h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Okay, first, a little history:

My cello teacher is a professional performer and has never taken any classes about teaching. He is a REALLY bad teacher. I have also had problems in the past with my right arm hurting, but he tells me to keep my shoulder back, and I do, but that doesn't always work. There is also this killer passage that is insanly fast and I have to use the upper bow, and so my arm is up, and it's hard to make a good sound like that, and it makes my arm hurt VERY badly.

So, anyway, yesterday was my cello lesson. I told him about that passage, and we clarified that it's a "shooting" pain, and I showed him how I hold my arm...etc. etc. I told him I thought it was a stamina issue, I mean, I rarely use my arm like that for that long... I also told him I experimented a lot at home with trying to get it to not hurt, but nothing works. I also told him I try to relax my bow arm and keep my shoulder back. So, he said we'd try some other passages first, and if it starts hurting to tell him, and we'd leave some time at the end to focus on it.

So, at the end he said he thinks the pain is all in my head...or in his words, it's "psycho-sematic." He said I'm afraid of producing good tone in the upper half of my bow and that I'm afraid of that passage. I wanted to yell ,"just because you can't figure the thing out, doesn't mean that it's in my head!! It HURTS, D****T!!!!!" GRRRR!!!!! But, I've thought about what he said today, and it doesn't really make sense. Why would I "think" my arm hurts, when it doesn't? Why would my arm be affected if I'm afraid of that? Why would I be afraid of that dam* passage? Yea, I'm mad at the composer, but not afraid of it!!

Okay, maybe I am a little...but my arm seriously does hurt during it. He said that I rely on him too much to give me the answers, and I wanted to say, "you think too much of yourself" (oh yea, did I mention he has a big ego?) and I wanted also to say, "I already told you what I thought it was, but did you listen? NOOO." Grr....

On a more positive note, tomorrow I'm going to a water/amusement park with my two sisters. So, I won't be online. And, I won't have to practice my stupid cello, so it's all good!! (except for not having access to the internet)

Ooh have fun at the waterpark, I have two sisters too that I'm vacationing with, though I do have internet access because I'm actually at home .
As for the pain, you should get better if you let it rest for a while - time solves a lot of things, or take something to buffer the pain if it gets too terrible... One of my cross-country coaches the first year decided that my cramps were in my head too, and after some time they went away, if only to stop him from yapping good-naturedly on his bicycle.

The pain sounds real enough to me, it doesn't sound psychosomatic. You might try doing some gentle back exercises, like Chinese Qigong.

When I was younger my grandmother wanted me to fall asleep so she taught me (by example) qi gong, which was a type of breathing, mostly. I forgot if it helps, but it may be .

Good to meet new people, why are you scared by a history book, Ellen of J 42?

Hi Elwyn, nice to meet you. I am scared silly because I read a really good book called The Devil in the White City. It is a history of a serial killer in the 1800s who murdered people during the Chicago World's Fair. (See my journal).

Egads I saw that one in the reference shelf in the town library while doing some research and browsing for more information on James Earl Ray and Martin Luthur King Jr. Assassination

Small world huh?

"Small world" stuff like that happens to me all the time.

Why don't you change teachers? Surely he's not helping you to learn anything if you don't get on.

I totally wish I could change teachers, but the other teachers in my town are not very good, and I have to take from him because he's the only cello teacher at my college.

I also just think that it may be useless anymore to tell him I have pain... or tell him any problems I have.... I've played the cello for 17 years, so I'm sure I can figure out stuff on my own. Plus, it's pointless to ask him to help me on stuff like that because he will end up talking the entire hour without saying anything I don't know....and it's a waste of money and time...

g2g

Just learn what you can from him, and ignore him when he's not saying anything useful..
If he starts to annoy you, imagine he is a fish and you can't hear him...
If he really annoys you, imagine you've got a harpoon

love it!!!!

Delicious idea *grins* A Harpoon! *can hardly wait for the semester to begin*

Glad I could help
I've had lots of practice in the army...Another thing that works is cursing people that annoy you in your head. Regular curses don't seem to do the trick, so I rely on more creative people: "your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries", or "I unclog my nose in your direction, you son of a window dresser" and so on...
Try it.
It will make you feel much better

hahahaha!!! Wmkl

Hello

hello

How's life?

Anna, you're awesome!!!

Thank you for saying that
It makes me feel better...

I love Monty Python winks, how's "I wave my private parts at your Au..."
Nevermind, now you think I'm dirty.