Jim Aikin: Cello Teacher
The reason I called my website MusicWords is because I only do two things well: play music and write. These talents have led and continue to lead me down diverse paths in my career. Each path has contributed in some way to the broad perspective I'm able to offer students. In every area I've worked in, I strive to do excellent work, to have fun, to learn more, and to practice tolerance and respect for diverse cultures, lifestyles, and musical genres. Above and beyond the specific technical skills I share with students, I hope to share my belief in the value and importance of those goals.
My first instrument was the cello. By the time I graduated from Livermore High in 1966, I had studied cello for five years with Ruth Saphir in Berkeley, and for one year with Laszlo Varga. At the time, Varga was teaching at San Francisco State, but he had formerly been the principal cellist of the New York Philharmonic under conductor Leonard Bernstein.
During my college years I played bass guitar in various rock groups, including a quartet of Livermore High grads called Morning Reign who played five nights a week in Bay Area clubs in the early '70s. (A big shout-out to Dave, Ann, and Tom, wherever you are!)
From 1975 through 2002 I was on the editorial staff of Keyboard magazine, where I learned a great deal about the classical piano literature, jazz harmony, and music technology. I studied classical piano for several years during this period, practicing more than an hour a day, and also did note-for-note transcriptions of jazz piano solos from LPs and CDs. Currently I write as a freelancer for Keyboard, Electronic Musician, Mix, and Virtual Instruments magazines and for the audio side of the O'Reilly Digital Media website. I'm widely known as an authority on synthesizers and music software.
In 1999, I picked up the cello again and studied with Carolyn McIntosh, who currently plays with the San Francisco Symphony. Under Carolyn's guidance I was able to recover the full range of cello technique I had in college -- but now, thanks to my years of experience with other styles of music, I feel confident that I can play with far more understanding and musicality than when I was younger.
I have performed in the pit orchestra with the Livermore Opera and the Pleasanton Playhouse, in concert with the Pleasanton Chamber Players, and with several community symphony orchestras, including the Redwood Symphony, the Diablo Symphony, and the Livermore-Amador Symphony.
In the process of developing an approach to cello pedagogy, I've consulted with two of the leading cello authorities in the East Bay, Lawrence Granger (San Francisco Symphony, California State University at Hayward) and Allen Gove (Cal State Hayward, retired). Gove has been kind enough to provide me with copies of dozens of wonderful cello duets, some easy and some more challenging, which I sometimes share with my students.