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!

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..