Now You're Really Cruising (or rowing)
By now you are really moving along. The Twinkle Marathon can take ages. French Folk Song always feels luxurious afterwards but now you are just cruising right along. The Suzuki books are really great at introducing concepts gradually and building a solid foundation. Lightly Row is a charming folk song that helps us galvanize keeping left hand fingers down and arched!
In the video I walk you through keeping your third finger arched or creating a tunnel. The goal is to play on the fingertips, creating a “C” with your left hand (C for Cello) and keeping that arched finger down so that the open A-string can vibrate while you maintain your hand position on the D-string. It’s a great way not only to play efficiently and in tune, but it helps those students who are struggling with a collapsing 3rd finger. The 3rd finger, or ring finger, is the most likely finger to collapse. How often do you use your ring finger in day to day life? It makes sense that it would not already developed the strength or independence that the index finger has. It’s length and lack of daily utility make is unstable at first. Don’t be surprised if it wants to collapse in when pressed.
If your 3rd finger has a habit of collapsing, practice keeping all your fingers in arched with the thumb bent and behind in the catapults lesson. Also checkout Schroeder No. 3 to help build up your 3rd finger strength. If the finger is collapsing, I recommend doing the necessary work now to build up strength and independence so that the habit doesn’t follow you any further. Ironically, the longer you play with a collapsing 3rd finger the harder it is to fix. You might think that a year from now your fingers will be stronger and more independent and while that is certainly true, by that time the habit will be so ingrained in your playing that unlearning the collapse will be much MORE difficult. Let’s set you up today for success down the road!
Pro Tip
PLUCK then PLAY — the bow takes a lot of mental energy. Every pro knows that one of the best ways to simplify the task is to put down the bow and pluck. Once you can pluck the piece with an arched, tunnel 3rd finger, then give it a try with the bow.
Here is a “handy” posture checklist that might help:
- Posture – feet flat on the floor, cello between your knees, touching at your sternum, sitting straight up, shoulders relaxed, elbow out like a kickstand, straight EWP (elbow-wrist-pinkie)
- Left hand – thumb and fingers bent (making a “C”), fingers arched and contacting the string with the pad of the fingertip, thumb bent and under 2nd finger
- Bow path – bow travels straight across the string (t-bow), midway between the fingerboard and the bridge (forte-freeway)
- Bow hand – thumb slightly bent, index finger touching the stick between the first and second knuckle, hand pronated, fingers slightly apart — not overly spread or bunched together
- Keep fingers down as you play – as you ascend the string don’t lift the finger you just played when you place the new finger. As you descend place all 4 fingers and then peel off the fingers one by one.
- Check intonation – verify your intonation. Play with the video, use a tuner, watch your hand in a mirror to check that you are on the tapes. Don’t assume, verify.