I know... I KNOW! It's been way too long since I wrote the first one. But I promise, I'll make it worth it! So, Saturday morning brought the final orchestra rehearsal, group lesson, and music sharing event.
The orchestra rehearsal focused on keeping together and not rushing. Now that we know the piece, we want to play the piece.... faster... faster and faster, faster, fasterfasterfaster.... Yeah, no. Beth has an amazing way of teaching us how to keep tempo. She uses her whole body. As she's usually busy playing her violin with the group, she has to find some way to teach us to keep tempo, dynamics, rhythm. Well... I can't really describe it, other than... well, she gets plenty of exercise during camp! She uses her entire body, bouncing, bobbing... ending up in a rather comical and heartwarming version of something resembling the chicken dance. You can see a little of that here.
We all enjoyed the laugh, but it was very effective, too! It kept our attention, and it got rid of the "formal" feeling of trying to follow a conductor's baton for people who had never been in an ensemble before. There was also no way you could have missed the tempo with Beth bouncing up and down in your peripheral vision. She made things a lot less scary for people new to playing in a group, and several people in the Basic track had only played alone or, at most, for their teachers in a lesson. Some were even self-taught!
Kyle Bultman is the CEO and co-founder of score, and Beth's husband. He was in charge of the Basic Track group lesson. He taught basic music theory, finding a "safe note" when you get lost (based on the key signature), and how to get back in when you get lost on a piece. Absolutely indispensable for people new to ensemble playing! Kyle and Beth are both fantastic at breaking things down for easy understanding, but without dumbing it down, so you don't feel like you're being talked down to. They both keep it fun and easy to understand.
Now, I can't say what the violins worked on, but the cello teacher, the lovely Miss Alana Bennett, holds her Master of Music in Cello from Indiana University, and her Bachelor's from NYU. She was in charge of our cello group lessons, and really got down to the nuts and bolts of bow technique and tonality. I won't spoil the details of everything we did (if I did, then you'd have nothing to learn!), but her lessons in bow technique have certainly improved MY bow usage. We discussed using hand position to get matching tone out of BOTH ends of the bow. So often, our tip end sounds breathy and thin, while the frog end is full-bodied and difficult to play at softer dynamics. She really helped all of us tackle the issue and understand how the bow can be used in combination with the string placement and bridge.
Tonality was another great topic she covered. Specifically, she taught how to use the familiar 1st position to really master the pitch and tone in higher positions. For example, using 4th finger G (on the D-string) to teach 3rd position, 1st finger G, on the D-string. We all worked diligently to see if we could produce the same pitch by switching the positions back and forth, and she taught it so simply that even the most basic beginners could understand it.
She also took a moment to teach extensions to one of the group members who hadn't yet learned it in her own lessons at home. This is the kind of teacher that we all benefit from when we've found the right teacher. Not every teacher is right for every student, but when you get one like this, it really makes a difference. So a big THANK YOU to Ms. Bennett!
On Friday afternoon, we all had the fantastic privilege of a "faculty recital," where Beth, Kyle, and Alana all performed for us. There was, of course, a couple of chamber music pieces, then Alana performed a solo cello work. It was supposed to be accompanied by piano, but she didn't have access to a pianist at camp, so she just sang the piano part when the cello was resting. She became, henceforth, the Incredible Singing Cellist! Beth & Kyle also did several pieces together, and some fantastic improvisation. Once in a while, the music can touch your soul, and this definitely happened while they played. I closed my eyes, and the world fell away.... what a relaxing, fulfilling place to be!
I hope, at this point, you're seriously considering checking into attending Scor! String camps for Adults. It's a little expensive to some, but I can assure you, it's worth every minute. You'll come home with new skills and new friends you'll always remember. And you might even come home with a new bow, a new instrument, or a TON of new music. Beth has written several compositions, and she's so versatile. If you play fiddle, and you're definitely NOT a violinist, you still have a place here! Beth has written some great fiddle music, and she plays it as well as she plays classical violin. Improv, classical, fiddle... they cover it all at Scor! It's definitely worth checking into... and I came home absolutely exhausted!
Happy Cello'ing! #celloislife
***All photo credits to Beth Bultman, Director of Scor! String Camps for Adults