Lesson 10: New book

I had my lesson on wednesday afternoon. Having it at 5pm instead of 4 has meant that my teacher always goes on for way longer than half an hour, which is really good for me, but I feel a bit guilty, but i don't wear a watch so i don't know what time the lesson should finish when i am there, i always just realise afterwards that we have gone way over time. I hope it's okay with him.

Anyway the lesson was good, but at the moment I feel we have done more or less the same thing every lesson for the last 3 lessons, so it doesn't feel like there's much variation. However, I do have a new book to work from (which looks amazing): "Playing the Cello" by Hugo Cole and Anna Shuttleworth. It's British which, to be honest, I really prefer compared the the American book I have been using before which calls everything half notes and quarter notes instead of crotchets and minimes etc. It was confusing reading one name for a note and having my teacher use another. And I prefer the British tone of the book!

Hopefully the new book will give us something new to work from in the lessons. Also I explained how difficult I am finding it to keep a rhythm so we are going to work on duets in lessons which will be fun!

Anyway less talking about cello and more playing to be done - I am off to crack out the new book!

Lesson 9? 10?

No idea whether yesterday was my 9th or 10th lesson (I hope 9th or I need to start saving for lessons again)..

I explained my confusion with the whole key signature/when to do extensions/not really understanding music conundrum. My teacher was partly reassuring - he said to not worry about it for now, and just play up the the place in the book that I can do, and make sure I am confident with what I am doing. The book we are working from apparently moves very quickly, and assumes that you have prior music theory knowledge - i think it's basically a book designed for adult leaners playing cello as a second instrument.

Which is all fine and good but I am going to need to learn it at some point, and it is frustrating me that I am (in theory) able to play things, I just don't know how they need to be played.

I think I need to stop being impatient with myself, and remember that learning to read music is all part of the learning experience! I have a bad habit of always wanting to do the next thing, but I need to consolidate what I already know.

So, a week of consolidation lays ahead of me!

A long break! (not from cello though!)

I can't believe the last time i wrote was 14th may. ever since I started my dissertation, things have been crazy busy, and I haven't had time to write. I have however had time to practise, and things are going well. I was inspired to post today after reading @Michael_Tuchman's blog, and decided that I would review what I had been doing recently.

Since lesson 7 I have had 2 more lessons. Both of them were lovely, as usual. My cello teacher and I are getting quite friendly, which has made me slightly less apprehensive before I go into lessons.

I am currently playing a few things:

• Every now and again I am playing a few pieces in 4th position. They are easy to play, yet they sound so horrible! Going to keep going back to those.
• I am also playing 2 long pieces (much longer than usual) which I am enjoying, but am finding a struggle to get through the whole thing before my left thumb starts to ache. I also find it difficult to play something wrong and keep going, so have started tackling one line at a time which is helping loads.
  
• I am having real trouble with pieces with complicated key signatures. I can (sort of) do extensions, but I have no idea when I should be doing them. I think the problem there is a fundamental lack of any knowledge of music theory, and it is holding me back.
  

So in my lesson tomorrow I am going to talk to my teacher about what the hell any of those key signatures mean, and ask him to give me a music reading lesson. Until I get that sorted I pretty much can't play anything else in the book, so I really need to figure it out.

I might get a book on music theory too, but not sure what type of thing I need.

Will update after my lesson tomorrow.

Lesson 7: 4th Position

My lesson yesterday was great fun once again! I learnt 4th position - comfortable, easy to find. Can't complain! I also got a new book, with loads of new pieces. It is less 'friendly' than my 1st book, but is more aimed at adults, and moves faster and has longer pieces. I have 3 to get going with, which all move between 1st and 4th position. I am also practising G Major with 2 octaves and C Major with 3 octaves. Or something like that, I can't quite remember!

The most interesting thing that I learned in the lesson was how to use the full length of the bow. When you do that it sounds so much better; much less weedy and more confident. It made a huge difference to the sound of the piece and I am looking forward to experimenting with it while I practise.

I was really pleased when my teacher said that the pieces I am playing are Grade 2 standard. I am not bothered about taking exams, but it is nice to know what level you are playing at in a measureable way!

With a whole book to work from, I am really looking forward to getting back into moving through it at my own pace. Having only one piece at a time was good to make me concentrate on what it sounded like, but I like to be able to learn a few things at a time.

Speaking of which, I am off to play!

lesson 6: extensions

So, today I had my 6th lesson, and although I hadn't done very much practise this week, my teacher seemed surprisingly pleased! He said my ability to play a piece sightreading for the first time was "very promising" - wow, I feel really good! The extensions were fine, although not that easy really, but apparently I will get the hang of them. I am currently finding them awkward and I don't yet feel comfortable moving my hand that much, I feel all lost unless I am in first position!

Also this week I played Phantom of the Opera for the first time. It's so much fun (and really easy)! I haven't yet tried playing along with the CD but i am really looking forward to doing that. I also went to Dave Mann, a music shop about 5 minutes from my house to pick up my cello stand and played about on their double bass. It was so much fun, they are so deep! I am definitely going to get myself one of those when I have a big enough house! But right now I am more than happy with the cello, and have no aspirations beyond learning my piece for next week.

For next week I am doing a piece called Tanz (Bach), and continuing to work on Gavotte and Poloniase from last week. I am enjoying them, but I feel like I could do with a new book so I can move at my own speed. However, as my teacher said, i don't want to get ahead of myself, and it's nice to have a piece you can play well. So that's my plan - play well! Then I can get a new book...

Lesson 5: pachelbel and gavotte

I know that I should be writing my essay right about now, so this is going to be a short update of how things have been going. I am much too busy with uni work at the moment to write too much on here which is a shame because lots of fun things have been happening in the world of my cello.

I finally have decided on a name for her, for a start. Ursula it is. Love that name (and Ursula le Guin), and it has started to sound right! Phew, glad that's decided because obviously it is impossible to play an instrument without anthropomorphising it as much as is realistically possible.

I am really enjoying playing Pachelbel at last. It it starting to sound.... presentable?? No, not presentable, but I think if someone knew the piece, and heard me playing it, they would recognise it. I am also enjoying playing Gavotte by Handel, but am finding Poloniase (Bach) Hard Work. It sounded so great when my teacher played it though, so I will perservere.

Bow hold is no longer causing me any pain, but now my left thumb is starting to ache, so I think I need to stop gripping the neck as tight. Also getting pins and needles in my bum all the time from the chair I use and back and neck are aching loads from essay writing. This instrument is slowly killing me, I swear.

However, it is my birthday on Sunday, and for my birthday I am receiving:

• cello lessons (from parents as I can't afford them)
• cello stand (from thomas as Ursula doesn't appreciate being leant against a book case)
• stool (from thom's parents to stop my bum ache)
• some new music (from a friend)

So it is a cello themed 24th birthday in store for me! yayyy!!

lesson 4: for free!

i had my fourth lesson yesterday. My teacher phoned me earlier int he day and warned me tthat he was ing to be busy, but I can't go any other days (essay due friday) so i went along anyway. He was very busy, so i only saw him for a few minutes, and he said he wouldn't charge me which was nice of him.

i had a chance to ask 4 questions, play a small amount and get some new music. it was definitely worth the walk up the hill because there were a few things i had been doing wrong!

my 4 questions (my teacher's answers)

1. if there are no markings telling you which direction the bow should be going in, how do you know if it is an up bow or a down bow? alternate, unless it says otherwise. which makes a lot of sense, but for some reason that didn't occur to me! It seems so obvious now i know!
2. Why would you play an A on the D string, instead of just playing the A string? you wouldn't. it's a totally pointless exercise at this stage, so unless it is easier to do it that way, just play the A string.
3. Should you move your left hand when playing flats? those are extensions, and we will talk about those another time.
4. My bow grip is horrible, what should I do about it? Play open strings and scales and when you do, really think about how you should be holding the bow. if you do that often enough you will start adopting it in your normal playing.

So those were my questions. Bear in mind that i am NOT offering this as advice to anyone, it is just what my teacher told me at the time, and in my case this is what he suggested.

I also got 3 new pieces of music. 2 Bach pieces, and a Handel piece called Gavotte which is the easiest one. It's really fun to play, I am going to try to get it presentable for my lesson next week. We are also going to play Pachelbel's Canon as a duet. I can't wait for my first proper lesson in weeks!

Lesson 3: I got my bow

My lesson this afternoon was a funny one. I got my bow (yay!) but I am finding it reallllly difficult to hold right at the moment, and my thumb hurts (boo). My lesson was supposed to be 4pm-4.30pm but the student after me didn't turn up for his lesson so I got a full hour (yay!) but both me and my teacher were super sleepy and the room was so warm we were both really drowsy (boo). Hilariously, I actually think my teacher dropped off for about half a second mid-sentemce, and then kept on talking as though nothing had happened. Hahaha ohhhh dear.

Anyway he said I was doing well with my left hand stuff, and so I could have my bow! Very exciting, I practised looooaaaads this week to make sure that he would be happy giving me the bow.

Total anti-climax. I can't even hold it properly yet. It is ridiculously uncomfortable, and sounds horrendous! I guess for some reason in my mind I figured that I would be able to play all the stuff I had been playing pizzicato right away with the bow. No. Definitely not. So I am feeling a little discouraged right now. Unfortunately, realising how unrealistic my bow-related expectations were has not made me feel any less disappointed.

But tomorrow is another day etc and I am already making slightly less gut-wrenchingly gruesome squawks with it, so I will stick with it!

No more lesson until 22nd April so I have ages to work on my technique. I am also going to confer with a cello-playing friend and get him to tell me if I am doing it right after I have had a bit of practise. We shall see..

Second lesson, cello is back!

She's back! yayy!!

I was really excited about heading to my lesson this morning. For the first part of the lesson, my teacher just taught me how to twist the pegs to tune the cello. It is quite tough but he recommended that I practise and slowly turn the pegs until I feel more confident.

We played through a few of the tunes in the book, and I was pleased with how it sounded (the sound is slowly getting better), and my teacher seemed pleased too. We also worked through parts of the rest of the book, and started playing on the G string, which sounds niiiiice. It was a lovely lesson, and I am really happy with how things are going, and also relieved that I get on well with my teacher. He is such a nice man, and very patient. It must be horrible teaching absolute beginners, but he's very encouraging!

However, I stilllll don't get a bow! Not until next week, so I will practise practise practise to make sure that he is happy to start doing bow work next week. I have done an hour this afternoon already, and already got up to the part in the book he wanted me to get to. I can now play G, and low A, B and C sharp. Now I just need to get it to sound nice!