Releasing tension in the wrist when bowing the cello.
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- Опубликовано: 3 фев 2025
- Jamie Fiste, Professor of Cello at Central Michigan University, discusses the importance of keeping your wrist in your bow hand relaxed and free from tension, allowing freedom of movement via passive motion. For articles and helpful videos, please see www.celloprofessor.com.
I have watched easily a hundred cello instruction videos on RUclips. Andre Navarra's remains unchallenged among comprehensive instructions, but this one takes the crown among one pointers. Truly revelatory. Thank you!!
Thank you! Appreciated!
Sir.... you are a great teacher... !! I learnt more about my wrist tension problems in these seven minutes than I learnt over 5 years of cello lessons..!!
Thank you..
Thank you, dvoulio. It's good to hear when a video is helpful!
Came here to say this
wordd this was so helpful
A marvelous lesson. Thank you for posting. Will be following all of your videos. I never learned this at Meadowmount 60 years ago.
I apologize! I didn't see your comment. Thank you for watching and your kind words!
This was a great explanation video!! Thank you! I agree that this should be taught to beginner cellist as it forces you to have no tension in the hands and wrists.
Thank you, Chris!
Really useful tips for self learning, gonna pratice that on my instrument then! 🙏
Thank you so much for the information. I'm just now getting back to the cello playing after a wrist injury a little over a year ago. I still can't play a lot of fast stuff yet. Getting there.
Sorry to hear about your wrist. Take it slow and don't overdue. Here is what Dr Charness recommends after an injury (specializes in musicians injuries in Boston): First day: 2 min morning; second day: 2 min morning and 2 min afternoon: third day: 2 min morning, 2 min afternoon, 2 minutes evening; Fourth day: 4 minutes morning, 2 min afternoon, 2 minutes evening, then 4+4+2, 4+4+4, 6+4+4. 6+6+4. 6+6+6 and so on. You'll be up to an hour after a month. It ensures you don't reinjure.
Thank you Professor! This is very helpful! I am a beginner and I am so glad that I get to watch this video whilst I am when I am in beginner stage 😃 a good wrist movement goes a long way!
Congrats on beginning to learn the cello! Glad the video helped!
Working on this! Thanks for the amazing drills!
Thank you for watching!
I just didn't get about what you think is an active motion and what is the passive motion... could you explain here further? thanks so much, this vis helping a lot
This is very helpful. I've just tried it and feel much relaxed now. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the comment!
This is a great video I started cello at 40yo and now 43 but struggling to relax the wrist. In theory sounds so easy but definitely my biggest cello challenge.
My teacher points out the issue but this is some good exercises hopefully help me overcome it. Without a bow hold it is relaxed but adding the pencil or bow it locks up. But the pencil less so, so seems like good way to develop more than move to bow.
Additional can see I have too much shoulder movement
absolutely helpful!
Thanks for the very helpful video!
I have a wonderful teacher. Fantastic. We’ve been working on this very issue and I call this new looseness, “Slippy Wrist”. My very serious teacher said! “I will never call it Slippy Wrist”. Lmao. We had a good laugh about it.
Thank you for this! Quite helpful. God bless.
Thank you! Glad it was helpful!
Please could you do a video on releasing tension in the shoulder when bowing. I find mine up by my ears and my deltoid/pecs so tight 🙈
I have an unbearable pain in my right wrist when I’m playing. Do you have any advice :)?
How can I take your classes? I am a 40 year old beginner (1 year) and I am also a teacher (15 years). I know when I see a teacher/professor who is effective! Many thanks for your helpful techniques, explained in a way I haven’t yet seen on video. 🙏
Anyway, enjoying the process and happy to have found you!
Hi professor, I have an another question for the wrist: does the wrist always follow the motion of the forearm (passive movement) OR sometimes it could move actively? I am asking this is because I found myself with flexible wrist but maybe too flexible. Sometimes my wrist is actively moving. Would you mind to answer this question? Much appreciated!
Thanks man, you are a great teacher.
I play cello for 6 Years, i am in a "student level", and i often have struggle with my right wrist: when i play something that it's fast, my right wrist suffer that and It hurt in a minute or less.
Do u think that maybe my wrist isn't in a correct position?Lemme know.
Sorry for english, greetings from Italy 🇮🇹
I have gone to your bio and looked at your teachers- for example Karen Buranskas who was schooled by some of the very best artists and technicians- Starker, Piatigorsky and Parisot, or Laurien Laufman a student of Starker, Parisot, Navarra and Tortelier- so it is not unusual that you should have such a strong understanding of the physiological aspects of technique and much more. I don't know anything about your first teacher Kathleen Lester, but judging from the pedigree of some of the musicians of the Milwaukee Symphony I can well imagine her as a strong player and, judging by your own teaching, an excellent pedagogue.
These people in our heartland are hidden gems in our musical culture that we should appreciate and respect. Would that we spent more time on our arts, cultural life, and our science- and technology both applied and theoretical- instead of finance- and political science and economics, both pseudo sciences - and the privatization of our resources. IMHO, if we did, we could again have a real economy generating wealth and a better quality of life for us all.
Thank you for your comments and kind words! So sorry for my delay too. Yes, I have been blessed to have had amazing teachers. I owe each of them so much. Thank you for watching!
Thank you.... this helps
if i have cramping in the area between my thumb and index finger what would that mean
you might be pinching the bow too tight
Thank you so much, my hand feels much more relaxed. Hopefully it will help me not to grip my bow too much.
I have a question for you, can you explain how to get a good sound in forte dynamics without putting too much tension in your bow arm and clenching it? I've been struggling to find a way to play powerfully and with a good sound without stiffing my arm. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful! First, I would suggest not thinking of the power coming from anywhere in the hand or fingers. The fingers are just transmitters of power that originates up the arm, even all the way down to the lower back; there's one unbroken line of power from your lower back, up your back, down your arm and through your hand and fingers. Also, know that the power goes through the front of the hand (fingers 1 and 2) and the thumb exerts an equal force up. The rest of the hand stays relaxed. Those are just some thoughts. I hope that helps!
@@CelloProfessor Thank you so much, I'll try to think that way ☺
It's fine for me right up until I actually put the bow on a string. It feels like my wrist has to transfer my arm weight and that locks it up. Advice?
one way to find it fast is with no pencil or anything, just see where your thumb can "fall" into your hand (and into middle finger) without losing the loose hand and then grab the pencil by leting your thumb fall there again instead of "using" it actively
pencil will fly a couple times, guaranteed, but your are now using the thumb without actively pushing it. Probably very useful for violinists left hand and for thumb position
Hmm...interesting idea but I can't get my thumb to oppose the 2nd finger on its own by just relaxing it. Let me know if I am misunderstanding what you are saying. Perhaps for your thumb or others it works so it is definitely worth a try.
@@CelloProfessorI am probably using a different muscle, I just wooble my hand and "guide" the thumb without messing the writs movement, the more I do it the more I can control the thumb around (I am not trying to oppose anything, I just see where it reachs and it falls into the 2nd, at first it only wanted to be near the index)
And now, being just 1 day of doing this I can activelly move the thumb and dont mess the wrist movement, it feels like teaching your muscles like you said on the vid
Do you take lessons