I’ve been taking cello lessons with two other adult students for eight months or so. Our teacher (and another one) have arranged a concert for at least 25 student cellists on May 25 at the awesome St. Michael’s Church in Gent.
I get to be in an orchestra!
We had our first rehearsal last night. For me … it was a disaster. No exaggeration.
But even as we finished, I was smiling. It’s been so long. As a teenager, I played in my high school orchestra – strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion. I belonged.
Before, during and after the rehearsal I looked around the room. So many of us, with our cellos and bows and sheet music. Most of the players were young (kids, teens, early adults). Other than me, I’d say the oldest cellist was about 40.
(By the way, this photo isn’t us. I got it off the Internet)
As poorly as I played, all my problems were outshined by the joy of playing with other musicians. I’m where I need to be.
Here’s a list of my challenges, which I can feel dimming even as I tap:
1. There were six short pieces, including one that I found really difficult. So I focused on practicing that one, pretty much ignoring the other five. Bad decision! I got all sorts of notes and rhythms wrong.
2. My bow had been damaged and I’d got a new one recently from my music store. It’s important to put rosin on the hairs so that they’ll stick a bit to the strings. I thought I’d applied lots of rosin but halfway through the practice it had worn off. The bow sliding on the strings essentially means NO SOUND.
3. The group of us was divided into four sections, each playing different notes and rhythms from the other three. I sat beside a friendly young man who was playing different notes than me. I couldn’t hear “my group” of cellists!
4. Often I couldn’t absorb how quickly the conductor wanted the piece to be played. So I got lost a lot, sitting with the bow on my lap till I figured out where we were.
5. I wear a splint on my thumb because of arthritis. Without it, I can’t hold the bow for longer than five minutes. The splint rested securely on my thumb last night but after about forty minutes the digit weakened – and so did the sound. Plus there were eighty minutes to go!
6. All the conductor’s instructions were in Dutch. “Of course. That’s the language in this part of Belgium. You expected English?”
***
A perfect storm of problems
And a bright sunny day of musical togetherness