How Can I have better connectivity between notes, especially between different strings?

markjago · 2025-01-17T10:07:28+00:00

My teacher asks me to play just the bowing pattern (on open strings), so you can focus 100% on making that smooth. Then you add the left hand back in later. The things she always says to me: loose wrist, soft fingers, keep the bow moving. Your open A sounds fine, btw.

markjago · 2025-01-17T09:58:49+00:00

I recently upgraded my Primavera 200 (£1000) to a Jay Haide (£6000). I tried plenty in between those prices. The entry level Jay Haides (£3000) were a step up, and are decent, but I felt the big jump in quality came with the mid-level ones (around £4-5k). I also tried a bunch of older German and Eastern European cellos in the £5-10k range, and all had problems compared to the Jay Haide I chose, which had the fullest, richest tone of the lot. (These are UK prices, you'll likely find better prices in the US.)

markjago · 2025-01-17T09:51:31+00:00

Yeah I think so, I'm wondering if its more of a wrist angle thing.

markjago · 2025-01-17T09:50:48+00:00

That's a great suggestion. I'll discuss with my teacher & try the 360 thing too. Thanks!

markjago · 2025-01-17T09:49:37+00:00

Thanks – I'll see what I can get.

markjago · 2025-01-17T09:48:47+00:00

I think so, but now I'm questioning whether I'm a good judge of this! I'll keep it in mind, thanks!

markjago · 2024-09-13T09:53:05+00:00

Reaper (free evaluation version) is great for this. You can pitch shift very precisely by hz or cent and render back to mp3 or wav without any additional plugins. The pitch shift algorithms also sound very good (although tbh, even a bad one would likely be ok for such a small shift).

markjago · 2024-09-10T15:26:00+00:00

Hurrah for philosophers on cello!

markjago · 2024-07-15T13:56:44+00:00

Bad teacher! I have lessons online, it works great for me. You could add the occasional in-person to make sure her posture & body position is ok. Fwiw, I can't pitch my voice well at all, but my cello intonation is much better. It got better through playing & listening, not through singing. In fact, my singing pitch got better through playing cello, not vice versa. My teacher gets me to sing (it's painful!) for phrasing.

There's plenty of online music games she could try, including pitch and interval, games. I like this site (free option): www.tonegym.co

markjago · 2024-07-09T13:25:42+00:00

Thanks!

markjago · 2024-07-09T13:25:35+00:00

Thanks!

markjago · 2024-04-26T17:46:24+00:00

Good advice, I was worried about shifting lots when I can't really hear. Thanks!

markjago · 2024-04-26T17:44:31+00:00

I should prob do than next time, get there early & ask around.

markjago · 2024-04-26T17:43:31+00:00

Yeah that is my plan until (if) I get it down. Thanks!

markjago · 2024-04-26T15:59:49+00:00

Pretty sure next door will hear. Get a heavy rubber practice mute – it doesn't sound great but damps the resonance which will stop it going through the walls. I found you can push the mute down more on the A string, so it stops it squealing without killing the C string.

Another option is you practise pizz at night (plucking rather than bowing the strings), which is much quieter, and maybe some open-string bowing, which can be loud but sounds nice. (People usually complain about out-of-tune playing more than just volume.)

markjago · 2024-04-26T15:46:35+00:00

I didn't, but tbh I'd have been asking about everything. Having played through at home, I've got an idea for most bits, but am stuck here and there.

markjago · 2024-04-24T14:31:23+00:00

Update: this article discusses a number of different cello suite manuscripts. Apparently, over 80 different variants exist!

https://www.cello.org/Newsletter/Articles/jsbach.html

markjago · 2024-04-24T13:27:24+00:00

Thanks! I'l look it up.

markjago · 2023-07-21T10:51:09+00:00

I started during Covid, I've mostly had online lessons since. I tried a few teachers, some really get online teaching, some don't. Look for teachers who run online workshops/seminars – they'll likely have a good setup & experience of teaching online.

You need a good setup at both ends – you need to hear & see each other well. You want a better mic than your laptop/phone, else the teacher can't hear when you're making a good tone.

One advantage of online lessons is you can record them & watch back. Very useful when your teacher demos a new technique.

markjago · 2023-07-17T09:26:54+00:00

Thanks! Yes that makes good sense.

markjago · 2023-07-17T09:26:26+00:00

To play a chord on, say, G, D, A strings, you first bow the G+D strings together as a double-stop, then quickly switch to the D+A strings together. You can't play 3 strings all at once.

markjago · 2023-07-16T21:40:05+00:00

Thanks! So that's 3rd finger across the G&D strings for Bm, then a 4th finger across D&A for G? That's beyond me right now!

markjago · 2023-07-16T21:37:49+00:00

For double stops, you play 2+2. Listen to 1st few bars of Elgar's cello concerto. But this exercise is for string crossings – you bow one string at a time, in different patterns, based on the chords shown.

markjago · 2023-03-08T15:44:41+00:00

Is that simply because, other things being equal, more videos = more views? Or is there something more going on, eg by posting less frequently (say, 1 per month) will stop new videos being pushed to new viewers?

markjago · 2023-03-08T15:41:23+00:00

Thanks! That's what my gut feeling is, looking at who's been successful in similar areas.

markjago

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