useful tools for practicing- - videos from David Finkel

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

A new project!

Today marks the start of the most tangible part of a new project I've undertaken: to videotape (ok, there's no tape anymore, but videorecord sounds too geeky) all of the Simandl 30 Etudes.  During the month of January.  And to add commentary and close-up demonstrations of the technical ideas presented in these etudes.  Basically, a mini-lesson on each one.  I'm hoping to put them up, as I finish editing them, to YouTube and ultimately to a website to help support and motivate bass players who may not be getting weekly instruction.  I am lucky to work with a few adult "amateurs" who are amazing bass players.  They inspired me to think about how I could support folks like them in the weeks in between our lessons.  It just isn't possible for most of them to come weekly, what with careers in full swing, families growing, grandkids arriving, on and on.  But most of them DO make time for daily practice, despite all that.  And all of them are computer savvy.

I've been preparing myself to make these video recordings (there, I said it) for about 2 weeks now, and it's funny how super-critical I've become about my playing during that time.  At this point in my own practice, these particular etudes aren't that challenging, and I like to cruise through this book a few times a year to touch base with the technical ideas presented.  But they are usually easy for me to iron out so I don't linger with this book.   However, I do teach this book a lot.  I mean, A LOT!  It's great for people who have the neck positions learned and are ready to start putting all of that knowledge to use, above and beyond short solo playing.  The register stays below thumb position, so it really focuses your ears and technique on the orchestral range.

So what's the big deal?  I guess just that knowing I would be putting these out there for everyone to see/hear/comment on has pushed a lot of buttons about whether the playing will be "good enough" (for me? for you? for the other bass players who stumble in for a peek?).  Once I start to settle back from that, though, it also just pushes me (in a good way) to really aim for my best sound, accuracy of pitch, cleanness of bow strokes  -- you know, the fundamentals we are always working on.  And it amazes me how detailed you can get about whether the last take you recorded was really "good enough".  There's always one more thing that could be a little cleaner.

If you haven't worked on these before, I highly recommend them!  I did find a place that has them available as a free download, but.... Carl Fischer publishes them, and they're not expensive, and... they're also publishing my book of bowing etudes coming out next month.  So please support them and spend a few bucks on your own copy!  http://www.amazon.com/Etudes-String-Bass-Franz-Simandl/dp/0825829313

Happy practicing!

Gaelen