Online Help For People Learning The Cello At Home #2

Lesson #2- Where To Start

• How To Get Up And Running
• Pick out a room in your house that you will use to practice. The best kind of room is the kind where you can actually leave your cello out. Buy yourself a cello stand (Ingles Cello Stand) and then, not only will you feel guilty for not practicing, it will be much more tempting to play because you don't have to spend the time to get it out of the case.
• Find the perfect chair. Just because you have a chair that looks pretty and comfortable, doesn't mean it's a good "cello chair." You need to be able to sit comfortably in the chair with your feet flat on the floor, without the chair being too tall, too short, or too slanted. Don't worry about the chair having back support, because when you play the cello you sit on the edge of your seat.
• Book + Video, or just book?: There are so many method books and videos that can get you on the road to becoming a cellist. Which one will work for you? If you have absolutely no musical background, I would suggest a book like New Directions for Strings- Cello Book 1. This book really breaks everything down to the nitty gritty, while the accompaniment CD makes practicing much less monotonous for the beginner. If you have some music experience, you might find Orchestra Expressions- Cello Book 1 more to your liking. It has magazine-like pages and full color pictures, along with more popular songs that keep a current musician from becoming bored too quickly. If you plan on learning through YouTube videos, (which many people do) then good luck finding a series that works! I have yet to find many that are in a worthwhile sequence and actually teach you what you need to know. This may be my cue to make a series of my own! If you're against taking traditional private lessons, you may want to consider taking the occasional Skype lesson online, if you really get stuck on something.
• Make sure you have realistic expectations: Yes, it's true that learning the cello as an adult is generally harder than when you are younger. This goes double for teaching it to yourself. The most important thing is for you not to get so frustrated that you give up and never realize your dream. You won't become a virtuoso overnight, and you shouldn't expect to. You WILL be playing Mary Had A Little Lamb, and you should be PROUD that you can do it!!
• Don't over-practice: You should main for 15-20 minutes, 5-7 days a week to start. Don't lump all of your practicing into one or two days. It's like brushing your teeth. If you brush your teeth for an hour two days a week, you're leaving yourself with 5 days of dirty teeth. If you brush every day, your teeth are healthy. You can keep your cello skills from getting dirty by practicing a little bit everyday, which builds up your skills in the long run.
• Send me a message in the contact box on the homepage, if you have any questions :) Good luck on picking up your cello for the very first time!

The Chinese Cello

I found this really great article about the Chinese cello (and its variations) that I thought I would share with all of you. I really like the sound of it, though I couldn't find a place to buy one online.


http://silpayamanant.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/sunday-spotlight-on-the-non-western-cello-chinese-cellos/

Also, if you want to see a whole Chinese orchestra in action (and all the cool cello-looking instruments) then check out the video above.

Have a great day!

New Things

I love this picture.

It's my favorite color and my favorite instrument all wrapped into one.
I also love art. Art of all kinds...though art that involves cellos is always a winner with me.
I really like retro modern anything (including the amazing folk stuff), pop art (mainly Roy Lichtenstein), anything Boticelli ever painted, Monet....this list could take me all day. Music and art are both things that I have a very wide-reaching love affair with.

Today was a pretty good day! I had a job interview, and I think (knock on wood!) that it went very well. I had to sight-sing, conduct, play cello (I hit them with a double-whammy of the prelude to the 1st Bach cello suite AND Julie-O), write an essay, and answer a lot of questions. It was by far, the most interesting interview I've ever had.

I really hope I get the job! It seems like a very nice school district.

Also, I stopped at one of those Amish-run grocery stores where they sell factory 2nds and damaged boxes or other foods that companies don't want to sell anymore. It's amazing how much money you can save on a box of cereal that only has a dent in it. I think it's important to support smaller businesses like that anyway.

I like their portion sizes better, too. For example, instead of buying a six-pack of those 12oz. Coke bottles, I can buy them individually. 3 FOR $1.00!!!! Now you tell ME where you can find a better deal than that? Sunset Outlet in Lebanon, PA...you're awesome. Everyone should go shop there. Their deli is amazing.

Have a good day!

Online Help For People Learning The Cello At Home #1

 

Lesson #1-Dude, Where's My Cello?

 

• Renting a cello
• Go to your local music store and ask about rental options. The last thing you want to do is invest money into buying a cello and then realize that playing it just isn't for you.
• What size do you need? Most adults use a 4/4 cello, also known as a full-size. If you happen to be a super short adult, a 3/4 size might be a better option.
• Ask questions about the rental: Is there insurance coverage? What does it cover? It is a rent-to-own or does only a percentage of what you're paying go towards the purchase price?
• E-mail a private cello teacher and ask if they recommend a certain brand. This is a good option if you are thinking about renting a cello from the internet and won't be able to try it before you buy it.
• Make sure everything that's supposed to be there, is there! Your rental should include the cello, a case, a bow, a cake of rosin, and you might want to ask if they can throw in a rockstop as well. If you are planning on playing somewhere that doesn't have carpet, it is a lifesaver!
• You can rent a cello completely online without ever leaving the couch. Here are some recommended companies that have good track records of renting quality instruments:
• Southwest Strings
•  Johnson String Instruments
• Music & Arts
   

A Cello Tribute To Randy Marcantoni

 I've been out of the loop.

I had no idea that Randy had passed away.
He used to take lessons with me.
He was my favorite student.

Randy was primarily a bass guitar player, but he had a lot of interest in the cello.
I'm pretty sure he wanted to learn it so he could play it on slower, more ballad-type songs with his band.
He definitely plucked it like a jazz bass. We were always working on that, ha ha ha.

I remember how excited he was to be sitting on the same stage as Yo-Yo Ma at the Zoellner Arts Center.
I think he got to meet him, too.
I sat all the way in the back, but we met-up during intermission.
He looked so nice in that tuxedo.

At one lesson, he came in with the bass line to "Yesterday" by The Beatles all written out.
He had learned it and written in down by ear.
I recorded it.
You can hear his voice at the end.

So here, for your listening pleasure, is that very performance, with Randy on the bass part and me playing the melody. Thank you, iPhone, for having the ability to record amazing things like these.
Yesterday by The Beatles

The last text I received from him reads, "More improvement, one less drug to take. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is Love. 1 Corinth 13:13."

Rest in peace, my friend. 
You are missed.

Program Notes: Bach Cello Suite No. 2 Prelude, Schumann Fantasiestucke, and Summer Julie-O

I thought I would post the program notes from my senior recital, in the hopes that someone might be able to use them for reference purposes. Enjoy!

Robert Schumann- Fantasiestücke, Op. 73

Robert Schumann was born on June 8, 1810 in Zwickau, Germany. He did not begin his studies in music at an early age, but instead studied law at the University of Leipzig. It was not until he was 20 years old that he began to study music with the noted piano teacher, Friedrich Wieck. Schumann eventually married Wieck's daughter, Clara, who was a piano prodigy. He was not adept at the piano due to a weakness in one of his hands, so it was Clara that performed many of his piano works. Schumann was also the founder and editor of his own musical magazine called Neue Zeitsfchrift für Musik, which is still in existence today as a leading journal of contemporary issues in music. His love for literature is apparent in his music, as many of Schumann's compositions bring characters or scenery from his favorite books and poems to life.

Written in 1849, it is believed that Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 was written by Schumann as an “amateur” piece, as he hoped to gain more fame and more money by writing chamber pieces that were playable by multiple instrumentalists. Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 has parts that make it playable by the cello, clarinet, and also the violin.

Johann Sebastian Bach- Cello Suite No. 2: Prelude

Johann Sebastian Bach, one of the greatest composers of all time, was born on March 21, 1685 in Eisenach, Germany. He was a baroque composer who was not well-known in his time as a composer, but for playing the organ. He wrote over 1,000 works that spanned the entirety of musical genres, except for opera. His father was a town musician and gave Bach his early music lessons. After the death of both of his parents, he was adopted by his older brother Cristoph, a church organist who taught him most of his organ skills.

The Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello is at the top of every cellist’s repertoire list. This set of suites was composed sometime between 1717 and 1723, but the exact date is unknown. At this time in his life, Bach was a Kapellmeister to Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen. Leopold was an amateur musician who played several instruments, so the fact that Bach wrote much chamber music during this time period is not out of the ordinary. Each of the six suites contains six smaller sections, each section named after a popular style of baroque dance, aside from the beginning prelude. Before the 1900’s, this magnificent work was rarely ever played. It took world-renowned cellist, Pablo Casals, to bring the suites into the public eye. He stumbled upon the music at a thrift shop, and then decided to study the suites, being the first person to record all six suites in 1925. Soon after this recording was released, the Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello rose to fame and are arguably the greatest works for solo cello ever written. The Cello Suite No. 2 is one of only two suites written in a minor key, the other being the fifth suite. The Prelude contains technical devices, as well as a vast array of emotional depth. It starts with a recurring theme right at the beginning, leads into a cadenza-esque section, and ends with powerful chords.

Mark Summer- Julie-O

Mark Summer is originally from Reseda, California and is one of the founding members of the Turtle Island String Quartet, a contemporary string quartet that is pioneering the performance and composition of new, modern music for the normally classical quartet of two violins, viola, and cello. After graduation from the Cleveland Institute of Music and winning a spot in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Summer realized that he was longing for something new and exciting. He began to gig around, exploring alternative ways of creating music, as well as playing in his own group The West-End String Band. He visited San Francisco where he and David Balakrishnan, violinist, founded the Turtle Island String Quartet. Summer is well-known for incorporating extended techniques into his cello playing, like virtuosic jazz solos and percussion techniques normally reserved for other instruments.