Hello!! I'm Haruka. I'm a cellist and cello teacher in Tokyo, Japan.
I'm filming a "How to make a big and rich sound on the cello" video.
When you want to play a bigger tone like forte and fortissimo,
I'm pretty sure that cello teachers talk about 3 principals "more bow, close to the bridge, and more arm weight (or some may say "pressure")."
Of course, I agree that those are essential elements.
And I do know you've already understood the necessity and striven to master.
So I'd like to talk about other elements on top of those. They would be also fundamental to obtain skills of playing the cello.
No.1 "Keep breathing."
As a common problem among people who can't relax or who get tired easily,
I would say to stop breathing unconsciously is one of the things.
Stopping breathing makes your body rigid and tense. It's an undesirable state which is completely opposite to what you want to be.
I recommend to focus on exhaling at first.
Too much concentration on inhaling can make your body rigid.
When you inhale, the sympathetic nerve is predominant. And the parasympathetic nerve is predominant when you exhale.
Focusing on exhaling enhances parasympathetic activity.
No.2 "Don't roll the shoulders forward."
A lot of novice players tend to roll the shoulders forward, the more they get absorbed.
When you roll the shoulders, your sound goes inward.
It means your sound resonates only in a narrow area.
People, the audience, don't sit down at your feet.
So that kind of habit inhibits you from making a contact and keeping the conversational ball rolling with audience.
To let your tone have directivity and reach to the backbencher,
face forward like YO-YO MA or an opera singer without rolling your shoulders forward or lower your head.
In my previous video about extensions,
I mentioned that using a mirror helps you improve when you practice.
I also recommend you to check out your form from the side from time to time, not only from the front.
No.3 "Practice as if you were at a concert hall."
When you practice, why don't you try to imagine as if you were at a concert hall.
Believe me Applying mental imagery rehearsal like an athlete really works.
At first, visualize the image of your favorite concert hall such as Suntory hall and Carnegie Hall
then practice as if you played to a packed house.
If you play for tens of hundreds audience always,
your performance would change spontaneously to entertain all of them.
Thank you for watching!!
I'd like to share about the tips of playing the cello and music.
Please subscribe to my channel.
See you next time ♪
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