How to Play the Cello
Think about why you want to play the cello., Have a goal., Get a teacher., Learn basic notes, techniques, and rhythm Start very slowly, because the beginning is the most important part of your learning., Practice regularly (every day), and take...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Think about why you want to play the cello.
Do you want to be like your friends? Are your parents forcing you to learn? These are not good reasons.
You must have a strong desire to be a good cellist, or you will waste a lot of time, money and effort. -
Step 2: Have a goal.
Be it a certain piece you want to play, a concert you want to play in, a competition you want to enter, or an orchestra or school you want to get into, having a goal will help you through practicing and give you motivation. , Ask your musician friends' parents how they found their teacher, or look in the yellow pages.
Go see at least 3 teachers to get a feel of how they work, and then choose the one that best suits your schedule and your way of learning.
Bring a parent to your lessons for the first year so you can have an outside perspective of your posture, sound and position while you are practicing at home. , If you learn wrong, it will take years to fix bad habits.
Some bad habits can even be physically injurious.
Please, start slowly., During the first week, you may want to only practice for 15 minutes at a time: your fingers won't be used to the string and will hurt a little at first.
Remember that it is always better to spread out your practicing rather than practicing a lot two or three days a week. , You can also add a second lesson per week.
Depending on the teacher, lessons can range from $25 to $100 or higher. ,, People tend to concentrate on what they are playing instead of how they are playing it, and scales are a good way to really think about it.
Scales are also a sort of stretch before you play a song.
Practice Technical Work and take theory classes.
Do exams.
Exams help you evolve and give you a goal to reach every few months. , These are short pieces (look for Krane books or Schroeder and, in more advanced stages look for Popper and Duport) that test you on not only scalar technique and knowledge but bow stroke, vibrato, rhythm, tone, and many other aspects of the cello.
In combination with regular piece music and scales, you can help improve yourself and mix up your practice schedule as well. , Orchestras are great for learning theory if you do not want to take classes, and teach rhythm, intonation, and how to play with other musicians.
If you work hard, an orchestra will be very rewarding because you will move up and one day become the Principal. , Vibrato livens up the music beautifully and warms the tone. -
Step 3: Get a teacher.
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Step 4: Learn basic notes
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Step 5: techniques
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Step 6: and rhythm Start very slowly
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Step 7: because the beginning is the most important part of your learning.
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Step 8: Practice regularly (every day)
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Step 9: and take breaks if you get uncomfortable.
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Step 10: Go to lessons and have 30 minutes a week to start
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Step 11: then go to 45 minutes
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Step 12: an hour
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Step 13: Take advantage of all performance opportunities at school and in your community.
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Step 14: Always practice scales and arpeggios.
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Step 15: Alternatively
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Step 16: you can practice etudes as well.
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Step 17: Join a community orchestra.
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Step 18: Learn the notes and get their intonation perfect 100% of the time
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Step 19: then learn vibrato effectively.
Detailed Guide
Do you want to be like your friends? Are your parents forcing you to learn? These are not good reasons.
You must have a strong desire to be a good cellist, or you will waste a lot of time, money and effort.
Be it a certain piece you want to play, a concert you want to play in, a competition you want to enter, or an orchestra or school you want to get into, having a goal will help you through practicing and give you motivation. , Ask your musician friends' parents how they found their teacher, or look in the yellow pages.
Go see at least 3 teachers to get a feel of how they work, and then choose the one that best suits your schedule and your way of learning.
Bring a parent to your lessons for the first year so you can have an outside perspective of your posture, sound and position while you are practicing at home. , If you learn wrong, it will take years to fix bad habits.
Some bad habits can even be physically injurious.
Please, start slowly., During the first week, you may want to only practice for 15 minutes at a time: your fingers won't be used to the string and will hurt a little at first.
Remember that it is always better to spread out your practicing rather than practicing a lot two or three days a week. , You can also add a second lesson per week.
Depending on the teacher, lessons can range from $25 to $100 or higher. ,, People tend to concentrate on what they are playing instead of how they are playing it, and scales are a good way to really think about it.
Scales are also a sort of stretch before you play a song.
Practice Technical Work and take theory classes.
Do exams.
Exams help you evolve and give you a goal to reach every few months. , These are short pieces (look for Krane books or Schroeder and, in more advanced stages look for Popper and Duport) that test you on not only scalar technique and knowledge but bow stroke, vibrato, rhythm, tone, and many other aspects of the cello.
In combination with regular piece music and scales, you can help improve yourself and mix up your practice schedule as well. , Orchestras are great for learning theory if you do not want to take classes, and teach rhythm, intonation, and how to play with other musicians.
If you work hard, an orchestra will be very rewarding because you will move up and one day become the Principal. , Vibrato livens up the music beautifully and warms the tone.
About the Author
Cynthia Hamilton
A passionate writer with expertise in cooking topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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