Cello - Day 31

Today was my last day of cello playing. I don’t feel like I got as good at it as I was hoping, but I’m definitely better than I was a month ago! Today, just for fun, I finally convinced my husband that he should play along with me (and help me practice the song that I might be playing in church on Sunday).  He is a very good trombone player and since that is an instrument that requires a lot of pitch control, just like the cello, he has developed a good ear over the years. We played the parts of the hymn a few times and then I found some duets that we played through. We didn’t sound very good since we hadn’t played any of them before, but it was sure fun. My mother-in-law called while we were practicing so we played a song for her over the phone. I’m planning on taking my cello along the next time we go to visit my in-laws because they are very musical too. So, there ends my lovely month of cello playing. It was a nice transition from running, and I feel like I’ve accomplished something. I won’t stop playing the cello I don’t think, it’s just too pretty to quit. I hope you all enjoyed this month, and take a look at my next blog post to see what you have to look forward to next month!

My lovely cello

Cello - Day 30

So I just realized that I only had 30 days of blogs written and there are 31 days in May . . . oops. Considering yesterday’s post says “two more days”, and tomorrow’s post says it is the last day, I’m fairly certain I didn’t miss a day so I must have just forgotten to blog about it . . . major oops. Now it’s too far past the day for me to actually remember what I did that day, so it’s just going to have to suffice to say, “I played the cello today”. Sorry.

Cello - Day 29

I don’t know why, but I did not do so well today. I was not motivated to learn anything new, so I played through some hymns in the hymnal. I wanted to play the melody though, so it was a lot of transposing in my head. I suppose that is a good skill to learn, but I feel like it’s the easy way out for me because I’m leaving bass clef and going back to treble clef, so I should probably not do too much of that. After the hymns, I tried to play some in my lesson book, but it was not pretty, so I got out my trusty standby, the Suzuki book, and played through that for the rest of the time. I’m considering getting the Suzuki level two book, because that seemed like a much more natural way to learn and the Essential Elements seems more forced, but that probably has something to do with the pace at which I’m going through it too. Only two more days of practicing . . .then what?

Cello - Day 28

Video day again already. I may have volunteered myself to play in church this coming Sunday too :S So most of my practicing today, and the video for this week, was of the song that I may or may not be playing. I talked to the organist and we are going to try and find a time to practice this week and we’ll see how it goes from there. I didn’t submit my name to the church office to be printed in the bulletin, so if I chicken out at the last minute, no one will be missing me, but perhaps I’ll have my big debut this week. Oh, and for the record, the videos are not very good this week. They were taken at the end of my practice time (as usual) and I just seemed to be getting worse by then, I don’t know why. Enjoy anyways J

Scale - Week 4

"Praise The One Who Breaks The Darkness"

Cello - Day 27

My first finger on my left hand is really sore. Learning these “extensions” is painful. My hands are just too small. So that is rather frustrating. I wish that was easier and didn’t hurt . . .it makes the enjoyment of playing go down significantly. Oh well. I learned the two new notes today and am making progress through my Level 2 book . . .just a few more days to finish it!

Cello - Day 26

So I was working through my Level 2 book again today, but I got rather overwhelmed. I just learned two new notes yesterday, and now today there were two more . . .too many, too soon. Instead of learning the new ones, I reviewed the two I learned yesterday and then got out my sheet music that I had set aside as being too difficult before, and worked on a few of those instead. I have two Beatles songs, “Eleanor Rigby” and “Can’t Buy Me Love”, so those are kind of fun, and I spent a little more time with “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Mis. One of these days I’ll be able to play it. 

Cello - Day 25

Playing today went better than yesterday . . .the loud vibrations went down, as did the humidity, so I’m relieved about that. I learned a few new notes today (most notably, b flat, which is quite the stretch for my small hands). I don’t know how much more progress I’m going to make in the final few days of this month, but I’m going to try to get through the Level 2 book at least . . .we’ll see how it goes.

Cello - Day 24

Oof . . .I ate way too much food again today. This week has been the week of eating out (thanks in great part to many people for buying me food) J Good for my food budget, not so good for my figure. My poor cello took a little tumble yesterday when I leaned it against the bed and ran to get the phone. Today I noticed loud vibrations when I was playing a few notes, but I don’t know if it was the cello or the stand, and if they noises have to do with the fall, or the large temperature swing today (I think it got up to 90 today . . .whew). We’ll see tomorrow I guess when the high is only 79 F. I started Level 2 of Essential Elements today. I’m making my way through the book pretty quickly; the material is not too difficult. Other than the vibrations, I think I had a better “tonality” today too, so that is a positive improvement. J

Cello - Day 23

I revisited my Suzuki book today as I had it open from the video song yesterday. Overall, playing went pretty well today and I think I’ve finished that “Solos” book too. I may have skipped one or two songs because they were horrible, but I’d had enough of that book. I think tomorrow I will start Level 2 of my Essential Elements book (I think that’s what it’s called). This month has gone by far too quickly.

Cello - Day 22

So I forgot to take videos yesterday . . .sorry. But, never fear, I have two videos to post today. Practice went okay today, not great, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I’m not enjoying this “solos” book as much as the Suzuki book. Also, my left hand is sore where my pointer finger connects to my palm, which probably means I’m not playing correctly. I’m getting weird calluses on my pointer and pinkie fingers too. I’m sad that this month is going by so quickly . . .that means that if I want to continue practicing my cello I have to find time for that PLUS whatever my challenge is going to be next month. I got a few new books to read at our community garage sale this weekend too, so reading is calling to me . . .so much to do, so little time.

Scale - Week 3

"Minuet No. 2" - Bach

Cello - Day 21

I didn’t have as good of luck practicing today as I did yesterday. Things still sounded okay, but I moved on from the popular songs and the Suzuki book and started a new book, Solos for Strings, Level 1. Therefore, I was back at the beginning again playing a lot of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and “Lightly Row”. I think “Twinkle, Twinkle” is going to become my “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” for cello (to explain, of all the beginner songs for learning an instrument, “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” has got to be my least favorite one. Interestingly enough, it was in the Suzuki book, and I didn’t mind it as much as usual, but this “Twinkle, Twinkle” nonsense has got to stop). So today was not a very good day for cello playing (it didn’t help that we were late to a friend’s house for dinner, so I was stressed about that), but I’m hopeful that tomorrow will be better.

New book I'm working on

Cello - Day 20

Practicing today went well again J I went over more songs in the Suzuki book and then played over some of the “popular” songs again. I was surprised at how much better they sounded than when I had played them before. This is encouraging and I am looking forward to playing more tomorrow J

Cello - Day 19

Today’s practice went pretty well. I practiced the song I’m planning to play for the video this week (instead of just picking one the day of . . .I figured it would be better if I practiced it a few days ahead of time) and I also worked my way through the Suzuki book again. The greatest part about this book is that the songs seem relatively simple, but I feel like they are helping to improve my skills much quicker than the other book. I think today is the first day I felt like I might actually be able to play in public eventually ;)

Cello - Day 18

Finally, I feel like I’m improving. I like this Suzuki book (although the songs that I’m supposed to listen to are on tape, so I haven’t exactly been following the Suzuki method as I should). I do get the tuner out though and play through the songs slowly and adjust my pitch to make sure I learn them correctly . . .I think that’s been helping quite a bit. I’m learning longer songs now, and don’t feel like my playing is quite so horrible, although there are still some noises that are created that should not be heard by any human ear . . .oops. Oh well, practice makes perfect right?

Cello - Day 17

Hey, I think I might be getting the hang of this whole cello playing thing J I unfortunately played too late tonight ( I broke my ‘no practicing after 9 pm’ rule . . .oops), but I don’t think my neighbor on the other side of me was home, so I think it’s okay. This Suzuki book is making me feel like I’m really improving. When I get out the tuner and check my notes, they are still not that in tune (at least not as consistently as I would like), but my ability to switch between notes and between strings is vastly improved from where it was last week, at least in my opinion. Sometimes I wish you could all listen in on my practices so you could hear the good things that happen, but I’m sure you wouldn’t want to have quite that much cello overload. Hopefully some of this improvement will be apparent in my next videos. Stay tuned!

Cello - Day 16

I’m working on a few new things today. I started this yesterday, but after a comment from a friend who is a really good guitar player about how I needed to be “one” with my instrument, I’m really trying to fit better with the instrument and make it more an extension of my body instead of this big, awkward thing that squeaks. Also, I put away my fun, popular songs and got out the Suzuki Level 1 lesson book. In the introduction to that book, Suzuki says that it is really important to work on tonalization, or trying to product a beautiful sound, every time I play. Well, I know the sounds that I make are not always beautiful, so I tried to work on that today too. I have a long way to do, but I need to keep those things in mind, as well as trying to learn proper posture and hand position . . .I have a lot of work to do.

Suzuki Lesson Book

Cello - Day 15

Well, today definitely went better than yesterday. I’m not anywhere near being even okay at playing the cello, but I’m getting my notes down much better and the songs are not sounding quite as hideous. I’m being a little too ambitious in my cooking/baking today though (multiple types of coconut cookies and a big batch of chicken curry . . .yum). So, cello playing was squeezed in between curry simmering and cookie baking. I should get back to my cookies now!

Cello - Day 14

I know you’ve come to look forward to this day, right? It’s video day! So, without further ado, please enjoy my latest videos, my scale after 2 weeks, and “March in D”. I know, they are still rather painful to listen to, but trust me, I went back and listened to my first scale, and I’m improving, even if it’s just a little bit! Practicing flew by today, but I felt I was getting worse throughout the practice instead of better. I think perhaps it’s because I practiced a little later at night and I’m tired. I hope tomorrow goes better.

Scale after 2 weeks

"March in D" 

Cello - Day 13

Today is the first day that I wanted to keep playing. Unfortunately, you made me stop. Okay, so not technically, it is my fault that I am behind on my blog, but I really need to write some blog posts, so I figured I had better stop practicing and do that instead. I did spend some time after practicing looking over the rest of my cello music though so I could see what other treasures I could find. I randomly stumbled across “I Dreamed A Dream” from Les Misérables (which I’m pretty crazy about right now . . .seriously, watch this: "I Dreamed A Dream" It is the lovely Lea Salonga singing “I Dreamed A Dream” for the 25^th anniversary concert last year . . .brilliant). Anyways, I’m excited to keep playing and getting better. I played bass guitar again today too, that really hurt my fingers on my right hand, but my left hand is doing okay. I’m just glad practice went so well today J

Cello - Day 12

Not much new to talk about today. I have some random sheet music that I practiced today . . .it went pretty well. No duets yet, but hopefully soon. I’m feeling a little more confident about my note reading, so that’s helpful. I got my bass guitar out today and tried to play that (I can’t play that much better than I could play my cello when I started this monthly challenge) . . .that was kind of confusing. Other than that, it’s still going well. So far, so good.

Cello - Day 11

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been eleven days already! Today I didn’t have that great of a day (just rather frustrating), so I was surprised that my cello playing went as well as it did. I managed to finish lesson book #1 and got to finish up my practice time with a few more popular songs that I have music for (and I rather like) such as the Forest Gump theme and Edelweiss. So today went better, and I’m encouraged to keep playing. Another fun thing was that there are a few duets in the latter portion of the book, so I was lamenting to my husband that we need another cello so he can learn and play the duets with me. He then came up with the brilliant idea to play along with me on his trombone (he is a very good trombone player) . . .so I have that to look forward to. We have dinner plans tonight, so I have to get going now, but that’s my update for today J

Cello - Day 10

So, today was rather stressful, and I think all of that pent up stress showed in my playing. I could just not find the right notes tonight; so frustrating. Granted, I am at the end of the book, so the songs are significantly longer and more difficult than previously, but my playing was pretty atrocious tonight. I’m just thankful I have a few more days yet before I have to make another video for you!

Cello - Day 9

Well, today I think I actually can tell that I’ve improved since Day 1 (I am almost through the entire Level 1 book, so I would hope that counts as improvement). My right hand keeps cramping . . .I was working on a song tonight called “Cripple Creek”, it was definitely trying to cripple my hand. I’m trying to get better form and a better ear, so hopefully it’s working. So far, so good J

My lesson book

Cello - Day 8

I think today went much better than yesterday. My right pinky still feels funny, my right hand is still cramping, and my butt hurts from sitting on the folding stepstool that I use as my cello-playing chair (the only chair in our house without arms on it), but I feel much more positive today. I think what helped was that I ditched the tuner. I used only when necessary to check a note or two, but other than that, just back to me, my ears, and the cello, so at least this way, even if I was off, I didn’t have anything yelling at me for it. I’ve progressed through the lesson book to where I’m starting to learn the notes on the last string now (the C string) . . .hooray for progress J

Cello - Day 7

Well, one week has gone by, and I am not ready to join an orchestra. That stupid tuner keeps making me frustrated. Also, my left pinky finger feels really funny and my right hand is still cramping a bit. I don’t have much to say though, because I have TWO videos to post today of my progress. My customary scale, and a song out of my lesson book called “Bluebird Song” (I guess it’s some Texas Folk Song). Take the fact that I am posting these against my better judgment (as my reputation as a musician will surely suffer from this) as a testament to my devotion to my experiments and to my readers. I hope you are enjoying watching my progress!

Scale - Week 2

"Bluebird Song"

Cello - Day 6

Today was frustrating. I was really hoping to be progressing a little better than this. I wanted to have at least something good to be able to play for tomorrow’s video, but I’ve got nothing. A Kenyan folk song just kicked my butt today, and I played what must be the most pitiful version of “Happy Birthday” ever. My husband kindly encouraged me and told me I was doing just fine, but I am not really happy with my progress today . . .I think the fact that I had the electronic tuner on while I was playing today has me so discouraged. On a happier note, I played my flute in church today and I got a compliment from one of the other musicians that I was really on pitch (which is difficult when accompanying handbells), so that made me happy. Maybe my ear is getting a little better?

Cello - Day 5

My right hand is still getting a bit sore from the bowing, but hopefully that will ease up as it gets stronger from practicing. No really amazing accomplishments today, but I did learn a new note (F natural) and that was pretty tricky. I’m really working a lot on ear training with this instrument, much more so than any of the other instruments I play (piano, guitar, flute, alto saxophone, etc.). They all have keys, and yes, tuning is important, but there is so much more room for error on the cello . . .that is kind of scary. I’m steadily making progress through the level one book though, so I’m looking forward to getting to learn some of the longer pieces soon. J

Readers, do any of you have experience with stringed instruments (and the use of rosin, in particular)? The rosin that I have is very old, and I’m thinking it’s not working. I don’t really know what it’s supposed to do (help the bow stay on the strings?) and how to tell if it’s still useable or not. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks. 

Cello - Day 4

Cool gadget my husband made out of a hanger

Okay, so my other hand is hurting today . . .I’m probably not holding the bow correctly. I wish I had someone who could show me how. I’m feeling a little frustrated today because the songs were just not sounding all that lovely. For some reason, “Michael Row Your Boat Ashore” just sounded awful, both yesterday and today . . .I cannot get that song to sound good. I know I’m making progress as my scales sounded a little better today, but I’m guessing at the notes still (struggling with the bass clef) and I’m surprised my husband hasn’t started wearing earplugs while I practice. I think I’m getting better, but not as quickly as I would like (I know, I can’t expect to be really good in only four days, but I just don’t have enough patience today I guess). So, that’s all for today, wish me better luck tomorrow.

See how it fits into my stand?

Awesome

p.s. Check out this cool bow hanger (custom made for this music stand) that my awesome husband fashioned out of a hanger in a matter of minutes. It works perfectly . . .yet another reason to marry an engineer J

Cello - Day 3

My fingers are starting to get a little sore from the strings, but that was inevitable. My greatest accomplishment today: learning to play the “Can Can Song” and my husband said the majority of the notes were in tune! So I working on that, really trying to keep my notes more in tune, while at the same time develop proper cello playing form (not that I really know what that is . . .if anyone has any tips, or knows anyone who would like to give me a lesson, that would be much appreciated). I know that my playing is still pretty awful and I feel bad for everyone who has to hear it, but I take comfort in the fact that I will get better if I practice, so that’s what I’m doing.

Side note:  I found a Russian proverb that seems to fit quite well with my Cake-A-Day month: “A house is beautiful not because of its walls, but because of its cakes.” So my tiny apartment must be pretty beautiful J

Cello - Day 2

One thing I forgot to say yesterday…I was happy to smell rosin again…it’s the smell of progress J So, today I practiced a little bit later that I was planning. I wanted to remember to always finish my practicing before 9 pm, just so I didn’t anger my neighbors, but tonight I didn’t start until 9, but that still means I was done at 9:30 . . .hopefully that’s not too late. I feel like I’m getting a little bit better at telling when my notes are in tune or not, but my husband says, "maybe just a little better" (as in I’m still not very good), oh well, what can you expect on Day 2? So far I’ve progressed though “Mary Had A Little Lamb”, “Lightly Row”, “Jolly Old St. Nicholas”, and other beginning instrument favorites. Surprisingly, I haven’t had to play “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” yet . . .thank goodness, that is my least favorite beginner song. Readers, have you had any similar experiences with trying to learn an instrument?

Cello - Day 1

So, here I go on my next adventure, I’ve attempted to learn this before, but never really stuck with it. My husband has a much better ear for pitch than I do, so he helped me majorly tune my cello before I started. When I bought my cello, the girl who sold it to me gave me all of her lesson books so I cracked open Volume 1 and started there. Granted I can already read music, but I’m a flute player, so bass clef doesn’t come naturally for me. Here is a video of my attempt at a scale, just for comparison’s sake so I can have a similar video at the end of the month to see how much I’ve progressed. I know, I’m not very good . . .I wonder how many of my neighbors in our apartment complex will complain this month? Wish me luck!

May Reveal

Hello everyone. Sorry for my lapse in posting on my blog. Don't you worry, I have not stopped doing crazy challenges, I was just a little too busy to spend the time updating this blog. Hopefully in the next few days I'll get all caught up though. So anyways, what have I been up to? After all of my running, I think I deserved a Baskin Robbins month or something (a flavor a day sounds wonderful :)), but instead, I decided to stay still after all of that running, and work on something I had been putting off for years. As you may know, my husband and I have quite the collection of musical instruments (17 I think) and I can play most of them, but not very well. For one of my birthdays while I was in college, a fellow college student was selling her cello and I bought it for myself but never learned how to play it. So that lovely instrument just sat untouched, a shame I think. So, it was time to rectify that . . . cello playing, here I come.

I had about six months of violin lessons when I was in 8th grade, but haven't played a stringed instrument since then (besides guitar and bass guitar), so I'm pretty out of practice. This might be a mistake, but I decided to take some weekly videos of my progress for you all to see. I'm sorry if I hurt your ears. Do any of you have an instrument that has been sitting in the closet for too long? If so, I encourage you to take this monthly journey with me (although you don't have to post videos if you don't want to). Enjoy!