I've been sending out a lot of little videos to my students lately because I've been traveling much of the summer and not available for in-person lessons. I found this great resource that was made by David Finkel: 100 cello talks, all short (about 4 minutes each usually) videos talking about a single aspect of cello playing. These cover necessary but often over-looked little details like how to set up your practice area so you are ready to play (have your rosin, tuner, metronome and pencil out and reachable).
His page of 100 talks is here and so far I think I've recommended talk #38 on spiccato the most. I was just watching talk #80 and that will become the next one I send around to everyone: 4 minute practicing. Usually I recommend that my students break their practicing into 5 minute groups, but hey 4 minutes works too. This video shows exactly how he uses his 4 minutes on a single phrase from a sonata. All the various approaches to solidifying his shifting and pitch over one phrase.
The best thing is what he repeats from Colin Carr in that video: the point of practicing is not to do it til you get it right; it's to do it til it's never wrong. For my part, I also think that practicing is about strengthening the many ways you think about playing - bow arm, left hand, left arm, shoulder, back, sitting on a stool, shape of hand while you shift. I try to think of one of those things while I'm playing, and I mix up the way I'm thinking during my practice. Last night, after spending time working on my upcoming concert music, I felt tight in the shoulders. So I went back to basics, played almost an hour of scales just thinking about my shoulders, my back, posture on the stool, release of neck, openness of pectoral muscles.
Hope this adds to your toolkit of practical practicing ideas!
Gaelen
Monday, September 23, 2013
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
back to school: draw a cursive e !
Good morning!
I'm all revved up about teaching now that the fall semester is in full swing. I want to share with you what my studio (all of 'em, old/young/new/seasoned) will be doing this fall, and you are welcome to play along with us.
This summer at the ISB Convention I had the opportunity to attend Caroline Emery's class where she shared with us what new ideas she's using with her very young students in England. This class really opened my eyes to how differently I could be teaching and how differently we could all think about the very very basic elements of playing. In the end, we're always returning to basics, right? Well, this is the most basic of basic - playing from one string to another. She described the shape the bow travels during a change to a new string, and mapped out the possibilities for combinations with just two strings.
I thought about this a lot this summer. Spent every practice warming up with a two string crossing, on open strings, and found that not only did my legato (detache) stroke improve, but also my overall sense of ease and relaxation was greatly improved. And I held that sense of openness and ease well into my practicing of harder material.
So, with all credit to Caroline Emery, here is my take on what she said, as laid out in 4 worksheets. I've drawn the shape that I think works for the string crossings, and it's slightly different from what she drew at her workshop, but this is my version here. I think the important thing to realize is that the shapes are rounded or curvy. If you focus on the "loop" that you draw at each bow change, you can keep the energy and momentum in the tip (or frog) without needing to "muscle" your way through the change. I found I could play quite loudly without using muscle effort, just using the leverage of the bow angle.
So, for the month of September and some of October, we'll all be warming up with stroke #1 - a cursive "e". The sheet has a full explanation of how it feels and looks to draw this shape as you play from D to A strings.
Happy practicing!
Gaelen
I'm all revved up about teaching now that the fall semester is in full swing. I want to share with you what my studio (all of 'em, old/young/new/seasoned) will be doing this fall, and you are welcome to play along with us.
This summer at the ISB Convention I had the opportunity to attend Caroline Emery's class where she shared with us what new ideas she's using with her very young students in England. This class really opened my eyes to how differently I could be teaching and how differently we could all think about the very very basic elements of playing. In the end, we're always returning to basics, right? Well, this is the most basic of basic - playing from one string to another. She described the shape the bow travels during a change to a new string, and mapped out the possibilities for combinations with just two strings.
I thought about this a lot this summer. Spent every practice warming up with a two string crossing, on open strings, and found that not only did my legato (detache) stroke improve, but also my overall sense of ease and relaxation was greatly improved. And I held that sense of openness and ease well into my practicing of harder material.
So, with all credit to Caroline Emery, here is my take on what she said, as laid out in 4 worksheets. I've drawn the shape that I think works for the string crossings, and it's slightly different from what she drew at her workshop, but this is my version here. I think the important thing to realize is that the shapes are rounded or curvy. If you focus on the "loop" that you draw at each bow change, you can keep the energy and momentum in the tip (or frog) without needing to "muscle" your way through the change. I found I could play quite loudly without using muscle effort, just using the leverage of the bow angle.
So, for the month of September and some of October, we'll all be warming up with stroke #1 - a cursive "e". The sheet has a full explanation of how it feels and looks to draw this shape as you play from D to A strings.
Happy practicing!
Gaelen
Monday, September 2, 2013
Have you nothing to say?
Today there is a blog-fest getting the word out about the musicians' side of the battle in the lock-out with the Minnesota Orchestra. You can find plenty of people writing about it - but I'm stepping outside that debate. I want to show you Henry Peyrebrune's blog, The Holy Grail, because he opened with a statement that I can never get quite right to people who ask me about my job as an orchestra player. He wrote:
To play well in a symphony orchestra is to make a thousand daily acts of deference. On your audition day, technical perfection and a sense of passionate musical conviction will put you at the head of the pack. Once you’ve joined the orchestra, those same qualities must serve the needs of the group, rather than your own musical ideas.
This is a funny line to walk as a teacher of some fabulous students who want to become orchestra players. Actually, if you're in a youth orchestra, you already ARE an orchestra player! We want to encourage you in your lessons to have a voice, express musical ideas, develop phrases, play with color and timbre, be free with time when appropriate, be strict with time when appropriate.. on and on. Make decisions, express yourself!
But then you find yourself in an orchestra and it's not your call anymore! This is not what happens in a chamber music group. That's way more like solo playing and you have time and fewer numbers of players so you can really discuss ideas, try them on for size, etc. So what do you do now? For starters, listen deeply. What kind of sound is your principal using? How much bow does she use on a particular phrase? Start there - see if you copy their bow placement and speed if your sound is matching. If not, go into your toolbox that you developed and figure out how to blend your sound into theirs. Do you need more weight? A slightly different spot on the string? In our orchestra, I will even change my strings or setup if my instrument isn't blending well. Actually, when I buy a new instrument, I spend lots of time trying different instruments out on stage, both in my section and listening to them play the bass back to me while I listen in the hall. It's more of a group decision than you might think.
The thing is, when you are studying and especially when you are studying solo repertoire, it's very important to develop your own voice and style and sound. But be a scientist and learn what makes the different elements of sound so that in an ensemble you can blend and change sound as the conductor demands.
So - you're working on a Vivaldi Sonata (or fill-in-the-name-of-your-solo-here)? Right now, you need to think about what kind of sound and stroke work well for that music and your instrument. Listen to recordings to get ideas - it's not copying, it's imitating. And that is one way we all start learning. Play for other people, with your ideas in mind. Then really listen to their feedback - how did they perceive your phrasing? Your sound? Beware putting words in the mouths of friends and colleagues! I try not to ask: Was that tempo too fast? Instead, I might ask "what did you think about the tempo I chose?"
Ok, this post is rambling on about too many topics. Oops! The main gist is: understand how your sound is produced and be aware of blending when in an ensemble. And then in your solo work, have something to say, and know how you're going to produce that sound too!
Happy practicing!
Gaelen
To play well in a symphony orchestra is to make a thousand daily acts of deference. On your audition day, technical perfection and a sense of passionate musical conviction will put you at the head of the pack. Once you’ve joined the orchestra, those same qualities must serve the needs of the group, rather than your own musical ideas.
This is a funny line to walk as a teacher of some fabulous students who want to become orchestra players. Actually, if you're in a youth orchestra, you already ARE an orchestra player! We want to encourage you in your lessons to have a voice, express musical ideas, develop phrases, play with color and timbre, be free with time when appropriate, be strict with time when appropriate.. on and on. Make decisions, express yourself!
But then you find yourself in an orchestra and it's not your call anymore! This is not what happens in a chamber music group. That's way more like solo playing and you have time and fewer numbers of players so you can really discuss ideas, try them on for size, etc. So what do you do now? For starters, listen deeply. What kind of sound is your principal using? How much bow does she use on a particular phrase? Start there - see if you copy their bow placement and speed if your sound is matching. If not, go into your toolbox that you developed and figure out how to blend your sound into theirs. Do you need more weight? A slightly different spot on the string? In our orchestra, I will even change my strings or setup if my instrument isn't blending well. Actually, when I buy a new instrument, I spend lots of time trying different instruments out on stage, both in my section and listening to them play the bass back to me while I listen in the hall. It's more of a group decision than you might think.
The thing is, when you are studying and especially when you are studying solo repertoire, it's very important to develop your own voice and style and sound. But be a scientist and learn what makes the different elements of sound so that in an ensemble you can blend and change sound as the conductor demands.
So - you're working on a Vivaldi Sonata (or fill-in-the-name-of-your-solo-here)? Right now, you need to think about what kind of sound and stroke work well for that music and your instrument. Listen to recordings to get ideas - it's not copying, it's imitating. And that is one way we all start learning. Play for other people, with your ideas in mind. Then really listen to their feedback - how did they perceive your phrasing? Your sound? Beware putting words in the mouths of friends and colleagues! I try not to ask: Was that tempo too fast? Instead, I might ask "what did you think about the tempo I chose?"
Ok, this post is rambling on about too many topics. Oops! The main gist is: understand how your sound is produced and be aware of blending when in an ensemble. And then in your solo work, have something to say, and know how you're going to produce that sound too!
Happy practicing!
Gaelen
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