String ensemble 2019-2020 season 4 final reflection

During lockdown, we recorded ourselves playing our own part&instrument but could not rehearse together and

our concert that was supposed to be in esplanade hall was cancelled. But I tried to practice the cello regularly, especially focusing on improving basic skills which I did not have time for when I had to spend a lot of time going  to school and coming back home before the lockdown. Even though everything has changed and was uncertain, I think I found ways to make most out of the given situation and I think it is the most important lesson I learned during the lockdown that I need to accept the situation and plan how to deal with the changes. Also, by doing the string ensemble, I learned how to play my own instrument while also hearing other sounds. This was initially hard for me as I play a lot of solo songs or pieces by myself, but I think I got used to hearing other’s sound through this experience.

String ensemble Season 3 reflection

During season 3, we faced uncertainties as we were not sure whether we could do a performance in esplanade or not. One day, we heard that our performance has been cancelled due to Covid-19 which was very dissapointing. Everyone seemed to be dissapointed and discouraged at first and I also was. I remember how me and other people complained about how this corona virus situation is affecting everything negatively and that it is totally weird situation. But after thinking about how I should respond to this unexpected change, I got to change my mind. I realised that having a concert or a large performance should not be the only purpose for practicing. I believe that just gathering during lunch and collaborating with other members means a lot by itself. And I think I am so grateful for being able to still come to school and participate in activities like string ensemble during pandemic crisis where most other countries are closing schools. Collaborating with people face to face has been harder these days in other countries. I think developing collaboration skills will be my goal during my whole life as it is so important. A lot of peolple(including me) tend to focus on what they are responsible for even when they are working as a group, and I think that is a very misleading idea as I learned from my experience in string ensemble that listening to others’ sound is as more important as hearing my cello sound. And I talk a lot about the pieces we are practicing with other cellist, especially with Shreya and Christine. I have lunch with Christine and Ayami before the rehearsal and we talk about the pieces we are playing.  We talk about what position(first,second, or third) will be better suited for specific notes and etc. I also enjoy and cherish those conversations. I really like the fact that I genuinely enjoy  going to the rehearsals so much.

String Ensemble season 2 final reflection

During season 2, we focused on practicing the pieces we were going to perform in our concert. We repeated several sections of the pieces that we were struggling with, one of which was Mozart’s piece. Actually, cello part of that song is very easy compared to fast and tricky main melody that violinists have to play. This happens quite often as the cello usually plays the base note to create harmony with the main melody. When I was in primary school orchestra in Korea, conductor used to spend a lot of time putting effort into improving violinists’ skills and I used to think that the base sound of cello is not that important and I imagined what it would feel like to play main melody. However, through practicing with such a small group like ensemble, I realised that the fact that I learned how to listen to other sounds helped me become better cellist not only as a solo player but also as part of a group pf musicians. This is something I’ve always tried to do but never succeeded. This requires me to not only  count the beats but listen to the main melody as the cello usually plays base notes and  once I could hear the main melody, it becomes so much easier to count the beats when other players are playing their instruments and we are waiting. However, I think I will need to work more on dynamics(forte and piano for example).

String Ensemble Initial reflection

We started practicing the pieces that we are going to be performing in the concert in March. I have learnt cello for many years but have never joined chamber ensemble before.  I knew that the size of the ensemble would be relatively small compared to the orchestra, but was surprised again at how clearly I could hear my sound when we played as a whole group. Also, it was so obvious when I made mistakes. There is one piece that starts with cello solo part and I have to get used to playing more smoothly.  In general, I think I will need to work on moving positions and vibrato but as the music should be harmonic, I’ll need to listen to other players and play my instrument along their rhythm and speed.