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!