Development Archives

A New Year’s Goal-Setting Session — by Mark Summer

As the New Year dawns bright and full of possibilities, (the financial cliff not withstanding), this is a useful time to contemplate where we stand on our path of development as musicians, and to think thoughtfully about where we’d like to be in the coming year. My wife and I make it a priority to take turns, voicing our goals, and writing down each other’s dreams and aspirations for the coming year. It gives us a supportive place to dream big and to begin to put into practice what we are imagining for ourselves. Even if you don’t put much credence in books like “The Secret”, which posits that positive thinking brings us what we think about, I think that we can all agree that it’s useful to know what [...]

By Mark Summer|2024-01-07T22:40:36-05:00February 6th, 2013|Categories: Beyond the Traditional, Performance, Self Discovery|Tags: dreams, educator, musicians, New Year, Summer, embarrassment, practicing, New Year's Goals, string quartets, gauge progress, recording artists, aspirations, gifts, adventures, sessions, trips, hero, specific dreams, travel with instruments, improvising, recording, taking advantage of opportunities, Mark, meditation, jazz, The Secret, action, cello, mentors, Development, Turtle Island String Quartet, Berklee School of Music, cellobello, mindfulness meditation, possibility, Utah, contemplate, goals, musical hero, respect, Zion National Park, decisive action, musical journey|

Passing It On — by Brant Taylor

A few weeks back, I was having a post-concert drink with my friend and colleague Joshua Gindele, cellist of the Miro Quartet, and the conversation turned to teaching. Though we are both associated with ensembles that perform dozens of concerts every season, teaching the cello is an important component of both of our musical lives. (Josh teaches at the University of Texas at Austin, and I teach at DePaul University.) Discussions on the general relationship between performing and teaching often give rise to interesting questions, some without straightforward answers. Many performers teach even though the skill sets required for good teaching and good performing are far from identical. If great teaching is something that is learned, when and how are the skills acquired? If a performer is a big star [...]

By Brant Taylor|2017-08-08T01:49:47-04:00February 20th, 2012|Categories: Bernard Greenhouse, Interpersonal Relationships, Janos Starker, Teaching|Tags: Quartet, Janos, inspiration, Awareness, Starker, Teaching, performance, cello technique, cello, Gregor, cellobello, David, Piatigorsky, Katz, perspective, Popper, music, Bernard, Paul, Brant, Greenhouse, Experience, Development, Taylor|

A New Look at Sight-Reading (Part 3) — by Robert Battey

Successful sight-readers move deftly around within a rigid hierarchy of tasks (“the Levels”). They’re like fencers, thinking ahead, anticipating the threats and challenges in the music, and adapting what they do on a measure-by-measure basis. They keep to the hierarchy, adding the next Level only when the lower ones are completely under control; experienced players do not jeopardize the ensemble by fumbling at a Level they can’t handle properly. Thus, effective sight-reading training is about understanding these Levels to the point where you can apply and adjust them instinctively, automatically. As I’ve said, it’s a different kind of thinking, almost like playing a different instrument. For most people, the most difficult concept to wrap your head around is that finding the actual pitches comes last. Simply chasing notes will quickly [...]

By Robert Battey|2017-10-24T03:47:44-04:00February 3rd, 2012|Categories: In the Practice Room, Self Discovery, Teaching|Tags: cello, perfection, cellobello, Coordination, music, Listening, Development, harmony, success, Janos, Technique, Starker, Battey, character, sight-reading, ensemble, Accomplishment, Rhythm, dynamics, Effective|

A New Look at Sight-Reading (Part 1) — by Robert Battey

As a teacher who specializes in adult amateurs, and who coaches at chamber music workshops catering to the amateur demographic, I have been struck by the differences of approach between these players and the “serious” conservatory students. By definition, “amateurs” are those who pursue the art form simply because they love it, and without the goal of becoming a professional. Conservatory students pursue the goal of professionalism even when, in a few cases, they don’t actually love the art form that much. But inherent in that pursuit are the thousands of hours slaving away on exercises, scales and etudes, always with an eye on the competition lurking in the next practice room or the impending juries. Amateurs “just want to play.” They have no illusions about ever sounding like the [...]

By Robert Battey|2022-09-19T13:46:18-04:00December 1st, 2011|Categories: In the Practice Room, Self Discovery, Teaching|Tags: music, Development, students, chamber music, goals, coaching, Battey, discipline, art, music-making, Technique, robert, sight-reading, Teaching, conservatory, workshops, cello, ensemble, cellobello, frustration|

Defining the Intangible — by Melissa Kraut

Several years ago I was asked to contribute to an article for Strings Magazine on "what teachers look for in an incoming student." I was excited about the article—what a fantastic idea—a compilation of suggestions from teachers who listen to 100+ cellists a year auditioning for music schools! Despite my best intentions, I still haven't crafted a contribution. (Here is where I should publicly apologize to the cellist, who is no doubt reading this entry, for the 3 year delay in responding to your request). My neglect was not for lack of interest, or lack of knowledge or experience on the subject. It came down to the difficulty in putting words to something that is so nebulous—defining the intangible. The title for this entry popped into my head during audition [...]

By Melissa Kraut|2024-01-22T02:00:58-05:00April 11th, 2011|Categories: Auditions, Teaching|Tags: articulation, cello, Kraut, Development, cellobello, Melissa, knowledge, students, possibility, Auditions, suggestions, expression, quality, Experience, commitment, Concerto, reflection, clarity, connection, career, skill, intonation, intentions, bow, Strings Magazine, sound production, potential, bow speed, imagination, passion, tone, success, musicianship, vibrato, Technique|