I like drones.  They play the correct note, which I may or may do.  I have a drone CD which I bought from http://www.navarrorivermusic.com/cello_drones.php for about $10.  Then I entered the 21st century and found a Tuning Drones app.  It works too.  Anyway, I have an arpeggio in a piece that goes G-B♭-C♯-E♭ (on the G string); G-B♭ (on the D string); C♯-E♭-G-B♭-C♯-E♭-G (up the A string).   Not so hard, right?  Only for me it was.  I started by playing it bow-only.  When I have trouble it’s often my right hand that’s the problem and if I leave the left hand out of the training, my right hand will learn what is needed.  After right hand training,  I use the drone, but which note to drone?  Easy answer.  All of them, one at a time, and repeat.  It really helps.   Then play the arpeggio backwards.  High G-E♭-C♯-B♭-G etc.  With the drones, of course.  And repeat.  And this was the only thing from this piece I practiced yesterday.  Sometimes focus on a very small thing improves in many ways.

This one is just a test to see if my blog is actually sending to all of you properly.
Feel free to ignore! I can’t blog today. Lesson tomorrow. Gotta Go Practice!

I happened upon a new cello link today and wanted to share it. This teacher is very thorough.
cello.musicteachershelper.com. She has lots of ideas, videos, music, and thoughts about cello life. Check it out!

I went to a senior expo today and one booth was for Music Therapy. Music Therapy is the use of music based interventions to address non-musical therapeutic goals. Like stress, which we all have to some degree. The very nice young man had a ukulele and a drum on the table. I picked up the uke and strummed a few chords and was reminded that it’s nice to play an instrument that doesn’t take a lifetime to learn to play. A few years ago I was inspired to take up another instrument (yes, another thought that I would be fabulous in no time) and bought a guitar. I’ve never played guitar and don’t know why I thought this would be so easy. It wasn’t. Guitars have six strings which are 2 more than what I have on my cello, and those 4 are enough to work with. My brilliant teacher said “Get a uke!”. So I did. MUCH easier than a guitar. Only 4 strings and it’s so small that it doesn’t require much left hand work, and of course, NO BOW. In fact, you can play a zillion songs with 3 or 4 basic chords and of course, it’s all on line and free. I like theukuleleteacher.com who is cute and British and a good instructor. He has videos that are easy to follow. Grace VanderWaal, who won America’s Got Talent, learned from his online tutorials. Another big plus for a uke is that it’s so portable. I love to travel but my cello requires her own seat on the airlines but my uke goes anywhere. So while I’m climbing the cello mountain, occasionally I like to just pull out the uke and play “Over the Rainbow” or “You Are My Sunshine”.   My husband doesn’t mind my singing and he appreciates an instrument that just plunks along. Both instruments are pretty good music therapy for what ails me too.

When I wrote about spending lots of time, ALONE, in my room practicing, I don’t think I emphasized enough how much playing with others will improve your playing as well as your enjoyment of your instrument and the music you make. So here are some ideas. Please add your own to my list. Find a community orchestra. This is the best place to start because there will be lots of other cellos and you can learn from them and play with them. Contact your local high school orchestra teacher and ask if there are other cellists (yes, high school students) who might want to play duets with you. Or a local college.  You could be playing duets with your teacher at your lesson. (You have a teacher, yes?)  Ask your teacher if there are other students who might want to play. Maybe your teacher can start a cello choir for all students. Join the ACMP- Chamber Music Association of America. They publish a list of other musicians and you can find people of your level who want to play. With you. Contact your local violin shop and ask about others who might want to play.  Find a summer program.   There are many to choose from, including CelloSpeak (all cellos, in PA). SCOR, (all strings, in NY).  Both groups encourage adults at all levels.  Check out the internet for more.  The more you play, the better you will play, and the more enjoyment you will bring to yourself and others. So I say it again. Get out of your room and go play.

I started taking lessons in 2003 from a lovely woman in her 70’s who had played with several symphonies which more than qualified her to teach me.   She wouldn’t allow tapes on my cello and didn’t let me out of first position.   I did play through many Suzuki books, one piece per week, for which I received stickers on the page and “very good” remarks.   When I had to play a B flat or F sharp, her advice was to “STRETCH”.  I never heard the words “extended” or “open” position (more on that came with my next teacher).   I would practice the pieces for 30 minutes per day and each week, after the sticker, we would move on to the next piece.  Schroeder and Dotzauer books were added and I dutifully played each piece as best I could.  (We skipped the hard ones.  She’d write “come back” at the top of the page.)  I don’t remember any discussion of technique, bow, or tone.   It wasn’t long before Kummer was introduced.    I was playing lots of notes, still sounding awful.  I was getting discouraged, not understanding why I didn’t sound “like a cellist”.   (After all, I thought this process would take six months at best!)    More and more music.  After only 2 years I was playing Goltermann Concerto #4.  (Do not ask me how!)  So after years of playing alone in my room, sounding terrible, and going to lessons where my teacher told me “very good” and continued to give me stickers,   I realized something was missing.    Playing alone in a room with no improvement was starting to be depressing.   It was then that my teacher told me about an amateur string orchestra that didn’t require auditions (perish that thought!) and accepted all.     I didn’t hesitate and joined up.

Learning to play the cello is not easy. Not when you start after the age of 10 or 11.

For one thing, you have a life. You may have a spouse, kids, a job (or two), a home, meals to prepare, shopping to do, clothes to wash. And on and on. Learning to play the cello takes a lot of time.

Physically, when you start later in life, you really are no spring chicken. Your muscles don’t have the juice that they once had. If you’re over 30, you probably have the beginning of arthritis. That’s simplified, of course. You have, or will have, aches and pains that kids just don’t have or don’t notice or ignore. When you’re older, it’s harder to ignore.

OTOH when you start later in life, it’s because it’s something you really want to do.  Whatever the motivation, it’s for you.   You aren’t preparing for an audition or vying for first chair.  Not that it means you won’t have some of the same jitters.   “Firsts” always come with some nervousness.  And there are lots of firsts when you’re doing something brand new and not easy.     But you are motivated.  This is something you want to do.  It’s a challenge.  It’s a beautiful instrument.  It’s amazing to make music.  And you will do that.  You will make beautiful music, by yourself and with others.   Remember that old adage- it’s one step at a time.   As my teacher told me, learning to play the cello is like climbing a mountain with no end.  You’re always moving up.  Remember to enjoy the scenery.

Welcome Cellists, Cellist-to-be, and those just thinking about how beautiful the cello sounds.   I started playing the cello at age 50.  My musical background consisted of a few years of piano lessons (I never did understand the left hand/bass clef).  My son, at the age of 5, decided he wanted to play the violin.   We had a piano and I strongly urged him to choose this instrument, but he was adamant.  I warned him that I would NEVER let him quit lessons.  He was firm and I relented.  I found a teacher, rented a violin, and endured years of lessons in which I took notes and assisted with practicing.  (Envision mom yelling from the kitchen “I think you’re a little flat”.) (Envision child thinking about breaking the violin in a million pieces.)

After 13 years of lessons, travel, auditions and participating as an orchestra parent, my son left for college and I was unsure how I would continue without the music, which had become such a large part of my life.

Without too much thought, I told my husband that I was going to learn to play the cello.   I had tried playing my son’s violin and it was terribly difficult.  For some unknown reason, I decided the cello would be easy to play and in six months I’d be sounding just like YoYo.  Right.   My husband surprised me at Christmas with a cello! Wow.  Now I really had to learn.  So with a new instrument, a new teacher, and no son to tell me how terrible I sounded, my new career began.