead to practice strategies

Every time that I think I've got a certain technique correct, and that my playing sounds good, I get told that I'm not using enough wrist, not enough finger action, there's too much tension in my shoulder, my right thumb isn't bending enough, and on and on. But on every one of those counts I thought I was doing it right. I thought it felt right. Am I just learning everything wrong and reinforcing it wrong? It's depressing me because I don't know if I'll be correcting the problems or continuing with the wrong technique when I practice. It makes me want to not practice.

But for every problem there's got to be a solution, right? And so ... on to disciplined practice: One problem at a time. On open strings. Then on scales. Easy scales. My teacher did say, "Don't drive yourself crazy over it."

Connect the Dots

It was in the Fall of 2001 that the cello bug bit. I was smitten with the desire to touch the bow to the strings and feel the wonderful vibrations, hear the rich tones and make the most gorgeous sounds filled with emotion. But I was also filled with self doubt. I kept having thoughts such as It's such a difficult instrument, Do I have what it takes? Can I really make such a commitment?

The following Sunday I found my answer in The New York Times ... on the crossword puzzle page! Just below the crossword was one of those uniquely configured puzzles with a clever gimmicky twist. It looked intriguing. My challenge to myself was this: if I could solve this puzzle, then I could learn to play the cello. It would be a test of perseverance and determination.

The puzzle was titled "Connect the Dots," and as I tried to solve it I realized that all of the answers were phrases that contained the word "dot." (I remember that one of the answers was "dot com") However there was no room to write in the entire phrase, so eventually I discovered that the symbol of a dot had to be placed in a square. After all the words and dots were filled in then all the dots had to be connected. The finished picture was the answer to a question that was posed at the top of the puzzle. I wish I'd saved that puzzle. (Interesting how the only clue I can recall was "dot com" and here I sit recalling it at blogger.com) I don't even remember the picture ... maybe it was a bird? Does anyone out there remember that puzzle?

I also find it interesting that I'm still "connecting the dots" but now those dots are notes on a page of music.

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BTW, I'm no genius. I think it took me a good three days to finish that puzzle. The follow-up to the story is that in December of 2001 I located a cello teacher, rented a cello, and began lessons that following January.

Time Management

Spending way too much time reading blogs and figuring out how to make links show up in the sidebar, and not enough time on practicing. But this blog stuff is really fun. ... OK... tomorrow back to the business of really serious focused practice.

My lesson yesterday was productive despite my lack of practice the past week. Fortunately my teacher was willing and able to spend a good part of the lesson discussing and demonstrating fingering strategies for some of the orchestra music that I'll be playing for the upcoming holiday concert.

Frustrations ...

... mostly frustrated with myself for letting some stressful situations zap my motivation to practice the past few days. Today is lesson day, so I'll have to devise a strategy for directing the lesson to my best advantage. Cancelling is not an option. (my own dictum) Most likely solution: working with my teacher to figure out the best fingerings for some of the sections of the orchestra pieces for the holiday concert.

Another Beginning

... and so begins a cello weblog of an ongoing cello journey begun in January 2002.

Why do you want the cello to play?

I want the cello to play because it's big enough to hold me.
... quoted from Midnight Hour Encores by Bruce Brooks