Now You've Got All of 1st Position!
In the Schroeder No. 1 Exercise you learned your open strings — C, G, D, and A. Schroeder No. 2 added 1st finger. Schroeder 3 added both 2nd and 3rd finger. Now it’s time to finish the set and learn to use your 4th finger! Go up one note-name from each of the 3rd finger notes you learned in Schroeder 3 to get the name of the next note:
- 4th finger on C = F
- 4th finger on G = C
- 4th finger on D = G
- 4th finger on A = D
Once students have navigated the difficulties of Schroeder No. 3, most students find that No. 4 comes quite quickly. The pattern is more predictable. The four-four time is more easily executed. The two most common problems students encounter are tuning the 4th finger and keeping it strong/arched. To practice tuning the 4th finger check it with the next open string down. As you play AND SAY the 4th finger on the A-string, check it with the open D-string. If you play them together as a double-stop it is quite easy to hear if they match. You can also of course check your tapes. Some students alternate between playing the 4th finger in tune and playing the first finger in tune — once they get the 4 then they lose the 1 and vice versa. This is often traced back to an elbow height problem or just the need for more left hand catapult exercises.
PLEASE don’t be shy about about saying the names of the notes out loud — SAY and PLAY! Just like in the video. I recommend you pluck the exercise in tempo before you add the bow. By the time students pass off Schroeder No. 4, most students are using their bow. Remember to keep the 2nd and 3rd finger patterns straight as you play. Use 2nd finger on the A and D string, 3rd finger on the G and C string.
Pro Tip
FLASH CARDS! It’s old school but it works. You need to train your brain to have immediate responses to these notes so drilling with timed flash cards or a flash card app like Note Rush, is the quickest way to real mastery! You know more than 2 octaves now, so quiz yourself until you have built mastery.
As we learn to read music, let’s make sure that your posture is setting you up for success down the road. Here is a handy posture checklist:
- Posture – feet flat on the floor, cello between your knees, touching at your sternum, sitting straight up, shoulders relaxed, elbow out like a kickstand, straight EWP (elbow-wrist-pinkie)
- Left hand – thumb and fingers bent (making a “C”), fingers arched and contacting the string with the pad of the fingertip, thumb bent and under 2nd finger
- Bow path – bow travels straight across the string (t-bow), midway between the fingerboard and the bridge (forte-freeway)
- Bow hand – thumb slightly bent, index finger touching the stick between the first and second knuckle, hand pronated, fingers slightly apart — not overly spread or bunched together
- Keep fingers down as you play – 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 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.