Notes from String Camp and trading Yo-Yo Ma dreams for yo-yo me reality
Tales from a Cello Newb, Part 3
"Gratitude fills my heart as I reflect on this musical journey."
June 24, 2018: One time at Band Camp…
I'm still coming down from a musical high after attending Scor String Camp in Lansing Thursday through Saturday.
As a beginner, I was nervous and not sure what to expect. The totally cool thing about it was my Basic group included others like me who might have played other instruments, but just picked up a string instrument in the last two years.
The first day ended with a private lesson and I was on overload. I thought my head might explode.
After a good night's sleep, I was ready to tackle it again on Friday, and even played a little that evening.
The culminating Saturday music sharing was Epic. Our instructor played a viola along with us and you can hear her vocal encouragement during the song.
Being able to perform as a group was especially gratifying, something I so miss playing by myself.
The Scor weekend was wonderful experience that I would highly recommend to adult string players, especially if you don't get a chance to play with others regularly. I’m looking forward to next year already.
September 2018: Summer Break & Tough Decisions
During the summer break, I attended two writing conferences. When cello lessons started again in the Fall, I hoped to continue and make time for both writing and my cello. I wasn’t ready to give the cello up and hoped I’d have time to practice every day.
I’d always dreamed of being a writer. With a commitment to a daily writing practice, a nine hour work workday, and a long commute, there weren’t enough hours in the day for everything. Something had to give.
It was hard giving Dan the news that I was taking a break. I felt like I was letting him down.
February 28th, 2019: I’ll Never Be Yo-Yo Ma
I saw Yo-Yo Ma at the University of Michigan last evening and reflected on my own cello journey.
Hearing Yo-Yo Ma made me a little sad that I had given up my cello lessons when I became a newly committed writer. It’s clear I don’t have time to practice and wouldn’t be going back to my lessons.
No, I’ll never be Yo-Yo Ma or as good as any second-year student. But I am grateful my cello teacher took a chance on me.
I will forever treasure my very own cello journey.
March 9th, 2019: The Allure and Hazard of Thing-Naming
I turned my rental cello in yesterday.
Growing up I didn’t name inanimate objects. I’m not sure I knew people did that until my daughter named her first car. Turns out a lot of people name their possessions.
At one point over the past year and a half, I remember giving her a name. I was attracted to her curvy, voluptuous figure and she seduced me with her deep sexy voice. We began our journey slowly, my fingers unsure and my hands untrained. With practice and discipline, we began to make beautiful music together.
I turned in my rental cello yesterday.
I had made peace with my decision to focus my limited time on writing, so I was caught by surprise when tears came to my eyes. I hadn’t expected that.
While I caressed her one last time and expressed my gratitude for being my musical companion the past year and a half, I wracked my brain trying to remember what I named her.
“You took good care of it,” the technician said after the inspection.
“Thank you, she was my baby.”
After finishing up the paperwork, I drove away and was glad I couldn’t remember her name. Leaving her would have been that much harder.
If you missed Parts 1 and 2, here are the links to those stories:
Aw - I hate that you had to give up something you loved doing! I'm hopeful you'll find space for it again though, life can be funny that way 🤞
Great inspiring story, Deb! I’ll come back to listen to the audio in the daytime. I’m in bed but cant sleep, but of course my husband is asleep. But this reminds me that I put learning to play the violin or fiddle on my someday list long ago, and eventually decided it was too late for me. Perhaps I should reconsider. Or perhaps I should re-commit to my Substack. Anyway, I really enjoyed this series, thanks for sharing!