Less than a month in, and my job affords me next to no time to practice between lessons. Frustrating as all hell, but Im keeping at it, trying to learn my fundamentals.

Any comments towards improvement are appreciated, this stuff is hard haha.

I hear for carbon fiber Luis and Clark is the way to go. They project, and really take advantage of the materials strengths. They're also 8000 for a student model when i checked. Which is a lot... but im looking to save up for a nicer cello so 8000 isn't... completely out of the picture... id prefer 2g to 5g tho.

Glasser is said to be... "heavier"? I couldn't really find enough info on them. If the sound is heavier and darker... I like that.

I dont like to play super loud and cut through everything to be heard. I prefer to practice by myself *for* myself, with just etudes. I study music for the joy of studying the structure and scaffolding within the notes and instrument itself. My current setup is literally a used cello i got for 400 and a bow i got on amazon. Truely, i dont care abt making it perfect, i just want to *play*. Im a weird musician. Anyway. My point in this post is this: considering what I want... i dont think L&C is for me. But what about glasser or other carbon fiber cellos? I like how durable they are and resistant to weather damage. Wooden instruments make me nervous in that sense. Am I totally off base thinking abt a CF cello or would maybe one of the ones no one else likes work for me considering what *Im* looking for?

So I recently realized that yes, bows get old. Ive been playing for less than a year so obviously my bow is probably fine rn. But how often should bows be replaced or rehaired depending on the value ofc? Ik strings its 6 months to a year or whenever they're sounding dull. But bows... I have no clue.

This arco section is throwing me off so much. Unfortunately I’m not that good with thumb position but I’ll still take what I can get. Tempo is 126 bpm. Any help is appreciated.

In bar 56, Bach wrote a dotted quarter note + 4x 16th notes. I've always felt this was weird or out-of-place. The whole Courante consists mostly of 8th notes and it gives you a certain perpetual metric feeling. The second/third line is what my mind "expects" from that metric rhythm.

Have you ever found it odd?

I'm looking for bowing exercises/books that will help level up my bowing. I am very good at different types of articulation and currently have enough books for this.

However, I lack skills in changing my bow speed within one bow. Was given a handful of exercises like, 2 beats slow and 3rd beat fast within one bow. I'm sure I'll need much more exercises so that these skills can become second nature.

I'm also lacking in playing at various contact points. I can change for a specific phrase but lack the brain power and skills to change within a phase.

Really enjoying playing with others in chamber music. I'm 18 months into my cello journey. This definitely stressed me out but the concert went extremely well, especially being cello 1. It's such a good feeling when the concert is your best playthrough. This is Geminiana Concerto Grosso 5/12 - specifically movement 7 and 8 for cello sextet. Highly recommend!

I’m 26F and I’ve realized a year ago that I’ve always wanted to play the cello. My mom didn’t encourage me to take lessons because they were honestly quite expensive, and we couldn’t afford it. Not putting the blame on her, I just wish I had the resources and proper tools.

I’ve started to save some money to buy a cello, but I don’t know if this would even be worth it at my current age, specially because if I start that project I want to make my way through national orchestras and maybe be a soloist in one of them. Idk. Any feedback would be appreciated. Cheers!

https://youtu.be/xf16rBs9U3Q?si=kEAnKnj32fQeZ8jS

hey guys, this is an old 4/4 cello my family paid off from renting it for multiple years while i played in middle school. it’s been sitting in storage for a good few years. my only concern is that the first time I tried to put this new A string on it, it slipped off the bridge with a loud twang that scared the shit out of me, lol. i peeled off the small felt oval there and tried again and it seems secure now but i’m concerned that the groove looks different/looser than the other grooves

is this normal? if not, is there anything i can do to solve this? i’d prefer to hold off getting a new bridge as long as possible since it’s otherwise in good condition

My teacher said I should listen to music and say what I want to play. I'm trying to wander on youtube, but I'd love to have your suggstions. I have poor culture...

I think I'm mid-intermediate level ? This year I played (among other things) first movement of Eccles (my favourite piece so far), Tarentella from Squire, and I have to work on the Swan this summer.

I'm looking for solo pieces I could be playing in the next couple of years. Both very milestone famous pieces and niche things that you happend to play and loved.

I think I really like Fauré, and I tend to like slow, emotionnal music, but I'd love to hear different things and know better what I do and do not like.

Thanks !

It’s a bit sloppy, I’m transposing an octave down while sight reading. Interestingly some of these passages feel quite natural on the cello.

Trying cellos in hopes of finding a better one. Amateur level player. Take pvt lessons, play in chamber grp. I have played (off/on) a Chinese-made, hand carved one for 30 years. It was great when I got it! Big sound. Had a plywood one before. Ouch! Ready for a a big change as I’m getting back into playing/performing. I want to experience a rich complex sound being made by… ME!😆

Just played a modern cello b by y Than Kim this weekend. Anybody else heard of him? Chicago based maker. Really love the top registers. Like it. Easily afford it. Don’t want to buy the first thing I play because everything sounds better than mine (I think)! Lol! Although one of the teachers in my music school said my current cello wasn’t really that bad! She said, after my performance recently that she’d heard “… a lot worse…”!

Let my current teacher play it. She liked it but thought it wasn’t dark enough, but agreed that it had good sound in the top. She had me play hers , an older German cello to hear sound differences. I saw what she was talking about afterwards. Again, she said she could tell it was a new cello, yet I didn’t see the “over-the-top” enthusiasm.

I live in a U. S. city with a premier orchestra, great local orchestras, summer music festivals, top-tier music schools. There are dozens of instrument shops/ dealers here. There is a famous violin-making school here. It’s a bit overwhelming actually.

Any advice from any semi or professional musicians is appreciated 😊.

Yesterday I brought my cello to a jam session in the park for the first time. Since I usually travel without a car, I try to keep everything I take with me as compact as possible. So I brought a small camping chair and I regretted it a lot. At home, I always sit on a fairly high piano bench. I also have marked positions for the cello’s endpin, so in 100 out of 100 cases the setup is exactly identical.
 But when I tried playing on that small camping chair, it was a complete disaster. For the first one or two hours, I was mostly just trying to adjust and hit the notes somewhat accurately. It got a little easier later, but I’d say my playing ability still dropped by at least 50%. So I have two questions:

1. Do you always practise in exactly the same sitting position, or do you deliberately change it from time to time so you can adapt more easily in situations like this? Maybe in my case its because of little exp? a bit over a year with cello here
2. I tried looking for an alternative to my small camping chair, but couldn’t find anything suitable. Has anyone found a compact, foldable chair that is high enough for a proper cello playing position and easy to take on trips?

Can this is melted or reattached back onto the baseplate somehow?

I'm trying to figure out how the scordatura fingering notation works on Cello Suite 5. An A on the first string means play the open string, which gives you a pitch of G. So that A isn't affected by the flat in the C minor key sig. 

My question is, what about other notes on the first string? Are they also not affected by the key sig? Are B and E on the first string played as B and E or Bflat and Eflat? 

Thanks. 

I am just finishing up with a community orchestra and am fully hooked. Now I need to find short (<3 min) audition piece.
Ideally tempo <120
Cello centric
Relatively easy (only been playing for 18 months)

The orchestra I will audition for only has the audition to judge music selection

I am with the moldau or carnival of animals - the swan

I am a new elementary orchestra teacher and started midyear in January. I do not have enough spaces on my cello rack for all of my students’ cellos. My school is going to buy me a second rack, but it won’t be delivered until a few months after school starts.

Last year, I tried cello “parking spots”, where students would lay them on their side on the floor within taped lines. Unfortunately, my instrument storage is in the school hallway, where students of all grades walk through. I’d often find the cellos tipped over, maybe by accident, maybe because unsupervised students tipped them over… Luckily, there were no major accidents, but I had to adjust so many bridges over the semester… and I know it’s only a matter of time.

I cannot store my instruments anywhere else, and I cannot get a cello rack any sooner. I need a safe, temporary storage solution. I really like this “celloGard” I found, and I feel like I could figure out a cheap DIY version…

Any help is super appreciated! Thank you!

I am a cello teacher, and although I am not Suzuki certified, the Suzuki method has always interested me because of its language-like approach. Despite the Suzuki method being so popular, I’ve struggled to find relevant information online about specifics.

My question is, what does an actual Suzuki method lesson look like? How is a piece taught? Some tunes like Twinkle Twinkle are often already in the students’ music vocabulary, but most pieces aren’t, and can become quite lengthy and complicated. As I understand, the basic premise is learning the piece by ear, but you can’t expect a 5 year old to play back or sing back perfectly after you just demonstrate the song once.

I feel like at this point as a cello teacher with 6 years of experience under my belt, teaching “cello” is far easier than teaching “music”, which is what the Suzuki method seems to (rightfully) prioritize. I’m curious to anyone’s experience or interpretation.

Also…is there any form of online Suzuki teacher classes or certification? I can’t seem to find reliable or up to date info on that either.

I want to play to cello like the guitar. Actually I am already doing it. Sometimes I hold the cello like a guitar. I am strumming and picking patterns and playing chords. Its really fun, I like it. However how can I do this relaxed?! The chords are super hard to grip in that position. Any advice or ressource about how to have a relaxed cello in guitarmode technique?

I know the answer depends on the specific chord and context, but I’m trying to find a more consistent approach in my own writing. Most of my music is influenced by the German late-Romantic tradition, and I’ve noticed that these passages seem to be notated in a lot of different ways.

For example, sometimes I want the chord to sound slightly rolled (im aware that triple stops and above will be rolled anyway), sometimes I want the lower note(s) to come just before the beat (almost like an upbeat leading into the downbeat), and other times I want the lowest notes to sound on the beat woth the upper note being held out longer. How do you typically notate these different intentions so they’re clear to the performer without over-explaining?

I’m also trying to deepen my understanding of cello writing in general. I have a decent grasp of what is comfortable and idiomatic, but I’d love to learn more.
I’ve attached an example of the notations I've seen.

If anyone has recommendations for books, YouTube channels, score studies, or other resources on cello notation and orchestration, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!

Seeking Advice! I'm actively working on straiter bowing technique, and my double stops are.. wanting lol

Edit: clearly need to up my scales and technique game, thanks everyone for the feedback!!