Le Cello: My Anti-drug

Fantabulous!

2007-08-31T21:17:00.000-07:00

After that depressing outcome, I am happy to inform you that I had a WONDERFUL lesson.

RECAP - Ignore if you just want to read about everything but the cello right now... There will be some bits of news at the bottom, after this paragraph.

So anyway, I walked in, sat down, didn't say much... So Mrs. Lopez assumed that I was grouchy, when really, I was trying to be good. I was trying to be a good little doggy who was looking at her glass as half full for once. Of course, the first topic of the day was ASYO. Let me just give it to you in script form.

L: So did you try out for ASYO?
M: Yeah.
L: And.
M: And it was a learning experience.
L: (Is surprised by this answer) Well I see that you didn't quite make it, then. So tell me, what happened?
M: I panicked.
L: You panicked? Like how?
M: Well I walked into the orchestra room at the junior high, and I was fine. I sat down to warm up, and was fine, then I walked out onto the stage and those guys were sitting two feet away and I didn't have a strap and it was scary, but I was fine... I made it through the Swan ok, though the stupid rock stop slipped once and made my cello slide out like this. (Shows her what I mean) But it sounded decent. Then I started Rondo and was fine... It wasn't until I got to (Points to the place that Mrs. Lopez was expecting all along) here. (Pokes the measure with my bow)
L: Mmhm well, what caused the panic? Was it a sudden burst of self-consciousness, or what?
M: Hm I'm going to go with door number one.
L: Well that's just all in your head Maddie Brown, all in your head. That's why I am here. You have progressed pass being too afraid to even audition. Now you can go in and feel fine. It's when you sit down in front of them that you lose your courage. That's what I've got to work on now.

And we continued to chat a bit about that. Yes, I know, this post is boring so far. I promise, I won't bore you for much longer. So, we played through Rondo with the piano then she sat back down, turned on the metronome, and turned it up to 96... Though I was playing it at 78ish somewhat comfortably. It was quite a laugh the first time, so we did it twice then the turned it up again. 102. Apparently my fingers aren't staying close enough to the fingerboard, because they slipped and slid all over the place, but never seemed to make it to the note.

Now I must interrupt here to inform you that there is a fly buzzing around here and it is louder than most normal house flies. It's driving me crazy.

Anyway, we played it at 102 a few more times, then I looked in reflection of the window in the window of the door (Wow... what? Lol) and saw somebody coming. I didn't have any idea who it was and didn't take any time to really think about it because Mrs. Lopez was saying something about "120 before you leave. Ready GOGOGO!" so I had to play or die. Haha. I listened to the person come in as I flew through the beginning. It was flawless and that was at 108. YAY! Then she cranked it up to 120. From 108 to 120. That's when I turned to see that the person sitting on the couch waiting for me to finish was...

Gasp...

Noah. I was inspired. I played it at 120, almost flawlessly, with a huge grin on my face. He actually talked to me afterwards! Mrs. Lopez said something... One of her trademarked lines from one of her "lectures" and he said, "Well, Maddie, I don't refer to them as lectures exactly..." and Mrs. Lopez started listing the things that her students called the "psychological discussions" (< Noah) Then, I was sneaking out of the room whilst Mrs. L was talking to Noah's mom, and Noah said "Goodbye Maddie!" Yes, it was a tiny little thing, but I just about exploded. 1) I was pretty sure he wouldn't talk to me if his life depended on it, 2) Well I don't have a two, so I'm going to just emphasize 1 by saying it again. I was pretty sure he wouldn't EVER talk to me even if his life depended on it. I was sooo giddy. Hehehe...

Oh so, I have to reschedule my lessons so I can make it to the football games on Fridays (Since I'm playing the cymbal... ROFL!) so I'm rescheduling them for Thursdays... Since... Well... Guess.

I'll post my special post tomorrow... Don't let me forget. ;)
<3 you all!
Maddie

I'm on fire... Rolls eyes

2007-08-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, bums and hobos, may I present to you... Miss... MADDIE THE FAILURE.

Guess...

Have you figured it out yet?

How about now?

No, well ok I'll tell you. First, the world's worst acronym. ASYO. Ok now then... Yes, I auditioned Monday. No, I did not make it. Here's the recap for those who are interested.

I walked out onto the stage, and realized OH NO! no cello strap. So I borrowed a rock stop from Bassman. I started with The Swan (Slower = Safer :P) which started out pretty good. Decent tone. Intonation rocked. The new strings helped out (Couldn't get Jargars... Not the season I suppose. Larsen A & D, Thomastik Spirocore G & C) but they didn't save me. My rock stop slipped out like... 6ish inches and WHOOSH! Out of tune, lost my place, bow SQUEEEEAKed, and the high D DIED.

Then I moved on to Rondo... The piece from hell. My thumb pos. was ok until about 6 or 7 lines into the piece. Then I screwed up, tried to go back to the beginning of the measure, screwed up again, tried to go back... Finally I kept going, slowly and shakily... I finished and refused to look up. Haha. I did two scales. They thought I sucked so he said C major and D... How insulting!!! I knew I was done then. I had no chance, but I went ahead and did the easier sight reading. It was in Bb M, or something like that. I knew that until two measures before the end and forgot so all of the b's and e's were natural. Smoooooth...

Jazz band?

2007-08-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

Story time. A while back, we talked to the high school jazz band director. We asked if I could be in the jazz band (Since there is no orchestra program here...)and the director said "No, there is no place for a cello in a jazz band..." but yesterday, my band geek friend went in and asked again... Because he is a good guy and knows I want to play my cello with a group DESPERATELY. So, the director said "Oh you mean Maddie Brown? Yeah we could find a place for her... If that's what she wants..." So now I've got to decide if I think I can do it... What do you guys think? I'll put up a poll, but I want some comments too. Let me know your thoughts on the matter.

Oh, and I talked to Mrs. A about this... She says she was in a jazz orchestra and any chance I get to play, I should definitely take. I love her to death, and she knows what she's talking about, so I'll probably do it, but still, I like to know what you are thinking.

Eep! One more thing. Next weekend, I'll be posting a special post, so please keep an eye out for it!

Love ya!
M

The only muse that hasn't jumped off a cliff yet.

2007-08-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

Most of my muses die a horrible death, such as my writing muse, my blogging muse, my deviantart muse, etc. But there is one that hasn't, and won't EVER do that. He's not the type.

Now, the ones mentioned above, writing/blogging/devA, are just figments of my imagination. The last one though... My music muse, is a person. A person I recently mentioned in another of my silly posts that I hypnotize you guys into reading (If you haven't read that, I'd appreciate it if you would.) This guy, Noah *Girly sigh* is sort of a crush, sort of just one of those people you admire for their skill.

I started playing when I was in fifth grade. The first time I heard Noah was in fifth grade at the Fall Cluster Concert. He was there with the advanced orchestra from the junior high I was considering going to. No, it wasn't a solo, but he was first chair, and my huge ego and I were only paying attention to the cellos. He looked like he didn't even have to think, it just came to him and he didn't have to watch what he was doing. Everything was just... Right. Well at the time, I just wanted to listen, not learn. I hated playing the cello and was ready to give it up, but I got into it by the end of the year and became a total stage whore. I looooved the applause and the emotions an orchestra could could bring out in people. It is here that I will admit, Faure's Elegie makes me cry... And the Elgar concerto... Makes me sob. Hehe... Anyway, at the end of fifth grade, I had decided I wanted to go to that school that he went to for two reasons: The science program, and the music program. The first day, I learned his name. Noah Littlejohn, a name that would make me giggle for various reasons for the rest of forever. Throughout 6th grade, we stalked him. Yes, full on stalked. We (A cellist friend and I) knew his schedule, his phone #, his address, his private teacher's name, and even his parents' license plates number. Crazy? Yes. Crossing the line? Oh yeah. A crime meant only to entertain us? In Taylors case, yes. In my case, no. I wanted to know everything so I could be what he was. What was he, you ask? First chair cellist of the advanced orchestra, UIL recognized soloist, GSW recognized soloist, he was even wanted by the local symphony later on.

So one afternoon, after I was through stalking Noah, I went to talk to my orchestra director. I asked her casually for some contact information for "that first chair cellist guy's teacher" (Though I knew his name ;P) She gave it to me, doubting that I was good enough, so I called this lady, Eleonora Lopez, and asked for an "audition" time. She told me to stop by Friday, so I did. The first thing I said was something about how I came to her because of Noah, and wanted to be him basically. So, I played Minuet ummm #3 I think... She said I had tons of potential so we scheduled my lessons... And um yeah. I've still not defeated my mental problems that are stopping me from being Noah, but that's what Mrs. Lopez is for.

When I was in 7th grade, he was a freshman... Gone... My muse disappeared. I had to find another form of inspiration. I tried to channel competitive-ness into inspiration, but I am NOT agressively comeptitive like the first chair girl was, so I was third chair all year. At the end of the year, I decided to go to orchestra camp at a university not far from where I live. That's where I saw him again, and was inspired to continue on, whether he was around or not.

Eight grade was the year I lost orchestra completely, but seing Noah again at various music competitions 100 miles from here inspired me once again, but this time I felt a bit more than just inspiration. He was... My silly little crush for a while, but just recently, I decided that it is more than just a silly little crush. It is a full on, ALMOST head over heels crush. I knew that when I heard him practicing/ performing the Elgar cello concerto at camp. From the day I heard him practicing at camp, I spent every waking minute thinking 'How can I change my route so I run into him?' and 'What will it take for me to run into him whilst alone so we might carry on a converstion?' and 'I wonder how I am supposed to stop this stupid blushing and stupid stupid high sqeaky 'OMG IT'S NOAH' voice!!!'

So yes... Noah Littlejohn is my muse and my crush. Someone with that much talent is hard not to admire... So I don't try to hide my admiration anymore... Just ask him. I stutter every time he says hello.

Part III

2007-08-13T16:04:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I walked outside. My mom was parked right in front of my dad, so I headed that way. My dad started to get out of his truck, but then stepdad got out so my dad got back in. It was quite funny. I could see my dad griping to his girlfriend as I handed my cello to my stepdad, but have no idea what exactly he was saying. So I finished talking to my parents and got into my dad's truck and he was SILENT all the way home. Super scary. Then he was a jerk for a week, yelling at me for every little thing, even if I had nothing to do with it. It was stupid!!! So yeah, that is the very anticlimactic end to my story. Now go read the post below this to meet my "hopeless-romantic" side. ROFL!

<3

Am I a piece of glass? Or perhaps some evanescent whisp of smoke?

2007-08-12T19:34:00.001-07:00

((I'll finish my previous story tomorrow! I promise. Look here tomorrow for Part III))

Yes, yes I think I am. I swear to you, I am going crazy here.

He never notices me until I screw up...

GR!

Quick recap of lesson

-Walk in, sit, unpack
-Play some scales (For the first time ever... Lol)
-Learn that I must memorize every scale ever... um invented... And play two excerpts of two cello solos... And sightread... To get into the youth orchestra here... *Faints*
-Play through the first part of Rondo (Suzuki book 6)
-Start the Swan (For my other solo excerpt)

So I am playing through the Swan trying to refresh my memory, and I'm doing an ok job then... Noah Littlejohn walks in. NOAH LITTLEJOHN... NOAH LITTLEJOHN!!! So immediately I screw up... And no, not just a little bit... I crash... And burn. The whole time he is getting ready for his lesson, and I can see it on his face that he thinks I don't sound great. Now, if you know me, you know that I adore this guy. He is so talented! Mrs Lopez knows that too, and she rescheduled my lesson... And put it right before his, knowing that I would squirm with him around. She laughed at me through this whole little scene. It was soooooo embarrassing. He wouldn't even give me the time of day as it was, but now he thinks I'm a total idiot who he won't give the time of day to. *Heart breaks*

:'(

I'm too depressed to finish this post... I'll do it later. *Walks away, head and shoulders drooping, sniffling quietly and casually wiping away some pitiful li'l tears*

Lol.

You must read this whole post!!!!!

2007-08-01T10:48:00.002-07:00

Well friends, my summer has come to an end. I hope I have entertained you slightly with my frequent posts. They will become less frequent now, and I'll tell you why later. Guanaco, if you are reading this, I'll only be able to help with CelloHeaven every other weekend, though I would still love to help in anyway I can as often as possible! I adore that website and every person on it... Except Allthingspink. I mean, come on! What kind of name is that? Allthingspink! *Scoffs* HA! Why not Allthingsgreen, or Allthingsblue? Sheesh.

Hehe...

Now I have a story to tell. Gather 'round the circle children so you can all here me. Keith! Stop pulling Donna's hair! Sarah! Get your finger out of your nose!

Part I
Ok, so about a two weeks ago I went to my friend Holy's house right after my private lesson. My granddad pulled up and I immediately said "I need to get my bag and cello so will you unlock the back, please?" So he did. Well it was a pretty big bag, so I got it and took it up to the door then turned around and the back of the truck was closed and locked and my granddad was behind me holding my rabid sister away from Holy. So at first... For a millisecond I thought he had made an honest mistake and forgotten, but then I remembered, he is part of the side of my family that I don't like, so this wasn't an innocent mistake. He had done it on purpose because he wanted to be in control just like every other loon on that side of the family. So here is the brief conversation we had... His words will be in italics.

"Hey I need to get my cello..."
"Nah, it will be ok. I'll be nice to Winston..."
(Now let me cut in right here and tell you that I don't want him calling my cello by his name like he is some part of this musician insanity. It irritates me to no end. Anyway, back to what was said.)
"No, I need my cello. I don't want to leave it with you. It's my cello, so you need to go unlock the truck and let me get my cello out before you leave."
*He begins walking towards the truck, laughing the whole way there* "Nono, he will be fine. He will be ok. I'll be good to him. Don't worry."
"I want my cello! Open the back!"
*He is about to duck down and get into his truck*"I'll see you later Maddie, you two have fun." *He drives away with Winston still IN THE BACK OF HIS WORK TRUCK!*

So tons of things start running through my head. 1) He isn't going to take Winston out of the truck! He will be there until Friday when he comes back to take me to my lesson! 2) The heat and humidity are going to make him swell up and it's going to mess with the crack in the bottom of him! 3) Winnie is going to go out to the country with him and bump around and stuff is going to fall on his case and and... 4) I WANT MY WINNIE!!!

That jerk is driving away with my cello, and I am wishing I would have done things differently...

---

Part II

Ok so it has been a week since then, and I've spent some time with Holy, and my grandmother, and my GREAT grandmother, and I've read the Harry Potter book, but though I've had all of these things to distract me, my mind hasn't left the thought that Winston is in the back of a truck somewhere with his sound post rolling around inside him and he is cracked all the way around so he is in two pieces. So I worry and wait and wait and wait for Friday, and it finally comes...

My dad showed up at my grandmothers where I had been staying, and rang the doorbell... I went and got in the truck and immediately turned around to look at Winston, though I couldn't touch quite yet. His case was fine. Then we took FOREVER getting to Mrs. Lopez's house, I guess since I was nervous. When we got there, I dragged my cello inside, put it by the couch and walked away from it. Mrs. Lopez laughed and asked what was going on. I told her that I needed her to open the case because I was too afraid to. She agreed to, so I told her the story as she opened it up and took Winnie out. She sat down and inspected him as I continued to call my granddad a slur of many different things (All in Maddie language... So it wasn't any thing worse that "Stupidheadedtennisshoe!!!) Winnie was ok... When she told me that, I started crying and I grabbed Winston and hugged him and shook throughout my whole lesson. Lol! So yeah... Now then... Another story before we continue.

---

Part II 1/2

My mom and I had decided before that lesson that she would show up (Though my dad was supposed to pick me up) and pick up my cello, so I saw her pull up, and immediately my performance began to suffer, because I knew my dad would freak when I handed my cello over to her (I don't know why, but it's true)... Mrs. Lopez noticed, so I explained the situation and referred to it as a "scene from Jerry Springer" multiple times. So we finished up my lesson by talking about how I need to be less my dadish and more my momish, because it will make my playing better. Then, as I left, I was freaking out because my dad was going to yell at me for it, or I was pretty sure he was going to. Mrs. Lopez hummed the death march as I walked outside... It was not nice. Lol but I cracked up.

---

Part III

I'll get to that later... I'm getting carpal tunnel.

My First Lesson!!!

2007-07-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

I FIXED MY TITLES! YAY!

Ok, anyway... I have to tell you this story first. It's from orch-dork camp. :)

The first full day at camp we spent all day trying to get each other's names right. In our sectional, we went around saying our first and last name, and Mrs. A-dog fell in love with Erin Milke's (Like Milky) last name. So every time someone would say "My name is Bob Barker and this is Erin" Mrs. A. would always add Milke, because she loved that name so much. So then, she started cracking bad jokes about Erin Milke's name... Like we were really scrunched close together, but Erin had room to move, so Mrs. Allison said "Erin can move because she's low-fat Milke!" There were a few more too. Oh she said "Awww Erin is so sweet! She's chocolate Milke!" and "No need to be sour Milke!" I still laugh when I think of that. It was hilarious, though Erin didn't seem to think so at the time. I guess it's because they were such corny jokes.

Oh so yeah, about my lesson! Today, I start the all-region audition music. The cool thing about that is that the all-region tryouts are excerpts from the all-state audition music. It's exciting. If you get into all-state, you are pretty much guaranteed acceptance into any of the universities here with a music program. I won't make it this year, because I am still struggling with thumb position, but it will be good to work on it anyway. I'm soooo excited! Mrs. Lopez is excited to be getting me back too because I have grown a bit from being on my own for so long. I have a better tone and a better attitude. :) I'll blog about the lesson this evening or tomorrow depending on our internet. It hasn't been working lately. Gr.

<3

2007-07-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

EDIT: Ha! Score! I got my music all fixed up and ready! Thanks to cellobloggers. Hahahahahahahahahaaaaa... That rocks. Listen and enjoy. Jubilee sucks by the way. Hehe! :)

Home again, home again, jiggidy jig

2007-07-14T22:57:00.000-07:00

Look! It's the three coolest people on earth. Left to right: Allthingspink from Celloheaven, Mrs. A (Our Sectional leader and coolest cello teacher EVER) and me.

I am home from camp. It was sooooooo fun! Well, I didn't do any of the social stuff (Dances, parties, etc.) because by the end of the day, which was like 4:45ish for me, I was exhausted. I would seriously walk back to the dorm and pass out, only to be rudely awaken by people who obviously didn't value their lives. I learned a ton, and our concert was... Interesting. I'll post the MP3s here soon if I can. I'd tell you what we did wrong, but then that would ruin the pieces for you, so I'm going to let your discover/ not discover what I know is wrong and found later on that was wrong or turned out to be right.

Here is what we played (Remember... MP3s are on their way!!!):

The Light Cavalry Overture by Franz von Suppe
Selections from Mamma Mia arr. by Ted Ricke HS
"Presto" from Three Divertimento Mvmts. by W. A. Motzart
Jubilee by Ron Nelson

It was a fun concert. I'd like for everyone to keep in mind that no matter how ABSOLUTELY STUPID YOU LOOK, you must do as your concert master (Or mistress in my case) chooses to do. During our concert, Dr. W. stood us up, then left the stage. Our lovely first chair first violin didn't seat the orchestra because she either didn't know that she was supposed to lead that or forgot out of post-performance jitters, so we just stood with her. We were all mouthing things like "sit down!" and "seat the orchestra!" but she didn't catch on. We heard our other conductor Mrs. Mac whispering back stage, and turned to look at her. She was standing there waving her arms at us and making the "SIT DOWN!" motion. Finally, after about 60 seconds of humiliation, we sat down and she came out to conduct the next piece. I could hear our sectional leader cracking up in the audience... It was pretty funny at the time.

Also, our big joke in cello sectionals this year was about the word anticipate. Mrs. A kept reminding us to anticipate this shifts. It eventually turned into the "Word of the Day" (Every day... Lol) that was "Brought to you by the letter A!!!" Like Seseme Street! Remember that? They would have a number and a letter everyday.

I'm too tired to continue to tell my orch-dork camp stories, but I fully intend to continue tomorrow! Stay tuned, and we will be right back with "STORIES FROM ORCH DORK CAMP".

Heh heh

Camp

2007-07-11T17:17:00.000-07:00

I'm at camp. Yes, I am enjoying myself, but not nearly as much as I expected to. A fellow cellist (FROM MY ORCHESTRA FOR PETE'S SAKE) has convinced herself that I am two years old and that I need to be talked down too, even though we are in the same orchestra and almost at the same skill level. I will admit that she is a bit more experienced than me, but not to the point that she can talk to me the way she has been.

Chair test 1: Out of sheer dumb luck I got 2nd chair in the Concert (Order of orchestras from least experienced musicians to most: Sinfonetta, philharmonic, concert, symphony.) orchestra. I beat this condescending cellist, and she can't let it just be because I was better. She keeps making excuses. Yeah, I know I said it was dumb luck, but Mrs. A-dog (Inside joke) said it was because I was better, and whatever she says goes. Anyway, that was today. There is another tomorrow.

Chair test 2: Hasn't happened yet. It's over some harder stuff. It's not too bad, honestly... Except for that part in Jubliee. It's grodey.

Now for the less than fantabulous things. I was totally looking forward to seeing Mrs. Allison. Like... I was jumping up and down uncontrollably. Seriously. I love her to death (Not at the moment) and wish she was my private teacher all the time. She told me she'd give me tons of extra attention because I am not quite thumb position savvy. Now she is too busy making the fabulous students fabulous-er and leaving all of the little people (Ehem ME!) to fend for themselves. It really sucks! All these people who know what they are doing are taking up all of her time, and I am begging, and bribing for a TEN MINUTE lesson!!! She's really grumpy and just looks at me with that "Oh yeah... It's you. Go away, I'm telling this student how perfect she/he is" look. My lessons with her are pretty much IN! PLAY! CORRECT! PLAY! LEAVE! Then she won't give me the time of day. She's not the Mrs. A-dog I remember from all-region and BOC from last year.

I'll gripe more about her later...

My roomie rocks. I don't have much else to say about her.

Now back to Mrs. A. I MISS MRS. LOPEZ!!! I LIKE HER MORE NOW! Sad huh? I've done all of this bragging, and now I just want my calm, quiet, not funny or hyper Mrs. Lopez back. *Cries* I feel like maybe she has been being fake with me since the beginning, and I just found that fake attitude of hers (Though I didn't know it was fake at the time) refreshing after being with Mrs. Lopez for so long. I'm not sure. I'll ask her if she wants to grab lunch with me tomorrow, and figure it out. This is a very heart breaking situation. I get very attached to my cello teachers, no matter who they are. Mrs. Taylor = evil, and I was attached. Mrs. Lopez = always TOO right, but I am attached. Mrs. Allison = Fake?! <--- Majorly attached, but possibly becoming unattached. God, I am such a cry baby huh? Well, someone tell me what to think, because I am just... Out of grey matter.

Will post more after I eat Chinese food.

<3

Headdesk

2007-07-05T18:20:00.000-07:00

Hmm you peoples need a pic from me... Gimme a minute. Oh duh! I'll show you what I did to my tuner... But first, a story.

For a while now, I have been extremely dependent on your comments, my metronome, and emails from a woman, who is an angel, to keep the learning process goin' (Though it has slowed down a bit) Well, one day after I spent three hours with my metronome clicking away happily, I snapped. I threw it in the street... And well here is the damage. ;)

Actually, I can't find my camera or my tuner. Sorry. I'll find it all later and edit this.

Has there ever been a time...

2007-07-03T22:18:00.000-07:00

That you have desperately wanted to say something through your music but just couldn't because the degree of the emotion was just too out of reach?

That is sorta happening to me. I've felt sort of like an outsider here in my new home far away from the place I thought was the only place for me. Back where I used to be, I fit in because I had orchestra. Here, I am a soloist in a sea of swimmers and band geeks. It has been a year. The year of the sponge is what I call it. Slowly, this sponge has been sucking out any confidence orchestra had given me, as well as my ability to share what I am really like with the people here. I was and still partially am convinced that without orchestra, I am nothing because they were the only people like me. This placed just seems... Self-centered. I was starting to wish that I was not Miss Conversational Orch-dork, and more of a Miss Gorgeous Girly girl. Tonight, two very wonderful people reminded me that I don't need to be that girl. They reminded me I can be Miss Conversational Orch-dork all I want, and those who protest should just be ignored.

It started out with a conversation between me and my best guy friend about why girls are so worried about looks. I said I couldn't help him with that one because that just isn't my area of expertise. That led to a conversation about why I wasn't one of those girls. I explained that I want to be adored for my conversation, not my looks, then said something about how I feel like I should have done things differently. He was quick to say that he thought I had done right and that's why he likes me... It was sweet. He's the first person to say I'm fine being the orch-dork that I am. I'd give him a big smooch if I could, but this was all through instant messaging.

I told my absolutely adorable friend Samara about this and she, just as quickly as my guy friend, agreed. All this time, I thought I've been thinking I'm wrong, when really, being anyone else is what would be wrong.

Corny huh? If it wasn't midnight, I'd try to capture these feelings in music. Even if I could try, I just don't think it would be possible. I know I sounded totally attention whore-y in this post, but I just needed to get it out, ya know? Winnie and I are going to spend the day together tomorrow trying to recreate this interesting evening...

Details tomorrow evening.

Independence day

2007-07-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

Guess what I am doing for the 4th? I am going to drill a scale into my head. Why so worried about a scale you ask? Well, I have very little knowledge of thumb pos. because I took a break from lessons and that was what we were going to cover next. This scale is in three octaves and ends on an Eb. Yes, it's the ever disgusting Eb Major. In order to get into Ms. Mac's orchestra, I have to ace this and a stupid little tune from Schroder's book of Etudes. Number 70 I believe... It's not that hard. It just requires more focus than I am willing to give.

So yes, I am skipping the parade and 32" pixie sticks. I am also skipping the turtle races... How sad... (Sarcasm) I will not be making it to the watermelon feast either. That I am truly disappointed about, but Winston's happiness means the world to me. He will be happier hanging out with Mrs. A-dog and Ms. Mac.

Teeeeeesting...

2007-06-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

Countdown To Tech Camp
Thaaat's right my adoring fans, I get to bomb an audition in however many days hours and seconds that thing says... ^-^

New look!

2007-06-16T09:21:00.001-07:00

Woo! I worked for... 5 hours trying to get my blog just right. I am quite pleased with how it turned out. I love the muffins in the banner. Teehee! Winnie is hanging out at the bottom of the page. If you scroll down you can go worship him. If you are having any problems loading anything, let me know. I'll fix it right away.

2007-06-16T05:29:00.000-07:00

I'm better! Ok ok ok... I must show this off, but before I do so, let me tell you how much I envy this girl. Sarah. She is a gorgeous red head, talented, and has access to an orchestra... And did I mention she is a red head? Gr! Envyenvyenvy...Evilevilevil... Okie dokie, here she is with her fantabulous trio. http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa55/allthingspink/Picture018.jpg ^COPY PASTE INTO ADDRESS BAR Cause for some reason I can't make my tags work today.

Inside the cello world, I am tempted to slit her throat (LOVE YA SARAH!) Outside the cello world... Well I should and would say we are good friends... If it was a true statement. When I met her for the first time at orch-dork camp, I was the shyest little blondie cellist ever, and not just the first day... I was like that alllll week. This year though, she gets the honor of meeting the less shy me... Poor poor Sarah. Anyway, she's brilliant and I am insane, and brilliant+insane is like peanut butter+jelly. We are going to have 1000x as much fun this year as we did last year hopefully. ^_^ Oh and this year, maybe I won't bomb my audition. Scratch that. That should have said "Oh and this year, I will NOT bomb my audition."

Omg! I didn't tell everyone about that. My dad is paying for camp this year. Amazing, right? Well if you know my dad you will agree. He is not the kinda guy who shells out $600 dollars to pay for something for his biological daughter. He is the kinda guy who shells out $600 on his illegitimate children... Ah well. I got lucky and I am taking advantage of it. YAY! *Does the happy 'I'm going to camp' dance*

Sarah, if you made it this far into the post... YAY! I have a question. Um how in the world are you doing those slurs in that stupid audition piece? I freaking suck at those slurs. Ya know the ones that start on a C and end on an Ab. No matter how long I spend working on them, the low C is BOOM and the slur is... [size=itsy bits teenie weenie] Skreeeeek...[/size] I know I played this last year too, but I still have problems when it comes to those dang slurs.

Oh I got my private lessons back btw! ^-^ I just 'bout screamed when my mom asked if I wanted to go back in the fall.

Th-th-thats all folks!

NO!

2007-06-15T20:45:00.001-07:00

Dr. *Sniffles*... Morrison...*Sobs*...Is...*Bursts into tears*

~A few hours and pints of ice cream later~

Dr. Morrison, the coolest director ever, is moving to TENNESSEE! Sure, I should be happy that he is moving on to bigger better orchestras, but I am going to miss him so so so so much!!! Ya see, he married my junior high orchestra director which I thought would suck, but I really ended up liking him 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000x more than I liked Ms. Taylor. He is HILARIOUS. My mom and I called him turkey lurkey because when he walked, he bobbed his head like a turkey... He was so clever and taught me so so much. He is 45% of the reason I am the musician I am today. Yeah, that doesn't sound like a lot, but Ms. T and Mrs. Lopez have to get some credit too. He was the director of the youth symphony here, and I was looking forward to having him as my conductor again. (The first time was right before the biggest concert of my life. He was also a guest conductor at that concert.) This is so sad. *Sobs* Oh no... Not again...

~A few MORE hours and bags of M&Ms later~

They are gonna replace him with some stiff butthead... :( This bites. I'll post later when I am not hysterical.

GSW

2007-05-13T13:43:00.003-07:00

Hello everyone!

First of all, I would like to thank you guys for commenting. It really helps me out!

Second, I would like to dedicate this picture of my friend's Vans to you. I am the loverly pair of legs on the right. Yeah the bottom half of the pic is gray. Strange, but unplanned. I'll get a better pic posted soon. Just because there is only half of the picture doesn't mean I like you guys half as much, I promise.

Now for the monthly update. I wish I could post more, but I am a busy cellist. Anyway, I played at GSW even though I hadn't had a lesson in a couple months. Mrs. Lopez said I did good considering we only got a chance to go through it once before I played. I got a 2. *Sobsobcrycry* The judge practically yelled at Mrs. Lopez! It was sad. She said "You are supposed to be the best in town! Why didn't you fix her silly little mistakes! For goodness sake! Those were easy things to fix!" then Mrs.L had to explain that I hadn't had a lesson in forever.

Some good news. Emma (My cellist sister. Sure she's not a blood relative. She's something better... A music relative.) is going to the Texas Tech Band and Orchestra camp this year.

Bad news. I don't think I am going.

Good news. My dad said he would pay for some lessons for me in July.

Bad news. That's still a bit more than a month away.

Good news. I bought Winston some stickers for his case. One says "Indie Rock Royalty" and the other has a cameo on it, but the woman is wearing a spiked collar and has wings. Strange, I know but there is a story behind it. Oh and I bought a matching jacket that also says "Indie Rock Royalty" and a messenger back with the Cameo on it. We are matchy matchy. Well we will be when that stuff gets here.

Bad news. I can't remember what else I was going to say...

Thinking...

Thinking...

Thinking...

Oh. Have you ever gotten judged (At a music competition of some sort) by a judge who is really really... Sorta cheesy with their comments? I did last weekend. Here's what she said.

Nice sound, good sense of style. Be careful going up
for the high D to nail it. There are a few places in
the uper register which could use more careful work-
even the last line. There are too many tuning
challenges to warrant a "I" - needs more work. But
you have a great talent, and I hope you will breathe
full life into your musical potential in the future!
Good luck! Inez Wyrick.

How in the world could I have screwed up the last line of the Swan? Oh my gosh... What is happening to me!? Lol kidding. So yeah... There's your update now where are my comments?

Update

2007-04-06T11:14:00.000-07:00

CRRRRRRRAAASH!

No more lessons, no camps, no CDs, no MP3 player (Both of which are filled with my favorite classical songs). I don't know what to do without my lessons! I miss Mrs. Lopez! *Cries* I really really really do! I have nothing to look forward to at the end of the week. :( I'm desperately looking for scholarship information, but haven't found anything yet. Well thats all the complaining I have to do right now.

Piece Update:
I'm playing The Swan for Greater Southwest
I'm moving on in the 6th book though I do not have Mrs. L's help. *sobsobcrycry*
Sadly, that is all.

The Apocalypse Approaches

2007-03-04T10:04:00.000-08:00

We are all doomed. Everyone really take some time to stop and smell the flowers because you don't have long to live. How do I know this you ask? Well it all started at my lesson Friday...

I walked in with the fakest of all fake smiles plastered to my face because I was
determined to have a good lesson no matter what. I sat down and listened to Emily finish up her lesson with a loverly interpretation of The Swan. Then she had a heated discussion about what piece to play next that was rather entertaining to listen to. Finally she left after taking up 10 minutes of my lesson, so I took out my book and turned it to the Swan but she turned it to Tarentella *gag* so I had to play that. I played it, but I was all tense and uptight, so she told me a story about a student of hers who is more uptight than me. She said that she was talking to her about how not to be so tense and decided that she needed to "go to mass and take a huge swig of wine before her lesson so I don't have to get permission from your parents to get you a drink before you play." I cracked up and had a hard time playing through The Swan w/out laughing. Later, she quoted Yoda which was really strange and I said "Wow you are like one of those dolls that you pull the string and they talk," and in response (And this was totally unexpected) she said "THERE'S A SNAKE IN MY BOOT!" Now if you really know Mrs. Lopez, you know that she never says anything funny... NEVER! I like... Had a seizure when she said that. It was an interesting lesson. I am starting to wonder if she had a drink or two before my lesson. So to make up for such a good lesson, next week will be terrible. It will be one of those on-the-verge-of-tears lessons. Well I shouldn't say that. That is my problem. I am a pessimist. Maybe she will be cool next week and the week after that and the week after that. (There Mrs. Lopez if you are reading this, lets hope not, I was just optimistic!!!)

You see! Mrs. Lopez was funny! Truly, genuinely funny! We are all going to die! Ok now watch this. My favorite industrial violinist is going to take two minutes of your life to leave you amazed.

Oh and technically its her own genre, Victoriandustrial, a mix of classical and industrial.

And now my favorite cello journey... Well not my favorite, but... uh wait yeah its my favorite... Wait but what about- OH HERE WATCH AND ENJOY! -.-

SLUMP AGAIN! (~V Ophelia V~)

2007-02-26T07:43:00.000-08:00

Ho hum this is quite depressing. You know you are in a cello slump when you are not excited to play The Swan. Friends have been desperately trying to fix me (Though the people here don't even know what a cello is...) because they know that when the cello isn't going well, my life isn't going well. I miss being in an orchestra! *Sobsobcrycry* And to make things worse, the only book I will read (I refuse to read anything else for reasons unbeknown even to myself) is Hamlet... I can quote the whole death of Ophelia verbatim, and I am now working my way backwards. I suppose the reason I am so interested in Hamlet all of a sudden is because of my new Opheliac attitude.

Opheliac: n. In reference to the character Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet, Opheliac is a noun meaning one who has delved into insanity.

I am not my normal "insane". Now I am insane like... Hate the cello, hate Mrs. Lopez, hate classical music insane. I am closer to quitting than I have ever been. I must cut this short due to some...erm... Disciplinary issues (*coughgroundedandnotsupposedtobeonlinecough*). I'll give each of you a muffin if you will send your advice!

Love-n-scones from this asylum girl!
-Madeline

A violet in the youth of primy nature,
Forward, not permanent.
Sweet, not lasting.
The perfume and suppliance of a minute--
No more...

There's fennel for you, and columbines:
there's rue for you; and here's some for me:
we may call it herb-grace o' Sundays:
O you must wear your rue with a difference...

A new year of cello playin'

2007-01-21T10:39:00.000-08:00

Hey!!! HEYHEYHEY!!! My first lesson of the year was fantabulous! You have to hear the background story though...

Ok so for the past month or so, I had been really irritated with cello playing... Like, I locked it up and threw the key out in the yard... I would quit then feel bad and - erm- un-quit, quit then feel bad and un-quit, etc. Then January rolled around, and I forgot I had payed for some lessons in advance, so I HAD to go.

So I walked in, expecting Mrs. L to tell me how terrible I was for not practicing in like a month, but instead she told me that all great cellists (XD) quit for a while, but they just can't stay away... Then out of the blue she (After cracking me up with her fake uber southern accent!!!) said "Ok! I'm going to inspire you!" then took out my 6th Suzuki book and turned to Tarantella by William Henry Squire, played it for me, then played through it with me. I don't know how, but it really did inspire me. I know I am kinda mean to Mrs. L especially on this blog, but she is an angel, I'm sure of that.

Now I am very cello-y and overall more happy than I was when Winnie was locked up and hidden somewhere in the debths of my dark abyssal closet.

Oh so my point here is if you have had a cello slump such as the one I told you about, I would love to hear about it, and how you got over it!!!

<3 Ya
Maddie

It's been too long!

2006-12-03T09:43:00.000-08:00

I am well grounded for my math grade... Yeah I STILL am, but I am at my dads where I am not grounded, so I can fill everyone in real quick...

~Piece Update~
-Arioso (Suzuki book 5)
-ALL REGION:
---Brandenburg concerto No. 2 (I WANT TO BURN IT!)
---Wipeout (ACK THIS CONCERT IS GOING TO SUCK!)
---Souvenirs from St. Petersburg
---Some American Hymn thingymabobbeder (I can't remember what its called)

And um thats it. Ok now time to tell about my last lesson.

~Lesson: 12-1-06~
I go in, and immediately butcher Danse Rustique. It was not terrible, but the spots that I had practiced my hardest for the past two weeks were the WORST spots. Other than that it was ok. My tone was better, and I knew what I was doing wrong. Its worse when I don't know and I just keep doing it. XD So then she turned to Arioso and told me 7th position was my friend and I'd best get used to it. I played the part I had learned at my previous lesson just fine and then I sightread the rest of the piece pretty well. I was proud. Then I got the lecture that I get everytime. It's all in my head, it's all in my head... Not cool.

~Upcoming Events~
My old school is having an orchestra concert. Sadly I had to move away from that school to one w/out an orchestra, so now I am stuck in the crowd rather than up in my chair... My 1st chair... MINE! Hehe.

All region is Friday. I get to see Emmaline! YAY! Oh and I get to see Ashley. She's my friend that I call my old lady friend. Long story.

~Non-mucial stuff~
I get to be a peer mediator. I don't know why I was chosen for the job. I am one of those people who will tell you to suck it up and go away. Ha! Actually I am a big softy. That's why I was chosen.

~Video(s)~

I love that scene! Does anyone know what piece that is?

I <3 that piece. Its Sayuri's theme from Memoirs of a Geisha. The movie was all lies according to multiple geishas, but the music was great.

He likes to "noodle" with things... Lol!

Well that concludes this weeks episode of "As the cellist gripes". (Ha like um whats that show called? Oh "As the World Turns".)

Another embarassing lesson

2006-11-18T22:43:00.000-08:00

Does anyone else out there go into your lesson and think 'I shouldn't talk while I am in there! I always say stupid stuff!'? That is exactly what I think. I am always afraid to speak at all, but can't help it. The one thing leads to another, and I am trembling in that chair due to a nervous breakdown caused by a discussion about how silly the things I say are. Its terrible! Anyway, here's how my lesson went...

I went in and listened to Emily play (6th grader who is also a cellist. Shes in book 6), and lemme tell ya. Book 6 does NOT sound fun! If I would have been late, I wouldn't have heard her fumble through a piece with thumb pos. in it and I wouldn't be terrified of it!

She left and I played through Danse Rustique on Winston while Mrs. Lopez was away, tending to dinner I think. She came back in, took my cello from me, and handed me her $65,000 cello! She then told me to do it again, and left the room. I played through it again just as shyly as I played it the first time. The only problem was that I could NOT play shyly on that cello. Its tone is just... Wow... If I tried to play piano on that cello, it sounded like Winston's forte! That is partially my fault though. My dynamics aren't really exaggerated the way they should be. Anyway, she wouldn't let me use Winston at all after she heard me on her expensive cello, so I was trying my hardest to sound small. What kind of idiot does that, you ask? ME! We started Arioso, and I outplayed her, but not intentionally! I still suck at Tenor so it was slow, but I got through first 2 or 3 lines and she told me to pack up. It wasn't a great lesson, but it wasn't bad either.

Don't you just love my details?!? Hehe. It's really late, so I will try to elaborate tomorrow. Oh! WATCH THIS VIDEO!!!

Nooo!

2006-11-06T14:17:00.000-08:00

My Jargar A string broke so now I have to use a stupid red label! I just about cried when I was taking it off! That happened at my lesson on Friday (Which I forgot to mention in my previous post), so on top of me sounding bad, my cello sounded bad, so we sounded terrible together. Hehe.

Anyway, I have been considering recording me and Winnie and putting links to clips of us here, but I dunno... I'm terribly shy. Shy and negative! What a terrible combination. Would someone out there like to trade brains?!? Please!!! I know this sounds like a streatch, but I plan on joining the symphony when I am 17, just like my idol; Noah Littlejohn. ^_^ I absolutely admire his playing and firmly believe that he could go to Juilliard if he wanted to. In order to join the symphony at such a young age (As opposed to the adults in the orchestra who are 30+) I cannot be negative or shy! Therefor, someone needs to trade me brains. Guanaco you are reading this! Do you happen to know anyone who would trade me. Ha!

Next on my complaint list... Hmm... Nothing more to report. Goodness... The life of a cellist... Is stressful at times, but I love it none-the-less.

Oh and I love this vid. I'm sure you cellists out there have seen it.

First Post!

2006-11-05T15:31:00.000-08:00

Ok well here is my progress blog. Feel free to comment on how cool I am! :P

I am currently working on:
-Cello Sontata in E minor by Vivaldi (Just the Tempo really...)
-Danse Rustique (Tempo and half of the second page)

Those pieces are from Suzuki book 5. Yes I am slowly working my way through the stupid Suzuki books. I can't wait until I am done with them. Only... Well there are only 5 more right? Or 7? I dunno, but I can't wait! Hehe! I should get going. Feel free to leave some pointers (Especially for the second mvt. of the cello sonata. ;))