Method for Cello Teaching Barbara Thiem CSU

A summary of important steps to start teaching cello in the public schools. The pictures are meant to give the orchestra director a visual help to suggest changes before the student has fully settled into habits that might be hard to break.

1. Proper sitting position Have the student sit at the edge of the chair (hopefully no chair slanting backwards) and plant both feet firmly on the ground, leaving space between the legs to put the cello. The upper body should be straight, slightly leaning forward from the hips: This way the balance and point of gravity is slightly in front of the player. Once the cello is removed the student should be able to get up without having to move forward. The cello touches on the chest and is held between the knees. The knees should be able to move the cello back and forth without help of the hands. The length of the end-pin depends on the length of the legs, the longer the legs the longer the end-pin and the relatively flatter the position of the cello. The lowest tuning peg should come to about ear level. The instrument itself may be turned to the right leg slightly to make it easier for the arm to bow the upper strings. avoid: student sitting far back on the chair or even leaning against the back feet partially lifted from the ground slouching shoulders leaning to the side in order to avoid the cello neck: That is something hard for the player to diagnose. I usually have them move the cello forward with the left arm and then check whether they sit straight. Our sense of straight or not is disturbed by holding the cello! having the cello neck on the shoulder

2. Bow hold The middle finger and thumb form an axis around which the rest of the fingers group themselves. The middle finger rests near the silver on the frog, while the thumb touches the edge of the frog where it meets the stick. The thumb is best slightly bent or straight. Near the frog the hand is almost square with the pinky exerting pressure to balance the tip of the bow. The other fingers, including thumb should not be working hard. At the tip the hand will be more tilted towards the index finger (pronated arm), thumb counter pressure, while the pinky may be off the stick altogether. The bow stick should be tilted slightly towards the fingerboard. avoid: thumb pressed through a position at the frog where the index finger loses its place on the stick (supinated arm) fingers creeping up the bow stick where they will touch the hair with the fingertips. This position also increases the strain on the thumb.

proper bow hold

(TIP)

Wrong bow at frog

3. Right arm and bow movement The right arm has to adjust to each string level. Watch out for excessive tension by too high an arm as well as a drooping arm with the hand doing most of the work. In order to pull a straight bow across the string all the joints of the arm have to be used: the shoulder near the frog to the middle, forearm past the middle and wrist at the very end of the bow. avoid: showing the wrist up or down at either end of the bow. A straight wrist is best. pinky on top of the bow stick

A string @ frog

A string @ tip

C string at frog

C string at tip

Left hand on C String

Left hand on C string

4. Left arm and hand position The left arm should be high enough to support the fingers with pressure and show no wrist. The forearm is slightly turned in so that the palm faces the ground. This way the fingers reach the string at a slight angle to the string. Thumb--as on the bow--is opposite the middle finger. The arm will be higher on the low strings than the high strings. If the thumb can be kept from squeezing all the better for easy shifting and general comfort of the hand. All joints should be curved, finger tips pressing the string down. Special attention should be paid to extended position: The index finger can open up to increase the distance between fingers by a 1/2 step without having to shift. This should be done in a way that only the index finger feels an increase in tension while the extra stretch lasts. The rest of the fingers and thumb should stay in the normal position. It is easy to open up for a lower 1/2 step. But unfortunately the common D major requires the hand to move up towards the extended position forward, in which the index finger stays behind while the rest of the hand moves towards the bridge. This movement should be practiced without playing first. avoid: high or low wrist high or low arm fingers collapsed excessive thumb pressure