On cello, blogging and raw fish . . .

Being pleased with myself didn’t last long. Within days of my last post, my progress seemed to stall and my tone and intonation took a turn for the worse. I even considered deleting that post as it no longer seemed particularly truthful or accurate. Over the last few days, however, I’ve noticed some improvement again and I seem to be making progress once more. The cello still doesn’t sound great, but it’s bearable most of the time. I seem to be having more trouble staying in position and tend to drift down the fingerboard, becoming increasingly sharp, as I play. Perhaps, I always have and I’m just now becoming more particular about it? Should I take that as a sign of improvement then?

As I struggle with the cello, I struggle with this blog. When I have free time, I prefer to play cello than string words together, but the blogging does allow me to listen to music and do something cello orientated while my back or fingers are too sore to play. Still, it seems odd to go on and on about oneself, so I keep telling myself that no one is really reading this and it’s as good an exercise as any to get myself jotting down sentences again. Moreover, I’ve come to realize, despite being a lifelong committed introvert, that the world is made a far more interesting place by those that share than by those who do not. So, I keep forcing myself to write things down and, somewhat less frequently, post them. I’m not claiming that anything on this blog has been particularly worthy of sharing so far, but I remain hopeful.

Actually, I think my blog has already made the world a little more interesting in that a friend who reads it was inspired to start playing her recorders again and our duo has evolved into a trio. We had our first practice a few nights ago and even though there is much room for musical improvement, it’s hard to imagine it being more fun. We’re already looking forward to our next practice and there’s a rumour floating about that it may involve sushi. So, I’ll keep trying to blog as I can’t really argue against a process that leads to more music and raw fish.

A cello that sounds like a cello . . .

SarabandeI’m feeling fairly pleased with myself, at the moment, as my cello has been sounding really nice as of late and quite consistently too. Somehow, rather unconsciously I think, I’ve managed to find the right touch with the bow, or at least I’m getting closer to the right touch. Moreover, I’ve increased the tension of the bow quite a bit, I’m using considerably less rosin than I was before, and I’ve switched to a higher quality rosin than what I was given when I bought the instrument.

All of that aside, I think the greatest improvement has come from cleaning the strings with a copper scouring pad.1 My cello was built in 2004 and I’ve a suspicion that the strings are the original ones and have been somewhat neglected. I scraped off all the sticky grime and the difference is incredible. Suddenly, my cello sounds like a cello!

Briefly, I considered ordering a new set of strings, but the price of cello strings is ludicrous. I used to think electric bass strings were pricey, but they now seem quite reasonable in comparison. I’d never seen strings advertised with financing-options before!

I plan to play my strings until they break.

My practicing continues to go well. I’ve set up a dedicated music corner in my home office and I manage to get myself there almost every day. When I first started playing, I bought two cello methods, but I’ve abandoned them for now in favour of a great little book titled “Bach for the Cello: Ten Pieces in the First Position.” Aside from the fact that I’m already ‘playing’ Bach, what I like about this book is that each piece comes with a simple piano accompaniment. So now my wife, who is an amateur pianist, and I are playing music together. Currently, we’re working on the sarabande and we’re almost ready to start a second piece. We may not sound that great, but we’re both enjoying the added challenge inherent in playing together, and we’re having a lot of fun at the same time. Life is good.

  1. David Finckel, the cellist from the Emerson String Quartet, has a great video series of cello tips on Vimeo and I found this one there.

Cello Pleasure

I’ve been a cellist1 for almost three months and, despite how difficult it is to consistently produce pleasing sounds, my enthusiasm hasn’t waned at all. At times, my progress seems unbearably slow, even hopeless, but I keep noticing small improvements like how much more easily my fingers move about and find the first position notes. Unfortunately, once found, I tend to murder them rather quickly with the bow, but even that seems to be improving a little.

Regardless of how good it sounds or not, I really enjoy the time I spend practicing. There is something about working with an instrument that is physically satisfying. The cello is beautiful to look at, pleasing to hold, and the repeated execution of precise finger movements is like candy for the brain. That melody can arise out of this sensual relationship is one of life’s great comforts. I wish it on everyone.

I’m also enjoying how the cello is leading me to so much beautiful music. I’ve always listened to a wide variety of music, including classical, and three months ago I would have said I was fairly familiar with the genre. I now realize that I knew almost nothing. However, the cello is acting as something of a guide through that world and, though I’m still very much on the outskirts, I find it exciting to be chipping away at my ignorance and uncovering what seems like no end of riches.

  1. It seems odd to call myself a cellist, but it seems I qualify under points 3, 7, and 11. You are a cellist.

We’re moving.

I’ve decided to change the name and URL of this blog and I’m working on that today. So far, it has not been as simple as I assumed it would be. If things seem odd for a bit, it is because they are. Please try to stay calm. Take a deep breath. Put on some music. Relax.

The Song of the Birds

As I wrote in an earlier post, it took me quite some time to finally start playing cello. I thought about it for years and years, but I never managed to make the final leap until about eight weeks ago. The mental shift from “I’d like to” to “I must” occurred when I stumbled upon a performance, by Steven Isserlis, on YouTube of “The Song of the Birds,” a Catalan folk song that Pablo Casals had arranged for cello and often played as a cry for peace.

Speaking at the UN in 1971, Casals said, “Peace has always been my greatest concern. I learnt to love it when I was but a child. When I was a boy, my mother – an exceptional, marvelous woman – would talk to me about peace, because at that time there were also many wars. What is more, I am Catalan. Catalonia had the first democratic parliament, well before England did. And the first United Nations were in my country. At that time – the Eleventh Century – there was a meeting in Toluges – now France – to talk about peace, because in that epoch Catalans were already against war. That is why the United Nations, which works solely towards the peace ideal, is in my heart, because anything to do with peace goes straight to my heart. I have not played the cello in public for many years, but I feel that the time has come to play again. I am going to play a melody from Catalan folklore: El cant dels ocells – The Song of the Birds. Birds sing when they are in the sky, they sing: “Peace, Peace, Peace” and it is a melody that Bach, Beethoven, and all the greats would have admired and loved. What is more, it is born in the soul of my people, Catalonia.”

The music was so beautiful and Isserlis’ performance so poignant that a shiver went down my spine, and my hair – what little is left of it – bravely attempted to stand up on end. In full realization that I’ll never be able to play as well, I knew that I had to somehow participate in, even if only in a minor way, those kinds of sounds. A few days later, I had a cello.

Peace.

PS: Isserlis has a very beautiful recording of The Song of the Birds on iTunes.
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Free Sheet Music: Song of the Birds

Casals video . . .

This morning, a friend e-mailed me the link to this video and I had to share it here. In the video, Casals is seen giving a lesson and then later performs Bach’s First Suite for Cello. His performance is beautifully filmed and quite the treasure. Enjoy!

My new girlfriend . . .

Cello

“The cello is like a beautiful woman who has not grown older, but younger with time, more slender, more supple, more graceful.” ~ Pablo Casals

A 'cellist' is born . . .

I finally did it. Two weeks ago, I bought a cello. I’ve been toying with the idea for quite some time, but, due to a variety of reasons and distractions, I’ve managed to let twenty-six years slip by. Of course, I wasn’t thinking about it the entire time. An incurable dabbler, I’ve explored many other interests during those years. However, now that I finally have a cello, I can think of little else.
Given how little I can play and how dreadful each note sounds, it is almost embarrassing to confess how completely obsessed I have become with it, but that is the truth of the matter and I’m getting too old to worry about appearing ridiculous. Still, I do feel a little foolish as I squeak and scrape my way through “London Bridge” and “Merrily We Roll Along.” The cello is more technically challenging than I imagined.
Still, in the fourteen days that I’ve been making dreadful noises on mine, I’ve already learned three things. First, I have the ability to ‘hear’ major scales where absolutely none exist. Second, unless one has unusually high self-esteem, one shouldn’t record oneself playing cello within the first two weeks of picking one up. Third, my favourite cello artists are even more amazing and their recordings even more beautiful than I ever realized. Even if I never get any better on the cello, this last point alone would justify the attempt.
When I wast first set up this blog, I planned to write about my discoveries and experiences in the outdoors and the ethical and moral considerations arising therein. These things still interest me, but, for the time being at least, I suspect I’ll be writing more about my ‘adventures’ with the cello than with trout. Cover your ears and flee if you must. This will be your only warning.

A little update . . .

The duck tea has been slow in coming. My apologies. I’ve been somewhat preoccupied with the technical side of things and working out the various little annoyances thereof. Even more so, I’ve been preoccupied with my latest outdoor interest, chasing down steelhead on the Vedder. Unfortunately, the steelhead have also been slow in coming. One old boy I met on the river last week referred to them as “the fish of a thousand casts.” I must be getting close. The fish and the blog will come.