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,....
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Concert Report!
Both the studio day and the orchestra concert were fabulous!
Yesterday was our concert. Here'a link to a video of excerpts from 3 selections - Jurassic Park, Hoedown from Rodeo, and the 1812 Overture:
I'm sitting in chair #2, so you can see me playing! I was amazed that the celli look really coordinated (also I was amazed that I look really synchronized with our principal, who is an excellent cellist)
We played:
Jurassic Park
Grondahl Trombone concerto (has the distinction of being 1 of 2 Romantic trombone concerti; think pirates and battles and love songs and you've got it)
American Salute (was an arrangement of "when Johnny comes marching home" written for radio broadcast)
Rodeo (Buckaroo Holiday, Saturday Night Waltz, Corral Nocturne, and Hoedown)
1812 Overture
Stars and Stripes Forever
I think our concert last week, on Monday, was better (with the exception of Hoedown), but the venue, outdoors at the Ballard Locks, is fabulous and we love playing there.
Saturday, the day I spent in the studio recording music written by students of the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program. The films are created by students, who get orchestral music composed for their film, a win for both the filmmaker and the composers.
It was a long and tiring day. We started at 10am, finished at 5:15pm, with a 10 minute break every hour and a 1 hour break for lunch. By the last hour it was really hard to play well. We rehearsed less and recorded right away. The day is run like it would be if we were professionals (although Hummie said that the food, provided by the students, was an exception). We didn't see the music until we showed up. We all had headphones so that we could hear the click track (a smart metronome, synchronized to the film so that we would play the required tempo perfectly, even when it varied during a piece). We rehearsed whatever it was that we were playing a few times (sometimes just once) and then recorded 2 good cuts. Then we moved on to the next section. Hummie could see the film while he was conducting, but we couldn't see anything. He did tell us what each film was about, so that we would play with the right sound. One movie had an exploding monster in it, so he asked the winds and brass to make an exploding sound at the end of one piece. I think we recorded music for 3 films on Saturday. Hummie said that students in the program have now scored 93 films, and that 34 students from the program have gone on to score feature films. Pretty impressive.
Yesterday was our concert. Here'a link to a video of excerpts from 3 selections - Jurassic Park, Hoedown from Rodeo, and the 1812 Overture:
I'm sitting in chair #2, so you can see me playing! I was amazed that the celli look really coordinated (also I was amazed that I look really synchronized with our principal, who is an excellent cellist)
We played:
Jurassic Park
Grondahl Trombone concerto (has the distinction of being 1 of 2 Romantic trombone concerti; think pirates and battles and love songs and you've got it)
American Salute (was an arrangement of "when Johnny comes marching home" written for radio broadcast)
Rodeo (Buckaroo Holiday, Saturday Night Waltz, Corral Nocturne, and Hoedown)
1812 Overture
Stars and Stripes Forever
I think our concert last week, on Monday, was better (with the exception of Hoedown), but the venue, outdoors at the Ballard Locks, is fabulous and we love playing there.
Saturday, the day I spent in the studio recording music written by students of the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program. The films are created by students, who get orchestral music composed for their film, a win for both the filmmaker and the composers.
It was a long and tiring day. We started at 10am, finished at 5:15pm, with a 10 minute break every hour and a 1 hour break for lunch. By the last hour it was really hard to play well. We rehearsed less and recorded right away. The day is run like it would be if we were professionals (although Hummie said that the food, provided by the students, was an exception). We didn't see the music until we showed up. We all had headphones so that we could hear the click track (a smart metronome, synchronized to the film so that we would play the required tempo perfectly, even when it varied during a piece). We rehearsed whatever it was that we were playing a few times (sometimes just once) and then recorded 2 good cuts. Then we moved on to the next section. Hummie could see the film while he was conducting, but we couldn't see anything. He did tell us what each film was about, so that we would play with the right sound. One movie had an exploding monster in it, so he asked the winds and brass to make an exploding sound at the end of one piece. I think we recorded music for 3 films on Saturday. Hummie said that students in the program have now scored 93 films, and that 34 students from the program have gone on to score feature films. Pretty impressive.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Into the Studio!
Tomorrow I'll spend the day in the recording studio, playing film scores written by students of the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program. I wonder what music we'll get. Two years ago we recorded the music to this charming animated short, 2 Old Chicks.
The video was created by students in the animation program at the University of Washington. The original orchestral music for the video was composed by Steve Brush, Doris Bartha and JR Rhodes as part of the requirements to complete the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program. Hummie Mann, composer and the founder of the program, conducted.
The video was created by students in the animation program at the University of Washington. The original orchestral music for the video was composed by Steve Brush, Doris Bartha and JR Rhodes as part of the requirements to complete the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program. Hummie Mann, composer and the founder of the program, conducted.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Sight Reading day
During our chamber group today, we had an unusual configuration of players. We had 1 violinist, 1 violinist or pianist, 1 cellist, and me (cello or piano). So I volunteered to play the viola part on my cello, so that we could play piano quartets or string quartets. I suppose we could have doubled parts and played piano trios, but I like having my own part for chamber music.
Everyone was gracious enough to play easier pieces than we normally play, at slower speeds than normal. We played through Mendelssohn's first piano quartet (op.1 - wonder how old he was when he wrote it..but it already sounds like Mendelssohn), and 2 early Schubert string quartets, D87 and D74. I still had trouble sight reading the viola clef, managing to play maybe 50% of the notes correctly (repetition was a good thing; gave me time to figure out the notes!). I would get settled in and be able to read (sort of), and then something would flip in my mind and I would start thinking in another clef, tenor or treble and totally screw up. I tried to fake it by matching the harmonies or at least playing something on the downbeat or tried to sing my part. It was a workout! Tomorrow I will be able to play a cello part, and be a cello (thank goodness!)
My lesson yesterday was good; I showed my teacher the exercise I made up to try to learn how to change bow speeds when I change bow direction while keeping the tone consistent. He really liked it and I'm sure he'll use it or something similar with his other students. Inconsistency of tone and poor bow control when switching directions is something that he's pointed out in my playing, so I've been playing scales and making up exercises to try to produce a nice sounding tone and consistent volume when I vary the speed and pressure of the bow. Next up is really learning how to control the volume and tone so I can really do a good job of crescendos and decrescendos.
He's started me working on the Lee op31 exercises, and had me work on a relaxed legato bow and making eighth notes really even. It felt like moments of panic interspersed with calm. It amazes me that producing an even sound requires such uneven effort. Then I played the 3rd piece from the Hindemith Drei Liechte Stucke. I really like them. He has programmed the piano part into his computer, so I've had the challenge of playing well with the accompaniment. On these pieces it is not easy because the rhythms are offset and it's easy to screw up.
Everyone was gracious enough to play easier pieces than we normally play, at slower speeds than normal. We played through Mendelssohn's first piano quartet (op.1 - wonder how old he was when he wrote it..but it already sounds like Mendelssohn), and 2 early Schubert string quartets, D87 and D74. I still had trouble sight reading the viola clef, managing to play maybe 50% of the notes correctly (repetition was a good thing; gave me time to figure out the notes!). I would get settled in and be able to read (sort of), and then something would flip in my mind and I would start thinking in another clef, tenor or treble and totally screw up. I tried to fake it by matching the harmonies or at least playing something on the downbeat or tried to sing my part. It was a workout! Tomorrow I will be able to play a cello part, and be a cello (thank goodness!)
My lesson yesterday was good; I showed my teacher the exercise I made up to try to learn how to change bow speeds when I change bow direction while keeping the tone consistent. He really liked it and I'm sure he'll use it or something similar with his other students. Inconsistency of tone and poor bow control when switching directions is something that he's pointed out in my playing, so I've been playing scales and making up exercises to try to produce a nice sounding tone and consistent volume when I vary the speed and pressure of the bow. Next up is really learning how to control the volume and tone so I can really do a good job of crescendos and decrescendos.
He's started me working on the Lee op31 exercises, and had me work on a relaxed legato bow and making eighth notes really even. It felt like moments of panic interspersed with calm. It amazes me that producing an even sound requires such uneven effort. Then I played the 3rd piece from the Hindemith Drei Liechte Stucke. I really like them. He has programmed the piano part into his computer, so I've had the challenge of playing well with the accompaniment. On these pieces it is not easy because the rhythms are offset and it's easy to screw up.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Practice Goals for June
One of the nice things about being a member of CelloBloggers is that one of the sub-groups is the Practice Club. There are 13 members and we are keeping each other honest by sharing our practice goals and reporting our progress. Here are my goals for June, which as it's more than halfway over, are a little late (but hopefully doable!)
--being ready for the last concerts of the season for orchestra. That means panic practicing to be ready for the first concert on Monday. We have a hard program; the 1812 overture, Copeland's Rodeo (rhythms are really hard on this!), a really neat trombone concerto, and some other pops and patriotic music.
--improving my ability to get a consistent and even sound when I'm changing bow direction. Today my husband said that for the first time he heard my play the longest sustained sound he's ever heard...meaning that he couldn't tell when I changed the bow direction! Now if I could only do that consistently and reliably...that's the goal
--and for consistency, practicing every day that I'm home. I'm traveling 3 out of 4 weeks this month, but have managed to practice all except for one day when I was at home. My excuse for the day that I missed was that it was the evening I arrived home from a trip and I had a pile of work to finish before the next day.
I forgot to add this last goal to my post, and it's an important one, and that's being very careful to be very relaxed and in good form with very little tension while playing. For the past few weeks I've been suffering from pain in my neck and having problems with numbness, pain, and tingling in my left shoulder, arm, hand, and fingers. My doctor sent me to get an MRI done and the MRI showed a bone spur and a disk protrusion in my neck, along with degeneration in the disk. I think this is the long term effect from a rear-end collision I was in 6 years ago. The pain started a few weeks ago but so far I've tried to keep it from interfering with my practicing. But I am so aware now of whether I have extra tension in my neck and arm...and have actively sought to get rid of that. I want to be able to keep playing the cello for a long, long time!
--being ready for the last concerts of the season for orchestra. That means panic practicing to be ready for the first concert on Monday. We have a hard program; the 1812 overture, Copeland's Rodeo (rhythms are really hard on this!), a really neat trombone concerto, and some other pops and patriotic music.
--improving my ability to get a consistent and even sound when I'm changing bow direction. Today my husband said that for the first time he heard my play the longest sustained sound he's ever heard...meaning that he couldn't tell when I changed the bow direction! Now if I could only do that consistently and reliably...that's the goal
--and for consistency, practicing every day that I'm home. I'm traveling 3 out of 4 weeks this month, but have managed to practice all except for one day when I was at home. My excuse for the day that I missed was that it was the evening I arrived home from a trip and I had a pile of work to finish before the next day.
I forgot to add this last goal to my post, and it's an important one, and that's being very careful to be very relaxed and in good form with very little tension while playing. For the past few weeks I've been suffering from pain in my neck and having problems with numbness, pain, and tingling in my left shoulder, arm, hand, and fingers. My doctor sent me to get an MRI done and the MRI showed a bone spur and a disk protrusion in my neck, along with degeneration in the disk. I think this is the long term effect from a rear-end collision I was in 6 years ago. The pain started a few weeks ago but so far I've tried to keep it from interfering with my practicing. But I am so aware now of whether I have extra tension in my neck and arm...and have actively sought to get rid of that. I want to be able to keep playing the cello for a long, long time!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Shopping in the Asian Grocery Store
you wouldn't want to cook with fake fungus
and I'm not sure what this is, much less how it's prepared for consumption
Sunday, May 31, 2009
The Gap
Recently I read a book by Glenn Kurtz, Practicing: A Musician's Return to Music. It is about his return to playing classical guitar after a long hiatus.
One thing he wrote struck me,
"I have to hear the sounds before I make them, and I have to let the sounds be as they are. Then I have to hear the difference between what I have in mind and what comes from the strings."
That really rang true to me. At my last lesson, my teacher and I talked about thoughtful and purposeful practicing, that is, changing what I am doing in order to improve my playing. Listening and hearing the gap between what I hear in my head and what I play, figuring out what is causing the gap, and changing something to bridge the gap is the essence of playing.
One thing he wrote struck me,
"I have to hear the sounds before I make them, and I have to let the sounds be as they are. Then I have to hear the difference between what I have in mind and what comes from the strings."
That really rang true to me. At my last lesson, my teacher and I talked about thoughtful and purposeful practicing, that is, changing what I am doing in order to improve my playing. Listening and hearing the gap between what I hear in my head and what I play, figuring out what is causing the gap, and changing something to bridge the gap is the essence of playing.
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