·:[ CelliMuse ]:·
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This one is one I saw in my first book for cello, “All for Strings.”  But they applied it to half notes and quarter notes.  I never thought to speed things up and apply the same timing basics to quarter (Q) and eighth (E) notes!  DUH!  So, it stacks up like this:

E     E   E    E     Q    Q

Mis   is   ip   pi   Riv  er

So, next, reverse the order and you’ve got two sets of two eighth notes followed by one quarter note.  The trick?  Mickey and Minnie Mouse!  Huh?  What does that have to do with eighth notes (E) and quarter notes (Q)?

E     E         Q          E       E        Q

Mic  key  Mouse   Min   nie   Mouse

The time it takes you to normally say Micky Mouse is the about the same timing that you use to play eighth and quarter notes.  “Mic” takes about half the time it takes to say “Mouse.”   It’s a great mental connection!

I’ve been trying to play eighth notes since I got my first cello, two and a half years ago.  It’s something that I just couldn’t find the right body connection that also had a good mind connection so I could remember how to do it once I figured it out.  My new instructor, Tova, has some terrific thoughts on this subject.

For a quarter note followed by two eighth notes, then repeats that, think to yourself, “Up pony, down pony.”   So, it would be something like this, where a quater note is represented by a Q and an eighth note is represented by an E.

Q     E      E        Q        E     E

Up   Po   ny,    Down   Po   ny

Of course, I can’t just leave it alone and always be singing about ponies going up and down, Poo-dle works, as does the names of my poodles, Mol-ly, Yen-na, Me-Moe, Tes-sa.  And that makes a whole lot more sense, too.

Q     E      E        Q         E      E

Up  Poo  dle,   Down   Poo   dle…

Up  Yen  na,    Down  Yen   na…

Up  Mol   ly,    Down   Mol   ly…

I recently saw on last.fm, Beethoven’s Fur Elise referred to as a Bagatelle. It got me wondering what a Bagatelle is. So, I looked it up. The M-W Dictionary says, in reference to music: a short literary or musical piece in light style. It also references trifle as a synonym!

Do you really think that Bethoven thought Fur Elise was a trifle?

My own first composition, Waltz of the Weeds, that’s over 6 minutes.  I need to figure out how to make the computer recognize the transitions correctly, so they sound like they need some work, but really, the score is right.  The recording from the computer isn’t.    In any event, I hope you enjoy it.  Some day - soon - I want to actually play and record this with real people (me being one of the cellists), then post that, too…

Erin has a nice site - it feels authentic and real.  I like her site and the personality it gives off.  I hope you visit!