A Tale of Two Cellos

As I mentioned in a previous post, since about a year ago, I been very anxious to get a cello and start learning to play it. However our economic situation was such that it was not a prudent time to get one. After a few months, I was desperate--I needed to do something. We own a half size cello that my kids used several years ago and so I thought maybe I'll try to do something with it. First of all you must understand that I am a big guy. I'm 6'7" (about 2 meters) tall. The endpin of this half size cello wasn't long enough and so I had to prop it up on a box or thick book. Well that didn't work out so well. So after a while I gave it up and continued to forward to the day that I could get my own full size cello. I did learn a few things though with this small cello. I learned some basic fingering and I also learned that the cello is not particularly an easy instrument to play (beautiful to listen to but hard to play, at least in the beginning). I download alot of cello music to my iPod but after a while it presented a dilemma. It was beautiful music but it reminded me that I hadn't yet start on my desired journey of learning to play. It made me a little sad but it also strengthened my resolve. But then my lovely wife rented one and gave it to me as a Christmas gift. I was not expecting it. After picking my jaw up off the floor, there's been a smile on my face ever since. Practicing still presents some challenges. Since I'm so tall, my endpin is out about 18 inches or more and I don't know if I've found the best position but it will work. Since Christmas, I've been practicing about an hour a day and I am making progress. I can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star pretty well now (until I get a teacher, I'm using my kids' old Suzuki books). I guess it will be a while before I'm ready for Bach, Hayden, Boccherini, Mozart, etc. but I'm patient and determined--I will succeed in this.