Sadly, I don't have much progress to report from this past week. The end of the year assignments and projects are kicking my butt, and I haven't had nearly as much time as I would like to have to practice my cello. I talked to Elaina, and she completely agrees-- it's difficult to learn a new instrument with only one day a week to work on it. Hopefully things slow down and we can start making a significant amount of progress.
My goal for this next week is to learn how to play a simple song from the beginner's book. I know a few fingerings and am working on a scale, so I don't think that it will be too difficult... Hopefully I'll have more to report back with next week!
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Mission Accomplished: Cello Acquired
Friends, it is with a happy heart that I tell you... I got a cello! And because I finally got a hold of a cello, Elaina was able to teach me techniques/fingerings/how to hold the darn thing in the time we had. Even though I've barely played it, I know it's going to be a total blast learning how to play and I'm so excited :)
Elaina taught me a scale, showed me how to play the classic "Hot Cross Buns", and sent me home with a couple of beginners books (which I have yet to crack open... I'm determined to master H.C.B. before I do so). I knew that playing a stringed instrument was obviously going to be different from playing a woodwind instrument, but it's such a dramatic change; I'm hoping that with more practice I become more comfortable with the cello and don't have to look at my finger placements in-between every note (it's a painfully-slow process to watch).
Sadly, we ran out of time on Friday before Elaina could show me what she worked on with her flute over spring break, but I'm sure it was perfected-- she's seriously a natural!
I'll try to remember to post a picture of me with my cello next time. I'll hold off posting a video until I get better... Trust me, I'm doing you a favor.
Elaina taught me a scale, showed me how to play the classic "Hot Cross Buns", and sent me home with a couple of beginners books (which I have yet to crack open... I'm determined to master H.C.B. before I do so). I knew that playing a stringed instrument was obviously going to be different from playing a woodwind instrument, but it's such a dramatic change; I'm hoping that with more practice I become more comfortable with the cello and don't have to look at my finger placements in-between every note (it's a painfully-slow process to watch).
Sadly, we ran out of time on Friday before Elaina could show me what she worked on with her flute over spring break, but I'm sure it was perfected-- she's seriously a natural!
I'll try to remember to post a picture of me with my cello next time. I'll hold off posting a video until I get better... Trust me, I'm doing you a favor.
Monday, April 7, 2014
First Blog: Hollllla
To be quite honest, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to address/who my audience is/what I'm actually doing so... Here we go :)
Well, not much progress has been made in my knowledge of the cello since the 20-time project officially started last Friday. It was kind of a disaster, actually. First, we figured that in order for Elaina to teach me how to play the cello, we'd have to acquire one. We made the journey down to the orchestra room... and 20 minutes and two arguments with the administrators later, we were still empty-handed. It turns out that students are not allowed to take any instruments out of the room (even though it had already been cleared by the orchestra teacher earlier that day... Yes, I may still be a little bitter). So, yeah. I should probably get my hands on a cello sooner than later.
In other news, I was able to rent out a flute for Elaina and get her a couple of beginners books a couple of weeks ago. Let me just say, SHE IS A NATURAL. You have to know that it is very rare for someone to make a sound out of the headjoint the first time they blow in to it, and she got a nice sound out of that sucker. A week later, she was able to play the B-flat scale, Jolly Old St. Nicholas, and Yankee Doodle. You could say I was born to teach (or Elaina taught herself everything... either is fine).
So, I'm really hoping that we can get a hold of a cello soon... time is ticking. Also, I'm just really excited to get started learning how to play a stringed instrument :)
#BandandOrchestraUnite
Well, not much progress has been made in my knowledge of the cello since the 20-time project officially started last Friday. It was kind of a disaster, actually. First, we figured that in order for Elaina to teach me how to play the cello, we'd have to acquire one. We made the journey down to the orchestra room... and 20 minutes and two arguments with the administrators later, we were still empty-handed. It turns out that students are not allowed to take any instruments out of the room (even though it had already been cleared by the orchestra teacher earlier that day... Yes, I may still be a little bitter). So, yeah. I should probably get my hands on a cello sooner than later.
In other news, I was able to rent out a flute for Elaina and get her a couple of beginners books a couple of weeks ago. Let me just say, SHE IS A NATURAL. You have to know that it is very rare for someone to make a sound out of the headjoint the first time they blow in to it, and she got a nice sound out of that sucker. A week later, she was able to play the B-flat scale, Jolly Old St. Nicholas, and Yankee Doodle. You could say I was born to teach (or Elaina taught herself everything... either is fine).
So, I'm really hoping that we can get a hold of a cello soon... time is ticking. Also, I'm just really excited to get started learning how to play a stringed instrument :)
#BandandOrchestraUnite
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