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Today, we ran the concerto straight through and corrected some mistakes. There were some intonation problems at E when going from the E4 to the C5. I also need to work on tone in the last page. After the concerto, we went over bowings for Bach and plans for the next semester.

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In this lesson, we worked on a piece called "Invictus" that I'm going to play with the chamber singers for their spring concert. I w as also joined by some of the singers while I had my lesson so that made it super fun. I made a change to the bowings in Invictus so that I can end on a down bow on a fermata. After that, we worked on some Saint-Saens then the lesson ended.

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Worked more on the Saint-Saens Concerto today. I need to stop accenting certain notes in section D and need to add a big crescendo before the piano's solo at E. Then I need to work on getting the speed in the last two pages down.

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In this lesson, we went over Bach Cello suite No. 1 in G major Prelude and Saint Saenes cello concerto. For the Bach, I need to play it slower and emphasize the modulations that take place. In the second half I need to change the fingering in a chromatic line and connect the string crossing section. For Saint Saens, need to work on not ritarding too early in the B section, not add more notes in the C section, and use the correct Boeing on the D section. Overall, pretty good lesson.

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Started to look at some sections that I think I needed the most work on for the Saint-Saens Concerto. I also went over all of the accompaniment part with my pianist friend which is awesome. I think what I need to do is learn how to relax my bow arm more since it feels pretty tired after playing the concerto a few times. Overall excited to play my jury!

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At about 7:00 worked with my pianist friend Ethan on practicing the cello concerto. There were several sections that needed help being put together. The section was the last 4 pages of the piano part. I also need to work on some of the runs and the chord section. But overall a great practice for today.

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Worked on some music for a gig, Bach cello suite No.1, piatti caprice no. 1 and the Saint Saens concerto. For the gig music, I just gotta figure out the fingering and bowing I plan on using. For the piatti, there are some parts that have some tricky finger coordination that I’m going to ask my teacher about. I also am noticing that my right hand is a bit tense while playing it. Though the piatti is going pretty smoothly. For the Bach, I focused on the finger coordination in the beginning and some of the strong crossing section. I’m not trying to make every not sing “peace” while I play it. For the concerto, I worked on the D section and some of the B section by playing it slowly with a metronome then bumping it up once I have the coordination down. Overall, I’d say it was a pretty productive practice session.

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Probably my favorite cellist is the Russian Mistlav Rostroprovich. His tone, intonation, and interpretation are amazing. He is considered one of the greatest cellists to ever live. I think to help me practice like him, I need to be more relaxed and accurate in my playing.
Video: https://www.youtube.c/watch?v=h23WjKXDe4w&t=387s

Another musician who inspires me is my friend Brian Edwards. He plays guitar and violin and is good at both of those instruments. What inspires me about him, is that he started guitar when he was in college and got super good in a few years. This gives me hope that even though I started my cello playing late, I can catch up to those who have been playing awhile. His tone and accuracy is what I strive to imitate I also take inspiration from his very precise and focused practice strategies he tells me about.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hguoBB7NYdo

And lastly, is my old boy scout friend Micah Sanders. Micah started cello at the age of 15 which is considered very late for stringed instruments. He worked super hard and was able to graduate from Wheaton college with a degree in cello performance. Now, he is getting ready to audition for the Chicago Philharmonic if I remember correctly. His practice tips, such as long bows and clicks, that he told me about have really helped me improve my tone. His playing is very emotional and his tone is fantastic. In the summer I hope to take lessons from him.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUCI1-oaBvg

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Rostropovich, Shostakovich Cello Concerto no.1

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Today, I practiced the Piatti Caprice No. 1, Bach Cello Suite No. 1, and Camille Saint Saens Cello concerto.
The piatti caprice is coming a long nicely, still need to fix a shifting error and relax. Worked on the fingering, bowing, and tempo my teacher wanted me to work on. Still a bit awkward in the beginning so that’s gonna need some work. For the cello concerto, I need to work on finding the B in the B section before I come in, the chord part, making the scale runs more fluent and even, and vibrato on the slow sections. Was a pretty good day of practice.

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This is probably the longest term goal. Sometimes, I'm not too confident where a note is and shift my finger ever so slightly up or down. this actually makes the note go out of tune because I sike myself out. so I think this is one of the major things i gotta work on.

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When I try to play fast passages, one of my hands sometimes isn't in sync with the other and messes up a passage. I think this is one of the major goals I wanna complete during this semester.

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I think this will come with more practice and working on exercises with the bow, I'm for sure gonna ask my teacher for some exercises for this.