long tones

We spent part of my last lesson on long tones to focus on bow control (for non-cellists, long tones, are, um, well, exactly what they sound like - drawing the bow across a string for a certain period of time).

We started with 15 seconds per bow draw on open strings, trying to go for even volume and pace from frog to tip, with no scratching or skips. It's amazing how this exercise amplifies how wobbly one's bowing really is (not to mention how long 15 seconds really is).

Ideally, I'm to work up to 30 seconds per bow draw; however, given how yucky it sounds at 15 seconds, it will be awhile before I get there.

We then tried out varying the volume to counts of four - dividing the bow in quarters to gradually increase volume, and also counting 1, 2, 3 to get to the middle of the bow, then a quick middle-to-tip on 4 for the loudest tone, and then doing it all in reverse for kicks and giggles. It's still a long tone practice, but with an added layer of volume.

I'm also working on #88 in Book 2 of Dotzauer Grant - Ben calls it a "one-and-a-half position" exercise (third finger where fourth would be in first position). So far, position shifts aren't too much of a bear for me - I tend to get in the right vicinity and back again without much or any pausing to figure out where to go (although I've noticed that if I overthink position shifts, I overshoot them. Funny that). 'S more a matter of honing more and more precisely - a comes-with-practice thing.