Mr. Ryan's Summer Adventure Part 2- Eight things a musician needs to go on tour!

 Mr. Ryan packs his bag for the summer performance tour- what will he bring?

Mr. Ryan always needs his cello to perform- what else might come in handy?

As Mr. Ryan and his cello prepare for their journey, some very specific items end up in their luggage! Read on to learn which items come in handy when touring (and even in your own summer practice routine!)...

 

"Hi Everyone,

In my last entry, I promised I would say a little about how I went about preparing the music for the tour.  First, let's look at my "cello office" which I usually use when I am practicing on my own:

By my count, I have eight items here.  Each one has a specific purpose and may also help your own home practice!

1. Pink tab - This is essential for my learning a piece well.  When reading music, it is very tempting to play and play and play (and play!) far past the point where I am comfortable with the music.  This kind of playing is a musical equivalent to junk food--lots of empty calories and not very healthy for your sound!  Therefore, I put a pink tab at the end of the small section I practiced the previous day.  Once I can play this particular section well (read: I hear everything I'm looking for: right rhythms, intonation, articulation, dynamics, vibrato, character, tempo, etc.) and my mind is comfortable and clear, I advance the tab to the end of the next "bit" of music, and begin constructing the elements of that section.  I am careful to never play past the pink tab. The independent practicers in the studio are used to hearing about the "musical sandwich".  This is a large, metaphorical submarine sandwich, usually as big as a piano.  I choose a "bite" of music--not too big, not too small--and ask the student to begin chewing it.  After they can swallow that bite, I ask if they are full or still hungry.  If they feel full, we move to a different activity; if they are still hungry, we learn the next bite of the piece.  Soon I ask the students to look at the music and choose their own size of bite, something they must be able to do at home on their own.  
2. Stack of Notecards - Each piece I am working on has its own notecard, where I've listed all the musical "bites" that are present in a piece along with the metronome marking that I can play that bite well (again, I hear everything I am looking for).  This way I can gauge how quickly I am learning the piece and I can go right to the places that need the most attention.  
3. Phone - It's a bird!  It's a plane!  It's...a phone?! which actually hosts my tuning and metronome app.  I use the tuner to keep my cello tuned consistently, which is very important for young students.  For instance, think of a car whose steering wheel and the pedals behaved differently from day to day.  How confusing would that be to drive?  Consider then, how difficult it would be to play a piece on an instrument that is tuned differently from day to day!                                                                         Metronomes are more difficult for young students to use.  Like any tool, they can be used well or used painfully, and each student will need to learn to use theirs appropriately.  Students begin learning to use a metronome after they are well into their studies and pass through different stages.
4. Binder - This keeps all of my music in one place.  Some of my studio parents photocopy their student's music and place it in a binder with music on the left, and a blank page on the right.  They will use the blank page for general notes and mark specifics (or trouble spots) on the music itself.  
5. Music stand - Yes!  Although shown here a stand at school, I use a Peak collapsible music stand at home.   It adjusts to the height needed for the tallest violinist and also very low down for young cellists beginning their reading.  Also, it is sturdy enough to allow writing with one hand, a major expedient when you have an instrument in the other hand.  I picked it up several years ago for around $30.  
6.  Pencil - Essential for taking notes!  I keep my pencil dull and I don't press too hard so that the lead doesn't cut the paper, allowing me to make better erasures.
7. Score - A score shows you all of the different parts and how they fit together.  I will use it to understand the whole piece and often write my colleagues' parts into my own part so that I know what is going on when I am playing without a conductor. 
8. Eraser - This is a HiPolymer from Pentel, the best eraser in the world!  Hey, we all change our minds from time to time.  

That's all for now.  The tour starts tomorrow!

                                                                          -Mr. Ryan"