Effective Archives

The Britten Cello Suites (Part 1) — by Aron Zelkowicz

Cellists have as much reason as anyone to celebrate the upcoming Benjamin Britten centenary, if not more so. The five major cello works he wrote for Mstislav Rostropovich – the sonata, the Symphony Concerto, and the three solo suites – have been taken up in short order as standard repertoire. By my unofficial count there are twenty recordings of the complete cello suites on the market, not to mention sixteen “incomplete” cycles of one or two suites here and there. So it can be easy to forget that this music hasn’t been around for very long. Those of us of a certain age can remember relics like the individually published suites, each score with its distinctly colored cover. Or Rostropovich’s classic 1970 LP titled, rather definitively, “Britten: The Suites for [...]

By Aron Zelkowicz|2022-03-18T13:25:36-04:00November 12th, 2013|Categories: Performance, Repertoire|Tags: compelling interpreters, solo suites, Zelkowicz, effect, opera, grandiose, Janos Starker, Suites, indulge, Performing, Effective, memory, cello, genius, Mstislav Rostropovich, cellobello, 1971, navigation, movements, Benjamin Britten, non-verbal drama, Britten solo cello suites, pizzicati, personality, canto, silences, centenary, solo cello suites, Aron|

The Process of Unlearning Habits — by Selma Gokcen

“It is not the degree of ‘willing’ or ‘trying,’ but the way in which the energy is directed, that is going to make the ‘willing’ or ‘trying’ effective.” –F.M. Alexander As professional musicians, we have a deeply trained muscle memory system, a network of learned movements which allows us to study and perform a huge number of works in any situation, often in a short space of time. This system is a blessing when it is reliable and accurate and a burden when it does not serve us well. Confronted by unwanted tension or a repetitive stress injury such as tendonitis or carpal tunnel syndrome, some of us, as F.M. Alexander did, may ask: what is my part in this? How have I brought about this condition? And it [...]

By Selma Gokcen|2017-11-24T04:09:57-05:00November 5th, 2012|Categories: Artistic Vision, Beyond the Traditional, Performance, Playing Healthy, Self Discovery|Tags: relationships, function, musicians, Selma, nervous system, energy, back, Technique, head, training, tension, Habits, effort, cello, muscle memory, cellobello, singing, Effective, Preparation, Alexander Technique, professional musicians, process, Gokcen, unlearning habits, neck, brain|

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: character, sight-reading, ensemble, Accomplishment, Rhythm, dynamics, Effective, cello, perfection, cellobello, Coordination, music, Listening, Development, harmony, success, Janos, Technique, Starker, Battey|