it's been a while since I posted!
Today we had a gig, and played 2 movements from the Brahms Sextet No. 1. I was very happy with the way I played today; all of the practicing to get ready for today was worth it. More vibrato would have been nice, but I hope that is just a matter of time. What made me happy is that I'm starting to be able to control the bow more and am better able to control phrasing than previously. We also played "Turkey Creek" and other arrangements (really fun!) and a Kummer duet for 2 cellos. My husband said that the cello duet was his favorite piece.
Last week I was invited to a cello festival - we had 10 cellos playing together! It was so much fun. A number of us from the cello section in orchestra got invited to join in with a cello ensemble. They have enough cellists that composers have sent them new music to play. We played some music written for 8 cellos, quite a few cello quartet arrangements, and just plain had a great time. I hope we do that again soon.
On the injury front, I am slowly getting better on all fronts. After a month of swimming slowly and concentrating on rotating, one day I just knew I was rotating correctly. So I've been slowly ramping up effort in the pool, trying to keep form at all times, and slowing down and concentrating on form whenever my form starts slipping.
My thumb still hurts, but not as much as previously. I've been working on bow exercises and working on flexibility of my hand. After looking at it my teacher gave me some tips and some exercises to work on. I think it's going to be another slow process before I correct that problem.
We are headed to Pocatello this week - I'm bringing my cello back to Christopher Dungey to get another coat of varnish and to have him look at it after 6 months. It is developing a better sound. He will return my other cello to me so that I have a cello to play while he is working on my new one. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law are driving from Colorado and meeting us in Pocatello and we are really looking forward to seeing them!
Showing posts with label injury. Show all posts
Showing posts with label injury. Show all posts
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Slowing Down
I've been plagued by a number of injuries over the past month, which has required me to slow down. First is the herniated disk which is causing pain and tingling in my left hand, arm, shoulder, and neck. That hasn't really affected my cello playing but waking up with tingling in my fingers is not very much fun.
The second injury is a very sore right thumb. I think I was straining it with my bow hand, so over the past few weeks I've been playing much more lightly and I've modified my bow grip to relax my whole hand more, use my arm more for weight, and just played more lightly. I've also decreased my practice time (which drives me nuts), and have been icing my thumb after playing. It is slowly getting better, and has been a good reason to spend time working on vibrato.
The third injury is a pulled shoulder muscle from swimming. My husband the former swim coach tells me it's because I don't rotate enough. So the past week I've backed off from swimming very hard, focused on rotating, and have basically driven myself nuts taking it easy in the pool. I've forced myself to swim behind people I normally swim in front of, and to stay back and swim slowly behind people who I know are slower than me. Although I've had my share of amusement making them work really hard while I've been cruising at a slower speed than normal (they all know that I'm not working hard while they're busting their guts to stay with me) it's not been very much fun to swim slowly.
It's been really hard to pull back and take it easy, on my neck/arm/fingers, thumb, and shoulder. I want to accelerate the healing and the irony is that I need to change what I'm doing and rest each injury in order to let it heal.
My vibrato practice has been mostly practicing controlling the wobble to a metronome, very slowly. 2 wobbles per beat. 3 wobbles per beat. 4 wobbles per beat. It's very hard to keep consistent. I've also added trying to keep the wobbles steady while changing bow speed, and while shifting. It's been instructive to see where my vibrato falls apart, and to slow down to get it consistent and right. And, it's been driving me nuts go to slow. Unfortunately I've learned that in order to master a skill it's necessary to slow down before speeding up. So a few more weeks of 2 wobbles per beat, then 3 wobbles per beat,....
The second injury is a very sore right thumb. I think I was straining it with my bow hand, so over the past few weeks I've been playing much more lightly and I've modified my bow grip to relax my whole hand more, use my arm more for weight, and just played more lightly. I've also decreased my practice time (which drives me nuts), and have been icing my thumb after playing. It is slowly getting better, and has been a good reason to spend time working on vibrato.
The third injury is a pulled shoulder muscle from swimming. My husband the former swim coach tells me it's because I don't rotate enough. So the past week I've backed off from swimming very hard, focused on rotating, and have basically driven myself nuts taking it easy in the pool. I've forced myself to swim behind people I normally swim in front of, and to stay back and swim slowly behind people who I know are slower than me. Although I've had my share of amusement making them work really hard while I've been cruising at a slower speed than normal (they all know that I'm not working hard while they're busting their guts to stay with me) it's not been very much fun to swim slowly.
It's been really hard to pull back and take it easy, on my neck/arm/fingers, thumb, and shoulder. I want to accelerate the healing and the irony is that I need to change what I'm doing and rest each injury in order to let it heal.
My vibrato practice has been mostly practicing controlling the wobble to a metronome, very slowly. 2 wobbles per beat. 3 wobbles per beat. 4 wobbles per beat. It's very hard to keep consistent. I've also added trying to keep the wobbles steady while changing bow speed, and while shifting. It's been instructive to see where my vibrato falls apart, and to slow down to get it consistent and right. And, it's been driving me nuts go to slow. Unfortunately I've learned that in order to master a skill it's necessary to slow down before speeding up. So a few more weeks of 2 wobbles per beat, then 3 wobbles per beat,....
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Sore Thumb
How frustrating. I tweaked my right thumb again. I had been trying to shift my bow hold (get more flexible thumb) and have only managed to make my thumb really sore. It had gotten better after I cut back playing time and iced my thumb after playing. Unfortunately I am on the road (I guess I am getting rest from playing) but it is hard to ice my thumb. Right now I'd settle for a little more rest - I had a long day yesterday, have another long day today, and tomorrow too when I fly home. Then I get one day home before we leave on vacation.
I am definitely not looking forward to getting back; the day after we fly home from vacation I have to jump on a plane again and travel for work again.
I am definitely not looking forward to getting back; the day after we fly home from vacation I have to jump on a plane again and travel for work again.
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