Greetings!  I know I haven’t written in a while.   I’ve been busy with teaching, orchestras, accompanying, and oh yes, there’s life outside of music too!  In fact, I have had so much music to learn and play lately, that it’s become overwhelming at times.  Sometimes I have so much to do that I don’t know where to start and end up wasting time and not getting much done.   When I discussed this with my teacher, she suggested the 5 minute rule.  Set a timer and focus on the parts that need the work for only 5 minutes, then go to the next piece.  Well, 5 ..read more

I think by now we’re all too familiar with the phrase “comfort food”.  Different for everyone, it ranges from chicken and dumplings to (here’s my favorite) apple dumpling with vanilla ice cream.   It’s that food that makes you feel good.  Either nostalgic for the past or relieving the stress of the current day.  We’ve all been there. Lately I’ve been dealing with stress of family members.  There are several problems and I’m dealing with everything as best as I can.  But when it comes to practicing my cello, I find that I’m having a very difficult time focusing ..read more

   The problem with getting new orchestra music is that I tend to want to listen to the piece before I start learning it, or along with learning it, so that I have a feel for the music.  Actually so I can try to put some musicality into the learning process while I’m struggling with notes, shifts, extensions.  You know, the usual parts of celloing.   However, while I am getting the concept of the music, I am also getting the tempo.  And when that tempo is say, q=130 (Brahms “Tragic Overture), I want to play it at that tempo.  Of course, not right away!   ..read more

Testing Email Function  ..read more

I feel like I’ve been away for a while, but I haven’t really been anywhere.  The site got a facelift, which was crazy for me.  After all, my life is mainly…cello.  Playing, thinking, reading, listening to…cello.  Which brings me to today’s thought.  That although I’m listening more than I used to, I’m not reacting well. I was at my lesson yesterday, playing a lovely piece by Frank Bridge (you can get his 4 short pieces on IMSLP: http://ks4.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/9/9e/IMSLP363951-PMLP70802-Bridge_Mandozzi_4_Pieces_cello_-_Partitur.pdf In the middle of “Cou ..read more

Greetings Musicians, My website, and thus this blog, have been undergoing an update.  I was informed that my website, mainstreetstrings.com would no longer be supported by my host, so I could either leave it as it was, which would mean I could never make any changes or corrections, have a complete re-do ($3,500!) or go for their “special offer” to revamp ($299).  Since the site already had some errors, leaving it as it was  was not an option.  Leaving the only obvious solution, take the “special offer”.  It was a relatively easy process, with the normal bumps in the r ..read more

I play a lot of music that has numerous accidentals in it.  Popper etudes, for example, are loaded with them .  In fact, I hardly bother with looking at the key signature as there are so many accidentals, I seem to spend lots of time just making my brain roll with the changes. I’m working on thirds in thumb position.  They are difficult for me because while the thumb may be moving 1/2 step, the other finger on the next string may be moving 1 step.  And to complicate this, as you move up (down?) the fingerboard toward the bridge, the spacing gets smaller.  Remember, it ..read more

I want to be sure you know about 2 events coming up for amateur musicians. The first is the Adult Strings Weekend at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL.  It is sponsored by their Community Music School and is open to amateur adult players of all string instruments, even bass!  It’s run by Dr. Anne Witt, cellist extraordinaire, and Joe Lee, an excellent musician and our conductor.  Joe offers insights into music that you’ll hear nowhere else.  (What does “Forte” mean? Not loud, as I thought. but strong!)  And he’s a nice guy to boot!  Many have been going ye ..read more

For me, the Right Hand Rules.  After all, the sound comes from the bow, not your left hand fingers pressing on a string.   But intonation, which is arguably an important skill, does come from the left hand. In my lesson yesterday, I was working on 4 measures that are particularly gruesome when played incorrectly and particularly fabulous when played correctly.  Unfortunately, if you’re off on one note, it’s likely to throw everything after that off and you’re now playing in an entirely different key!  Doesn’t work well if you are playing with a piano accompaniment! My brill ..read more

  If you’re spending most of your cello time in your own personal cello space, you probably don’t get too many distractions.   You have your chair and stand ready and waiting, good lighting, a tuner and metronome nearby, and your cello just needs some rosin and tuning and you’re ready to go. Sometimes, there are distractions. I happen to have a cat who loves to jump on my back when I’m leaning over to mark my music.  Then he’s happily on my shoulder and licking the fingerboard. The phone rings, your computer bings, your kids/husband/girlfriend yells. All these distractions act ..read more