Thursday, September 16, 2010

Vendange

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'I joke with my friends' L told me once me at the end of a lesson as he stuffed forty euros into my hand and filled the boot of my Mini with St Joseph and Condrieu for my petrol money, 'and say you are my bio dynamic cello teacher!'

Driving through Caromb, Beaumes de Venise and Vacqueyras this week to teach the great bio-dynamic wine-maker in Gigondas, I realized I was enjoying the enforced slow pace for once. This was because most of the big white caravans from Holland and Belgium have now been replaced on the roads with little red trucks carrying mountains of priceless red and golden globelets. I idled away watching the sun shine on the grapes that, having been picked by patient hands under the September sun, would be transformed into some of the best wine in the world. And as I idled I got to thinking yet again about L's comment....

With the lack of response in France to the way I approach music (confirmed recently in the British press) and with my passion for making and teaching it, and the enthusiastic response I always seem to get from doing that, I have been thinking internet coaching then book, video magazine then video coaching then internet book, book with video coaching then internet kindle book....I have been thinking a lot. A visit last weekend from the wonderful Mig helped clarify things. Teaching Mig helped me see that teaching without actual touch is hard, and I could not do the internet coaching without at least having a model, and that perhaps I should write the book first.....?

Most days this week, I made cups of tea, packed paintings, went to the post office, veg shop and boulangerie. I called friends, went for a run and had a long shower then had another cup of tea. Finally today, having achieved most of these tasks and still with time on my hands, I sat down, opened Scrivener and created a new project.

Working title: The Bio-dynamic Cello.

Another mountain to climb? Bey hey, it's a new day!

4 Comments:

Blogger Making A Mark said...

Oh well done! Sounds as if it's maybe going to be a very different approach to music coaching.

I'll be interested to hear how you get on.

Maybe we can have snippets from time to time?

Did you see how Stephen Fry released his recent book as
* a hardback edition,
* an eBook
* an app for the iPhone and iPad. at the same time?

Just to give you something more to mull over....

:)

8:21 PM  
Anonymous mig said...

I hope we can arrange more lessons, Ruth. That single one made a great difference in my sound.

11:18 AM  
Blogger Jean said...

That sounds like it would be a fabulous book, and perhaps appeal to both a core audience of serious musicians and more broadly to lovers of the cello, of wine and of your region.

I'm looking at your beautiful photo above and hearing the sound, the breath, of a cello float over the scene, and it is wonderful.

11:32 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Link to 'British press' (I'm agog) does not work.

Ruth M

10:11 AM  

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