I’ve come to better terms with my nail situation. It is a funny sort of balancing act, just like a lot of things. And as you get more familiar with a given issue, it is easier to seek that compromise amidst the outer edges of its variables. In the case of the fingernail issue, there are the subtleties I alluded to in the previous blog – appropriate length, frequency of clipping, angle of the left hand, specific adjustments in certain positions with certain notes, shifting questions, etc. I am glad that I have aired this out. I hadn’t realized what an important factor it was in restricting my choices with regard to general left hand cello technique. It was essentially unconscious, which as we all know can be quite a powerful place to undermine things from.

originally published on 11/17/07