Saturday, December 06, 2003
I am sure everybody was waiting for this:
Part two
The night of the previous entry, I performed for the first time on the cello. Although my orchestra made several grievous and quite noticable mistakes, I had a great time and found it to be an incredible experience. I love the cello. Performing is always nerve-wracking, especially if one performes for the first time on a new instrument. I was afraid of many things, and even had a disturbing dream several nights prior to the concert. In that dream, I walked on the stage in my socks, and strangely, the stage was dark. I was excited to be performing, and was a bit flushed from the exhilaration. Suddenly, I realized I wasn't wearing shoes, so I rushed off to the back of the stage. After quickly putting on my shoes, I returned back to the stage only to find that they played the numbers without me. Heartbroken, I woke up.
The dream didn't bother me much, since I have enough sense to remember to wear shoes (I hope). However, I was afraid of the following things:
1) Dropping my bow. I realize how absurd this may sound to experienced cellists, as a piano player afraid of falling off the piano bench might sound to me. However, you must realize that having only played since September, the lack of formal instruction - though I did have the priviledge of receiving several tips from an experienced cello friend of mine - and mere inexperience could manifest to such a fear. I was terribly afraid of dropping my bow in the middle of playing. Hey, drummers can drop their sticks.
2) Having my cello slide out beneath me. Sliding was a big problem. I went out of my way to ensure that my endpin does not slide by first asking a friend to purchase an endpin stopper. It turned out to be not only pathetically expensive because he purchased it at Tom Lee, but also useless against my school's auditorium floor. My teacher suggested that I bring a wet paper towel to clean the floor before I play, so the ground will be free of dust and thus have enough friction. I'm sure all cello masters bring a wet paper towel to a performance and get down on their knees to scrub the floor before they perform. Finally, after many weak pleadings, I received a carpet.
The biggest fear of all, of course, was playing the wrong notes, having a horrible sound, horrible bowing, and intonation. I never had to worry about intonation with piano, but with the cello, I worry until my hair fall out. Experienced cellists don't know how difficult it is to bow and how hard it is to place your fingers correctly to produce the right tone. But I digress.
With great thanks to God, I did not drop my bow and my cello did not slide. The concert was fun, and I received many pleasant comments. I look forward to new pieces and more performances.
Part two
The night of the previous entry, I performed for the first time on the cello. Although my orchestra made several grievous and quite noticable mistakes, I had a great time and found it to be an incredible experience. I love the cello. Performing is always nerve-wracking, especially if one performes for the first time on a new instrument. I was afraid of many things, and even had a disturbing dream several nights prior to the concert. In that dream, I walked on the stage in my socks, and strangely, the stage was dark. I was excited to be performing, and was a bit flushed from the exhilaration. Suddenly, I realized I wasn't wearing shoes, so I rushed off to the back of the stage. After quickly putting on my shoes, I returned back to the stage only to find that they played the numbers without me. Heartbroken, I woke up.
The dream didn't bother me much, since I have enough sense to remember to wear shoes (I hope). However, I was afraid of the following things:
1) Dropping my bow. I realize how absurd this may sound to experienced cellists, as a piano player afraid of falling off the piano bench might sound to me. However, you must realize that having only played since September, the lack of formal instruction - though I did have the priviledge of receiving several tips from an experienced cello friend of mine - and mere inexperience could manifest to such a fear. I was terribly afraid of dropping my bow in the middle of playing. Hey, drummers can drop their sticks.
2) Having my cello slide out beneath me. Sliding was a big problem. I went out of my way to ensure that my endpin does not slide by first asking a friend to purchase an endpin stopper. It turned out to be not only pathetically expensive because he purchased it at Tom Lee, but also useless against my school's auditorium floor. My teacher suggested that I bring a wet paper towel to clean the floor before I play, so the ground will be free of dust and thus have enough friction. I'm sure all cello masters bring a wet paper towel to a performance and get down on their knees to scrub the floor before they perform. Finally, after many weak pleadings, I received a carpet.
The biggest fear of all, of course, was playing the wrong notes, having a horrible sound, horrible bowing, and intonation. I never had to worry about intonation with piano, but with the cello, I worry until my hair fall out. Experienced cellists don't know how difficult it is to bow and how hard it is to place your fingers correctly to produce the right tone. But I digress.
With great thanks to God, I did not drop my bow and my cello did not slide. The concert was fun, and I received many pleasant comments. I look forward to new pieces and more performances.
