⇪ Vivaldi Allegro

One of my current assignments is the Vivaldi Allegro from Suzuki book 6. It’s actually a violin piece that has been transposed for cello. My teacher calls it a 5th, 6th,a nd 7th position étude.

Practice Log

November 26, 2019 | posted in: practice

For anyone who is curious, I keep a daily practice log. It isn’t long on details, but it does capture what I worked on from one practice to the next.

Metronome Practice

November 26, 2019 | posted in: practice

Metronome. I suspect for many students, and certainly for me, that one word represents the hardest thing to incorporate into a practice routine. I often liken play cello to juggling: I’ve got several balls in the air, the rhythm ball, the intonation ball, the technique ball. Adding one more, the metronome ball, causes me to drop all the balls.

Tonight I wanted to work on the last set of triplets in the Romberg E Minor Sonata, 1st movement. Measures 122 through the first note in 125.

E-G-B A-G-F# E-G-B A-G-F# E-F#-G F#-E-D C-D-E D-C-B A-B-C B-A-G F#-B-E

Each pair of triplets goes up in pitch for a triplet, and then down in pitch for a triplet, and the last three notes are quarter notes.

Initially I tried setting the metronome to 60 for the quarter and playing the triplets. This did not work. I wasn’t able to stay on the beat. Slowing the metronome down didn’t help either, nor did using the triple setting to give each beat a sound for each note in the triplet.

After becoming frustrated and wanting to abandon metronome practice yet again, I regrouped and tried again. With Sibylle’s help I set the metronome to 80 for the eighth note - one click per each eighth note in each triplet. I was able to play that tempo. In fact it felt almost too slow. Working up in jumps of 8 and later 6, I played measures 122 - 125 at 80, 88, 96, 104, 112, 118, 124, and finally 130.

Next I set the metronome to 43 (roughly 1/3 of 130) and turned the triplet feature on. The sounds were the same as a moment before and I was able to play it. Next I set the metronome to distinguish the first note of each beat so that I had tick-tock-tock-tick-tock-tock, and so on. I was able to play in time, and was able to recognize that I was playing the correct note on the beat. I was no longer panicky or stumbling, I was in control.

Working up slowly from 43 to 50 (43, 45, 47, 50) I was able to play in time. Once or twice I lost the beat. Stopping to think about it I realized I was allowing the bow to bounce on and off the string, which gave me less control, and which caused me to lose the beat. Keeping the bow on the string allowed me to play it properly.

Once I was at 50 I experimented with long, fast bow strokes, short bow strokes and staccato notes. 50 for the quarter while playing triplets would be 150 for the eighth note. I nearly doubled my triplet speed in 30 minutes. Not only did I nearly double my speed, I did so with good intonation, solid tone, and relative ease.

The trick is to start slow enough to be successful. If you can’t play it at the first metronome setting, slow the metronome down until you can play it correctly - no wrong notes, no panic, no getting lucky - absolutely correct. Then speed up in small increments 6 or 8 beats per increment, no more. Once you are in the 130 range (or when the clicks start to blur together), reduce the metronome speed to a third of the last number and turn the triplet feature on. Slowly work up from there again.

Tomorrow night I need to be prepared for my initial attempt to not work. One night of success will decay in 24 hours. I’ll need to start slowly again, and can probably jump up in larger increments, say 16 or 20 beats at a time. It shouldn’t take too long to return to 50 for the quarter, set to triplets. Then I can move on to the next set of triplets in the piece, and begin the process all over again.

It is hard to admit that in 10 years of playing the cello I have never really tried to learn how to use the metronome. I used to set it to count the smallest note division in the piece, but since that doesn’t speed up well, I have always abandoned the metronome. Tonight I didn’t, thanks to Sibylle’s help, and I feel like I used it properly for once.

Focused Practicing

November 25, 2019 | posted in: practice

Until eleven days ago my practice habit / routine had become toxic. I didn’t look forward to practicing, I wasn’t actually practicing when I did do it, and I was embarrassed to present the results of my efforts to my teacher at my weekly lesson.

At best I was treading water. I certainly wasn’t making any progress, or if I did make progress it was random and by accident, not by any design.

All of this came to a breaking point about two weeks ago after I had two abysmal lessons in a row. At one I couldn’t play a triplet passage to save my life. I was very unhappy with my performance and with how I was behaving about cello. Something needed to change.

I am very fortunate that my wife is a piano teacher, and a very good one. I have often turned to her for help with my music. Feeling like I was doing nothing but floundering I again asked her for help. The result has been 11 days in a row of productive, focused practice. I feel invigorated about practicing again and about making music again. I had been in over my head. I couldn’t see what needed work because I was only seeing the results of not practicing.

The current piece I am working, and will be performing at the studio recital in December, is the first movement of the Romberg E Minor Sonata. There is nothing in this movement that should be beyond my technical ability. There are however some passages that require detail work - a willingness to focus on one or two measures at a time, and to only slowly add more measures. In other words, passage work.

The last line of the Romberg is all triplets with a few quarter notes at the end for the finale. The initial goal was just play just one measure of triplets - 12 notes - perfectly. I had to slow my tempo way down before I could play it correctly. For each incorrect attempt I played it correctly at least twice. The goal was to be able to play the entire passage 9 times out of 10 without any mistakes. Once I was reliably playing the passage I would speed it up. After a couple of practice sessions, I moved up to the previous section of triplets and repeated the process there.

Each practice session looked something like this:

  • Triplet passage work
    • Start with last set of triplets in the piece to refresh / warm up
    • Only move to previous set of triplets if current set is flowing smoothly
    • Stop between each playing of a passage to understand what worked and what didn’t work
      • E.g., I tend to lift fingers that aren’t actively stopping a string - “flying fingers” is something that isn’t working.
    • Add metronome - use it to increase tempo in small increments
  • Intonation work
    • Using The Swan I’ve been working on intonation. No rhythm, no tempo, just long slow, full bow length notes held while watching the tuner.
    • Start with the G, and when it is in tune every time I raise my hand, then add the F#. Then shift to the B. And so forth
  • Sight Reading Christmas Carols
    • A few days ago I discovered and bought a set of six Christmas carols arranged for cello. Having something lighter to play, something to make music with, is essential. These pieces are not technically challenging, and I know what they are supposed to sound like.

I also have been playing mandolin by ear, sounding out melodies and even playing parts of the Bach Cello Suites. Having an instrument that I am learning to play by ear has been immensely helpful. Plus it’s fun to play.

I have set out some goals for my practicing. I want to practice at least as long as my lessons are, each day. Or 40-45 minutes every day. Longer on the weekends when I have more time. I’m using focused passage work to contain my efforts on manageable, attainable improvements. No more playing the whole piece (incorrectly) several times and calling that practice. I’m focusing on repeated playing of passages to improve my mental stamina. And I am using new-to-me literature for sight reading and additional passage work.

The biggest change has been in my attitude and approach to practicing. It is no longer something “I have to do” or something I feel like I “should” do. It is something I want to do. My practice times have increased from 15 or 20 minutes a day to 40 - 60 minutes a day. I haven’t missed a day in 24 days now (granted, some of those were prior to the change that happened 11 days ago). There has been a marked improvement in my progress in the Romberg, and there has been a marked difference in the musicality of my practice. I am no longer going through the motions, I am making music now.

If I had to sum all of this up in one of two sentences, I would say that I have identified what I value in practice (or want to value) and taken steps to focus on those values. I’ve made a practicing lifestyle change.

It feels good to be making music purposefully again.

⇪ The Swan

This is my current new piece. It’s long been on my bucket list of cello pieces I want to be able to play.

Languishing

September 11, 2019 | posted in: site

For just over two years now I have ignored this site, allowing it to languish, and wither away. I’m still playing the cello, still learning, and still exploring music. I just haven’t been motivated to write about it.

About 6 months ago I bought myself an inexpensive mandolin. Using some videos on YouTube and playing by ear, I’ve been slowly teaching myself to play. Mandolins are also tuned in 5th, which is handy coming from the cello, but their strings are G-D-A-E. I can play most of Suzuki Cello book 1 and 2 on the mandolin, and I’ve taught myself a few tunes by ear. It has been a completely new approach to music, and one that I am enjoying.

And about a month ago I started learning piano. My wife has been teaching piano for decades and she has been helping me with my music since I started cello almost ten years ago. I want to improve my note reading, my sense of pulse, and my understanding of how rhythms fit on top of a pulse. So I’m spending 30-40 minutes two or three times a week with her, at the piano, learning how to play.

If you had told me ten years ago that I would be playing not only cello, but also mandolin and a little piano, I would not have believed you. I’d always wanted to play cello, and I’m glad that dream has, and continues, to come true. Adding two more instruments makes me feel even more like a real musician. Which is pretty cool.

All of which to say, I hope to be writing here more often. Not just once every couple of years.

Playing by Ear

March 09, 2019 | posted in: mandolin repertoire

For the most part I’ve been playing the mandolin by ear. I did pull out my Suzuki cello book 1 and played through several of the pieces there. On my own I figured out how to play “Amazing Grace” and lately I’ve been working on “Scotland the Brave”.

I was able to get perhaps 80% of “Scotland the Brave” on my own. Finally I hunted up a tab sheet for mandolin for that tune. What was interesting to me was how the version in my head is slightly different than the actual tune. Or at least this version of tune. Folk music is given to variations and this tune is no exception.

This is the first time I’ve used a tab sheet for mandolin. Or any instrument for that matter. It has the normal music notation (in treble clef - which I don’t yet read) and then it has a representation of the four strings with fret numbers running parallel to the music. What is odd about this is seeing a “5” on the sheet but playing the note with your 3rd finger.

I’ve been playing the cello since late 2009 and I still find memorizing a piece difficult. Frankly I don’t even try anymore. With the mandolin (a total of eight days now) I already have three (albeit short) piece memorized. Learning to play the tune by ear really reinforces the intervals between the notes. You hear immediately that the note is sour or incorrect. The trick is then finding the correct note. My hope is that as I gain experience playing by ear, that my interval recognition ability will improve, making it easier to know what the next note ought to be.

Repertoire

  • Amazing Grace (in C)
  • Cripple Creek (in G)
  • Scotland the Brave ( in C)
  • Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
  • Schalf Kindlein Schlaf

Cripple Creek

March 05, 2019 | posted in: mandolin repertoire

Yesterday I learned how to play “Cripple Creek” in the key of G major. Not only that, after getting it on the Mandolin, I repeated the process on my cello and on my electric cello.

The electric cello has five strings, C - G - D - A - E, so it shares four strings (albeit an octave lower). My acoustic cello has four strings, C - G - D - A, so I transposed the piece from G major to C major. It also works nicely in F major.

What fills me with satisfaction about learning “Cripple Creek” is how many of the music theory puzzle pieces I’ve had in my head that now fit together. Something about learning the piece largely by ear completely alters the way I think about it in my head. This morning if I hum the melody I can visualize each finger placement. Moreover, I can name the pitches, and I have a pretty good grasp on the intervals between them. All without any sheet music.

This feel so good. I wanted to learn Mandolin because I though they looked interesting, and had a pleasing sound. I had no idea that learning to play by ear was going to have such a powerful effect on my Violoncello playing too.

FFcP

March 03, 2019 | posted in: mandolin theory

One of the videos I watched on MandoLessons talked about how to play scales using something called “four finger closed position.”

Four finger closed position or FFcP is a fingering pattern that allows you to play any scale. My music theory understanding is incomplete, but as I understand it, this pattern works on the mandolin for two reasons. One, the strings are tuned a 5th apart from each other, and two, it is played diatonically. That is to say, each fret is one half step higher than the preceding one.

If you put your first finger (your fore finger) on the 7th fret on the G-string you’ll play a D. If you skip a fret and place your second finger on the 9th fret you’ll sound an E. Skipping a fret again, putting your third finger on the 11th fret plays an F#. Placing the pinkie or 4th finger on the 12th fret plays a G (one octave higher than the open G string itself). This finger pattern duplicates the whole step - whole step - half step at the beginning of a major scale.

The second half of a major scale also follows the whole step - whole step - half step pattern. The first note of the second half of the scale is a whole step higher than the 4th note of the first half. Which makes the major scale pattern look like this:

whole - whole - half - whole - whole - whole - half

In the case of a D major scale the names for these scale degrees are

D - E - F# - G - A - B - C# - D

After playing the first 4 scale degrees: G (fret 7) - A (fret 9) - B (fret 11) - C (fret 12), you move your hand over one string to the D-string, and play on the same 4 frets. Since the strings are a 5th apart, the D-string 7th fret is a 5th higher than the 7th fret G-string note, or an A. Skipping up to the 9th fret nets a B. The 11th fret sounds as a C#. And finally we reach the 8th scale degree, D, on the 12 fret.

The whole pattern looks like this:

fret:         7 - 9 - 11 - 12
**G-string**: D - E - F# - G
**D-String**: A - B - C# - D

This pattern can be started on any fret, on any of the G, D, or A strings, and it will result in a major scale. This pattern also works on the cello, violin, and viola. You leave behind the relative safety of open strings, but it nicely unlocks the relationship between neighboring strings that are tuned a fifth apart.

On my cello, which is played chromactically rather than diatonically, the stretch between your fingers as you play whole - whole - half requires that you move your hand - particularly in the lower positions. Even so, it opened up my grasp of how the scale degrees on neighboring strings relate to each other.

I Bought a Mandolin

March 03, 2019 | posted in: mandolin

A few months ago I watched a couple “how to play mandolin” videos on YouTube. I like the size of the instrument, and I like its sound. For such a small cavity it produces a rich full sound. On Friday, two days ago, I went to the local music store to see if the leased mandolins. They don’t. But they did have a relatively inexpensive mandolin for sale.

$140 later I left the store with a Savannah model SA-110 mandolin, a leather strap, and a handful of picks.

I spent the evening alternately watching more YouTube videos and trying out the mandolin.

On day two, Saturday, I played around with the mandolin some more. I like that it is tuned in perfect 5ths, just like my cello. The cello has C - G - D - A for string tunings, while the mandolin is one 5th higher with G - D - A - E string tunings. The double strings for each note add a surprising amount of resonance to the sound.

My favorite “how to” site so far has been MandoLessons. The lessons are short and to the point. The accompanying YouTube channel, also called MandoLessons is filled with videos. I’ve only scratched the surface of what Baron Collins-Hill offers on his site, but I’m already comfortable with playing my new mandolin.

My intention with the mandolin is to learn to play by ear rather than through some method book. I think (hope) that will reinforce the music knowledge I already have from playing the cello.