I had my lesson today, to make up for the lesson I missed last Friday while I was traveling. This month is a disaster when it comes to lessons and schedule; I think I only have one lesson this month during its usual time on Fridays. Thank goodness my teacher has been flexible in rescheduling my lessons!
I joked with my teacher that today's lesson was a lot like my very first lesson, when it was the first time I had ever played a cello. Today we spent time working on bowing. At last week's lesson he commented that my eighth notes weren't very even - my up bows were shorter than my down bows, making the baroque piece (Marcello) I'm playing sound more like it was swinging (not a good style for baroque music!). Well, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit, but it reminded me that for far too long I've just settled for not playing even notes very evenly.
So, this week I set out to do something about it. I followed Ms. Emily's very timely advice and tried to figure out what was causing the problem. Actually it wasn't hard to figure out; I knew it already but have not spent any time to fix the problem: my hand and fingers aren't flexible enough on the up bow. The diagnosis was easy but fixing it - well, let's just say that all week I have felt like I can't play the cello.
I told my teacher how awful it's felt to play all week, and we started working on my bowing. He had all sorts of fun analogies. The one that worked best for me was thinking about my index finger like a windshield wiper - back and forth, back and forth. We spent a lot of time during today's lesson with me just bowing on an open string. Playing the open G string was the easiest one for me to feel some semblance of bowing with a flexible hand, wrist, and fingers. I have other problems like the twisting of the bow (teacher's advice: try to grip a little harder, but not too much harder...) and keeping my pinky from locking up too much...
Anyway, I feel like I just started playing again.
5 comments:
It's always about the bowing. I've been working on it forever.
My teacher wants me to use more finger action, and that's been a problem for me for a long time. I've recently discovered that keeping the pinky "attached" firmly (but not stiffly because it still has to bend) to the frog plays a part in keeping the bow angled properly on the up-bow. The result being a more even up-bow with a better tone. BUT ... I constantly have to be aware of this or I revert back to old habits.
I talk a lot about technique, and talking does some good, but the thing that got me to change much of my form was actually watching that Jacqueline duPre movie by Chris Nupen. It was a combination of admiration and desperation to bridge the gap between what I had been doing and what people who played with ease were doing. She seems like the kind of person who could have played for 10 hours without pain, and I just sort of started imitating what I saw and it ended up working. Also, much of what she did was exactly what Ron and Cathy had asked of me. I guess I just needed to be hit over the head with it.
Active fingers, or inactive fingers?
There's some Andre Navarra videos on YouTube in French and German, two with English subtitles, that I think are the best I've seen on bowing basics. Navarra was a proponent of the "dead hand" and I think he makes a lot of sense. Unless you understand enough French or German, I would steer clear of the videos without subtitles because often he demonstrates but says (In French) "Not like this..." or some phrase. It can be hard to tell when he means "like this," or "not like this".
Isn't it always the way, we think we've learned so much, yet there is always more! And at first I thought your post was about how to "bow" as in "stand up and bow". That IS what my teacher covered at the first lesson! Yet we don't do any bowing at orchestra concerts, sigh...er, we don't do much of the other kind of bowing, either, actually (wry grin).
Thanks everyone!
Yes, CelloDonnna, I have been trying to keep my pinky attached to the frog too and find that it helps, but my pinky tends to come off the bow. I've been practicing holding the bow with just my thumb, index finger, and pinky to try to keep everything attached....
Good to know that we all need to be hit over the head with what we ought to be doing!
thanks for the pointers Terry,
and I giggled when I thought about the other type of bowing, which my teacher has not covered at all! I think I could use a lesson in "stand up and bow" too, because that feels awkward too!
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