Hints & tips
This page will contain a growing number of tips and hints aimed at younger cellists and their parents.
NB Cellobabies is part of Stringbabies [Cello, Violin & Viola]. Kay's main site for Stringbabies is located here - it has the Stringbabies teachers directory, latest news and information etc.
This [the Cellobabies] site is therefore no-longer being updated [as of Aug 2010], but is being kept on-line for those who may have bookmarked any pages
maintenance
simple cleaning
Keep a soft cloth duster with your cello. It's amazing how often you forget to dust down your cello after playing. Rosin dust (and other muck) can easily become ingrained in the varnish and will be difficult to remove.
Watch that Bridge!
Do keep an eye on the bridge of your cello. They can easily be knocked and moved out of place, affecting the sound and also your facility on the fingerboard. Watch out for signs of warping; if the bridge starts to list forwards or bend backward, take it to your local repairer as soon s possible.
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feet position
Always keep your feet flat on the floor and with the feet directly under the knees. Don't be tempted to twist your feet round chair legs - such habits do awful things to your back muscles, which you feel as you get older!
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when to practice
Never leave practice to the day before your lesson. Little and often is the key. Your best practice will be done in the first half of the week following your lesson.
finishing practice
Always make sure you follow your teacher's advice for practice but do wind down by playing a piece you enjoy!
page tophow to spend a few minutes
Avoid rushing through pieces making lots of mistakes! Better to spend your few minutes concentrating on just a few bars, playing slowly and accurately and repeatedly. Ten repetitions will help get that passage learnt well.
technique
vibrato
Vibrato is used to warm and amplify the sound of the cello. It's a great feeling once you can use it but it is important to remember that it is a tool to use for musical means and needs to be used wisely!
Vibrato isn't expected until around grade 4 or 5, but some string players can acquire one at an earlier stage. It's important to take your time in developing a vibrato and not to be tempted to take shortcuts....
A favourite exercise I use with students is to get them to 'polish' the strings using the 1st and 2nd fingers. Cling to the inside of the string and make sure that your fingers are in wide curves and that the thumb always stays adjacent to the 2nd finger. Move the whole hand from 1st position up to the throat of the cello several times and then, keeping the speed up, narrow down the distance until you rest in one place. In time you can start pressing the string down at this point and you will have arrived with a basic vibrato movement.
You can do this with and without the bow (sounds great with a bow!). This needs to be done regularly so it works well as a warm-up. A great exercise for encouraging free shifting too!
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