Well, No WONDER...

So, I absolutely love my beautiful cello... I mean, who WOULDN'T love this face?

But there's one thing I failed to notice, and that ONE thing is the biggest reason I've been having so much trouble. My bridge was warped! It was almost imperceptible, and my first teacher didn't even notice, but oh, BOY, my second teacher picked up on it quickly... in the first lesson. The feet of the bridge were warped enough that if you had one sitting flat, the other was cocked just a hair off the surface of the cello!

Why would that make a difference, you ask? Well, if the bridge is warped, even a little, then thanks to our friend, Pythagorus, that will throw off the pitches at the top of the fingerboard. As you go towards the nut, pitches get further apart, so even though my pitches remained the same on individual strings, crossing the string and trying to hit the same finger became a nightmare for someone new to playing. My pitches may have only been a tiny bit off, but it definitely made it harder to compensate and find them easily.

Over a very relaxing (and much NEEDED) weekend away at my husband's family's home, tucked away in the sleepy little town of Sistersville, West Virginia, I pulled out my faithful old Shen cello. Lo and behold, I was able to practice for a solid hour and half. During that time, I noticed how much easier it was to locate the pitches across the strings, not to mention the fact that I discovered I was able to finally relax, realizing that I really haven't lost that much in the realm of practice. It was simply a maddening combination of tension due to recent events, low amounts of practice time (0-15 minutes a day), and a bridge that was warped.

Now that things have begun to settle back down a bit, my beautiful Julius has been delivered to a luthier for a new bridge. He's giving him a good once-over to check the sound post, make sure the neck is nice and straight, and do any other necessary work. In the meantime, hopefully only a few days, I'll be working away on my Shen cello. Let's hope I can quickly get back all the skills I lost during the last three weeks.

What can be learned from this? When you start having more trouble than normal with your pitches, tone quality, or some other non-human related issue, and you can't attribute it to stress, lack of practice, or distraction, it may be time to take your cello to the shop. Your bridge may be warped, your pegs may be slipping, or your cello's nut or tailpiece may need attention. It may be that you just need new strings if your cello sounds muddy and unsatisfying. The real problem may not be you at all. If it won't stay in tune, or the pitches seem to move, then it's time to find a qualified luthier who can home in on problems with your beloved cello.

I definitely look forward to gaining a new relationship with my Krutz cello with a new bridge. The practice sessions with my Shen have been productive, and I can once again attest to the fact that tension and stress can absolutely ruin a practice session, in addition to ruining your mood. Thankfully, my cello did not end up getting sold, put away permanently, or chopped up into little tiny pieces with a match thrown on it. That would be bad because...

#celloislife

Happy Cello'ing!