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All Cello, All of the Time

9/22/2013

 
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If I could, I would get on a plane tomorrow, fly to Japan, and live there for at least a year. I would immerse myself in the food, culture and language, and ideally, become fluent in Japanese. 

I started falling in love with Japanese twenty years ago in college. Someone in my house at Smith was taking it, and I remember being slightly awed by the hiragana, katakana and kanji flashcards that she created. I was taking German at the time (which I also love) but in my opinion, Japanese is the most beautiful written language. 

Instead of being brave and adding Japanese to my course schedule, I waited until my senior year and signed up for a Japanese poetry course. Sensei would bring us Japanese sweets every week, and I imagined myself going to Japan some day, sitting under a tree in a park somewhere, and reading those same poems in Japanese instead of English. 

Many years after college, I finally took a few Japanese classes, and I can read, write and speak some basic Japanese, but Japanese, like the cello, isn't really something that you can master on a whim. The best way to learn a language, or an instrument, is to surround yourself with it. 

Here are some ways that you can immerse yourself in the world of the cello: 

1. Rent or buy a cello. There is no substitute for the real thing. And even if there is, get the real thing. 


2. Name your cello. It will help build a connection between the two of you, and she will be more forgiving when you do things like squeeze her bow too tightly or accidentally bang her against a pipe in a parking garage. In case you are wondering, my cello's name is Hana, which means flower in Japanese. 


3. Attend classes or private lessons with a reputable teacher. 


4. Listen to cello music in your car, at home, and at the gym. 


5. Pay close attention to the cello parts in car commercials, movies, and law firm ads. You probably never noticed them until you started playing the cello.  


6. Invest in a stress ball for your hands. Squeeze and release. Repeat.


7. Do finger exercises when you are stopped at a light or waiting in line at the grocery store. 


8. Walk around thinking dead arm, dead arm, trying to get your arm and hands to relax in preparation for playing.


9. Watch famous cellists on You Tube. Pay attention to how they hold their bodies, how they move, how they interact with the cello, and how relaxed their hands are. 


10. Head to Symphony Hall, or any other concert venue, and experience a live cello performance.  


11. If you've never done yoga or any other physical activity, now is the time to start. People who are physically fit can avoid things like repetitive stress injuries or back problems which can develop if you are not careful. 


12. Start a cello blog, or photo gallery, or paint pictures of your cello. A cello is already a work of art. Make it your own. 


13. Downloaded part of the Bach Cello Suites or any other famous cello music as the ring tone on your phone. When telemarketers call you, your irritation will be tempered by the beautiful sound of the cello. 


14. Change your Facebook profile photo to something cello-related. That way, every time you access Facebook, you will remember that you should not be on Facebook. You should be practicing the cello. 


15. Start a cello club for staff and students at work. You might be the only person in the club, but eventually your enthusiasm will rub off on others, and soon enough, you'll have an ensemble. 


16. Order sheet music for songs that keep you motivated to practice them, like Christmas carols, or the theme song from the Addams Family.


17. Try to practice every day, even if it's only for a few minutes. (Insert your cello's name here) is counting on you to show the world what she can really do. 


18. Record yourself practicing so that afterwards, you can analyze your playing and do better next time.

So far, this immersion method is working for me, and maybe it will for you too.  Every day, I fall more in love with my cello, and little by little, my tone and confidence are improving. Just yesterday, at our local Town Day, I was invited to join the community orchestra. I declined; I'm not anywhere near ready for anything remotely akin to an orchestra, but one of these days I'll get there, and one of these days, I'll get to Japan too. 





A Concert for the Construction Crew: Duet for Cello and Electric Drill

9/14/2013

 
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I am a beginner cellist. I am also a rape survivor. In 2001, a stranger broke into my house and attacked me. Almost twelve years later, in a different house and a different town, I do not open the windows very often, and over the summer, I quickly became acquainted with the phenomenon known as "slippery cello." 

When a cello is sliding all over the place because the person playing it is sweating profusely, it is very difficult to play, but I persevered, because even though it was 100 degrees in my house, there was no way I was opening the windows. I did not want anyone to hear me playing, and even now, I worry that if I install an air conditioner, it will just give someone another way to break in. 

So, I bought an endpin strap for my cello, which kept it from slipping so much, and I only practiced for short periods of time. When it got too hot, or my hands started to hurt, I would go for a walk, go to a movie, or drive somewhere.  And little by little, my hands relaxed, and the songs I played became almost recognizable. 

And then one day, one of my new and more accomplished cellist friends said, "One of the things I enjoy most about playing the cello is opening the windows wide and letting the sound soar through the neighborhood." I laughed, incapable of imagining my version of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star soaring anywhere, and I went home to practice. I did not open the windows. 

Several weeks later, shortly after I noticed that someone down the street had started learning how to play the trumpet, a construction crew appeared on my front steps, and began ripping them out and rebuilding them. I waited until after they'd left to practice the cello. They came again the next weekend, and again I waited until they left before I attempted to practice.

Last weekend, they showed up again, and I decided that I was brave enough to play for them, whether they wanted me to or not. So, I opened the windows, and I played Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Jingle Bells, and the bass line of Pachelbel's Canon.* I'd play a few notes, and they'd drill: Twinkle, Twinkle, Drill, Little, Drill, Star, and so on. When I finished playing, they didn't clap, but they didn't hiss at me either. I have no idea whether they realized that I was playing for them, but they are here again today, so it's time for me to open the windows and play my cello. 

* You are supposed to play the bass line of Pachelbel 54 times, but I figured that 10 was good enough.
 

    Author

    Alexandra Kontes is a writer and a beginner cellist. To read some of her fiction, please see Esmeralda's Nest.



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Lean Against My Heart: Life With My Cello, copyright 2015, Alexandra N. Kontes

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