Introduction to Cello Position The performer should focus on the following elements while playing scales and their multiple variations. I.

Full Sound a. The student needs to use the weight of their arm to produce the sound. If the student is using their weight the elbow will never rise above the wrist. b. The student should not press down on the string. c. The first half (frog to middle) should be controlled from elbow movement. d. The second half of the bow (middle to tip) should be controlled by pivoting at the elbow and keeping the same angle with the hand and wrist. During this process the elbow should remain at the same level and not rise.

II.

Smooth Bow Changes a. The entire right arm should remain relaxed through the fingertips. b. The fingers of the right hand remain in place but also must be flexible. The fingers should pivot upon change of the bow. c. The first knuckle of the right hand index finger should remain directly on top of the bow in order to help keep proper contact with the string. The index finger will also help to control dynamic level by adding or subtracting weight from the big knuckle. d. When changing the bow the right arm needs to be as relaxed as possible so there is not an unintended accent upon bow changes.

III.

Shifting a. It is crucial that the left hand be trained to shift in a legato style. b. Before shifting the finger which you will be shifting to needs to be prepared by half pressing the string and adjusting the angle of the elbow if necessary. c. When shifting the performer should take as much time as possible while still being on time. d. The performer should begin the shift as soon as they touch the preceding note except when playing slowly. e. Student should avoid: jumping, jerking, fast shifting, unprepared shifts

IV.

Hand Position a. Right Hand i. The pad of the middle finger should be placed on the metal tip near the beginning of the hair. ii. The third and fourth fingers should fall naturally over the bow with the pads of the finger touching the frog. iii. The index finger first knuckle should remain directly on top of the bow. iv. The thumb should face the direction of the bow and be slightly bent. This is so the thumb can pivot for a smoother bow change. b. Left Hand i. The left hand should be in a flat C shape. ii. The thumb should be placed where it falls naturally when relaxed this should be somewhere between the first and middle finger. iii. The weight of the left arm should be used to press the string down. There should be minimal effort when placing down individual fingers. To use arm weight effectively the elbow should remain close to the performer’s side until reaching fourth position.

iv. Only the pads of the fingers should make contact with the fingerboard. Avoid playing with the fingertips if at all possible. Playing with the pads yields a much more desirable sound. v. When playing on the A and D strings the tip of the thumb should be visible from the performer’s right side. This should be so because the angle of the hand needs to be accommodated to play with the pads of the fingers. V.

VI.

Vibrato a. Hand position needs to be secure before introducing vibrato. b. Vibrato movement comes from the finger pads to the elbow. c. The motion is similar to shaking a glass ketchup bottle. d. Vibrato should be incorporated particular when playing longer valued notes because the performer should strive for the best possible sound as scales are a technical exercise. Elbow Position a. When playing in first to third position the left elbow should remain near the performer’s side. b. When reaching notes A4-C5 on the A string or equivalent on other strings the elbow should be out enough so that the wrist is straight and the performer can play with the pads of the fingers. c. When playing in thumb position the elbow needs to go out slightly further than the second elbow position. d. The goal is to always play with the pads of the fingers and keep a straight wrist.

The Bass Clef    

The Bass Clef Staff has five lines and four spaces. The notes on the lines starting from the bottom line are: G, B, D, F, and A. The notes on the spaces starting from the bottom space are: A, C, E, and G. An easy way to remember notes in through a memory aid. o The notes of the lines and notes of the spaces make up the first letter of each word in a sentence. o To remember the lines of the Bass Clef remember: Good Boys Do Fine Always. o To remember the spaces of the Bass Clef remember: All Cows Eat Grass. Lines of the Bass Clef

Good

Boys

Do

Fine

Always

Eat

Grass

Spaces of the Bass Clef

All

Cows

Individual Practice

The Tenor Clef    

The Tenor Clef Staff has five lines and four spaces. The Notes of the lines starting from the bottom are: D, F, A, C, and E. The notes of the spaces starting from the bottom space are: E, G, B, and D. An easy way to remember notes in through a memory aid. o The notes of the lines and notes of the spaces make up the first letter of each word in a sentence. o To remember the lines of the Tenor Clef remember: Don’t Forget Any Cool Elephants. o To remember the lines of the Tenor Clef remember: Every Good Boy Dreams.  The Tenor Clef is one fifth higher than the Bass Clef therefore a trick you can use is to take the bass clef fingering and move it over a string (higher). This is because the strings are also one fifth apart.

Don’t

Every

Forget

Good

Any

Cool

Boy

Individual Practice

Elephants

Dreams

The Treble Clef    

The Treble Clef Staff has five lines and four spaces. The notes on the lines starting from the bottom line are: E, G, B, D, and F. The notes on the spaces starting from the bottom space are: F, A, C, and E. An easy way to remember notes in through a memory aid. o The notes of the lines and notes of the spaces make up the first letter of each word in a sentence. o To remember the lines of the Treble Clef remember: Every Girl Boy Does Fine. o To remember the spaces of the Treble Clef remember that the notes of the spaces spell FACE.

Lines of the Treble Clef

Every

F

Girl

Boy

A

Individual Practice

Does

C

Fine

E

Simple Meter Time Signatures A Time Signature indicates how many beats and subdivisions will be in a measure. Simple Meter means that the division of the beat is only divided into big beats. In simple meter the upper portion of the fraction will be 2, 3, or 4.

4 Value of each beat in a measure

Number of beats in the measure

4

In this example the top of the fraction shows that there will be four beats in each measure, and each beat will be the value of a quarter note.

Other examples of simple meter time signatures

Individual Practice Fill in the measures with the correct number of beats.

Important/Significant Notes

Open strings of the cello.

1st note in fourth position. The Roman numeral indicates the string which it is played.

These notes are harmonics. These notes are also the home position for thumb position.

Highest note one is comfortably able to reach before going to thumb position. (2nd position of the elbow)