Studio of Emily Ann Peterson

Maddie's Beautiful Bow Hold!

2011-05-05T08:44:00.001-07:00

A Preview of this Weekend's Recital!

2011-05-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

The Seattle Celloship has become something I greatly look forward to... Here's the latest recording we did. Sunday, we sight-read a few pieces we'll play at our upcoming performances. The first of which is my student's recital on this coming Saturday at 5pm at the Fremont Abbey in Seattle, WA. If you're in the area, drop by! There will be modern dance, poetry, cello choirs, cello duets, and so much more, including a potluck afterwards!

But if you're a far away blog reader-friend, then I hope you enjoy this little audio-taste of what is to come... Seattle Celloship plays Italian Song by C.D. Critelli by emilyannpeterson

(Click on the poster above to get more info regarding Saturday's Recital...)

Working Their Cello Posture!

2011-04-30T16:07:00.001-07:00

:-)

Thanks For All The Fun This Weekend Explorer Middle School!

Sydney's 1st Bow Hold

2011-04-29T10:06:00.001-07:00

Bent Thumb!

Sydney's 1st Bow Hold!

2nd finger on the silver point...

1 Year Anniversary!

2011-04-29T09:59:00.001-07:00

My student, Karen celebrated her 1 year anniversary this week and made me cookies! Yum!

Competition and Creation: Can they Co-exist?

2011-04-28T08:13:00.000-07:00

Unlike my tiniest cello friends...

I started playing cello in 5th grade in the Texas public school system. I learned to play the cellofrom a violinist along with 30 other kids who wanted to play a stringed instrument. I wish I had taken private lessons right from the start, because I began learning an instrument in a competitive environment, naturally the cello became a competitive thing. Who was going to winthe coveted position of sitting 1st chair? Who would be the shunned ones and sit last? [There are so many reasons why I don't think this is a good introduction to a musical education. but I digress...]

5th grade through 7th grade, I sat at the front of the pack in my school's top orchestra. I later auditioned and became a member of the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra, and in those orchestras I always sat either 1st or 2nd chair. And I had to work HARD to keep that chair too. And you know? I never felt a real satisfaction from getting to sit in the first stand. I just remember thethreat of embarassment if I left that first stand.

College presented auditions.

I worked my butt off for 4 universities and was chosen for 3, 2 of which I got scholarships. THAT's a good feeling, let me tell you. Working hard and having it pay off. Man it feels good. I still remember running and screeching through the house to find my mom after I opened up thescholarship letters. So fun.

What's not fun is the college level competition. That sucked the life right out of my bones. I became bitter and snobby & I hated that. The same questions asked earlier in school were not as comforting as before. "Who's sitting first?" became "Why aren't you?" which became "Don't you practice?" which became "Why don't you care anymore?" and finally became "Where were you?" I was knocked off my high horse and fell hard.

I obviously saw this as a great problem and so readjusted my context from the orchestral to thefolk/pop/rock scene. I found a renewed craving for creativity. I wasn't just inserting Song A and spitting it out perfectly, I was CREATING Song B and C and D and... I had to work hard at it, but when I did, it turned out really well and felt really good.

So zooming back to today,

I find myself considering re-entering the collegiate and competitive atmosphere for an evenhigher education, and possibly be there for quite a long time... Now that I've experienced thecreation of music I can't go back to just competitively spitting out tunes over and over again.

Having tasted the sweet nectar of creation, I wonder what it will be like to truly be part of thegroup but still feel outside of it. Will I be dubbed the underachiever or black sheep? Will I be harder on myself when I'm not "giving in" to the outside structure of this competition? Or is theoutside competition actually the kindest way to excel and be the best you can be? Can I trust myself to create my own structure and discipline? Or do I surrender to the outside discipline structure?

I know my answers, but I'm curious to hear your own experiences with competition and creation in the world of music...

Eli's Stormtrooper Cello (It's on fire!)

2011-04-27T08:35:00.000-07:00

You guys! Do you know how much I love it when my students draw me pictures? I LOVE IT! Thepicture below was drawn by my new cello friend, Eli. He loves Starwars. He decided to name hiscello "Stormtrooper." His bow is named "Light Saber." If you're wondering what's on the sides ofthe cello... Jet packs, of course! Oh and it's on fire. This kiddo knows what is up.

Weekly Round-Up

2011-04-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

TED Talk of the Week.. Caroline Phillips on the Hurdy Gurdy!

Article of the Week...
Janos Starker --- One Student's Reflections (by John Cloer) written in 2008 and found onwww.cello.org

Twitter Follower of the Week... @Michael_Tuchman
Michael's a very devoted practicer of the cello. Hailing from somewhere near Philadelphia, PA, this father of 2, SAS Programmer, and beginning amateur cellist, writes the blog "Cello Practice Smackdown." He would've signed up for my Studio's Practice Pool Competition, if I had let him! It's good to know ya through the interwebs Michael! Here's to more twitter convos in the future!

Cello Video of the Week...
Frances-Marie Uitti sure can "shred the cello!" Truly impressive video editing, brilliant composer, and passionate performer! Watch it below...

How to Choose a Cello?

2011-04-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

I was asked this question via @nparmalee & @Michael_Tuchman on twitter. (Shameless plug: Follow me [@emilyapeterson] on Twitter!) Anyways the big question on Saturday was: "How do I choose a cello?" This is a very good question. One that I'm happy to answer, but first...

I'll respond with a few more questions.

--- How much do you have to spend on a cello? (a decent beginner cello should cost at least $1000, I've found.)
--- Can you afford renting an instrument? (Most string shops in your area will put your first several months of rental towards the purchase of one of theirs. If that's the case, make sure they carry instruments you'll actually want to buy. To ensure this, go to a STRING specialty store. Please.)
--- If you end up renting an instrument, how long will you rent, before buying a cello?
--- What's your commitment level in this pursuit of the cello?

I won't go into the pros and cons of having or owning your own instrument...
that really depends on your personal budget, commitment to the cello and your technique. (Bottom line: If you don't have good technique, you won't sound your best on any cello regardless of it's price.)

But I will tell you how I help my students shop for a cello. Honestly, it's one of my favorite things to do with my relatively (6-9 months) beginner students!

"The Cello Ear Exam"

Similar to blind taste testing, I bring my student into usually Bischofberger's practice/cello room which usually has 12-18 cellos waiting to be brought home.

1. She (and the parent) don blindfolds and earplugs/earmuffs (to eliminate them guessing which side of the room the cello came from). I go and pick up Cello A.
2. Then, when I'm ready to play, I have her remove her ear protection but leave her blindfolds on & I play a C scale with the best tone possible. Two octaves, up and down.
3. She gives initial responses. Thumbs up or thumbs down. Description of the sound, etc.
4. She dons her earmuffs again, before I pick up the next cello, Cello B.
5. Repeat steps 2 & 3.
6. Decide which cello she prefers. (For this let's say she picks #2.)
7. She dons her earmuffs again, before I pick up the next cello, Cello C.
8. Repeat steps 2-6 with different cellos until 3-5 cellos have been identified as favorites.
[The idea here is to keep the identity of each cello a secret, so she can make a based truly on the favorite sound.]
9. Put each cello away, but I make a mental note of which cello was which.
10. Now it's the student's turn, we pick up each cello and go through the same process, blindfold still on, earmuffs worn between scales on each of the 5 cellos.
11. Narrow it down to 2 cellos using sound, feel, and ease of playing. BOOM! We've got our two favorite cellos in the room.

Budget.

It's a fact of life. I can't afford a $15,000 instrument. still. I only wish I could. But my budget is a part of my life. This next phase incorporates that into the process.

I'll usually discuss price, payments, etc. with the student. We'll talk about her 5 favorite cellos, (drum roll please...) reveal their prices, and identify the ones in her budget range. Do we want to put down another $500 for a better sound? How much did she really like #4? Could she be satisfied, for now, with Cello #3?

Then we'll do the same thing with the bows.

One at a time, kind of like an eye exam. Which do you like better? A or B? B or C? A or D? A or C? What's your budget for a bow? Should you save up for a better one later?

That's usually an 1.5 hours worth of my time, so I usually bow out and let the store associate or luthiers take over from there. They talk further about the care of the instrument, payment options, etc.

Stella's the name of my cello. [The bartender at Dad Watson's saw me bring her into the pub to meet some friends after a show. He asked her name. I didn't have one for her at the time, nothing had ever seemed to fit. So 15 min later he gave me a napkin with 5 names on it. We picked Stella. It fits.] In the very near future, *cough coughtomorrowcough* I'll tell you how my adoption process was with her.

Has anyone else out there gone through the purchase process? What was it like? Do you have any regrets? New listening/purchasing methods?

This can't wait...

2011-04-23T10:25:00.000-07:00

Revised Studio Policy & Thursdays as a Lesson Day!

2011-04-22T12:55:00.000-07:00

Announcing the Spring Practice Pool!

2011-04-20T09:12:00.000-07:00

7 Ways to Maximize Your Experience in My Studio

2011-04-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

Below you'll find a list of my 7 favorite ways to make your cello lessons really "stick." If you're not a student of mine, that's okay, these still apply to any teacher, regardless of the instrument or subject matter they teach.

1. Make practicing and private lessons sacred.

Schedule vacations and business meetings accordingly. Turn off your cell phone & email dings. Make a designated spot in your house for practicing. Take a deep breathe before beginning. Light some candles even!

2. Be sure you’re on the email list and subscribe to my blog.

I try to post twice a week on my blog, sometimes more and send out a Studio Newsletter once a month. So if you're only receiving one, you're missing out on some really great stuff! Sign up for the newsletter here & subscribe to the blog here. Each of these will have practice tips and tricks, games to play with your child in practice, general writings on holistic teaching, fun inspiration, videos to watch, and that was just over the past couple weeks! (Also if you tweet, follow me! - @emilyapeterson)

3. Get familiar with the Studio Policy.

This will help you further understand my expectations and help the administrative side of my life go way smoother, then I can focus on you guys! View the Studio Policy here.

4. Gather your own practice toolkit & USE IT.

Rosin, blank flashcards, WASP cards, dice, numbered cards, metronome, electric chromatic tuner, pencil, paper, highlighters/markers/crayons, extra copies of your music, water, timer, and anything else that helps you practice.

5. Attend concerts, especially Emily’s.

I make a point of accepting performance opportunities that my students would enjoy. Going to concerts and getting yourself out of the practice room is really great for cello inspiration. Take note of your observations and share them in your lesson. Talking about those observations make for some great lessons, regardless of the genre of music you heard! There are countless community orchestras in the Seattle area, get their calendars and get a move on!

6. Get Creative

You or your child will greatly benefit if you keep your eyes and ears open, pay attention to details, and take small steps, all while thinking outside the box. There is no right way to practice, but there is such a thing as inefficient practicing. This is especially true if you’re not making practice a fun, unique, diverse, and effective.

7. Communicate

If you’re experiencing a roadblock or speed bump in your road of progress, let me know. I have enough experience to help you find the right solution. Same goes for my teaching methods, if something is not working, I can’t change it unless I know about it.

3 Steps Towards Motivating Practice

2011-04-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

A Practice Helper: 100 Flowers

2011-04-14T07:46:00.000-07:00

Click on the image below to download the .pdf! Enjoy!

Street Dancing & Yo-Yo Ma

2011-04-11T10:36:00.000-07:00

A Reminder...

2011-04-09T12:45:00.001-07:00

Bend Your Thumb! ;-)

My Biggest Predicament

2011-04-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

The first cello lesson I taught in Seattle was with a woman in her mid-forties. We'll call her Susan. Susan is a truly petite (4'6,) soft-spoken, mom with a pretty lively daughter. Her profession put her in a pretty consistent context of silence, sensory touch, and listening.

Susan had already been playing cello for a couple years, so had the general technique down. After we warmed up and got comfortable with each other, she played me a couple lines of a solo she had been working on with her previous teacher.

It sounded pretty good. In tune. Correct bowings. Posture straight and somewhat relaxed. I could tell her previous teacher was good at her job.

It was, in the technical sense, perfect. But…

Me: "Susan, Can you play it again for me? There seems to be something missing. Let's see if we can find it together."

Susan: "Sure."

[Played again, almost exactly the same way with the same sound.]

Me: "Wow that was exactly the same. That’s impressive. It's hard to replicate sound like that. But it still sounds like something's missing. Your cello sounds scared of making sound. So let's work on your tone today."

I won't bore you with the details of how to create good tone, that's for another blog post.

What's most important in this story is what happened the following week...

Susan: "I really got a lot out of what we talked about last week. I practiced that tonalization stuff a lot."

Me: "Wonderful! Well, let's start today out by warming up with a C scale while thinking about creating that really good beautiful tone."

We play it together. I began by playing a little quieter than normal so I could hear her. You see, the previous week she was SO quiet I had to change everything I did. I talked softer & played softer, just so I could hear and communicate with her well.

[Remember this was only my 2nd lesson after a several year hiatus of teaching, and even before then it was just for fun and in highschool. Some might even consider this my 2nd lesson to give ever.]

And a few notes into the C major scale I realized, she was right, something really did stick in our previous lesson. I could really hear her! And it sounded gorgeous! So I increased my own volume to encourage even more "oomph" from her cello. It worked. She sounded almost impossibly awesome.

When we finished the 2-octave scale, she looked up at me with tears in her eyes.

after playing a C major scale. tears. in. her. eyes.

You guys! The only time I'd ever cried over scales was when trying to play a 4-octave G-flat major scale. (I still cry over that one.)

Okay back to precious Susan with tears in her eyes.

Me: (Praying to God that I wasn't about to get sued for emotional duress...) "Susan, what's going on? Did I do something wrong?"

Susan: (With tears now running down her cheeks and with the most astonishment one could muster...) "No, no. That sound... It’s so big! & It's coming from me!"

Me: (I was now in tears too…) "Yeah! It is! You made that sound! And it did sound beautiful."

I don't remember clearly what was said next, or how the rest of the lesson went. I don’t even remember which song we were working on, but I do remember thinking a couple of things after our lesson concluded.

First I recognized that Susan has gone her whole life being shorter than almost everyone around her. If there's a power play or stress occurring in her life, she hushes up and listens. And here we were sitting eye to eye. We were the same height while sitting. And I was asking her to speak up. It was easy for her to do because 1) she had all the tools to do it, 2) I wasn't asking HER to speak up, I was asking her CELLO to speak up.

I sensed from her tears and how the lesson went after, that that tearful moment was from living her whole life as the one who is shy, quiet, petite, short, and easy-to-please.

The tears were probably from having her secret-dream come true, and being shocked by it because she didn't outright ask for it.

I mean think about it. You've wanted something your whole life, but you've never felt like it was the time or place to ask for it. Maybe you've never even formed the words with your lips. One day, you're just going along with life and BAM! Someone hands it to you.

I would cry too!

Okay. So the second thing I thought was, "wow. I was so NOT ready to receive that kind of response from just playing through scales. The C major scale nonetheless. I hope I said the right thing and did the right thing."

I've had way too many of moments like these with my students. I don't go seeking them, but I am super sensitive when I experience them. Every time it happens I just cross my fingers that I don’t say or do anything wrong.

So all this brings me to my point. What would the world look like if music teachers knew how to handle moments like these? Could they ever feel empowered to support their students during an emotional break-through or rough spot? The teachers I know do what they can, which is to usually respond in fear. I don't think that's the answer. I even know a teacher who has put “No crying” into their Studio’s Policies.

When I was taking private lessons, I had a few awkward tearful moments with my teachers/professors; usually because I was disappointed in myself, or too hard on myself or just flat out stressed out with life. I remember feeling like my tears were this huge taboo. I would hold them back for almost 30 minutes until the urge was too big and strong to hold back or swallow. The awkwardness of my tears feeling unwelcome made me forget why I was crying in the first place.

Emotion can be a really messy thing for folks in a technical profession.

So…

What do we do for the students who have severe low self-esteem? [I encourage them to see that hard work pays off and the work is worthy of their pride.]

What do we say when you can tell their family problems are hurting their progress? [I'm not a therapist, so the only thing I can speak to is their progress. Ask them to focus? Suggest using the instrument to be a release mechanism? Maybe bring it up with the parent? What if they’re an adult and don’t have a parent?]

What do you do when a student is so shy they can hardly think straight? [I either try to make it as fun as possible or just simply play soothing music. Am I free to ask why they’re so tense?]

How do you respond when a student brings up their love life in the lesson? [Again, I'm not their therapist, so I don't feel comfortable giving advice. Instead I funnel that emotion, be it happiness or sadness, into the songs. But could I do something better and more helpful?]

Learning an instrument from scratch at any age speaks to the WHOLE person, but I'm only trained to speak to the PART of that person... Do you see my predicament?

Yeah. Me too.

May 7th Recital

2011-04-05T21:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Students of Mine,

2011-04-04T22:42:00.000-07:00

1st Week with the Seattle Celloship

2011-04-04T10:43:00.000-07:00

3 Ways to Color Your Cello Practice

2011-03-31T00:10:00.000-07:00

This Week's Source of Inspiration

2011-03-28T00:27:00.000-07:00

The Practice Generator

2011-03-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

Emotion in Musicality

2011-03-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

Most of my lessons have themes; last Monday, Mindy's lesson-theme was emoting. I began by teaching her a wee bit of preliminary music theory (major scales) and then upon her suggestion and questioning, we transitioned into emotions.

She reminded me that at one of our first lessons I explained that her advantage as an adult is she's able to emote through her cello. Most children aren't aware of what it means to mourn, lament, or be elated. But regardless of age, students are able to play "Twinkle, Twinkle" sad or happily: Long/drawn-out or short/clarified.

Emotion can be clearly communicated when presented with no unintended distractions.

Unnecessary sounds could result from poor tone, poor phrasing, pitchy notes, bad technique. Applied to life, this means when I'm trying to convey an important message to a friend I will be more likely to call them up rather than text them so they can hear my inflection and they won't be distracted by other things.

Try this situation on for size:
Say I have an important meeting with a record label. Said record label is interested in signing my band but we have a few questions and want to clarify a few things. If I'm asking the label reps questions when I am tired (poor phrasing), way too emotionally charged (pitchy notes), and slouching while wearing sweat pants (poor technique) they will respond to my questions/statements with those distractions in their minds. But! If arrive time, alert, dressed appropriately, etc. I am in more control of how my questions/statements are received.

Do you see this?! This means when I'm even simply playing scales, my emotions are clearer (to myself and my audience), if I am able to play without presenting unintended distractions. Practicing your emotional clarity will immensely help your practice of performance.

Here's an exercise to try:
Pick a scale or a simple song. Pick an emotion. Roll a die. Now, play that song with that emotion exactly the same way the number of times the die directs. The trick with this is to tune your ears to the distractions you're playing. Don't eliminate them, repeat them with purpose! If you can replicate the distractions, then you'll be in control of the distractions and able to eliminate them when needed in the future! Cool huh?!

Have any other exercises in emoting that work for you? Share with the class!

100 Hundreds Video

2011-03-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

Photos from the Christmas Recital!

2011-03-02T13:04:00.000-08:00

Get the Best Out of Your Teacher

2011-02-21T12:56:00.000-08:00

Now THAT's hot.

2011-02-16T22:16:00.000-08:00

Baby Step #2.

2011-01-17T14:54:00.000-08:00

[This is the 2nd of a post series on Baby Steps.]

Baby Step #2 - Adding a step & teaching ourselves to fall again: The next thing Glenda and I worked on together on Monday was adding a new note, F#, to the previous note, A. Notes are a simple and tangible way to keep track of baby steps, however even taking one step on the sidewalk has more than one movement in our body. We have to learn how to figuratively "transfer our weight" from one foot to another, muscle by muscle.

Teaching ourselves to learn is a really difficult (but not impossible) thing to do after the age of 4. I've seen through teaching beginning adult students, that learning to learn is a skill that most adults haven't done since early grade school. If you think about it, everything beyond that in school is built upon a previous education. When you pick up the cello (or any instrument) for the first having never touched anything like it before, you're starting from square one. Most of my adult students weren't expecting to encounter that difficulty when they chose the cello, however it seems that the challenge is addicting.

So back to practicing... an important thing to realize here is that we had to take the larger step from A to F# several times before we recognized that doing large step was actually two or three or four baby steps. We added a new baby step by feeling out and hearing out the combination of the current and next notes. ( A, F# (caught the lower string.) A, F# (tone lacked). A, F#(caught the G string). Etc.) By hearing ourselves make a mistake over and over again with forgiving grace and positive reinforcement, we are able to narrow down the source of that speed-bump.

Think about this: a baby doesn't take long, gazelle-like, deep strides directly after crawling. There's the cute pulling-up-onto-the-coffee-table stage, the shimmying-around-the-coffee-table stage, the falling-onto-the-nearest-furniture-from-the-coffee-table stage, and eventually, standing and then slow, small steps. But of course, there's lots of falling-on-diaper-cushioned-baby-bottoms. We have to do the same things when we add a new note, including the falling down.

Using the tangible next ladder rung, a note, we are able to feel out that a note (in this case, the F#) just may be too big a step to take next. This allows us to get to the bottom of the next appropriate step for practice, for the right hand in this case, string crossing. But not JUST cross strings. We magnified our "looking lens" to see that we actually need to cross down a string while at the tip of our bow. Therefore, the next step of practice was to simply rock our bows from A to D at the tip of our bow without making a sound but merely feeling and watching the contact point of our bow touch first the A-string, then the D-string.

All in all, adding a step in practice is a series of fallings. Getting back up, & slowly teaching yourself what the true next step of practice is after falling on the ground. Kinda like life, huh? Interesting... ;-)

Baby Step #1.

2011-01-17T13:40:00.000-08:00

[This is the first of a blog series on Baby Steps.]

Today I gave a 3-note lesson. It was great! Not as boring as some of you may think, not in the least bit! Glenda and I were talking about baby steps. and 3 notes are the perfect tangible amount of baby steps to take in 30 minutes.

After years and years of driving her own children to music lessons, and now witnessing her grandchildren go to their music lessons, Glenda has taken the grand leap to give herself the time to take the music lessons she's always wanted! She played her first recital in December and played her "Twinkles" with a great twinkle in her eye! Way to go Glenda! Glenda has acknowledged that as an adult beginner she's got a long way to go before she gets to where she wants to be as a cellist.

But! Today she made the exclamation "I want to practice 2 hours a day." (Glenda, I will hold you to this desire, believe you me!) I admire her acknowledgement of exactly how badly she wants to be a better cellist and make the sound she hears from the stereo and inside her heart everyday. Acknowledging the desire is a great part of taking the steps to acquiring the skills.

So this morning Glenda and I sat down to our lesson and we began to talk about how we practice.

What does it mean to take baby steps in practice?
How can we divide up the songs we work on?
Rather than just narrow in on three notes and play them over and over (and over and over and...), how do we provide ourselves with the ladder rungs to play sounds that we long to hear from our cellos?
Is there a science, a set of rules to the deductive reasoning we use while practicing?

Today we worked on the first 3 notes of "Lightly Row." [A(0), F#(3), F#(3) --. ]

Baby Step #1 - Recycling your checklist: Playing a note on the A-string, the A in this case, does not just mean play A. Playing the first note of Lightly Row means thinking about all types of posture, bow hold, arm swing, prepping the 3rd finger (and 1st and 2nd fingers), flat wrist, curved fingers, sinking & weighty arms, and more! We start at the very beginning of the first cello lesson we ever had and press "play."

The recycling of thought on all your technique is crucial. It's crucial for a number of reasons. We don't want to train our minds to play something incorrectly. The more we practice an idea as simple as sitting at a 90-degree angle, the more innate it will feel as we move on to further baby steps. Eventually you realize that you don't have to go to that check point as often. But as you'll soon read in later posts, you do need to go back to them eventually, if only for brief moments.

I liken this step to "checking in on someone." Call them up. Ask how things are going. Listen. If they're doing well, smile. If they're doing poorly, listen. Empathize. Help.

I'm trying to do this with more friends and even with myself more often these days. I find myself saying in my life, what a lot of my students say in their lessons... "What?! How and why on earth am I sitting sideways?" "Woah. Why are my shoulders so tense?" Sometimes my physical body demands that I check in on myself. "What!? Where did this cold sore come from? What am I so stressed out about? Why am I craving so much sweet stuff?" or "Okay, I'm getting a migraine. What emotionally traumatic moment did I re-live 3 hours ago?"

Because Thought-Recycling is so crucial, this is where it's great to have a teacher. A great teacher, in my opinion, should always check in on their student regularly. "Oh, you still haven't memorized, 7 + 5, let's go back a little then. Before we attempt to swallow algebra." :-) I realize that I might sound like a broken record to some of my students. But! It's for your own precious good. You'll thank me later, I promise. To this day, I can still hear my first cello teacher, Myrna Trent, talk about curved fingers and bow distribution. (Thank you Myrna!)

Okay, back to Glenda's lesson. Playing the first note of Lightly Row has a TON of checklist items to go through. Glenda and I once wrote out a list of ~100 things she thinks about while playing the cello. No joke. Play that first note several times to allow your brain to go through each one. After you've gone through your checklist items and your senses are satisfied then go on to the next baby step...

Music really is a drug!

2011-01-11T14:13:00.000-08:00

I am totally and utterly hooked on Robyn. She just released her newest albums Body Talk Parts 1, 2 & 3. I've been listening to her for almost 3 months and I can't get enough! I was introduced to Robyn when I was in junior high. She was probably the first musician I listened to on repeat until my family couldn't take it anymore.

I'm not kidding, I'm hooked. Her music is admittedly not genius, it's just freshly addictive. Her lyrics and melodies are constructed in such a way that I'm not ashamed to tell you about the goose bumps I felt when I first heard her "Do You Really Want Me" in 1998. It's weird and hilarious at the same time.

[I'm not the only one! My roommate just ran into the room and started dancing to Robyn's music when she heard her start playing on my laptop. I'm listening to Body Talk Pt 3 as I type these words.]

"Hi, my name is Emily Ann Peterson and I'm addicted to Swedish Pop Stars." I even want her haircut. No joke. Its. that. serious.

Karen Cheng is one of my cello students. I'm grateful to her for always demanding I leave nothing at her door. She is HUNGRY for knowledge and is not afraid of it! We recently had some great conversations in our lessons during her preparation for a presentation at Seattle's Ignite. Please take 5 minutes to watch the video below and learn a little bit about why Robyn is so addicting & why you love the music you do...

On January 9th 2011 the Journal of Nature Neuroscience published some really amazing research. Valorie Salimpoor and several other colleagues of hers have discovered a connection between listening to music and the increased release of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is an adaptive reward-inducing molecule. It's the thing that makes me wake up before I even put the coffee grinds in the french press. It's why I suddenly get hungry for sandwiches when I drive down Fremont Avenue and pass Paseo's. And it's the molecule that provides the heroin addict with a rush before the drug even has time to get in the vein.

The findings from this research is a gem for the combined worlds of Music, Psychology, Pedagogy, and Science. I can't wait to see what new nuggets of knowledge come from these smart cookies called neuroscientists. "It is amazing that we can release dopamine in anticipation of something abstract, complex and not concrete," Salimpoor said. "This is the first study to show that dopamine can be released in response to an aesthetic stimulus."

The combination of these findings along with Karen's mathematical magic (and a LOT of other stuff) brings us closer to the perfect scientific construction of the healthily addictive score of music. [Is that even possible? Do I even want to know if I want that to exist? Probably not. Pandora's box? Perhaps.]

As some of you may well know, it is my long-term goal to get my PhD in Psychology. Rather than consume knowledge by studying the subject of Music Therapy, I want to actually create knowledge for the world of music as a therapy tool through research and experience in teaching cello lessons. I've already experienced first-hand some truly beautiful moments with each of my cello students and I'd love to share those warm fuzzies through new research in this budding field.

This year, just like last year, holds some new professional resolutions and goals. A close friend has suggested I begin to "collect data" for my future book. I don't know if it will become anything more than my thesis. But collecting the raw thoughts from each week of teaching has already proved to be really beneficial for myself and my students.

I encourage my current students or parents of students to begin thinking of the ways you and your brain are affected by music and the cello. How do you feel before and after your lessons? How do you feel before and after you practice? What contributes to this change? What combinations of notes and tone make your brain act like mine does when I listen to Robyn? Do you catch yourself practicing because you want to hear yourself play a certain song? Or do you dread practicing? Why? Let me know. I'd love this to be a conversation that continues throughout 2011.

How about it? Do you have any musical or cello-y new years resolutions?

Bryan's bow hold

2011-01-11T13:01:00.000-08:00

An army of cellos!

2010-12-18T18:28:00.001-08:00

An army of cellos!

A text convo between one of my cello students and her downstairs neighbor! So cute!

2010-11-11T12:12:00.001-08:00

December 18th Recital

2010-11-03T18:34:00.000-07:00

Click on the poster to RSVP on facebook!

Rohan: C is for cello

2010-10-26T16:01:00.001-07:00

Charles' bow hold!

2010-10-26T10:28:00.001-07:00

Charles' bow hold

Nina's bow hold!

2010-10-25T15:06:00.001-07:00

Glenda's elbow placement

2010-10-14T18:44:00.001-07:00

C is for cello!

2010-10-11T18:44:00.001-07:00

Ooo! what a good bow hold!

2010-09-14T12:28:00.001-07:00

Linda's Rigadoon! Love it!

2010-08-12T13:46:00.001-07:00

One of my lovely student's, Linda, had the assignment of writing out the song she's currently learning. Because she's a kinesthetic learner (learns best by "doing") I needed her to use her hands and body to get to know the song better.

We both noted that Rigadoon is a Sandwich song-form. Her favorite sandwich? Peanut Butter & Nutella. A+ Linda!

A Lesson with Stephen Balderston

2010-08-05T13:44:00.000-07:00

I've been at Marrowstone this past week. I'm sharing the role of Student Life Coordinator with my good friend and bassist, Scott Teske. Aside from getting to chew out a few rebellious curfew-breakers, one of my favorite highlights has been taking a cello lesson with Stephen Balderston.

The hour with him was mine to use how I wanted (which is always great.) We talked "teacher-talk" for awhile. I wanted to bring up a few issues I've noticed with my students, things like bow holds, pronation, supenation, left hand fluidity, vibrato, tone, etc.

He suggested reading a few books, which I've already ordered from the interwebs. The first, which he mentioned in a masterclass that I missed (due to a camper's trip to the ER), The Talent Code. This one seems to align perfectly with my own philosophy of talent: "Talent is not born, it's grown." I can't wait to read how the author brings other disciplines like soccer, academics, writing, social skills, etc. together to prove this point.

Mr. Balderston also suggested using ideas from the book Playing the String Game, which has tons of games with secret motives for teachers to use in classes and private lessons. I'm always looking for more ways to convey teaching points and cello technique.

Aside from talking teacher-stuff, we got to work on my own personal technique. I'm so glad that he was as picky as he was - the things he brought up are the very things I've secretly wanted to improve for awhile now.

I tend to speed up my bow ever so slightly on the down-bow changes, causing the tiniest of separation between bows. This is a problem that no audience would be able to pick up on, but once fixed makes for a much easier listen. Remedy? Move my wrist less. It's not as simple of a fix as you'd think. Just takes slow, long bows and a very attentive ear.

I've got to get back to playing games with the brilliant students who are here. Marrowstone hosts some of the most talented children and young adults! I'm honored to witness each of them grow in talent through these two weeks. I can't believe it's almost over!

Stephanie's bow hold! sahweet!!

2010-07-22T15:52:00.001-07:00

Glenda's bow hold! :-)

2010-07-20T11:00:00.001-07:00

clean water benefit concert tonight.

2010-05-15T17:56:00.001-07:00

Oh, the dialog!

2010-05-06T08:50:00.000-07:00

"Whateva! Whateva, I do what I want!" - Cartman, Southpark

That's the beautiful part of being self-employed. I can do "whateva" I want. I'm able to barter services for other services, such as cello lessons for guitar lessons. Tara Ward is both my new student and my new teacher.

It's a good exercise to begin again from scratch with an instrument. The feelings that were so strong when I started the cello are a little closer in my memory than they used to be. "What the heck are my fingers trying to do here?!" or "Why won't they just do what I want them to do?!"

It's the same feelings, except the things I've learned and taught my students have become a routine internal dialog. The negative self-talk I had in high school during practice sessions has become the same dialog I have with my cello students in class/lessons. This is such a good thing. & boy, do I not miss that kind of self-talk...

Black or White Thinking (You’re either perfect or a total failure!)
Catastrophic Thinking (Exaggerating the significance of one single event!)
Pessimistic Thinking (Seeing only the negatives and assuming the worst!)
Self-fulfilling Prophecy
Should Statements (Being ruled by a rigid set of rules!)
“It’s-not-my-fault” Thinking (Shifting responsibility for your behaviors!)
Mind Reading (Assuming people are thinking the worst about you!)
Discounting (Can’t accept positive feedback!)
Comparing (Always comparing self to others!)

The funny thing is that after just re-reading that list (thank you random pdf from UCLA via google), my first thought was, "Boy is that a lot of exclamation points." But it's true that's exactly how a practice session feels when you've got a negative self-dialog. It's awful.

My honest to God belief is that is the only reason why someone would begin to hate practicing. I can think of a few relationships I've had with folks who have an external negative dialog. They are no fun to be around. Your relationship with your practice sessions can be just as toxic as any other relationship.

Fortunately the only way to learn something is to teach it - in this case, for me, it's the negative self-talk. There's no way that I would make the same presumptuous accusations towards my own students! Heaven's to Betsy! That'd be a terrible experience for both of us. Unbeknownst to me, I've been practicing the correct self-dialog with my students.

So as I'm trying to teach my clumsy right-hand fingers a wee bit more autonomy through finger picking on the guitar, I'm discovering both the familiar feelings of drowning in unfamiliarity and also the bright new voice in the dialog of practicing. I want to remind myself of the most important facets of learning an instrument and a very important facet of living - effective and encouraging self-dialog. I only hope that my students can get a glimpse of how to better treat themselves through practicing and through their lessons.

Denise Louie audience. :-)

2010-04-26T15:11:00.001-07:00

cello time!

a wee little Bach.

my little assistant.

feeling the cello vibrate.

Amber! :-)

2010-04-19T19:56:00.001-07:00

Amber's bow hold.

bent thumb.

Karen's bow hold

2010-04-19T15:31:00.001-07:00

bear hug.

2010-04-14T09:35:00.001-07:00

Story

2010-04-11T11:52:00.000-07:00

This year has been a season of "Story." I've sought to define it for myself, ask what contributes to it, and brought this concept to the table in my relationships. I've even pursued inserting it into my profession of music more often than it already does. Songs, especially pop songs, have story. They are written out of tension, sorrow, love, anger resulting from a story. As a musician who doesn't write songs from scratch very often, interpreting someone else's story is my main prerogative when I'm on stage.

Before I teach a student a new song, we usually discuss this concept of "story." You see, an audience wants to hear a good story through your song. They love it. Especially if you set it up for them to hear the story well. "Which story are you going to tell with the song 'Long, Long Ago?,'" I say, "Will you interpret the ascending line as an ascending volume? tension? clarity? or will you interpret the ascending melody line as somber, sorrowful, or sweet? What picture are you painting for the ears that hear your song?"

So I ask, what stories have impacted your life in this season? How will you tell that story to others? What pictures are you painting for the ears that hear your song?

I can't wait to read Donald Miller's new book: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. I hear its pretty good one to read if you're into "story..."

Freedom! (July)

2009-06-29T14:43:00.000-07:00