My puns are getting worse and worse. Sorry, guys.
My purpose here, besides delivering to you that awful word play, is to compile a few articles and videos that I have found useful in my quest to explain more clearly how to make a massive sound on the cello without pressing or squeezing.
My purpose here, besides delivering to you that awful word play, is to compile a few articles and videos that I have found useful in my quest to explain more clearly how to make a massive sound on the cello without pressing or squeezing.
Stick tilt
In lessons, I am always talking about being efficient with our bow arm energy by using gravity to our advantage. This all starts with the stick tilt, in my experience. Here's an excerpt from Harry Wimmer's book, The Joy of 'Cello Playing, Master Lesson 5 that explains it so well:
I have heard many people say that tilting the stick prevents a cellist from using all the hair of the bow. I have never found that to be true! I can tilt the stick, use all the hair, and enjoy producing a massive tone without much effort.
Test it out and see if it works for you!
Test it out and see if it works for you!
Energy flow
The Strad's story, How to produce a strong, uninhibited sound without pressure, by cellist Joel Krosnick, is extremely insightful, although I heartily disagree with the method of leaning into the first finger when in the upper part of the bow. It's a natural thing to do, but it seems to squeeze the sound and I feel it causes an uneven tone production.
He says, "From the upper two thirds out to the tip, I will probably lean on my first finger a bit more than the middle one." I much prefer the feeling of heaviness in ALL the fingers.
TRY THIS: To fight the feeling of leaning inward to create a bigger sound, think of your pinky as the finger that is taking on the job of tone production at the tip. It will take getting used to, but will help your sound production greatly.
Please DO read this article, as Krosnick's thoughts on energy flow are extremely useful!
He says, "From the upper two thirds out to the tip, I will probably lean on my first finger a bit more than the middle one." I much prefer the feeling of heaviness in ALL the fingers.
TRY THIS: To fight the feeling of leaning inward to create a bigger sound, think of your pinky as the finger that is taking on the job of tone production at the tip. It will take getting used to, but will help your sound production greatly.
Please DO read this article, as Krosnick's thoughts on energy flow are extremely useful!
Open sound
Martha sent me an article by Bonnie Hampton, How to Avoid Tension in the Bow Arm.
In the article, Bonnie discusses how she produces a big, round sound by refraining from hunching over the cello and being mindful of the tension that tends to creep into cellists' shoulders.
She talks about how she simply guides the bow, letting all her arm weight fall into the string, while her flexible fingers "cling to the frog like suckers."
In the article, Bonnie discusses how she produces a big, round sound by refraining from hunching over the cello and being mindful of the tension that tends to creep into cellists' shoulders.
She talks about how she simply guides the bow, letting all her arm weight fall into the string, while her flexible fingers "cling to the frog like suckers."
Here's a little video I took at a masterclass that Melissa Kraut did for Franklin Pond just two weeks ago. Deja vu! She also touched on the idea of bow weight being held up by the string and reinforced the concept of flexible "octopus fingers."
Need more help?
Check out this blog post video at Cellobello.com that is also very useful in helping us grasp the idea of this type of sound production: http://cellobello.com/lessons/12
Have fun experimenting with how YOU can make a big, easy sound! Let me know how it goes in the comments below.
Have fun experimenting with how YOU can make a big, easy sound! Let me know how it goes in the comments below.
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