transitions Archives

Pezzo Capriccioso, Transitions, Alterations, and Rosin (Edited Version) — by Robert Battey

I am indebted to Aron Zelkowicz for correcting factual errors in the first version of this article, and to Peter Close for locating an on-line version of the original score. Today’s ruminations are on Tchaikovsky. And his congenital weakness regarding transitions. It’s kind of endearing, that such a genius would have this Achilles’ heel; for some reason, his muse regularly deserted him when he needed to stitch together two sections of music. It could be in a placid spot, such as the transition to the jerky second theme in the first movement of the Piano Concerto . . . or the connecting “music” preceding the waltz variation in the A minor Trio. It could also be in a transition meant to increase tension, like the second return to the [...]

By Robert Battey|2018-03-18T04:39:36-04:00September 8th, 2013|Categories: Repertoire|Tags: virtuoso, flawed works, cello, repeated notes, alterations, glissando, Rococo Variations, Piatigorsky, gummed-up fingers, options, sections, compositions, increased tension, melody, show piece, transitions, Leopold Auer, Rostropovich, sticky problem with shifting, rosin, lyrical, recordings, Tchaikovsky, sections of music, master, composer, trill, Achilles’ heel, modern artists, effects, charming, musical transitions, Battey, difficulty, opening material, robert, experimenting with rosin, creativity, Pezzo Capriccioso|

The Force of Habit — by Selma Gokcen

“You translate everything, whether physical, mental or spiritual, into muscular tension.” “We can throw away the habit of a lifetime in a few minutes if we use our brains.” —F.M. Alexander My Alexander teacher is always speaking about the force of habit and the difficulty of keeping the mind on a new track, when, for example, a simple decision is made not to lift an arm or get out of the chair in the usual way. Our kinaesthetic sense, the sense of our muscles in movement, is of little help here. We measure effort by how something feels, and that feeling is our habit. To give up wanting to feel our way forward in the early stages of Alexander Technique lessons comes down to a battle with habit, which is [...]

By Selma Gokcen|2021-10-18T12:14:27-04:00October 2nd, 2012|Categories: Alexander Technique for Cellists, Beyond the Traditional, Playing Healthy, Self Discovery|Tags: safety, movement, musicians, Selma, challenges, Mind, effort, Habits, Force of Habit, adventure, expectation, lessons, muscular tension, cello, exhilarating, transitions, Experience, Alexander Technique, Preparation, Gokcen|