Practice Diary: 02/21/22

Today, just for fun, I grabbed my Lord of the Rings book to see if there was anything that I could possibly try to play. I was happy to discover that the beginning of In Dreams looked doable and although it contained a couple of slurs, I had just learned those a few days ago, so I gave it a try! 

Not going to lie, it was a disaster at first. Why is cello so HARD?!? Seriously, my neighbors probably thought I was strangling a goose with all the squeaking and squawking going on. Sigh. 

So, I took a deep breath, slowed down, and kept trying. One note at a time, then two or three, and then a whole bar, and another. It was still not great but, by the end, I was seeing improvement. 

My biggest frustration right now, is that I don’t know how I’m supposed to figure out where to put my fingers on the strings to find the right tone. Most of the time I can find the note but it’s either a little sharp or a little flat. If I hit it right, it’s purely by accident. I had tape on my fingerboard for a little while but it seemed like it was doing more harm than good. I spent all of my time looking at my fingers instead of the sheet music and every time I’d tune my cello the tape would be slightly off. I’d spend so much time tuning and repositioning the tape that my fingers hurt too much to practice. I’m probably doing something wrong but it was frustrating, so I removed the tape. 

Now, I have my tuner next to my music and I’m guiding myself that way. I still feel lost. This will get better right? I know it will, it’s just hard to not want to do everything perfectly from the beginning. 

Patience and practice. I’m going to get this!