This picture was taken mid-March, just after that one crazy weekend where all  my imminent and future gigs simply evaporated.  I couldn't blame the powers-that-be. Their decisions were difficult and meant to keep everyone safe. 

But my musical life - as I had known it - was over. Or on pause?  No one really can say what the future holds at this point.

My husband saw it coming. He runs a wildlife rehab center, and he had been planning for this since February.  He had stages of practical protocols which he had been implementing for weeks. These protocols are the reason the center is still in operation as I write this today. 

(Side note: As my performance opportunities diminished, my volunteer responsibilities at the wildlife center increased.  Check out this video of a day in the life of an "outdoor-only" volunteer, ME!)

​As I realized that in person lessons were too risky, I scrambled to poll my students:

Are you willing and able to keep going with your lessons via Skype?

​Thankfully, most of them were.

A student and friend asked me to play a solo concert over Zoom. 

How on earth would I manage that?  I would need to practice a ton, but also figure out how to wire myself up for optimal sound quality.  Ugh. 

I had started dabbling a bit with Zoom once I bit the bullet and signed up for a professional account.  I use it all the time now, for most of my lessons, and virtual ACE rehearsals as well.   But I wasn't sure at that time how to navigate all the customizations. 

Luckily, a student of mine who works in the tech industry generously offered to give me a tutorial. (I am forever grateful, Patricia!)

And then another student shared an easy tutorial as one photo (Thanks, Karen!), that together with my own material, I will share with you below, so you can have an easy time setting up your Zoom and making it just perfect for cello.

​Here are the easy steps you can take to sound your best over Zoom (without fancy microphones):

That's it. Easy peasy, right?  It's really just a few tweaks and it helps so much!

​Now, I did end up setting up a vocal mic for talking and my Remic C5300 to capture my cello sound, but unless you are giving a concert over Zoom, you can do without all the tech. 

The concert went so well and was incredibly fun!  If you're interested, check it out HERE or below. My hosts recorded all but the very first few notes.

(In the first days of the lockdown, I read Galina, in which I learned more about Shostakovich's plight in Russia during his lifetime through the recollections of Rostropovich's wife, an amazing woman who was herself a famous opera singer. There was also a good bit about Britten in there, since they were very good friends. I learned so much and highly recommend this book!)

After practicing, I do some computer work at my treadmill desk (exercise definitely helps my state of mind), and then I teach in the afternoon/evenings. 

After that is dinner with a TV show.  Not sure what I am going to do once I am done with all the available episodes of The Great British Bake-Off!

​What have you been up to and how are you coping with the new Covid lifestyle? Please let me know in the comments. 

Do you encounter passages in orchestra that you feel certain are impossible to play? 

​Do you diligently practice them slowly, but it doesn't seem to help one bit? 

When you rehearse with the group at tempo, you can't seem to even move your bow as fast as it needs to go--and forget about the left hand! 

It is almost as if your brain melts and you are paralyzed by the sheer rapidity of the notes flying by...

Sound familiar?  It does to me!

Well, before you throw your cello in the corner and set it on fire, you should try faking!

Here's a video all about what it means to "fake" in orchestra:

I hope you see now that faking can be an effective technique for keeping up with your ensemble. It's not something to be ashamed of!  You are simply putting your group first by refusing to cling to every single note--in this way, you won't be getting in the way. And you'll probably play more notes than you ever thought possible--maybe even all of them! 

Happy (fast) practicing!

The three pillars of a solid BASIC SOUND:

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1. Finger Flexibility (try the windshield wipers exercise at right) 
2. Straight bow (try the table glides exercise in my other blog post)
3. Stick tilt (see the stick tilt section of another of my blog posts)

Once you have spent so much time focusing on these factors that they start to feel easy, you are ready to move on to adding a layer of bow sophistication.

In order to increase your awareness of what your bow arm is doing, it helps to have exercises you can work on  without being distracted by left hand issues. 

That's exactly what this number-based bow exercise below is for.  Think of it as Sudoku for your bow!  It mimics real life bow-usage issues but subtracts the distraction of the actual music. 

Each number in the following grid stands for how many beats an open-string note should be held (in one bow). It will be up to you what tone variables you tweak in order to maintain a beautiful sound.  And that's the only goal--a beautiful sound for each number, whatever it takes. 

Remember, listen carefully. Your ear is your best teacher! 

Of course, there are rules for you to follow with this exercise:
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1. Use metronome (I like 60 bpm)
2. Play loud  (try your best to match the previous bow's loudness)
3. Use whole bow 
4. Use consistent speed in each bow*
5. Change bow without accent*
   
   *rules 4 and 5 are more advanced and can be added as you gain confidence in your control
   
   

At first I would try to play one number and get comfortable with that.  Pick one of the middle strings (D or G, since they don't require a lot of extra work to keep the bow straight like the outer strings seem to) and experiment with the placement, weight and speed until you get a nice tone using the whole bow.

Let's say you start on the second line with the number 2.  That means you would manage the placement, weight, and speed in such a way that you not only achieve a good tone but the second click of the metronome occurs in the middle of the bow.  

Play a bunch of 2's in a row until it feels easy.

Then move on to a 4 (the second number in that line).  Again, alter the placement, weight, and speed so that you have a nice sound, but this time the third click of the metronome should occur at the midpoint of the bow.  

That feels different!  You probably have to move your placement a bit, maybe get more weight into the hair, slow down the speed.  

Do a bunch of 4's then until that is comfy. 

Then try to recall the feel of a 2.  Can you play a 2 and then a 4 in a row and still have a beautiful tone?

Imagine how much your right arm and hand are learning with all this attention! 

Perhaps you prefer to play numbers 1 through 9 in consecutive order so you can make smaller changes at first. That would be helpful.  Then try skipping a number. Then try two of the numbers above. Then add more numbers in that row.  Play any row backwards. Diagonally. Use the Sudoku puzzle in the paper that you finished this morning. Make up random numbers.

​Would lottery numbers work? Hmmmm....

Then once you are feeling amazing about your bow control, add some extra credit:

• Use only a portion of the bow (bottom half or upper half for example)
• Add string crossings so each number is on a different string (crossings sometimes cause inadvertent speed changes)

Above is a worksheet for you to use in your practice.  I hope this exercise helps you as much as it has helped me!

Please comment below and let me know how it's going or what you have found helpful in your fight to tame the wild bow. 

Happy practicing!