I am not a music teacher. I do teach horsebackriding (including to adults) which is a pastime with its own history and traditions. I am happy to discuss the evolution of the modern riding seat and explain why we think it is the best way right now. But if a student declares themselves unwilling to learn correct position, I don’t really know what to say to them. I would probably explain regretfully that I could no longer instruct them. Correct position is functional, even if it seems awkward at first. Your muscles and joints may need to become stretched or more flexible to accomodate correct positioning. This takes time and practice with consistent correction. Practice doesn’t makes perfect – perfect practice makes perfect.
Without correct body position you can only go so far in your advancement (and honestly, it’s not that far). I imagine the same is true in playing an instrument. If you are not interested in learning the correct way of holding and using the instrument, you may succeed to a very limited extent using a homegrown method. But at some point you will come bang up against your lack of correct fundamentals and be unable to progress further.
I don’t think there is anything more aggravating to a lover of any activity than someone who is not interested in establishing correct basics.
Former strings teacher here. I agree with the majority of these posts. Find a music shop in your area (preferably a strings shop - not a huge mega-chain store that sells mostly electric guitars to 13 year olds) and tell them exactly what you want. Explain your situation. It is possible to find a good value cello in a music shop from someone who understands your situation and can set it up properly. $200? Probably not. But you could stay under $1000 for a student model. In addition to avoiding all of the problems with shipping a balanced wooden instrument, you will be able to get those necessary accessories (rosin, a rockstop/cookie/hockeypuck, etc.) There are shops out there that just cater to the elite player, but in my experience they are few and far between. Many small string shops do a lot of business with schools and young players, so they should be accomodating, so don’t be afraid of the snob factor. Is there a high school with a string program near you? A youth orchestra? A university with a music department? These would be good places to call and ask about a string shop that deals with beginners.
Then again, if you want something just to sit in the corner, you could always go to a school with a string program and ask if you can take that crappy, unplayable cello (every school has at least one!) off their hands for a little bit o’cash.
Ahhh…if you knew me personally you’d have a less pessimistic attitude about me teaching myself (that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t still advise me to take lessons, which ultimately you’re right about.)
The thing about the cello in the corner was a joke.
I don’t not want to learn correct posture/technique. I’m fully aware that you can’t effectively play an instrument without it. My attitude about self-teaching comes from years of people being shocked that I’ve never taken a drawing class in my life and yet can still draw. I guess playing an instrument and drawing are different though.
All right, maybe I didn’t get my point across well enough. I don’t believe your typical adult beginner (in anything) doesn’t want to learn good technique. What they do want is to understand why it’s correct, not have their chain jerked like a 9-year-old with “No!” and “Wrong!” every time something slips.
This, as (I think) I hinted at earlier, is a problem with some teachers - that explaining things in an ‘adult’ manner is something they’ve never done! I always make sure I explain exactly what problems I’m talking about - rather than “the wrist”, I’ll highlight the tension across the joint. That kind of thing. Unfortunately, it’s not universal (and I’m not saying that to make myself out to be anything great, at all!)
This is a wonderful description of the problems of ‘incorrect’ technique with musical instruments. There’s nothing for me to add or change for this to be directly applicable.
Yes, there’s certainly a few differences …the important one that I’d always focus on is that I’ve never heard of anybody doing permanent physical harm to themselves by using the wrong drawing technique.
…the important one that I’d always focus on is that I’ve never heard of anybody doing permanent physical harm to themselves by using the wrong drawing technique.