On Thursday, C.F. and I continued working through the Telemann duet and the first 3 pieces in Suzuki book 4. I really love the Bach minuets in G major, so C.F. played them for me and then with me, slowly.

My goal is to play them for my family reunion in July–perhaps a bit delusional, but deadlines are very motivating for me, and simply taking lessons doesn’t provide that sense of an urgent need to practice!

One of the things I really like about C.F.’s approach to teaching is the way he encourages me to find what I like, and practice that.

I had a good lesson yesterday after a three-week gap in lessons. It’s nice to get back in the routine, and my suspicion is confirmed: lessons at two week intervals is ideal for me, but if I go any longer, I’ll fall down that steep slope of wavering intentions.

Still trying to get that first flashy piece in Book 4 up to speed; I spent nearly 2 1/2 hours just on that piece yesterday. C.F. was complimentary as always, and most importantly, he corrected my technique.

On another note, I heard about a Seattle band called Blue Star Creeper–they have a cellist in their group, and I’d love to hear them sometime.

Great lesson today. We worked through the first piece in Suzuki book 4, a sonatina from the classical period. We’re moving out of the baroque stuff and into some melodic, sonorous pieces, so I’m working on developing a rich, bel canto quality to my tone. This classical music, courtly music, is like the era of construction rather than deconstruction. Everything beautiful and measured.

Double stops are gradually getter easier, though they’re still tricky if one of the notes isn’t an open string.

I learned something about dynamics today: the alternating piano and forte parts are called terrace dynamics.

I had a really good cello lesson on Thursday. I played through the last 3 pieces of Suzuki Book 3 with C.F. with some confidence, which translates to expressiveness with the bow. He wants me to practice an etude that focuses on double stops (a term until now, I was unfamiliar with)—chords, which on the cello means just two notes at once. We went through it slowly. Quite challenging!

I’m just beginning to add vibrato, on occasion, when it comes naturally.

I’ve made it to the end of the challenging 3rd Suzuki book! At least, C.F. went through the last 2 pieces with me during our lesson on Thursday. Now it’s up to me to practice and polish them, and then onward–he assures me that the 4th Suzuki book is easier than the 3rd.

I’m working on playing with more movement and ever more precision–something that brought cellist Joshua Roman into our conversation. I still haven’t seen him play, but C.F. encouraged me to catch him before he leaves the Seattle Symphony (he’ll be back, of course, but he won’t be ours!). So last night I bought tickets to see him in June. I missed his Radiohead performance in January, but I love Bloch, so I’m very excited!

My lesson this morning came after a couple of disruptions in the usual schedule, and I was a bit nervous about the lesson since I hadn’t practiced enough. (Memories of nerve-wracking piano lessons in my teens coming back to haunt me!) But C.F. was complimentary and encouraging, as always, and I had fun fumbling along and occasionally playing something decent-sounding. I learned more about Mozart’s composition techniques (very mathematical). We played a Mazas Sonatina duet that I straggled along with, and I’m working on numbers 5, 6, and 7 in the 3^rd Suzuki book for the next two weeks. Then it’s on to Dvorak’s Humoresque, one of the last 3 pieces in the book!

Earlier this week, I was tuning my cello and snapped the A string. Since I didn’t have any extra strings, and I didn’t know how to restring, anyway, I took it in to Steve at Peninsula Violin. He put a set of D’Addario Helicore strings on, and they sound way better than the ones my rental cello came with. Much less metallic, much more mellow.

That change, in addition to the bridge work and lowering the strings, has made my cello feel and sound like a different instrument! I can’t say enough good about Steve; he showed me how to restring and correct the tension on the bridge (which was a revelation to novice me; I thought the bridge was fixed rather than floating), and he answered each and every one of A.’s questions about the infinitely interesting tools in his shop. He’s got a 4-year-old apprentice anytime he wants!

I was trying to focus on the rosin dust near the bridge; even this ephemera delights me. Probably because, unlike with violins, it falls on the floor instead of on me.

Yesterday I had a good lesson with C.F.  I like how much of his teaching is simply duetting, encouraging me to match tones or play off his tones.  I started the Minuet in G by Beethoven.  I just have to take it a phrase at a time, because I’m still new at changing positions so frequently.  

Carson had me play his cello for a bit in order to feel the difference in the strings.  My cello bridge is too high; the strings are nearly double the height of his, and it makes a big difference in how hard I have to push to hold them down.  So later this week I’ll take them to Peninsula Strings and have them fix that.