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Subject |
phesketh
Registered User
(10/9/00 3:11:19 pm)
Reply |
Cellist's familiars / Things to be thankful for
A fun thread ... that came to me as
I was being thankful for my supportive
"familiars".
Ok
... as a cellist we may have familiars ... those who like to sit and
hear us practice ... what are their preferences and
reactions
Familiar #1 is my cat Conrad Black ... (yes he
takes over papers as a hobby ... that's how he got his name)... this
black tuxedo ALWAYS comes to listen to me practice ... he
appreciatiates good phrasing (attentive eyes and ear movement) ...
and tolerates some of my attempts at trills (he still leaves for the
trill at the end of the first section of Breval
though).
Familiar #2 is my other cat Earl Grey (grey brown
tabby) who also comes to listen to me practice on a regular basis.
He is guaranteed in the room if I am playing Bach. He is much
pickier than his brother and leaves if I make too many mistakes (but
he just goes outside the door .. )..
My husband (familiar
#3) is ecstatic about my new electric cello (since I practice with
headphones and he doesnt have to hear me learning trills or vibrato
or playing music he doesn't like) Musically he seems to prefer
Bach/Bethoven/Mozart (when I play it correctly). But he is very
supportive about making sure I have time to practice and letting me
buy Cello toys .. or buying them for me ( BTW he was asking about
Ellen G's familiars ... there was black cat? hair in the packing
tape of a package).
So as I sit in the U.S and celebrate
Canadian Thanksgiving ... I have a lot to be thankful for.
Paula
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matthias24
Registered
User
(10/9/00 8:48:05 pm)
Reply |
Alas, I
have no pets, . . . .
but my cello teacher did tell me
(though she told me not to mention it at home) that my dad was
telling her how much he enjoyed hearing me practice at home, even if
it is all Suzuki with an occasional Dotzauer. He never comes into my
room, probably because he knows that if he comes in to listen, I
will stop playing. My friends bugged me into practicing at school
the other day when my cello lessons were cancelled, so I just
happened to have free time and my cello at school, so I practiced a
bit.
~ Aaron ~
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ruthann
Registered User
(10/10/00 11:55:07 am)
Reply |
Re:
Cellist's familiars / Things to be thankful for
I have a cat named Fred who always
comes into the room when I start playing - and demands to be let out
of the house. The dog, a yellow lab named Bam-Bam, doesn't bother me
when I practice but she loves my students. She comes into the room
and lays down between us. As a side note, we've also had two
different dogs named Barney and one named Pebbles. I've got my eye
on a pair of beagles who will no doubt be named Betty and
Wilma.
The human parts of the family are not impressed. My
husband prefers Led Zepplin. The kids like it when I practice at
bedtime so they can listen as they drift off to sleep.
cello_suttonr@hotmail.com
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String4tetCellist
Registered User
(10/11/00 9:30:59 pm)
Reply |
Cellist's familiars / Things to be thankful for
I like this thread...very nice
indeed...
#1. My dog, Katia. Always perched on the couch in the
music studio, looking out the window and listening, I think, out of
the corner of her ear. Whenever I say to her, "Want to come listen
to me practice?" (yes, everyone, I talk to my dogs... ), she
trots quickly in and settles herself down upon the couch.
#2. My
other beloved dog, Tallulah. The same idea as Katia...except more
likely to come and lie her head on my foot while I'm running through
"Kol Nidrei."
#3. My dad. A pro-cellist. Everyone would think
that because of that, he would pressure me and all that while I
practiced...but it couldn't be further from accurate. I realized
what music was and is to me on my own, and it's wonderful to have
someone who can sit down next to you while you're practicing and
have an interesting conversation with you about why the courante of
the second Bach suite can't be played as a piece that's in an
andante tempo: the beat is in one, and it's lost if it's played too
slowly. Can't play it too fast either, though. (Yeah, this
conversation took place yesterday evening.) And for some reason, my
cello always sounds better after he's tuned it than after I
have...
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Corrina
Connor
Registered
User
(10/12/00 1:12:07 am)
Reply |
Re:
Cellist's familiars / Things to be thankful for
1) My mother likes to listen to me -
often I have to play while she is in the bath (no, I don't go in
there too - too much humidity).
Well, that's about all. I
don't have a cat, or a dog.
What a sad soul I am........ 
~Corrina~
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Lucy
Clifford
Registered User
(10/12/00 1:16:21 am)
Reply |
Re:
Alas, I have no pets, . . . .
Neither do I - I travel around too
much, and it is upsetting for them and me. I do have 2 gold fish,
but they are very easy to take next-door when I am away, and if I am
gone for less than 3 days they can survive at home by
themselves.
Do you know something Aaron? Dr Suzuki chose all
those pieces because they are pleasant to listen to. Because parents
are supposed to supervise practice (well, you are too old for that),
so they need to be kept interested!
Ms L. Clifford (you can
call me Lucy)
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sarah
schenkman
Registered User
(10/12/00 4:41:51 pm)
Reply |
Cellist's familiars / Things to be thankful for
My cats aren't interested in my
practising (except Dharma who comes in because she likes to sit
under my chair) and mostly I keep my practise room door closed
because my husband is usually practising (violin) at the same time.
So no one listens.
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Cellospieler
Registered User
(10/12/00 5:27:22 pm)
Reply |
Re:
Cellist's familiars / Things to be thankful for
I have two black pugs, one who lays
near my feet every day when I practice, off to my right, and the
other who watches from the sofa, and actually gets under the cello
and leans his back into it on occasion and when he does that, the
wolf tone disappears!
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zambocello
Registered User
(10/13/00 1:33:10 am)
Reply |
Re:
Cellists familiars / Things to be thankful for
Can your pug get rid of a wolf on
F#, or does he only do F natural? I may want to borrow
him.......
My cats are only interested in my practicing if I
forget their meal time. But they do seem to enjoy my wife's piano
practicing. Crazy cats; its about 100 dB where they sit on the
piano!
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Tracie
Price 
Registered User
(10/13/00 2:46:07 am)
Reply |
Re:
Cellist's familiars / Things to be thankful for
My dog, Maggie, (some kind of
shar-pei/lab thing) is fascinated by all kinds of sounds. She
watched an entire Looney Toons cartoon the other day because it had
strange sounds in it. As a general rule, she tries to go where I go,
no matter where that might be. When practicing, she is intrigued by
the my cello and stares at it and snuffles at it with her ears
pricked up. Then she usually tries to grab the tip of my bow for a
while. She assumes everything I do is meant to be some sort of
entertainment for her. Eventually, she gives up and goes and snoozes
nearby.
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phesketh
Registered User
(10/13/00 2:16:24 pm)
Reply |
Re:
Cellist's familiars / Things to be thankful for
I must add that Familiar #2 (Earl)
is the reason why I cannot use pirastro rosin ... Every time I have
used it ... Mr "must sniff" has spent my whole practicing time
trying to sniff (and maybe lick) the bow as I play ... which freaks
me out because I don't want to hit him in the eye as his nose
attempts to follow the bow.
Paula
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lblake
Registered
User
(10/13/00 6:07:28 pm)
Reply |
Re:
Cellist's familiars / Things to be thankful for
I have two dogs - one is more true
to his nature, and is aloof like a cat. While I practice, he curls
up on the couch and listens. (my dogs almost never voluntarily leave
the room that I am in) BUT, when I hang my bow back on the wall and
pick up my cello to put in the end-pin, he JUMPS up, and runs around
the room! He thinks it's time to go do something else now! like, go
for a walk! or go to bed!
silly boy.
My girl is less
true to her breed, and is incredibly cuddly. She never leaves my
side (or my lap) voluntarily. So, when I play cello, she usually
sits under my chair. I'm not sure if it's because she likes it under
the cello, or if it's because that's the closest she can get to my
lap!
Sometimes, she will even put her paws up on my leg,
wanting to get on my lap, anyway, but I tell her there's no
room!
But, both of them love everything I play.  (i guess
they're easy to please!!!)
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