My 2014 Cello Goals

I didn't accomplish a lot of my 2013 goals, but looking back at my 2012 goals, it seems that I accomplished more items from that list instead! ;) Does that count??

My 2013 goals were:

1. Finish Suzuki Book 2: Not even close! ..argh... only worked on two new Suzuki pieces this year! :( However, I was busy playing and learning other pieces... 
2. Start learning how to do vibrato and use it in my playing: I started learning to vibrate with Clayton and when I went to CelloSpeak, but have not been practicing or using it while playing since then. 
3. Play with a community orchestra: I showed up to one rehearsal! Lol! But that doesn't count since my goal was to perform in a concert with a community orchestra. 
4. More practicing, less organizing for my cello group! This totally did not happen. I spent more time organizing then practicing this year. 
5. Post at least 5 videos by the end of the year - that will give me 2-3 months on each piece - Wow, sooooo BAD!! I only posted 2 videos this year!
6. Keep up with my blog entries: This was not good either. I only posted 42 entries last year, compared to 98 entries the previous year. I swear there is a direct correlation with the amount of entries, my progression and practice time! That is, the less blog entries, the less practice time and progression I feel I've made.
7. Work on sight-reading skills: I've been trying to do more sight-reading. I typically don't practice any of the music that I play in my group (on purpose) so I could work on my sight reading skills. We have monthly play-ins, so I get consistent practice on this. 
8. More efficient practice time: I didn't really have much time to practice...? I think my practice sessions were definitely less focused then last year though. 

Despite all the unmet goals in red, I don't feel like 2013 was such an epic fail for me. This year I feel like I became more "comfortable" with my cello.

• I feel more comfortable playing with others in general; i.e. if I mess up, I keep going and it doesn't feel like a big deal when I mess up either. I think getting over that feeling helps a lot! And I feel like I can listen to others while I'm playing at the same time... finally!!
• I've been playing "free improvisation" with our group on a monthly basis so I no longer feel as self-conscious about messing up while improvising in front of people - although I still don't know how to improvise that well.
• I also feel like my cello isn't completely foreign or detached from me (if that makes sense!). That is, when I don't pick up my cello for a few days, I don't feel like I have to start over from scratch. Now I can pick up my cello after a few days of not practicing and do a few quick exercises to warm up and I'm good to go. Before, I really had to work at getting everything back to where it was (and then some), before I could start playing any piece of music. 
• I also feel like everything past first position isn't "scary" any more. Before I would have mini-freak-outs and think, "What? No way! I'm not ready for that! That's waaaay out of my abilities!" Now I feel like any note on the fingerboard is just a note that can be achieved by lots of repetition and practice, so now it's more like, "Darn it, this one is going to take a while... I'm really going to have to spend some time on this note to get it in tune..." I feel like everything is playable as long as I have enough time to practice it, which I feel like is a HUGE step forward in feeling comfortable playing cello. 

My 2014 Cello goals: 

1) Work on a past goal: Post 7 videos & finish Book 2 

     January 31st - Hunter's Chorus

     March - Musette

     April - March in G

     June - Witches' Dance 

     August - Two Grenadiers 

     October - Gavotte 

     December - Bourre 

2) Work on a past goal: Play with a Community Orchestra 

3) Work on a past goal: Keep up blog entries (at least five entries per month)

4) Work on something I want: Learn 1-2 pieces from the Bach Suites => already started on Minuet 1!

5) Work on something I want: Learn vibrato and use it consistently 

6) Work on something I want/weakness: Learn three octave scales
7) Work on something I want/weakness: Learn how to read from a lead sheet & improvise

8) Work on a weakness: Feel more comfortable reading and playing more complicated rhythms

This year, I'm going to organize my goals into three categories: 1) working on a past goal, 2) working on something I want to learn, and 3) work on a weakness.

I want to be able to feel like I've accomplished most of my goals by the end of the year since I didn't complete a lot of goals this year so I want to have a good mix of things that I want to learn to keep me motivated, but at the same time work on weaknesses so I feel like I'm progressing. I have a lot of the same goals as last year too, so this should help with feeling like I'm continuing my progress.

My main focus for 2014 is to play and read different rhythms better since I feel like that is the area that is holding me back the most. And this year, my goal is to achieve at least 75% of my goals!!! ;)

...just 'cause I think my cat is adorable! ;)

He always looks like he's smiling when he's asleep.