“Music is more than just sound. It is more than playing notes in tune, or pressing a key down. It is every bit as much as a mental state, as a physical action.” This idea has been ingrained in my musically innocent mind in my last few cello lessons; I think I am starting to understand in a small measure what this means.
A cello, like other stringed instruments, is played by pulling a bow across taunt strings, making them vibrate, thus sending off sound waves. The player shortens the length of the strings with his left hand, changing the pitch of the note. This may sound like a simple action, requiring only practice in learning where the notes are on the string, but this cannot be farther from the truth.
What my teacher wants to instill in my stubborn mind is that I need to hear every note, and have an idea of what the song means in my mind, and the mindset will carry out in my music. If I hear the notes in my mind before playing them, I will produce a perfect sound, adapted to the mood of the piece. As an experienced Piano player, this is a difficult concept to understand. A piano can only have one pitch, the note cannot be changed either flat or sharp, unlike the cello. Because of this, I play my cello somewhat brutish, thinking only of hitting the perfect pitch, not the inner sound that should resonate from my entire being. I call this, The Piano Curse.
Every musical piece has a mood. The entertainer is a bouncing, jovial piece that should be played lightly and happily. The Var. VIII of “Ah, vous dirai- je Maman” by Mozart is a dark, sad piece, and should be played slowly, and with deep feeling. To reverse the style of the songs, but play the exact notes would be utter disaster.
The two songs mentioned are Piano pieces, but the same idea applies to Cello pieces, only more so. The very construction of a cello enables the player to change the very pitch of the note, either flat or sharp, to suit the mood of the song. However, the pitch change, which is almost too subtle to hear, will be produced to match the inner song of the mind.
This is a copy of the beginning essay I am writing, it will probobly bore you all, but I thought it would show a good snap shot of my mind. :>
Good times.
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4 comments:
lol...you know the funny thing about this post is that I actually had to scroll down to read the end. =) pretty unusual lol.
Hey, I know what you mean. Definitely have to have feeling in your music or usually it sucks. You can get lost in a song that is played well, it's almost like an author and a book. If the authors writing style sucks--a good book or story line is going to suck. No matter how good the plot and story line, who wants to read a poorly written book?
Frank, you amaze me. This post is how I feel about music totally. You are realy developing as a musician. Love ya,
Heidi
Nice. :) I think that in some ways, it's harder to express what you have in your mind through the piano because the pitch is unalterable as you say, (no vibrato!!) but the expression and touch is not unalterable. It's a bit more subtle than a stringed instrument perhaps but there is the same possibility of expression.
Ha ha! The piano curse. That's pretty good. :) But, you shall rise above I believe and be a better pianist because you are a cellist. ;)
Genevieve
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