Thursday, 26 March 2009

Thumb pain!

Owwwwwww Just played for 40mins and my thumb feels as weak as anything. I am definitely getting the hang of it though, I sort of get what I am supposed to be doing. Sometimes the sound is alright, and I can just about get through a few lines of music without it starting to slide into awfulness again. So things are sounding promising, and I feel better than I did last night.

I have another lecture in an hour so really cannot afford to abuse it any more! I will play again when I finish for the day at 5pm.

It amazes me how much there is to learn when playing the cello: left hand doing one thing, right hand doing something completely different. Both of them contorted into strange new shapes. Arms aching from sticking out everywhere and my poor back not used to sitting up straight for so long at a time!

When I played the flute years ago, all you had to do was learn how to shape your mouth right, and get your fingers in the right place and you could at least play a basic tune. String instruments seem so complicated in comparison. But I wouldn't have started playing if I hadn't wanted a challenge, so I am going to stop complaining and start improving!

2 comments:

  1. I played the flute. The cello is totally different in that you have to actually 'find' the note first before you can even think about playing it. That was the biggest challenge when I first started.

    I replied to your comment regarding soreness. Also - someone wrote this in a blog recently and I thought it was great. You don't have to grip the bow so hard...don't forget that the strings are there to automatically hold the bow up when you play. Maybe thinking of that will help you release the grip a bit on your bow?

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  2. Ahhh that has definitely helped, thanks! I still find the bow a bit awkward and cumbersome at the moment, but it is beginning to feel better every time I play and not gripping so hard allows me to play for loads longer before I have to stop! Thanks!

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