| Author |
Subject |
galois00
Registered User
(2/19/01 2:17:55 pm)
Reply |
Duh!
This point is so obvious it may have
occurred to everyone on the board already, but just in case . .
.
My wife is a great musician--she is a pianist and was a
composition major in college--but I haven't often asked her advice
about the cello because, well, she doesn't play it. This weekend,
though, I asked her to listen while I practiced and help me with
things like timing, rhythm and musicality. She pointed out to me
that one section of notes was sounding jerky because I was
physically jerking my elbow to make a string change (instead of
moving smoothly over). My teacher hadn't mentioned this and I hadn't
been able to notice it myself, what with having to pay attention to
intonation, straight bowing, timing, dynamics and a few other minor
issues.
It was a good reminder that another person's
viewpoint is always valuable.
Dan
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TerryM
Registered
User
(2/19/01 5:52:40 pm)
Reply |
Re:
Duh!
Good point. William Pleeth (the
teacher of Jacqueline du Pre) in his book, "Cello" talks about
playing on the 'side' of the string closest to the one that you will
be moving to. So, in simple terms, if you are playing on the D
string and the next passage will take you to the A string, then you
should be playing on the A string side of the D string. This will
help to reduce jerky movements of arm and bow when making string
changes and thereby improve the smoothness of the playing.
Sometimes the curvature of the bridge can be a problem as
well. If it is cut too much in a curve, which can make it easier to
play on a particular string without touching the others, then the
amount of movement required to make a string change can be more than
with a flatter profile bridge. I recall that avoiding touching the
adjacent strings was particularly a problem for me when first
learning to play, but eventually as my control improved it became
easier to know where my bow was at any point in time.
Strangely too, practicing double stops helps greatly to
improve the precision of bowing and reduce the accidental playing of
adjacent strings when not intended. Practicing double stops help to
keep the bow on the two strings and then it is only a slight
movement away from the double stop position that is required to play
on one or the other when not playing double stops.
Any bowing
movement that can be reduced or made more efficient saves energy and
improves control. Using more of a wrist movement for close string
changes helps to keep the elbow under control as well.
Terry
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Tim
Janof
Administrator
(2/19/01 8:33:25 pm)
Reply |
Re:
Duh!
I've learned a lot about life from
dogs, so learning from another person is a no-brainer! 
Seriously, this a great lesson for us all. Thanks for
sharing.
|
Joe
S
Registered
User
(2/19/01 11:12:55 pm)
Reply |
You are
lucky
to have someone who can help at
home. The love of my life's only reaction to most music is " Arn't
they/you out of tune?". But then I am not perfect either. " Sorry
honey about your white blouse, but you look good in pink."
Joe
S.
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ruthann
Registered User
(2/20/01 9:10:40 am)
Reply |
Re:
Duh!
You and your wife must have a really
good relationship. My hat's off to you. I confess I would never
"invite" criticism from my spouse...
cello_suttonr@hotmail.com
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