A Beginning

“Without music, life would be a mistake.”  -Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols, 1889.

The above sounds like a melodramatic viewpoint, but it didn’t seem that way when I was spending long hours in a practice room, and it definitely didn’t seem that way when an orthopedic hand specialist told me that she wasn’t sure if I’d just be taking a break from playing the cello, or if I’d never pick it up again.  After twelve years as a cellist, I found myself with free time I’d never had before and with no idea how to use it.  By sheer luck I managed to scrape together enough credits to complete a music degree, albeit a less involved one than I’d originally planned. I also had the good fortune of being near completion of a degree in Spanish, allowing me to modify my plan and goals for my life after my graduation in May.

The future is a little bit clearer now than it was in November when I agreed to set the cello aside to treat tendonitis, so aggressive I could barely hold a glass, and to find a cure for a persistent popping (presumably of an injured tendon) in the small finger of my left hand.  I’m more optimistic with each passing week that I’ll play again, and, while I’m trying not to get too excited, I’m beginning to look into how my relationship with music and with the cello will change as I return to what I love.

This blog is a multi-faceted project for me.  The initial idea came while looking into alternative creative outlets for when I find myself desperately aching to play cello, but I hope it will also serve as a chronicle for my treatment and recovery, both physically and emotionally, as I learn to express myself non-musically and to fill my time constructively, in ways that don’t involve my left (dominant) hand.   In the more distant future, I hope it works as a journal and resource as I begin to figure out how to return to music, embracing my specific physical needs and learning to play the cello more naturally, more comfortably, and more happily than ever before.

Thanks for coming along on the journey.

~Christa