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Being a Student

I have started taking cello lessons as a registered (non-degree) student from a member of my university's Music Department. I have been a part of music ensembles for most of my life since the third grade, now over 55 years ago. I played clarinet for thirteen years, classical guitar for nine months, and have been in choral ensembles almost all of my life. For each of these activities I started as a simple beginner and am one again.

I think aside from growing personally in music that I adore I like to think that it is useful to students in these ensembles to see me be a student though I am a teacher in other contexts. It is sad to think of all the adults who chose to stop learning, that they know enough.

I have long loved the sound, the timbre of the cello, both in ensembles and as a solo instrument. Its range feels right for my vocal range as a bass singer, and so these notes are familiar to me. Something about the agility of the instrument in the lower range seems to imbue its music with more power and significance. 

I shared my background with my instructor; I have read music for many decades and am quite familiar with the bass clef. I am pretty good with much of the theory but am just at the beginning of applying it, getting used to the kinesthesia of leaning the instrument against me, learning good bow technique, developing strong fingering of the strings so that my fingers don't dampen them. When I grow frustrated I just play an open string and let the sound resonate in the room, comforting me.

Starting the cello is for me a concrete step toward retirement, as I have long planned to learn to play it in my retirement. It hit me hard this summer that I should take advantage of where I am to start with lessons now before retiring.

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