The Musician's Journey Podcast

Alicia Keys, are you reading this? Here is a cellist for you. Marc Christian Miranda started out the conventional cello way but has for the past several years explored a niche that is in high demand. When he sets out for a gig his car is packed with cables, mixers, speakers and his electric cello. Inspired by his own wedding, he's on a mission to make your special day, whether it’s a wedding or something completely different, as beautiful and memorable as possible. Marc's homepage: https://www.marcchristiancello.com/ ----------------------------------------------- Make a comment on the episode here: https://www.ragnhildwesenberg.com/podcast Send me an e-mail? Go to https://www.ragnhildwesenberg.com/contact

Does conducting an orchestra entail more than waving one's arms? Yes it does and Tigran Arakelyan is more than happy to share a number of the things you have to keep in mind as a conductor standing in front of an orchestra. Among Tigran's many credits is the historic feat of facilitating the Pacific Northwest's first orchestral concert at a bar. Tune in to hear his story from growing up in post-Soviet Armenia and Belarus, to finding his way as a musician and conductor in the United States. A way that still has a long way to go. Careerwise, is Tigran where he wants to be? And by the way, have you heard of Avet Terterian? Tigran's homepage: https://www.tigranarakelyan.com/ photographer: K. Kowalski ----------------------------------------------- Make a comment on the episode here: https://www.ragnhildwesenberg.com/podcast Send me an e-mail? Go to https://www.ragnhildwesenberg.com/contact

Lexi Nguyen is only in her 20's but is dead serious about her music. You can listen to her singles on streaming platforms while she's working on her first EP. We talk about The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, the importance of physical exercise, boundaries as artists, hateful comments, and whether or not to inhale in a recording... Featured song by Lexi Nguyen: Fever Lexi's homepage: https://lexinguyen.com/ photographer: Danny Miranda Carillo ----------------------------------------------- Make a comment on the episode here: https://www.ragnhildwesenberg.com/podcast The Musician's Journey Podcast's playlist on Spotify Ragnhild's Instagram

Ragnhild catches up with her previous teacher, Nicholas Jones, for a talk about playing and teaching the cello. Being a cellist often goes hand in hand with being a cello teacher. Here we talk about how our cello practice and our teaching keep on affecting each other. We touch on -key moments of enlightenment in our playing and teaching -how all students are different from each other -what 'work-life balance' might mean as a musician -the fact that our practice never ends "We need to play what we want to hear." And don't forget to listen to the Cello Concerto by Lutosławski. ------------------------------------------------ Ragnhild's online Cello Course Are you curious about The Box? Use code CELLO for 30% off your first month. ----------------------------------------------- Support this podcast via Ko-fi The Musician's Journey Podcast's playlist on Spotify Ragnhild's Instagram Make a comment on the episode here Podcast soundtrack by Ani Amer. Follow his musical journey on Instagram

She is singing and playing a drum with her foot while playing her cello. How did Diletta Fosso's journey in music begin? The songs featured in this episode are: 7 years (Lukas Graham) Makeba (Jain) and Counting Stars (One Republic) ------------------------------------------------ Diletta on Instagram Make a comment on the episode here Support this podcast via Ko-fi Are you curious about The Box? Use code CELLO for 30% off your first month.

Everybody's story is different - why does someone spend countless hours on making cover videos for Instagram? Why not choose a job with a steady income? In this episode, Ragnhild talks with Madeleine Ladore -a cellist who has been working on her business only for a few years but who has managed to grow a loyal following. "People like to hear the music that they like." Madeleine Ladore has walked the path from deciding to play the cello for a living, to make content for social media platforms, to learn about marketing and video making and how to get your songs into playlists on Spotify... It's a road that demands consistency and dedication before it starts to pay off, and after about 3 years the ball is definitely rolling. Madeleine’s homepage ---------------------------- Ragnhild's online Cello Course, get 15% off with the code TMJP at check-out. Are you curious about The Box? Use code CELLO for 30% off your first month. ----------------------------- Support this podcast via Ko-fi The Musician's Journey Podcast's playlist on Spotify Make a comment on the episode here Podcast soundtrack by Ani Amer. Follow his musical journey on Instagram

Have you heard of the music box? Could a nebula in space have anything to do with a composer's research? In this episode, Ragnhild talks with Wilma Pistorius -a cellist, composer and Alexander Technique teacher who is based in Amsterdam. As a composer today, how do you make connections? Wilma talks about her approach to this, being herself on the introverted side and would be happy to spend the evening with a book rather than being out socializing. Being a composer today involves making oneself visible (and audible, of course!), doing one's own PR, taking initiatives and being proactive, and being able to step in at a short notice. For the past several years, Wilma has walked her path piece by piece, e-mail by e-mail, concert by concert, insta post by insta post... and the ball is rolling. -------------------------- Wilma's website Secret Compartment (toy pianos and music boxes) trailer Mandarin (two cellos, voice, and (toy) piano) Wilma’s instagram Wilma’s Youtube channel ---------------------------- Ragnhild's online Cello Course, get 15% off with the code TMJP at check-out. Are you curious about The Box? Use code CELLO for 30% off your first month. ----------------------------------------------- Support this podcast via Ko-fi The Musician's Journey Podcast's playlist on Spotify Make a comment on the episode here Podcast soundtrack by Ani Amer. Follow his musical journey on Instagram

Kaja Draksler has spent the past several years composing, rehearsing, touring and recording. Early in 2023 she became a mother and thus a new chapter has begun. The featured music: 'Trboje' from the album Zürich Concert with Punkt.Vrt.Plastik 'Danas, Jučer Sutra' from the album Out for Stars with Kaja Draksler Octet 'Away!' from the album In Otherness Oneself Kaja's Website ------------------------ Ragnhild's online Cello Course, get 15% off with the code TMJP at check-out. Are you curious about The Box? Use code CELLO for 30% off your first month. ----------------------- Support this podcast via Ko-fi The Musician's Journey Podcast's playlist on Spotify Make a comment on the episode here

Everybody's story is different - why the cello? Where did we start? What were the challenges and how did we overcome them? In this episode, Ragnhild talks with one of her cello students about learning the cello as an adult. ------------------------------------------------ Ragnhild's online Cello Course. Get 15% off with the code TMJP at check-out. Are you curious about The Box? Use code CELLO for 30% off your first month. ----------------------------------------------- Support this podcast via Ko-fi The Musician's Journey Podcast's playlist on Spotify Ragnhild's Instagram Make a comment on the episode Podcast soundtrack by Ani Amer. Follow his musical journey on Instagram

Is there room for more books about composers? Yes. 'Iconic Composers' is not just children friendly, but it sticks out in the way that it features lesser known female composers and composers of different skin colors. In addition, each of the 50 composers is illustrated by David Lee Csicsko. Boiling down countless hours of research into 250 words per composer was quite a challenge, but the authors found a useful approach: "How can we make people excited enough to go and learn even more about them?" Emi's love for research on composers is contagious. Throughout her research she has come across plenty of biases and censorship. How can she trust a source at all? -is my question. "It's hard to separate the myth of the person from who the person was, and I'm not sure we ever will be able to. What we can do is to get to the spirit of what they were trying to do." If you, like I do, find research do be rather overwhelming, you might appreciate Emi's take on it: "I think that distraction is a good thing. I've always followed the distractions because what's the worst that can happen? -That you learn something cool." I don't know about you, but after my interview with Emi I felt inspired to find a wormhole on the internet and learn something cool. ------------------------------------------------ [00:00] 'Prelude in C Major' by Emi Ferguson, from the album 'Fly the Coop' [04:12] Meet Emi Ferguson [13:13] You might not have discovered your favourite composer yet! On the book 'Iconic Composers' [21:55] How can you trust what you're reading? [30:37] Emi's love for composers is contagious [34:52] 'Mignonne' from the album 'Amour Cruel' [38:10] 'this composer is SICK!' - a WQXR podcast series about composers and syphilis [45:10] You can be a historian [52:48] The best job, New York, TedX and sleep ------------------------------------------------ Emi's Homepage Order a copy of 'Iconic Composers' Emi's TedX talk - 'Your Ears Deceive You' ------------------------------------------------ Ragnhild's online Cello Course. Get 15% off with the code TMJP at check-out. Support this podcast via Ko-fi The Musician's Journey Podcast's playlist on Spotify The Box: theboxworkshop.com Get 30% off your first month with the code CELLO at check-out. IG: a_cello_way_of_life_

I don't play the cello every day. There are in fact few things that I do every day. When there is a voice in me that says “I should have done this today, and I didn't.” I can observe that this is a thought. It's not some voice of universal truth, or someone I know blaming me for something. It's a thought in my head. It's as if my thoughts don't always trust me to do the right thing…! In fact, my thoughts are the thoughts of a lunatic. They contradict each other and are not coherent and they will throw me from one state of mind to another. I'm not saying that I'm suffering from a mental illness here, I'm just describing the thoughts how they behave for most of us if we give them some attention. A thought comes along and pretends that it needs to make me feel inadequate. The thought then goes away at some point without me noticing, and a new thought comes along in order to make me feel better. If I'm not at all aware of how my thoughts are treating me, I'll be a ball bouncing between the thoughts as they please. I then leave my state of mind at any given time in the hands of my thoughts. Do I want to do that? Sometimes we have to figure something out, of course. We plan our day, compare insurance companies, prepare a speech, whatever we need to do. But when we have achieved the task at hand, can we still be selective with our thoughts? Cello playing can be one of those activities that lets the thinking mind step back, and instead allow for a different way of existence; existence through the tactile sensations of playing, through the sounds that we make, and through the things that happens in us when we do this: memories, emotions, images, peace of mind, or perhaps a creative idea? I think that cello playing can also become another one of those things we have to do, and to think about how to do, and we can play the cello while we are in our mind and our thoughts. We might verbally judge what we are doing: “this is out of tune, this sounds wrong, this is difficult, I don't know if I'm doing the right thing, I hope no one can hear me, I need to practice more,” etc. These thoughts can make you decide to quit cello playing altogether, depending on how you treat these thoughts. So here I'm proposing a change of habitual thinking. First, have a notebook and a pen with you in your practice and write down the thoughts that come to you during your practice. Even write down the thoughts that are not related to your practice. We typically think of something we should remember to do later, something we regret doing, a person that is important to you in the moment, whatever it is. Then, look at what you have written down. Acknowledge them for what they were: thoughts that showed up in your consciousness. Now, are any of these thoughts useful to you? Let's take the thought "My playing sounds bad, I don't think I'm improving." I'd say the thought in itself isn't useless, but it's useless to repeat it without doing anything about it. We can continue this thought by questioning it: "What exactly do I think sounds bad? Could it be that I'm trying to do too many things at the same time so that I'm unable to focus on one thing properly? How can my cello teacher help me with this?" Now that we have continued with the thought, we can let the initial thought go, which was "My playing sounds bad, I don't think I'm improving." What does it mean to let it go? It means that when we notice that it's coming back, we can say "I recognize this thought and I've already moved on from it" and we can let the thought pass by without spending more energy there. Ok let's take the thought "I should practice more, I think I should quit cello playing because I don't have time for it." If this thought is allowed to circulate in you undetected, it will make you feel all kinds of self-sabotaging things such as insufficiency, disappointment, or a diminished self-confidence overall in your everyday life. I think we can agree that that's pretty...

When you're learning to read sheet music, you're preparing for being able to play classical music. But what if you're interested in playing your cello in a different setting? Pop, rock, jazz, -many of these other music genres use chords more than the written out music we find in sheet music. If you want to play along to your favourite pop song, it'll be a lot easier for you if you have knowledge about the chords. That way, you can in most cases look up the song online, find the chords straight away and start playing. As cellists we often have a bass function, which is fortunate since the bass notes are the only notes written explicitly in the chords. When you see a Gsus7 chord, for instance, you can ignore everything that is not the root note which is G. The letter of the chord is the root note (the bass note) so if you know where the Gs are on the cello, you can pick your preferred octave and join in on that G. You'll get far by knowing the placements of the tones in 2 octaves on your cello, and you can play along to any chord while remaining in the 1st position. When you can comfortably play along to the song with the root notes, you can start to get familiar also with the 5ths of the chords. A 5th is the interval that the strings of the cello have in relation to each other. When you play 2 open strings at the same time, you hear the interval called a 5th. It comprises 5 tones, for instance C and G. And chords are built up of the root note, a 3rd above that, and a 5th above the root note. An easy way to play the 5th of a chord on the cello, is to first place the root note, then place your finger on the exact same place on the string above, meaning the string to your left of the string you're playing the root note on. You can now practice each of the chords only with the bass and the 5th. In rock music, you can often play the root and the 5th at the same time. Electric guitarists call it a power chord, although it's not strictly speaking a chord, it's just a 5th. When you play a root and a 5th, you can't hear if the chord is in minor or major. That's because it's the 3rd of the chord that determines that. A 3rd is an interval that comprises 3 tones, for instance C and E. C and E played together is a major 3rd, and it's a building block in the C major chord. All I have to do to make it a C minor chord is to lower the 3rd from E to E-flat. So the next step in getting familiar with the chords is to play the root, the 3rd and the 5th of each chord in the song you want to play along to. How do you know if the chord is a major or a minor chord? If there's only a capital letter, such as G or D or E, or if the letter has a b after it, such as Eb or Ab, the chords are in major. The b means that the root note is E-flat rather than E. And when there's a small m after the name of the root note of the chord, it's in minor. I have found it extremely useful to be able to play from chords, as a cellist. The composers of classical music also used chords, but instead of letting each musician improvise on them, the composer decided which note should be played and when. When playing together with others, it's a lot more fun when you have an idea of how chords are put together, since you're always playing together in chords and intervals when playing with others. When a particular beat in the bar sounds terrible, it's helpful to know if it's due to intonation or if it's actually supposed to sound disturbing because it's made up of tritones, which is another interval. Anyway, there's a lot more to say here, and I do so in my online course. Ragnhild’s Online Cello Course -get 20% off with the code HELLOCELLO at checkout. The Box -get 30% off your first month with the code CELLO

Even smaller towns may have their own local amateur symphony orchestra, or string orchestra. And if you don't have that where you live, there are plenty of different orchestra courses happening one or more times a year in a lot of different places in this so-called Western world. And besides that, I'll mention that when I was younger I really enjoyed playing along to recordings of orchestral music. It's hard to know when to start playing when you can't see the conductor of course, but apart from that it went pretty well. Playing in an orchestra is simply amazing. A good number of people getting together in one room to exchange sound waves with each other. No need to talk, just get lost in the harmonies, the rhythms, the different voices you hear all around you, the bass carrying it all, melodies being brought back into life from the sheet music that might have been written 400 years ago. It's like a sonic exhibition. It's only happening in that moment and will never happen just like that ever again. There are no screens, no internet, no ads, no pop-up windows, and not much language to deal with except from terms in the sheet music, and depending on how talkative the conductor is. When you have been practising the cello for some time and you're curious about how you'd fit in in your local orchestra, I'd recommend you get in touch with one of the cellists there and ask to see the cello parts for the current project. Ideally take a photocopy of them so that you can sit at home and see how challenging they are for you, and take them to your teacher and ask for a guided tour. Maybe you can join the orchestra for the easiest pieces and skip the harder ones? What you'll need to know before joining, is how to tune your cello, how to read sheet music, possibly in the tenor and treble clefs as well as the bass clef, and you'll need to get acquainted with some of the most common words that describe moods in the music, and techniques on the cello. Many of these words are common in cello playing in general, and you'll recognize words such as pizzicato and arco, as well as repetition signs and dynamic symbols. But it might be in the orchestra that you first come across con sordino, the fermata sign, or words such as divisi, solo and tutti, to name only a few. The words will often be Italian, they are sometimes in German, sometimes in French, and sometimes in English. Aside from the terms and symbols in the sheet music, there are some good habits to have as well. Arrive at the venue ahead of time, so that your cello can acclimatize and you have time to get seated by the time the rehearsal starts. It's respectful to not play more than the necessary warm-up before the start of the rehearsal. It can be tiring for the brain to hear 20 different tunes being played simultaneously. Most people can't help themselves and they play anyway though. Always have a pencil on your stand, so that you can write in an instruction from the conductor, or a different bowing from the cello section leader. I'd recommend you use ear plugs if you can afford the type that is made specifically for musicians. Wind instruments and violins can be hard work on the ear. When tuning your cello, play as quietly as possible so that everyone can hear themselves. In the orchestra everyone tunes at the same time, you know that familiar sound at the start of a concert you're attending where there's an A being played by the oboe in a symphony orchestra, or a violin in a string orchestra, and then you hear the clash of 5ths and 4ths and woodwind arpeggios. I loved orchestra so much in my teens, that I recorded this particular sound of everyone tuning together and had it as my mobile phone ringtone for a while. One trick here as cellists, if you tilt your head to the left so that the tuning peg of the c-string is on your ear, you hear your own cello very well and you can tune quietly. When we are playing in an orchestra or together with others in general, the most...

'What to play?' is the topic of this episode, now that we have 1) our intention in order 2) everything we need to get started 3) a cello teacher 4) an idea of how to practice I know it's a bit weird that I'm talking about this as if you already have a cello teacher, cause why would you be here in that case? I'm here just aiming to give you an impression of how the cellist journey might look like in the beginning. So. The common way to start is to acquire a teaching book. There are many of them to choose from. Any of them will get you started, it's hard to go wrong. I'd say you can browse the internet and get the book that your gut feeling approves of. Any teaching book for a beginner cellist will have the same basic information and very similar first tunes based on open strings, advancing one new tone and one new rhythm at a time. Here is one publisher, here’s another one. I love it when a new student comes to me with a book that I've never seen before. And so far I have not seen a book that was better or worse than any other. One that I have is called Abracadabra published by Collins Music, if you want a specific title to start your search with. As an adult, you might want to find a book that doesn't look too childish, and of course you want to make sure the book is in a language that you understand. If you're interested in playing along with backing tracks, check if the book comes with a cd or a playlist on the internet. Also bear in mind the possible taxes that are added if you're ordering something from abroad. I always prefer to use my local music shop instead of ordering online, but shops with sheet music have been rapidly disappearing for the last couple of decades because of the popularity of online stores. If there's a shop you can visit, you can compare the different books easily, and having a smaller selection to choose from isn't necessarily a bad thing. I you're lucky, you might even be living in a place where you can buy sheet music second hand. Getting your first book second hand is not a bad idea because your very first teaching book isn't used for a very long time. It really depends on how quickly you understand the basics. You'll be using it for maybe a year, depending on the scope of the book. If you don't want more paper in your life, you can use an iPad and download sheet music onto that. If that's your preference, it's good to have a pencil you can write on it with as well, cause during your lessons your teacher will help you with fingerings and bowings or other helpful scribblings. From a teaching book you'll learn how to play the cello with the help of sheet music. The book breaks it down so that you focus on one new aspect at a time. In the beginning you'll be occupied with open strings, the first position, pizzicato, and simple tunes in c-major, g-major and d-major. And you can prove me wrong! If your first teaching book presents you with a tune in b-flat minor, or playing in the 4th position, I'd love to know about it. Please send me an email and say which book that was. If you see the value of technical exercises, I would recommend getting a book by Louis Feuillard who wrote several books on cello technique in a very structured way. His book called 'Daily Exercises' starts with moving between 2 notes at different tempos, then he takes you through the positions one by one. This book can be downloaded for free on IMSLP.org. IMSLP is short for International Music Score Library Project, and is a site that collects scores that are no longer under copyright, which includes enormous amounts of classical music. What will you not learn from a teaching book though? Maybe I can compare it to a cook book. You can for sure make delicious meals using a cookbook, but if you cook in the presence of a chef, your skills will be taken to the next level. And regarding cello playing, a teaching book can help you get into playing pieces of music, but the book won't comment on how you use your...

If you've been following the previous episodes, you've heard me talk about taking the step into making the cello a part of your life in the first place, which things you should acquire before you're ready to start, and on the topic of finding a cello teacher. This trajectory has now led you to your first cello lesson, and you find yourself at home the day after the lesson and you think "What now?" That's what today's episode is about. One of the benefits of being an adult when you start playing the cello is that you are aware of the value of practice, and you are able to find a structure that works for you and that makes sense to you. You also remember what you did the previous days. I think many of us who started learning when we were children, have few recollections of our cello practice for the first few years. As children, we were so much in the moment and if our parents didn't encourage us to take out our cello, we might not even have been aware that there was a cello in the house. When we did unpack it, we didn't have a clear idea of what we were doing or why. As an adult, you have an accumulated well of knowledge from your life experience that you can utilize when it comes to your cello practice. You have been learning for decades already, and you have an idea about how important it is for you to read about the thing, watching demonstrations of the thing, actually doing the thing, and reflecting on the thing. Some are more on the doer side and they throw themselves into the thing, while others feel safer after first having read about it or watched other people do it for a while. Cello playing is mainly something that we do. In my teaching I've seen how people vary when it comes to jumping into it or standing on the shore dipping a toe into it. Some are scared of making anything sound, and the cello can produce quite a level of volume. Some are scared of sounding bad, and so they play very hesitantly and stop immediately when they make a sound that they dislike. There can be some childhood conditioning underlying all of this. Some think that they are not musical, some are even told as children that they are not musical, and they are almost waiting for the moment in their cello practice when this fact is yet again proven. A lack of self-confidence is in this case a big barrier. Some are simply not used to being immersed in a creative activity, and the power of it can be daunting. Playing the cello is also something that will make you drop tension in your body, in order for the arms to weigh down on the cello and the bow instead of holding anything up, as well as freeing up your breathing and ideally also letting go of tension in the neck and the forehead. This can be challenging for people who carry a lot of tension in their body on an everyday basis. I'm just saying all of this because you can from the very beginning observe if any of these descriptions fit you, and you can therefore be aware of it from the start. It's much easier to work with something when there is awareness around it. All of that being said, now imagine that you are at home, or wherever you will practice, you have a chair that is high enough to give you at least an angle of 90 degrees between your hips and your thighs, you have unpacked, and you're trying to remember what the cello teacher showed you yesterday, or the day before that. Maybe your teacher gave you clear instructions and you know what to do. That's great. And if it's all a bit vague, you can of course contact them and ask. What I would say to a student reaching out to me with that question is the following: Start with the bow only. Take it out of it's case, tighten the hair, and hold it vertically so that the tip is pointing at the ceiling. Feel the middle finger on the metal of the frog, or maybe it's halfway on metal and bow hair, or only on the bow hair. There are different preferences when it comes to this. Place the other fingers as they naturally are, as...

First of all, do you really need a cello teacher? There are now so many YouTube channels and online forums to do with cello playing, maybe that's sufficient? You can for sure gain a lot from these websites, especially if you have played an instrument before. You can pick up some tips and get started. The websites don't see or hear you, though. Cause you'll for sure have lots of questions when you start practicing. And maybe you'll find your answers on Quora or Instagram or Reddit or YouTube, and maybe not. And maybe you don't want to use so much energy on internet searches. A cello teacher will likely see and hear straight away how you can overcome one obstacle after the other. A teacher can point out where you're tensing your body without being aware of it, and how that gets in the way of your playing overall. A teacher can see in an instant how you can use your energy more efficiently, and to point out possible bad habits before they grow roots and become very hard to get rid of later. A teacher can also play together with you, which can be very rewarding and enjoyable, as well as being the groundwork for your future music making together with others. But taking private cello lessons can be expensive. The teacher has to include VAT and taxes in the price. The teacher might be paying rent for the space. And you're not just paying for some minutes of their time, but for decades of their studies, experience and practice. If you're not able to pay the required sum of money, you can of course ask them if they can give you a discount. The worst that can happen is that they say no, and that you have to look elsewhere. It's worth asking, since many teachers will want to accommodate someone who wants to make the cello a part of their life. In some places you can sign up for group lessons, which are probably more affordable than individual lessons. Learning in a group can be really nice if you get along with the others and can therefore get a sense of having a community of beginner cellists, which can be very motivating in itself. But this is not for everyone. It's impossible for the teacher to address everyone's individual needs in a group, and therefore you might feel frustrated that your needs are not met, or that you are either learning faster or slower than the rest of the group. Attending a group lesson can be an exciting experiment though, and if you like the teacher you can ask if they also teach individually. A more affordable option is to get in touch with the music conservatoire if you live in the vicinity of one, and ask if any of the cello students would like to have a pupil. Chances are high that that's the case, and being students they don't charge as much as a professional. They nevertheless have many years already of cello practice under their belt, and you can likely find a satisfying teacher among them. With the possibility of online teaching, you can of course roam the internet and find a teacher anywhere in the world as long as you share a language in common. Online cello lessons can be surprisingly effective. Through the screen and the microphone, the teacher will be able to get a good impression of how your playing has improved and how it can improve further. But in the very beginning you'll likely want help with tuning your cello. It's not uncommon for beginners to break a string when they start twisting the tuning pegs for the first time, and then you might also need help with changing the string. Also, playing together is something that doesn't work well over the internet. You also won't get the full impact of the teacher's own playing when they demonstrate something. That being said, online lessons can be a great and perhaps more affordable option, but preferably in combination with lessons in so-called real life. Cello teachers are needless to say all different from each other. If you have an idea of exactly what you want to learn, and even what kind of structure you prefer for...

So, you have a dream, and you have an intention. Next, you'll need a cello, a bow, and a case. I've also experienced that finding a teacher comes first. The order of events don't matter much. To find your cello, the safest is to go to your local luthier, if you're fortunate to live in a place that has one or more of those. They might have a cello that you can rent or buy. You can be pretty sure it's a playable instrument if you get it from a luthier, while getting something via an online market place is more risky. I have seen a cello where the fingerboard didn't line up with the rest of the instrument, which means that an expensive visit to a luthier has to happen before the actual cello playing can start. This is also the case if the cello has a crack, for instance. And if the strings are worn out you'll need to first order a new set of strings. You can ask any music school in your city if they have cellos for rent or for sale. You might end up with an instrument with very old strings, and with a bow in need of a rehair, but it's potentially an affordable place to start. And there are shops online where you can order a whole cellist start-kit complete with instrument, case and rosin. And among the adult beginners I have come across so far, ordering a cello online has been pretty common. Once though, one of my pupils came to me with her brand new cello she had ordered online, wondering why the bridge was in bubble wrap and lying under the strings. I guessed that this had been done for safety measures during the transportation, and I could help her set the bridge in its place and tune all the strings. So you might want to be in contact with a cello teacher sooner rather than later. In addition to traditional wooden cellos, there are also electric cellos and carbon fiber cellos. These are typically more expensive than a wooden beginner's cello, maybe unless you're fortunate to come across one second-hand. Electric cello is practical if you want to play loudly without disturbing your neighbours since you can play it with ear phones. And carbon fiber cellos are great if you live in a dry and cold climate far from a luthier. I spent some years in the north of Norway. If anything were to happen to my wooden cello, I'd have to take an airplane to get it fixed in one of the bigger cities. My wooden cello has frequently opened up in the lining during the dry winter, which is nothing scary but it's not something I can fix myself. So I ordered a carbon fiber cello to use during the winter when I was out and about, while my wooden cello could remain safely at home where I did my best to provide a stable level of humidity. However, most people use their wooden cello all year round. Next, is bows. You can also get bows made of carbon fiber, which is typically cheaper than a wooden bow and doesn't break easily. In my experience though, there's something about wooden bows that carbon fiber doesn't have. Since carbon fiber is a fancy word for plastic, it's especially in our current anti-plastic days a little funny to even compare the two. Also, it doesn't hurt to have 2 bows, in case something happens to one of them, so I have one of wood and one of carbon fiber. As a beginner cellist, a bow often comes with the cello, so you don't have to think much about it. If you're getting something second-hand, you might want new bow hair, which is something that your teacher can take a look at, and it might be in need of a good dose of rosin. Rosin is next on the list. If you were to drag a bunch of horse hair across a metal string, not much would happen. We need to apply rosin to the hair, so that there's friction between the hair and the strings. If your fingers get sticky when you touch the bow hair, there is rosin on it. And it's because of the rosin that we don't generally want to touch the strings at the same place we're bowing. Our fingers get sticky, and that doesn't go well with playing on the fingerboard. Sometimes the...

The widow of George Harrison was asked what the secret to a long marriage was. She said, "Don't get a divorce." Those who appear to be successful in their music making, are those who didn't get a divorce. Obstacles will show up, as purely technical challenges on the instrument, or injuries, or a lack of motivation, or struggling to find the right teacher. But don't divorce your instrument straight away. You might overcome the obstacle, resulting in a relationship that is stronger than it was before. ————- Ragnhild’s Online Cello Course -get 20% off with the code HELLOCELLO The Box -get 30% off your first month with the code CELLO

A podcast is such a cheeky medium. You can click on thousands of different episodes and listen for free to people who are experienced professionals, rather than paying them for a consultation. Joel started his podcast -The Cello Sherpa- because of just this, of wanting to give something back and be of help to the younger generation seeking advice on how to get where they want to in the world of professional cello playing. "You cannot climb to the top of a mountain if you're not in shape." That's where the use of the word 'sherpa' comes in; a sherpa doesn't train for you or walk for you. You have to train and walk yourself. But the sherpa can keep you on track and help you reach the mountain top. As a cello student, you have to do a serious amount of work on your own. But to reach even further you can listen to the words of experienced musicians, and take lessons with them. In addition of being a cello sherpa himself, Joel Dallow has been playing with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for over 20 years. He only forgot to bring his cello to work on one occasion so far. ------------------------------------------------ [03:44] Enter: Joel Dallow. Why start a podcast? [12:21] You gotta love orchestral playing <3 [24:05] -and you should also love ear plugs [26:20] The cello and air humidity [30:26] What are we not taught in school? [38:16] Joel's sweet spot [50:45] What do you always carry with you in your cello case? ------------------------------------------------ Cello Sherpa's Homepage ------------------------------------------------ Ragnhild's online Cello Course. Get 15% off with the code TMJP at check-out. The Box. Get 30% off your first month with the code CELLO at check-out. Support this podcast via Ko-fi The Musician's Journey Podcast's playlist on Spotify. Podcast soundtrack by Mohamed Amer. Follow his musical journey on Instagram.

Emily Wright is an American cellist and educator, an eternally busy entrepreneur. We sigh at YouTube comments, and laugh at our recurring dreams... She has been teaching since -96, but angry only on 3 occasions. She has come across numerous tuner refugees, and references The Wizard of Oz in her teaching. Emily Wright is an experienced cellist, with a book published, and a vision of offering the best cello courses for adults in the world. Do you think that a major 7th sounds like a tummy ache? Does the sound of a tritone make you feel like you're about to sneeze? ------------------------------------------------ [02:26] Teaching the cello vs teaching people; meet Emily Wright [12:00] Demystifying the positions on the fingerboard [20:37] Emily's musical journey [30:15] Perspectives on our online business [35:36] Tamarack Arts - a strings school for adults [44:30] Cycling with the cello [46:35] YouTube experiences [54:00] Recurring dreams [56:00] The value of ones own personal cello practice [01:04:47] 'The Lonely Cello Podcast' ------------------------------------------------ Emily's Homepage Tamarack Arts ------------------------------------------------ Ragnhild's online Cello Course -Get 15% off with the code TMJP at check-out. Cello Course as xmas present? Send me an email: ragnhild@wesenberg.org ----------------------------------------------- Support this podcast via Ko-fi The Musician's Journey Podcast's playlist on Spotify Podcast soundtrack by Mohamed Amer. Follow his musical journey on Instagram