Big Girls Don't Cry and Cello Players Don't Fret

I am no stranger to the cello as it has always been my favorite string instrument.  When I was 17, my mother graciously bought me two tickets to see Yo-Yo Ma at the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, California. I remember asking my mother for these tickets and she told me no because we couldn’t afford it but I BEGGED and PLEADED for them.  What I can’t explain to you nor myself is what led me up to asking and how did I even knew who Yo-Yo Ma was.  All I know is I wanted to go SO BAD!  I still have no idea why she gave in because thinking back it was really a ridiculous request.  My father has passed away four years ago, my sister was in college and there wasn’t extra money to be had.  She must have saw desperation in my face and gave in.

I have to say it was a remarkable event.  There he was sitting on stage with his piano accompanist.   His arms embraced his cello as if his life depended on it and he played music that I had no idea could be played on a cello. Modern and Classic all rolled into one beautiful concert. 

So during my second year of college I decided to take a beginning string class and I signed up for Cello.  As the teacher let the class go he called me to the side and said, “Hey Nancy, we have so many Cello players would you mind playing Viola”.  NO WAY I thought, but as most of you know I’ll say no then give in. In my heart I just want to go along with what will make everyone else happy.  So, I picked up my viola and spent a semester learning something I didn’t care for and at the end had nothing to show for it.  

21 years later, Christmas 2011 I started thinking about the whole New Year’s resolution and every year I tell myself I’m going to lose weight (almost the mantra of my life).  But this year I wanted to do something to make a change in me, to do something that I will love and something I will be proud of.  I wanted to stop crying about how I look on the outside and work on what’s on the inside.  So I texted my brother and he pointed me to a great music store in Redlands ( FYI Nick Rail Music).  I actually felt nervous making the initial call.  They said yes they rented Cello’s and yes they could recommend a teacher but I should call her first to see if she was taking on students.  Have you ever made a phone call and when you hung up with them you pictured them a certain way.  Then you meet them they are nothing like they sounded?  Well in my mind I imagined a tall, brown hair middle aged woman would be my new Cello teacher.

When I met Betty, it was like going to my grandma’s house.   Her hair was salt and pepper (more salt), short, cute, grandma chubby (aka the weight looks SO cute on her) and giggles/smiles nonstop!  We sit and talk about Cello, Life, Love, kids, dogs, cats … you name it, it’s a topic.  This is not to say she is easy or that I don’t take it seriously but I feel very honored to meet a soul who can’t imagine her life without the Cello.  And she is very proud to say she is 77 years old and has been playing Cello for 67 years!

Learning to play the Cello is HARD. No… its harder than that.  It demands respect and tells on you when you disobey it.  From the way you place it in front of you, to holding the bow it won’t tolerate sloppiness.  This is not to say other instruments don’t, but the Cello just expects it.  What has exasperated me, made me cry and just plain wanted to quit is that the Cello has no frets to easily distinguish what note you are playing.  Some days I’ll be moving my hand up and down the neck only to not know if I’ve hit the right note or if I’m just hitting a clunker over and over.  Then to add insult to injury when wonderful Betty tells me to make the note higher (sharper)…she means to move my hand down the neck and to make it lower (flatter) to move my hand up.  High is Low and Low is High… sigh…

So after 8 months, I sound like this (cringing in advance):

 

 

As horrified I am for you to hear me play, I’m also proud of what I have accomplished so far.  I told Betty that I wanted to learn how to play “All you Need is Love” on the Cello (which she already knows) and she said that is a very worthwhile goal.  So kids that is where I am when it comes to #47!  Practicing, getting frustrated and practicing some more but as the Beatles said:

 
Nothing you came make that can’t be made;
No one you can save that can’t be saved;
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time;
It’s easy!