***This post is mainly seeking cello practice advice - Gottagopractice suggested I post a blog entry about my experiences with daily practice so far - so unless you're interested in that, you may want to skip it.***
Right. For those still reading, I've been at this cello endeavor for about three months now. I still like my cello. I still like my teacher. I've upgraded my bow. I've got the hang of bowing and fingering, which isn't to say that I'm stellar at either of them, just that it no longer feels awkward to do either of them. Reminds me of learning to knit, actually, but I'll stick to the point (ha!) and not go there.
I have no illusions that I sound anywhere close to good right now. The long-term goal, of course, is to get better and play music that makes me and my ears and my fingers happy from accomplishment. And when I say long-term, I mean over the course of the rest of my life, until my life gives me a mighty good reason why I should stop playing.
The best way to get better at this, so far as I can tell, is practice. I've had several discussions with my cello teacher about practicing. It's not enough just to finger the notes and bow on the strings repeatedly, he says. An effective practice means you do both properly so you develop the muscle and ear memory to know when you're playing it "right" - when it sounds "right" in your ears and feels "right" under your fingers.
In the first few weeks, I tried practicing for an hour every day, and my cello teacher shook his head at me when he read through my practice journal. As a beginner, that's too much strain on your hands, he said. I need to build up the hand muscle strength first, or it will all be for naught if I develop carpal tunnel or cause a muscle or tendon injury.
So I cut down the daily practice to a half-hour in the morning, and a half-hour in the evening. While this is easier on my hands, I can't say as I notice much improvement in my playing (not that hour-long practices improved it either). My teacher usually gives me at least two short pieces to practice each week. Right now, these pieces are fundamentals - string crossings, scales, and ar-peg-g-ios, mainly (whenever I hear or see "arpeggio" I think of the song from The Aristocats - at 3:00).
When I'm learning one of these new pieces, or if I find a particular section in a piece to be difficult, I try to break it down into measures, and focus on playing each measure better. I will also practice the fingering separate from the bowing at first, so my fingers get more familiar with the note pattern, which helps my attention to not be spread as thinly when I combine the fingering with the bowing. This makes practice slow-going, and often, I don't really feel as though I've gotten very far or have enough progress to present at the next lesson.
I have a lesson once a week. Between lessons, I don't have enough time to practice the pieces until I can play them perfectly - one can only accomplish so much in daily half-hour blocks of time. My teacher has mentioned beginning "cello ensemble" to me several times now, but I know I'm not ready for that. Only one of my cats can stand to hear me play at the moment, and it's just as well that I'm single because my current playing ability would likely be grounds for break-up.
Perhaps I am making it all too difficult. Perhaps I'm expecting too much of myself. After all, I'm not taking lessons for any kind of class credit. Honestly, I'm doing it for therapy more than anything, after years of serious bouts with panic disorder. "Work less, play more" is what my doctor advised. I may not ever play in a famous concert hall, but that doesn't mean I can't learn to play well, does it?
Perhaps I'm a super-slow learner/accomplisher. However, I would think that after each practice session, I should be at least a hair better, yes?
So how do you cello players out there in interwebtube-land approach your practice sessions? How often do you practice? What do you practice? How do you practice? How do you know if your practice session was successful?
Bring it on. I'm truly interested and would love advice because I want to get better, and I do not want to waste practice time nor have it turn into yet another chore on the to-do list. "This is supposed to be fun!" as my cello teacher says.
6 comments:
Some days are better than others. You have to keep on, and it will come.
At that stage, I was also advised to keep it under 45 minutes. I picked up the cello at random times during the day to play this or that. I called it "snacking practice" - in addition to - NOT instead of regular practice.
What I've read about a practicing was to have a goal before you sit down. Really focus this. First, I work on some scales. Usually, I do the scale in the piece I will be playing.
Maybe you want to work on string crossings, or maybe bow speed when you lift your fingers (that's my current bugaboo).
Other times, I have anti-goal practice. I take an easy piece from way back and just sit and try to enjoy it - no judgments.
I'd be happy to help in general as time goes on. I really can relate to so much of what you're saying, and I wish you the best.
One more thing - how do I know if my practice is successful? If I feel I gave it my best. If I tried something difficult. But sometimes I don't know. Some days just stink. Athletes get into slumps, and playing cello is an athletic feat.
I have a friend who played the Bassoon in college, and he always told me to have faith in "the magic of practice". Just keep sitting down and you may be stuck for a week, then one day you'll sit down and "get it", as though there was no effort on your part at all. So long as you are practicing, your subconscious is working overtime for you to help solve the problem.
Tell me about your new bow!
I hope you'll drop by my blog from time to time and we can trade tips.
Cate, it sounds like you are doing great. As you have discovered, learning to play the cello takes time. Lots of time. It's essential that you enjoy the journey, as it may be weeks, months, or eventually years until you notice big changes.
However, it is possible to hear some improvement every time you practice. The key is to choose only a small thing at a time and really focus on it, practicing it as many different ways as you can think of until you make some progress. Then go on to something else. That is very hard to do in the beginning, as you will have such a strong drive to cover everything because time is short.
For example, today I practiced a 1.5 measure scale in a piece called Tarantella (by Squire) for 20 minutes. When I was done (hit my point of mental fatigue) I still couldn't play it at tempo, but the sound quality and confidence was much better at the tempo I was working at. That's progress, and it's the only thing I practiced in that piece today.
The other general advice I have is to divide the time available into warm-up, work, and fun. For 30 minutes, I'd do 5 minutes of right hand then left hand things to get my hands working, 10 minutes on 1 or 2 things from the first piece, 10 minutes doing the same from the second piece, then 5 minutes of fun: playing something you already know, running the pieces if you are ready to do that, improvising, or trying to play something by ear.
HTH - I don't want to write a whole dissertation in your comments!
Yay, another knitting-writing-cellist! Judging by your blogroll, we have a lot of interests in common.
I identify a lot with where you are right now. GGP has an excellent point: good practice comes from focusing on something specific. Sometimes for me, it's becoming familiar with a piece by playing a section at a time, or making myself go through the whole thing to get a sense of how it all connects, or just extracts of runs. Some days I focus on clean string crossings; other days I work shifts, or starting a bow stroke cleanly. I know it feels like you're not going anywhere when you do these things, but they do support your overall development.
Totally not cello-related: Are you on Ravelry? (No, wait, I can connect this--there's a Knitting Musicians group on Ravelry!)
Work on scales. They are simple enough to help you build finger strength, but flexible enough to allow you to focus on technique at the same time. String crossings, bowing technique, etc.
While you're practicing, make a checklist (try to keep it relatively short) of things you want to focus on. It's easy to get caught up in your fingering technique while totally forgetting that you're using poor bow technique. A checklist will allow you to mentally reset yourself while practicing so you don't neglect aspects of practice.
You can explore "fun time" where you aren't really doing anything other than playing with a CD (without sheet music), however those are the times you have to pay the most attention to technique, or you will pick up bad habits.
It's human nature to "tense up" while you're trying to do something you have difficulty with. You must be ever conscious to avoid this, it is the most difficult thing to unlearn. If you keep this in mind from the beginning, it will make your life much easier later.
Learn to love etudes. Etudes keep your technique, body, and mind sharp. They are usually written to emphasize one thing, you can play them to emphasize anything. Love them for their technical slant. They're typically considered "less interesting", but much more beneficial to your training.
Get something like this: http://bit.ly/1lbMeE and use your fingertips. There's nothing wrong with making your hand stronger, as long as you don't overdo it. I don't want to contradict your teacher, but it's more important to fall in love with practicing than to limit yourself to some random time limit.
Keep your mind open, never practice without keeping some goal in mind. When you practice without a goal in mind, you're not actually practicing.
Go out and enjoy music, find some classical or other concerts. Fall in love with the music, and you'll have no problem with practicing.
Thank you for the comments everybody!
And here I was worried that I wasn't doing enough during my practice time. Maybe it's the converse, and I'm trying to do too much. Typical.
Michael, my new(ish) bow is an Eastman made from Brazilian rosewood. It has a nice balance, and though a smidge heavier than the cheap-o one that came with the cello I'm renting, it actually feels better in my hand.
Autumn, yes I am on ravelry. My user name is mycatmademedoit. I need to check out the Knitting Musicians group.
Eddie, it's funny - my cello teacher keeps apologizing for all the "boring" stuff I'm working on now (ie, the scales), and he keeps assuring me that I'll be able to start playing "more interesting" things soon. Truth be told though, I don't mind the scales since that's about level with my playing ability at the moment, and I find them comfortable to play.
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