The cello is a bowed instrument that requires a lot of study to play well. You have to listen, feel your body (arms, fingers, spine, etc.) and think about your goal every time you play even a few notes: the ability to concentrate is crucial. If you really want to learn to play the cello, look for a good teacher, go to concerts, watch videos on youtube and check out sites like 'cellobello' and 'cello.org'
Steps
Step 1. Think about what motivates you to play the cello
Do you want to be like your friends? Are parents pushing you to learn it? These are not good reasons. You must have a strong desire to be a good cellist or you will waste time, money and energy.
Step 2. Create a goal
Whether it's a particular piece you want to play, a concert you want to attend, a competition, an orchestra or a school you want to enter, having a goal will help you practice and motivate you.
Step 3. Find a teacher. Ask the parents of your musician friends how they found their teacher or search the Yellow Pages. Find at least three to understand how they work, then choose the one that best suits you by program and teaching method. Bring a parent to classes the first year so you can have an outside opinion on posture, sound, and stance as you practice at home.
Step 4. Learn the basic notes and techniques
Start calmly because the most important part of learning is the very beginning. If you get it wrong, it will take you years to correct bad habits. Some can be physically dangerous. So, I repeat: leave calmly.
Step 5. Practice regularly (every day) and take breaks when tired. During the first week you will have to try for 15 minutes at a time. Remember that it is always better to distribute the exercises than to rehearse a lot two or three times a week.
Step 6. Go to class for 30 minutes a week to start, then move on to 45 minutes, one hour, and so on
You can also add a second lesson per week. Depending on the teacher, you could spend from 25 to 100 euros or more.
Step 7. Take advantage of all opportunities to perform at school or locally
Step 8. Keep practicing scales and arpeggios all the time
People tend to focus on what they sound instead of how they sound and scales are a good way to think about that. Plus, they're also a good way to warm up before playing a song. Take theoretical and technical lessons. Take exams. They commit you and constitute a goal to be achieved every few months.
Step 9. Alternatively, you can also practice on 'etudes'
They are short pieces (try with Krane or Schroder and if you are at a more advanced level Popper and Duport) that test the technique of the scales but also the bow stroke, the vibrato, the rhythm, the tonality and many other aspects. Mixing them with regular music and scales can help you really improve.
Step 10. Join a local orchestra
They are great for learning theory if you don't feel like going to class and will learn rhythm, intonation and how to play along with other musicians. If you work hard, an orchestra will be satisfying because you may even go as far as first cello.
Step 11. Learn the notes and perfect intonation, then move on to vibrato
The vibrato brightens up the music beautifully and warms up the tone.
Advice
- Find a good teacher, someone who inspires you to give your all (trust is extremely important). A teacher who is nice but doesn't correct you or ask you to do things you don't want to do may not help you achieve your goals.
- Your hand should form a C on the strings as you play.
- Know that it may take you a long time to learn to play the cello decently even if you are experienced. (If you can play the double bass then you will probably learn the cello faster; those who play viola and violin will take longer, as well as those who have never played any instruments.) Before the sound is acceptable, it could be months and years before be good. Unfortunately that's how it goes. That said…
- Learn music by heart. He also works a lot with a slow-paced metronome to learn music faster. Start slow and increase. If you have sixteen notes in one passage, start with a tempo of 50 ~ 60. Lower the pace if you need to. Break everything into sections.
- When tuning your instrument, don't over-tighten the strings. You could break them and get hurt. To avoid this, tune with a sensitive instrument or by holding the cello AWAY from your face.
- Many beginners aim to learn Bach's suites. If you are starting out, know that the first suite is about five years away from you (three if you are really good). They become progressively more difficult. The sixth is among the most difficult ever written for cello; there are many professionals who cannot play it. Even if you are able to learn the notes, it is one thing to read them and quite another to play them harmoniously.
- Don't get frustrated. For a year or two your cello will screech a lot, you will play easy things and you will feel like you are making no progress at all, but in reality it will not be so, remember that. At a certain point, you will begin to fly on each song moving on to the more complex and most satisfying ones.
- Have fun! Try to find another cello student who is at your level to do a duet or join an orchestra.
- When you get bored, start transposing songs into a different key. Make them more challenging.
- Make sure you sit upright, on the edge of the chair, with your feet firmly planted on the ground.
- Record and save some songs for the future. Every couple of weeks listen to something you have recorded and you will hear the progress made clearly. Registering is also an excellent tool to learn because you will notice imperfections in passages in which you did not believe you had committed them.
- Once a week dedicate your rehearsals to something you enjoy, play whatever you like.
- Be creative with your music.
- You will need to learn three keys to play the cello: bass, violin and tenor. The bass clef is the most common but after a couple of years you will switch to tenor clef music and finally to violin clef. Most orchestral music requires you to know all three well.
- Create a weekly exercise plan to check your progress. This way you will focus on the goals.
- Join an orchestra or a small group of musicians. You will learn how to play with other people and progress faster as well as get to know more music.
- Learn to play other instruments, especially the piano. While you probably won't have too much time to devote to secondary tools, it's always best to at least learn the basics.
Warnings
- For safety reasons, never face the cello while tuning it, in case a string breaks: always tune it while standing or sitting behind.
- Before buying a cello, it is best to rent it. Ask your teacher to accompany you when you choose it as it is a big investment. As with other string instruments, prices are difficult to quantify. Remember that new tools aren't necessarily better than used ones.
- Even if vibrato improves your sound, learning it incorrectly can lead you to difficult corrections to restore the right one.
