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 Suzuki Book 1. G major uses the same hand position and fingering as D major making it a very quick and easy scale to learn.
The G string is the third string on your right going from the far left of the instrument if you are looking down the fingerboard. It is the second fattest of the strings. While reading music is a great tool, you certainly don’t have to read music to get started. Either follow along with the written-out fingering below or watch the sheet music as you play along with the video.
G-1-3-4-D-1-3-4 then back down 3-1-D-4-3-1-G
One of the great things about YouTube (besides the fact that it makes learning to play the cello free) is that you can easily slow down or speed up any video. Go to the settings cog or menu icon and select playback speed. If the playback speed is too fast at first go to 0.75 speed or even 0.5 speed at which point you might think that I’ve had too much to drink! As you get more proficient, or if I get too fond of hearing my own voice and talk too long, you can always crank up the speed to faster than realtime.
Pro Tip
Whether you are playing separate bows or zooming through the scale at 8 notes per bow, always use a full bow (open-open;close-close) so that you master using the full bow. Increase difficulty and speed by adding slurs but keeping the bow stroke more or less constant.
Let’s review the healthy habits that will come with us through all our scales:
- Keep fingers down – as you ascend the scale don’t lift the finger you just played when you place the new finger. As you descend place all 4 fingers and then peel off the fingers one by one.
- Check posture – scales are when we can be most mindful of our posture. It is where we build the foundation of all our playing. Feet flat on the floor, cello between your knees, touching at your sternum, sitting straight up, shoulders relaxed.
- Check bow path – watch your bow. Is it traveling straight across the string (t-bow)? Is it midway between the fingerboard and the bridge (forte-freeway)? Has your bow hold collapsed? Is your bow thumb bent? Are you touching the stick between the first and second knuckle of your index finger? Is the hand pronated?
- Check your left hand – is thumb bent (making a “C”)? Are your fingers arched or collapsed? Are you contacting the string with the fingertips?
- Check intonation – verify your intonation. Play with the video, use a tuner, watch your hand in a mirror to check that you are on the tapes. Don’t assume, verify.