Something New

Okaaaay... One big, fat post for the month of February. That's what I call taking a break.

I credit the Practice Club on CelloBloggers for helping to maintain my interest in practicing in a month filled with taking care of my mom post-op, administering meds to cats to finally resolve the diarrhea issue, multiple kitten adoptions (the Vanalikalikes, Spud and Jo all found excellent homes), the return of Pi due to an unsuspected heart condition and his subsequent diagnosis and ongoing treatment. Actually, it was a busy month, but knowing that I had committed to reporting my practice time every week to a handful of faithful peers was just enough motivation to get me to my practice room.

This is my other inspiration this month:



I have been keeping a rudimentary journal in a weekly academic appointment calendar, but decided that something a little more colorful might increase the fun quotient. Sort of like stickers for adults. So I bought a dry-erase board with daily divisions and a space for lists, along with a pack of multi-colored dry erase pens. Now I have the added incentive of covering the board each week.

Soft cello case storage

I have a soft cello case that I use on occasion when I need to transport my cello but have weight or size issues that preclude using my usual hard case. As much as possible, though, I avoid using it in winter, because it offers very little thermal protection. I don't have a great option for storing it when it's not in use, so I am sorry to say that since last winter it has laid in a balled-up heap on my basement floor.

It occurred to me that there was a better option to using it as a litterbox-challenged cat attractant - I could hang it up in a closet. Amazing really, how long it takes me to come up with these brilliantly obvious ideas.



I never do anything here without the aid of my able assistants.



Yes, everything must be carefully inspected to meet exacting technical specifications.



The hanger is secured in the wide bottom of the case by closing the opposing zippers, meant to accommodate the endpin.



And voila, a storage solution that will foil all but the most determined cat.

FLY Pen

I have a new toy: a FLY Fusion Pentop Computer. It was sort of a late Christmas present, and I bought two, one for DH, and one for me. While marketed as a children's homework assistant and game machine, a couple of its basic functions looked very interesting for grown-up uses. The simplest thing it does is to record everything you write (using special paper with thousands of virtually invisible gray dots) and transfer it to your desktop computer, where it is retrievable both as a picture (jpg) and as text using OCR into Word. There is also a nifty music application for composing and playing music that I haven't tried yet, and of course the ubiquitous mp3 player capacity. And the darn thing talks to you, to assist and tell you when you've screwed up.

I bought it for DH to use to capture all of those brain-storming back-of-napkin meetings he does, and he's pretty excited about the possibilities. There are a couple of new habits to learn - carrying the pen and paper along, learning how to use the pen without having to think too hard, uploading and organizing the notes - but this could be a great alternative to trying to capture notes on a computer or PDA on one hand or figuring out how to file and use the scraps of paper on the other.

For me, I'm still looking for efficient and useful ways to record my practice log. The first thing I thought I'd try is a simple log entry system, where I record a few notes about what I did at the end of each practice block or rehearsal. Here is the result of my first try using this thing.

After I finished my 30-minute practice block, I pulled out the pen and first FLY pad, touched the pen on the activating screen, and started writing. No, printing, because the OCR doesn't do well with cursive. This is what a scanned image of the notebook page looks like:


This is what the image of the notebook after importing from the pen looks like:


I obtained this image by e-mailing it from the FLY application. One of the options after you have uploaded a page is to distribute it as a jpg this way.

You can see that a few of the beginning words don't appear. That's because I didn't tap on the "FLY Notes ON" button before I started writing. The front cover of each notebook contains lots of control buttons that are activated by tapping with the pen. It's like a little computer on cardboard. The reason that there are only a few words missing instead of the whole entry is that the pen recognized that I was writing without having given it instructions on what to do with the writing, so it spoke up and told me so. It also suggested that if I just wanted to record my writing I tap the "FLY Notes ON" button. Thank you very much!

This is what the entry looked like after I opened it as a document (in Word):


Certainly not perfect, but recognizable. You can import pictures by telling the app not to convert them, but I'd have to look up how to do it. It might be better just to use a text equivalent instead of an eighth note symbol. And I have to remember to write my "8" with a singe stroke instead of two circles, because the pen uses the drawing of a circle to identify applications and that confused it.

So, the pen seems to work pretty well, and I'm looking forward to playing with it to discover other functions that might be useful. And I'll experiment this week with using it to record my practice log.

Wedge hog

Paper test

A tidbit from my cello lesson this week.

No, you shouldn't be able to fit the paper under the foot of the bridge.

To fix, loosen the pegs slightly, grasp the bridge with both hands, and gently but firmly tip the top of the bridge toward the tail of the cello. Check with the paper to ensure that both feet have good contact with the top, and visually to see that the bridge is straight, then re-tune and check one last time.

Consequences of not fixing it? In my case, just a little increased wolfiness. Over time, though, the uneven tension on top can warp the bridge, leading to uneven tuning of fifths (thus even harder to play in tune), and on rare occasion to catastrophic bridge failure. A bridge either breaking or suddenly falling over can damage the top and potentially result in a fallen sound post.

Gotta remember to do periodic paper tests during winter peg-popping season.

Bad habit

For a musician, a pencil is only as good as its eraser. No eraser? Trash. It speaks to the constant editing that goes on during practice and rehearsals. My favorite variety is Ticonderoga 2/HB softs - for whatever reason, their erasers never harden. But I picked up a few of these nice colored ones at the music school the other day.


It appears I have a serious problem at my house. The erasers on my new pencils have begun disappearing. The other morning I found these: brand-new, unsharpened, and eraserless. No, it wasn't me. I don't bite my fingernails, I don't chew pencils, and I don't eat erasers.


But I know who does. Silly me, I put the last remaining new pencil from this batch (sharpened) into my pencil holder. So much for colors. I'll stick with my yellow Ticonderogas, and I'm very glad their erasers aren't tasty (who knew?).

Counting reps

I got a new toy just before my big computer crash, when life as I know it got much more difficult.

Yes, it's an abacus. Did you know that there are two kinds of abacuses (abaci?)? This is referred to as a Chinese abacus, which has rows of 10 beads. The Japanese abacus has a divider, with 5 beads on one side ("earth") and 2 beads on the other ("heaven"). I know this now because I borrowed a book from the library to learn how to use the Japanese model, having never seen one before I went shopping.

I am not using my abacus for calculating, but for counting. Repetitions. While practicing. Before I got it I was using a handful of jelly beans, which I moved one at a time from one side of the stand to the other. I found I also needed a little flag, so I knew which side I was moving toward. I suppose I could have picked up the whole pile and moved it to the "starting side" before I began each set of repetitions. But the most complicating aspect of counting with jelly beans was my strong desire to eat them. Which meant I had a steadily decreasing number of repetitions available.

One could argue that there is no need to count if you are simply repeating a section until you have played it correctly x number of times. While that is fairly simple to keep track of in my head, a book I read recently (it's in my stack of new piano music) recommended physically moving something to count, not purely for the keeping-track-of benefit, but also because the act of moving it requires you to reset your hands, and by extension your mind, before you start again. I think the author was on to something.

Today I learned segment C2 in my Bach invention at one session, then put it together with segment C1 in a second session. I have been using the metronome specifically to fight my tendency to vary the tempo wildly depending on how hard the lick is, and Joshua was right on when he called me out for not sticking with it. SOoo I slowed way down to 8th=56 and practiced in rhythms, using only the long-short and short-long variation. Wow, you really have to know the next note coming when you are in the long wait period at that tempo. Can't rely on muscle memory. Then I played it 10 times at 72, concentrating on improving the legato-ness in the phrases.

Here's today's work. I'm really quite pleased with the result. And somehow counting with the colored beads on the abacus increases the fun-ness of practicing.

C2 at 8th=80. Still not quite on the beat.

powered by ODEO

C12 together in long -short rhythm at 8th=56

powered by ODEO

C12 in short-long rhythm at 8th=56

powered by ODEO

C12, first rep at 8th=72

powered by ODEO

C12, 10th rep at 8th=72.

powered by ODEO

I think I'm staying with the metronome better, but did you hear any improvement in legato?

Lady-in-Waiting

Got a new toy in the mail yesterday. While I was at Shar looking at the orchestral parts on CD-ROM I saw their cello stands were also on sale. I've been meaning to get one of these for ages, knowing that unpacking and repacking my cello into the case makes me less likely to practice for short sessions, which decreases my practice time overall. Leaving the cello out free is not an option with kittens in the house.

This stand is quite nice, an Ingles. Very sturdy. Unfolds and screws together, no significant assembly required.








Some very nice features, including:

A cradle to stabilize the neck.










The cradle has a latch on a pivot to surround the neck and inhibit the cello falling off the stand after a simple bump.







The arms that hold the bottom of the cello adjust in height so that I can leave the endpin out, another boon for the 5-minute quickie practice session.





Having the cello higher on the stand also decreases vulnerability to kittens, since it's above their heads and they tend not to notice such things. John displayed the requisite interest in a new object and went on his way.





There's a little hook on the back for the bow, but that puts the swinging tip at a tempting height from the floor. Might have to forgo using that.







And here's Emma, patiently waiting for play time.









This stirred a memory, and yes indeed, I did see Ingrid sitting on just such a stand. You can ask PFS or Guanaco why she's hanging out with that rock-n-roll dude.







And one final feature: a lovely packing box.

Bow thumb pad enhancers

I have very tapered thumb tips. My fingers are also slender and tapered, but not nearly as pointy as my thumb tips. Why is that important? While many would find that an attractive feature, it causes me constant annoyance. No matter how close the thumb pad on my bow is to the edge of the frog, my thumb tries to dive through the gap. No loose, curved thumb position for me. And the undesirable end result: excess bow hand tension.

I have tried to put surgical tubing over the thumb pad and frog on a couple of occasions, but never been successful. Maybe the stuff we stock at my (former) hospital was just the wrong size ~g~. But I could never actually get it onto the bow. And I was always deterred from ordering samples by the complexity of materials and size permutations. Plus, the tubing I've seen other players put on their bows seemed too thick to me, anyway.

In a recent post on the Internet Cello Society Instruments and Equipment Forum, one user suggested trying BIC pencil grips. That sounded interesting, so I went looking at my local Target. Alas, sold out. But not wanting to leave empty handed, I bought the cheap Chinese version, $1.50 for 8 pencil grips and 16 worthless plastic eraser-shaped objects. (After smearing a blob of lead-on-paper, the latter were promptly discarded.) I wasn't too sure about the color, or the textured surface, but what the heck. The price was right.

The pencil grip/thumb pads were easy to put on, as demonstrated in the photo below. Completely remove the bow screw. Slide the pencil grip over the end of the bow stick and about half of it onto the thumb pad. Slide the end of the frog under the pencil grip, re-engage the frog into the slot and replace the screw. Voila.



I am using less tension holding the bow. In fact, each day it feels a little better, both more secure and more fluid. The textured surface I was hesitant about enhances the secure feeling. And because the plastic is clear, the bright colors don't stand out too badly, but rather fade into the color of the bow.

I'm happy. Another successful experiment.

Timers

There's more to my practice room than me and the cello. You've already seen my way with whoopee cushions and silly putty. Another indispensable tool is the timer. Or perhaps I should rather say, are the timers. I use two types, not every day I practice, but often. I use them alone and together, depending on my goals.

The timer on the left is a standard kitchen timer. This allows me to set a desired time in minutes and seconds, then counts down and beeps when the time is up. I use it to define my practice segments. For instance, today I planned to do four 15 minute intervals before my lesson, consisting of scale, Bach, trio music, and orchestra music. I just got a call that I won't have a lesson today, so I'll probably add an etude segment and another orchestra block, since we are having a strings-only rehearsal tonight.

Why bother with a timer? (1) It keeps me honest, (2) it allows me to concentrate deeply on the task at hand without the requirement to keep half-an-eye on the clock, and (3) it allows me to schedule rest at appropriate intervals so that I don't exacerbate my overuse syndromes. I don't always use 15 minute segments. It depends on the plan for the day.

The timer on the right is a standard stop watchwith an interval timer feature. This watch actually has two interval channels. Each channel allows you to set a time interval and a number of repetitions. After starting the countdown, the watch beeps at the set time interval for the number of repetitions programmed. If two channels are set, it rotates between the two intervals. The advantage it has over the kitchen timer is that you don't need to interrupt your practice to restart the timer.

There are a number of uses for the stop watch in practicing. I use it when I am trying to keep a particular technical point in mind throughout my practice, usually a physical fine point such as "keep right shoulder down" or "feel the weight under the right arm". This functions similarly to the teacher who keeps reminding you to do something as you forget while concentrating on something else. Bringing the desired action more frequently to consciousness hastens formation of the habit. I usually start out with a short (1-3 min) interval and gradually lengthen it.

I also use the stopwatch when I really need to spend time on something, knowing my own short attention span. For example, this week I used it to spend an hour (plus) block practicing Bach. After my analysis, the Prelude to the 2nd Suite fell into about 12 phrases or half phrases, where the beginning of each phrase was a logical starting point for my memorizing efforts. I set the watch to 3-minute intervals, and focused one phrase per interval, moving on with each beep. This allowed me to play the phrase, fix 1 or 2 things, usually play it again, and also to get through the entire piece. Each 3 minutes was an efficient practice, I covered a lot of ground, I put in some of the time I needed to, and best yet, the hour seemed to fly by.

Another item in my box of cello toys.

Further to my last

Continuing my experiment with Silly Putty, I think what I showed in yesterday's post is too much. Today I used just a pea-sized pellet and flattened it quite thin, probably to less than a millimeter thick. That gave me a patch of about 2 x 2.5 cm, which I placed in the concave part of the frog, covering the eye but not extending up or over the stick. It's much less noticeable (to my fingers) and still performs well.

Just got home from trio rehearsal, our second coached session on the first mvmt of Hummel Op. 12. I think we made good progress, stopping at the end of the exposition today. I had only a few mental glitches switching between bass and "trouble" clef (treble clef transposed down an octave), but we played under tempo much of the time. Still, that was a nice reward for hard work.

My most frustrating moment came when the coach (C-) asked me to start a note in motion before catching the string, instead of from the string, as I was. I spent a long time eradicating the bad habit of starting notes from the air, something 'cellists often do because of the need to get that big mass of string vibrating. This was a little different, of course, and after the light bulb lit I could do it.

I still remember the first time T2- asked me to do something a different way after I had worked so hard getting it right the way she had requested the previous week. My first glimmer that there is more than one right way to do something. Something very complicated for a rule-bound first-born like me to comprehend!

Cello toys

Whoopee cushions. I know Silly Putty sounds bad, but really, PFS. Playing the 'cello is a serious pursuit.

Here are photos of my recent acquisitions. Much easier to explain this way.

The "sitting cushion" looks like a Frisbee from the top, but you can see the little feet around the bottom edge. Unless you're into some kind of spikey buttocks massage, I would recommend sitting on the smooth side.
It works really well for filling in the indentation and backwards slope of the cafeteria or office-style chairs many of us have to put up with in rehearsal spaces.

Here I have divided the "egg" of s.p. into approximate thirds. I used one small third to make a little saddle over the top of the bow in the middle of the frog.
This is how the s.p. looks after it is flattened into an oval, about 2 mm thick, before being placed on the stick.
A quick bow hold to show you where the s.p. falls under my hand, approximately. It's just there to add friction, so it doesn't need to be a specific thickness (just not too) or very accurately placed.
This is what happens when you try to perform any activities involving Silly Putty in the vicinity of a kitten.

Cello Music Part I

Baroque and Classical
(CD Sheet Music Table of Contents)

J. S. Bach
Arioso
Suite No. 1 in G, BWV 1007
Suite No. 2 in d, BWV 1008
Suite No. 3 in C, BWV 1009
Suite No. 4 in Eb, BWV 1010
Suite No. 5 in c, BWV 1011
Suite No. 6 in D, BWV 1012
Three Sonatas (Originally for viola da gamba)
1. Sonata in G, BWV 1027
2. Sonata in D, BWV 1028
3. Sonata in g, BWV 129

Ludwig van Beethoven
Sonata No. 1 in F, Op. 5 No. 1
Sonata No. 2 in g, Op. 5 No. 2
Sonata No. 3 in A, Op. 69
Sonata No. 4 in C, Op. 102
Sonata No. 5 in D, Op. 102, No. 2
Sonata ina, Op. 47
Romance in D, Op. 40
Seven Variations, WoO 46
Andante from Piano Sonata in Ab, Op. 26
Menuet from Septet in Eb, Op. 20
Allegretto frm Piano Trio in Eb, Op. 70 No. 2
Moderato from Piano Sonata in e, Op. 90
Allegretto from Symphony No. 7 in A, Op. 92

Luigi Boccherini
Sonata No. 1 in A
Sonata No. 2 in G
Sonata No. 3 in A
Concerto in Bb

Justus Johann Friefrich Dotzauer
113 Etudes for VC (Books I - IV)

J. L. Duport
Exercises for VC (Part II, for 2 VC)

Henry Eccles
Sonata in g, arr. Moffat

George Frideric Handel
Sonata No. 1 in g
Sonata No. 2 in d
Sonata No. 3 in Bb

Franz Josef Haydn
Concerto in D
Concerto in C
Romance from La Reine
Aria from die Schoepfung
Cantabile
Finale
Serenade
Arioso

Marin Marais
Five Old French Dances
Suite No. 3

Benedetto Marcello
Six Sonatas for VC and Continuo

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Priest's March from "The Magic Flute"
Aria from Don Giovanni
Larghetto
Chorus from "Idomineo"
Ave Verum Corpus
Duet from "The Marriage of Figaro"
Sonatina in G

Bernhard Romberg
Sonata in e, Op. 38 No. 1
Sonata in Bb, Op. 43 No. 1

Franz Schubert
Sonata in a, Arpeggione
Entr'act from Rosamunde
Waltz
Moment Musicale
Marche Militaire
The Wanderer

Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto in G
Six Sonatas for VC and continuo

Cello Music Part II

Romantic and Early Modern
(CD Sheet Music Table of Contents)

Ernest Bloch
Schelomo (Rhapsodie Heraique)

Johannes Brahms
Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38
Sonata No. 2 in F Major, Op. 99
Concerto in A minor for violin and cello, Op. 102

Max Bruch
Kol Nidrei, Op. 47
Four Pieces, Op. 70

Frederic Chopin
Introduction and Polonaise Brilliante, Op. 3
Sonata in G Minor, Op. 65

Bernhard Cossman
Studies

Claude Debussy
Sonata in D Minor

Ernst von Dohnany
Sonata in Bb Major, Op. 8

Antonin Dvorak
Rondo, Op. 94
Concert in B Minor, Op. 104

Edward Elgar
Sospiri, Op. 70
Concerto, Op. 85

Gabriel Faure
Elegie, Op. 24
Papillon, Op. 77
Sicilienne, Op. 78
Sonata No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 109
Sonata No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 117
Apres in Reve (After a Dream), Transcribed by Pablo Casals

Auguste Franchomme
12 Caprices, Op. 7

George Goltermann
Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 51
Concerto No. 4 in G Major (Konzertstuck), OP. 65
Concerto No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 67

Edvard Grieg
Elegiac Melodies, Op. 34
Sonata in A Minor, Op. 36

Friedrich Gruetzmacher
24 Etudes, Op. 38
(Book I, Nos. 1-12)
(Book II, Nos. 13-24)

Victor Herbert
Concerto No. 2, Op. 30

Leos Janacek
Pohadka (Tale)

Julius Klengel
Technical Studies, Vol. I and II
Concertino No. 1 in C Major, Op. 7
Concertino No. 2 in G Major, Op. 41
Concertino No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 46
Concert Piece in D Minor, Op. 10
Andante Sostenuto, Op. 51
Scherzo in D Minor, Op. 6

Zoltan Kodaly
Sonata, Op. 4

Edouard Lalo
Concerto in D Minor

Sebastian Lee
Twelve Studies for Perfection of Technique

Bohuslav Martinu
Variations on a Slovakian Theme
Sonata No. 3

Felix Mendelssohn
Sonata No. 1 in Bb Major, Op. 45
Sonata No. 2 in D MAjor, Op. 58
Variations concertantes, Op. 17
Song Without Words, Op. 109

Ludwig Mendelssohn
Student Concerto in D MAjor, Op. 213

David Popper
High School of Cello Playing (40 etudes), Op. 73
Fifteen Etudes (w/ 2nd vc accompaniment), Op. 76
Hungarian Rhapsody, Op. 68

Sergei Prokofiev
Ballade, Op. 15

Sergei Rachmaninoff
Two Pieces, Op. 2
Sonata in G Minor, Op. 19

Maurice Ravel
Piece en Forme de Habenera
Two Pieces: Menuet and Pavane de la Belle au Bois dormant

Max Reger
Romance in G Major
Three Suites for Solo VC, Op. 131c
No 1. (G), No. 2 (d), No. 3 (a)
Sonata in G minor, Op. 28
Four Pieces for VC and Piano, Op. 70

Camille Saint-Saens
Concerto No. 1 in a, Op. 33
Allegro Appassionato, Op. 43
Carnival of the Animals: The Elephant
(No, really - no Swan)
Sonata No. 1 in c, Op. 32
Sonata No. 2 in F, Op. 123
Suite, Op. 16

Florent Schmitt
Chant Elegiac, Op. 24

Robert Schumann
Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70
Fantasy Pieces, Op. 73
Five Pieces in Folk Style, Op. 102
Concerto in a, Op. 129

Otakar Sevcik
School of Bowing Technique, Op. 2 (Sections I - VI)

Jean Sibelius
Malinconia, Op. 20

Richard Strauss
Sonata in F, Op. 6

Peter Tchaikovsky
Pezzo Capriccioso, Op. 62
Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33