Sound Production Principles

Rest, Don't Press. Cello lesson with Paul Katz.
CelloWisdom:
Renowned violin pedagogue Shirley Givens uses the same imagery in her wonderful method book “Adventures in Violinland”, Book 1C, “Meet The Bow”, available through Shar Products.
Imagine that your Bow is a Ship and the Strings are an Ocean. In big playing you can feel as an ocean-liner, heavy and deep beneath the surface, pulling your boat through the resistance of the water. In soft, intimate moments, suspend your weight and feel as a toy boat lightly floating on the surface where there is no resistance at all.
-Paul Katz
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[@barriereid9244]

Even at 3:27 it is a master class. Thank you CelloBello. 🌹🌹🌹

[@aidanmays7825]

Yes, pressing down too much for a given bow speed and placement makes the produced sound brighter and often less consistent. Yes, these analogies are useful for conceptualizing the end result and I often use them in teaching myself. The idea that natural weight can be used beyond the first few inches of the bow doesn't hold up to the most basic mechanical analysis. What you often see is that when a student is told to use natural weight they will slow down their bow, producing a more efficient sound for a given bow weight and placement. To put more weight into the bow you have to pronate and push into the stick, pivoting from the thumb. According to our laws of physics this is the only way. There are more or less mechanically efficient ways of producing this force, one of which is the straightening of the wrist which most people do when they think about their arm being heavy. Even in this video you see Professor Katz doing this very thing. There are 3 elements to tone: weight, speed, and placement. Abstractions from this principle, although useful in instruction, should not be treated as a substitution for a more precise understanding of what's going on.

[@yfzhang5306]

Thanks! That's a brilliant analogy. Gonna try it with my kid and see if she can understand.

[@pauldayonghuang9284]

You are smart. I understand this when I 50.

[@jesushelgueraalonso8748]

Bravo!
Genial! 🗣

[@york9489]

this kid is smart. I understan this when I 20. XD

[@TheXStephen1]

Amazing!

[@martinbaldi2849]

What piece Is that you use in all videos at the begining?? Thanks!