I’m an adult beginner. I’m a woman of average height, and in the pursuit of ease of playing, I decided to choose the height of my cello to fit where my bow automatically lands in the middle lane. It has improved my playing a lot, because I don’t have to stretch to make a good sound.
Thank you! I do something similar in my warmup. After checking tuning and loosening up. I like the lane concept. Kayson B. Refers this as the Forte Freeway. I repeat that to myself as a mantra. I also use a mirror and find the angle is distorted. I see in the mirror my bow looks angled but when I look down it’s straight. Mirror and camera angles can be deceptive.
Thanks for your comment! I like the "Forte Freeway." I hadn't heard that before. You are right about the deceptive angles. When I look in the mirror, I think more than the angle, I'm watching to make sure my bow is not drifting out of the lane unintentionally.
@@cellodrewi think they refer to the way you "open" your arm - or better don't. Your ellbow seems to move only horizontally, maybe therefore you lift your shoulder... It's hard for me to put it into words, but to me your movement also lookd unusual.
This was a helpful video! I’ve been practicing closer to the bridge to produce a “core” sound, a sound that is focused, clear, and has more overtones that allow the sound to project. I notice that it is incredibly hard to play shorter notes because my bow cannot activate the string in such a short amount of time. Is lane 5 playing more suited for long notes and do we tend to play faster notes further away from the bridge? I suppose we have to sacrifice the core sound to play the faster notes, then?
Thanks for a great question! You are absolutely right that playing closer to the bridge produces a more focussed tone. Of course, it's all relative to the dynamics, articulations, styles, timbre etc. As you play shorter notes, you do need to move farther from the bridge than with sustained notes. For the most part, I am only in lane five for melodic passages in louder dynamics and more often in the higher register. I rarely play as close to the bridge as in the video but, that practice makes it easier to get closer to the bridge when needed. Truly beautiful and refined playing comes with many hours of focussed experimentation. We always have to strive for more but go with what our ears tell us. It sounds like you are on the right track!
I hope you find this exercise useful. Check out this video of the great Canadian cellist, Zara Nelsova. I learned this exercise from her and in this amazing performance you can see she really practiced what she preached! ruclips.net/video/RlJM3PsG12M/видео.html
Huh? Are you kidding me? Your bow was CROOKED throughout the video! Best way to practice the bow is using mirror. Sorry to say youre not doing to well.
Thanks for commenting. You are 100%right about practicing in front of a mirror. As for the bow angle, it was not so much a matter of poor cello technique as poor camera work. I agree that it looks very crooked in the video and I could have shot from a better angel. I made this follow up video to address the bow angel: ruclips.net/video/ba_aSzYLa0s/видео.html
I'm sorry you found this video misleading. You don't go into detail but I'm going to assume you are referring to the fact that my bow looks crooked in the video, which it certainly does. This was more a matter of poor camera angle than poor cello skills. Since you took the time to comment, I hope you will take a few minutes to watch this followup video which addresses the bow angle issue: ruclips.net/video/ba_aSzYLa0s/видео.htmlfeature=shared
I’m an adult beginner. I’m a woman of average height, and in the pursuit of ease of playing, I decided to choose the height of my cello to fit where my bow automatically lands in the middle lane. It has improved my playing a lot, because I don’t have to stretch to make a good sound.
Thanks for an excellent comment! There are many factors that effect the bow and the height of the cello is one I didn't mention in the video.
Thank you! I do something similar in my warmup. After checking tuning and loosening up. I like the lane concept. Kayson B. Refers this as the Forte Freeway. I repeat that to myself as a mantra. I also use a mirror and find the angle is distorted. I see in the mirror my bow looks angled but when I look down it’s straight. Mirror and camera angles can be deceptive.
Thanks for your comment! I like the "Forte Freeway." I hadn't heard that before. You are right about the deceptive angles. When I look in the mirror, I think more than the angle, I'm watching to make sure my bow is not drifting out of the lane unintentionally.
@@cellodrewi think they refer to the way you "open" your arm - or better don't. Your ellbow seems to move only horizontally, maybe therefore you lift your shoulder...
It's hard for me to put it into words, but to me your movement also lookd unusual.
Thank you! This help alot
Thank you!
This was a helpful video! I’ve been practicing closer to the bridge to produce a “core” sound, a sound that is focused, clear, and has more overtones that allow the sound to project. I notice that it is incredibly hard to play shorter notes because my bow cannot activate the string in such a short amount of time. Is lane 5 playing more suited for long notes and do we tend to play faster notes further away from the bridge? I suppose we have to sacrifice the core sound to play the faster notes, then?
Thanks for a great question! You are absolutely right that playing closer to the bridge produces a more focussed tone. Of course, it's all relative to the dynamics, articulations, styles, timbre etc. As you play shorter notes, you do need to move farther from the bridge than with sustained notes. For the most part, I am only in lane five for melodic passages in louder dynamics and more often in the higher register. I rarely play as close to the bridge as in the video but, that practice makes it easier to get closer to the bridge when needed. Truly beautiful and refined playing comes with many hours of focussed experimentation. We always have to strive for more but go with what our ears tell us. It sounds like you are on the right track!
Thanks for the detailed response! I am a beginner player and I find this kind of experienced insight to be really helpful!@@cellodrew
Always happy to help!
I hope you find this exercise useful. Check out this video of the great Canadian cellist, Zara Nelsova. I learned this exercise from her and in this amazing performance you can see she really practiced what she preached!
ruclips.net/video/RlJM3PsG12M/видео.html
Huh? Are you kidding me? Your bow was CROOKED throughout the video! Best way to practice the bow is using mirror. Sorry to say youre not doing to well.
Thanks for commenting. You are 100%right about practicing in front of a mirror. As for the bow angle, it was not so much a matter of poor cello technique as poor camera work. I agree that it looks very crooked in the video and I could have shot from a better angel. I made this follow up video to address the bow angel: ruclips.net/video/ba_aSzYLa0s/видео.html
Thank you I found this a helpful exercise. Good detailed commentary
He is not aware of what he is actually doing. His bow arm is not functioning properly. His ideas are very misleading.
I'm sorry you found this video misleading. You don't go into detail but I'm going to assume you are referring to the fact that my bow looks crooked in the video, which it certainly does. This was more a matter of poor camera angle than poor cello skills. Since you took the time to comment, I hope you will take a few minutes to watch this followup video which addresses the bow angle issue: ruclips.net/video/ba_aSzYLa0s/видео.htmlfeature=shared