Sometimes I get the question of why I don’t do repeats of the same songs often on Cello Diaries. People wonder if I tend to play it once and walk away from the piece. The answer is simple, and two fold. First, I don’t play it once and then walk away. Second I do tend to do some repeats on Cello Diaries, and will most likely revisit some of the same pieces down the line, but I also like to mix it up each week. Sometimes I play the pieces I have better than others, and then there are times when I play the pieces that need a lot more work. The fact that I don’t do repeats week after week by no means translates into my no longer practicing the piece.
I know my learning style. The same learning techniques don’t work for everybody. I get bored very quickly and very easily. So the idea that I’ll only work on one piece plus the skill building exercises is definitely out of my book. I know that doing this will lead to boredom. When I get bored I don’t want to practice. When I don’t want to practice, but force myself to do it, practice becomes a chore. When practice becomes a chore I wonder why I’m doing it. Seriously, there are so many things in life that I have to do, not because I want to, but because I have to, and I don’t see a need to make music one of those things. So the point where I start to hate playing is the part when I quit playing.
To avoid boredom, and ultimately a rejection of music studies, I keep my practice sessions diverse and interesting. For example, last week I worked on a folk song from book one of my study book while working on skill building exercises from book three, trying to figure out a piece from my past, and playing a piece from a more advanced cello sheet music book that I have. It’s been busy and diverse, and I am happy to say I have made progress with all pieces…even those pesky skill builders.
This week, so far, I’m really trying to keep working vibrato into practice. Let’s face it, it’s not one of my strong points…but I think it’s worth learning so I keep trying. I don’t spend the entire session working on it. I tend to spend about five or ten minutes, just depending on how things are going with practice. A little bit goes a long way and I know that with constant practice I’ll one day get it.
So, I hope that answer the question. But just to recap:
1. Yes, I keep working on pieces even though I don’t play them every week on Cello Diaries.
2. I like to keep things diverse and so, while there will be repeated pieces, it won’t be on a weekly basis. Technically I don’t post weekly anymore so it couldn’t be on a weekly basis anyway. There is one piece; one that I am working on now, that I believe might become a staple on the show. That is to say that if I play it in the first post of the month (i.e. July) then I’ll keep practicing and play it again in the first post of August. Unless I make major leaps throughout the month and in that case I’ll just “play it again Sam” in the second post of the month.
If you’re waiting to hear some of the previous pieces played again, stick around. I’m sure some of them will resurface on Cello Diaries in the future.
Thanks for watching, emailing and asking questions.
. It was really nice getting to meet you in Cyberspace. I hope you all have a wonderful life.
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