Scales

Song of The Wind – Cello Performance Tips Hopefully you have already seen the Song of The Wind Preview Technique lesson and Practice Tips lesson. Now you are ready to play along with the full tune and start polishing the performance. Don’t just learn these pieces — learn to perform! Whether you realize it or […]

I LOVE THIS SCALE! C major 3 octave scale is one of my absolute favorites. We use every open string. We climb up to the beautiful soaring tenor register of the cello. The sympathetic vibrations really make the instrument ring. Plus, after A and B-flat major, it’s a cinch to play! Enjoy every note. Start

You Can Do This! B-flat major two octave scale comes pretty quick once you’ve mastered A major two octaves. Both scales use similar techniques — A major extends up, B-flat major extends back; A major uses 2nd and 5th positions, B-flat major 3rd and 6th positions. The hope is that with each new scale we

A Major Is Half-way There! With A major you have conquered the first half of the fingerboard. The A you play at the top of the scale is the midway point of the string. You now can play a full octave on any string: open A-1-124-123. This fingering requires two new positions — 2nd and

Your New Favorite Position In many ways, G major two octaves is easier than the F major two octave scale you should have already learned. Each scale in this sequence takes you higher and higher up the fingerboard and introduces a new position. With each new position, new repertoire becomes available to you and no

Welcome to Shifting! Third position is a great place to start shifting. Place your 1st finger where your 4th finger would normally go on the A-string. Your 1st finger is now over D. Check your 1st-finger D with the open D to make sure you are starting with the position in tune. Spending two minutes

Time to Extend Your Playing! You already know the D major one octave scale now its time to extend your playing. A two octave D major scale means extending on the C and G strings to reach F# and C#. I highly recommend you checkout the video lesson on forward extensions where I go into more detail

This Is Where Intermediate Begins! C Major will stretch you beginners out there into intermediate cellists. For the first time you have to combine multiple finger patterns. The string crossings with the slurs start to get trickier to coordinate. Plus you are using all 4 strings! Start on the C string, it is the fattest

G Major Is Easy and Super Helpful G major one octave scale is the second scale I teach for a number of reasons. The second half of Suzuki book 1 for cello is in G major. If you can play these simple one octave D and G Major scales then you know every note in

Your First Scale! D major one octave scale is the first scale I teach for a number of reasons. The first half of Suzuki book 1 for cello is in D major so if you can play this scale you can find the notes for the first half of the book. Using the open D