online Series
Our bow is our voice. We want it to breathe, speak, dance, sing and emote. This is an infinite subject but we do need to start somewhere! I feel we learn best with clear explanation, demonstration, focus and experimentation.
We will explore in varied ways, how our bow use can become increasingly natural to us – to become truly, an extension of your arm and hand. In going slowly and in detail, you will more truly find your own voice and feel able to express yourself more fully and authentically as a cellist & musician.
This series will build your understanding in stages. Some classes may be repeated too.
The instrument we play is large and physical and we need to know how to use energy well and understand movement because sound follows the movement.
I will send you materials for the class ahead of the day and then afterwards I will send documents that help you consolidate and develop our work. The groups will be small enough that we will be able to work individually too to check things are understood.
All About My Bow
In 2024 All About My Bow will be going, occasionally, to more advanced pieces in our repertoire. I feel that Mendelssohn’s Song Without Words, Vocalise by Rachmaninov, The Swan and Waldesruhe by Dvorak are not so long that we can’t explore their essence so you can develop them further. I will make special announcements for these. Meanwhile, the journey continues on Saturdays (dates below). All About My Bow is for more experienced and advanced players.
Bow Primer "Your Tool Kit"
The new Your Tool Kit is a slower, more in-depth and microscopic look at technique that works for newer players and more advanced cellists. Having said this, we all have holes in our knowledge, so you may want to join this too. As well as technical depth, I will follow up with music for you to put our work into practice, so you have time to cook the ideas and see it all make sense.
Please drop me an email if you want me to create a repeat class.
Injured or be recovering from treatment?
We may get injured, or be recovering from treatment and want to continue with our learning and development. It's positive to look ahead. When I have a student who can't use one side of their body, we spend time spotlighting the other. There is a bit of a silver cloud moment for many when they realise there was an upside to their current situation.
If you are injured and want to be with us in an online class, you will learn, observe and evolve regardless of whether you touch your cello. So just give me the heads up, and join. The good news is we do a lot of our growing away from the actual instrument.
DETAILS
Time: 6.00pm–8.15pm GMT
All About My Bow 2023: November 11th
All About My Bow 2024: January 13th, March 23rd, May 25th
Bow Primer "Your Tool Kit" 2023: December 9th
Bow Primer "Your Tool Kit" 2024: February 24th, April 27th, June 22nd
Venue: Zoom (waiting room opens at 5.45pm for tuning)
Fee: £30 per class (£35 from April)
What They Say
That was the most valuable, and I dare say, life-changing two hours fifteen minutes ever!
What's so good about All About My Bow? There is loads of really useful and fascinating information you can access at any level of ability. If you're a beginner, there are so many new things to learn. If you're more advanced, you can gain so much because, as you already understand the technical terms and the basics of bowing, you can go deeper and focus on the more subtle aspects of this teaching. It deepens your understanding of complex techniques.
I am still marvelling at how much we value your instruction. Your ideas are so wonderfully shared!
Another really good session. I do admire how you distil all that knowledge in a single piece; I learn so much.
Bach would be so happy to know that his work can be taught by such an accomplished fan and shared by an international audience over the ether. Fantastic things were achieved tonight.
Well, that was just bloody, awesomely, fantastically exciting wasn't it? You are a wonder! Such detail.
Thank you so much. It was brilliant. I was so inspired that as soon as I left Zoom, I sat down and played the whole piece through before any food or drink.
Loved the deep dive into Bach.
Fantastic as usual. So much to think about.
Your excellent tutorial was a revelation not just for the Prelude, but it shone a light on many aspects of playing Bach.
It is a delight to spend these sessions learning from you!