Cello Lesson - Finger Balance - Left Hand Secrets to More Relaxed Technique!

[@lilaclaicc]

Great advice! My teacher taught me that in order to get to the habit of not ‘squeezing with the thumb’, one way to do for a start is to simply lift off the thumb from the neck completely so that only the other 4 fingers are used solely to press the strings down.

[@notmyworld44]

Thank you! A self-teaching 77-year-old cello beginner found this enormously helpful. I'm an experienced violinist and contra-bassist, but this is a challenge for me.

[@OnlineCelloLessons]

Glad it was helpful!

[@danpetresculi994]

Great and helpful tutorial. Thanks!

[@leviyitzhaqgarbose3523]

I too found this enormously helpful for bass!

[@barriereid9244]

Thank you for this helpful insight.

[@jamesliu327]

Very useful tutorial thanks

[@franciscovosburg763]

Heyo!! I have resumed the cello after being away for 10 months. My skills never left me. But, the vibrato didn’t sound clean after 6 years of playing. After watching this video, I can vibrato so much better now. The problem was that I was putting pressure on my thumb. So thank you!! And I subscribed to your channel as well! Hope to learn more from you, Teach!!

[@marcnevins9491]

Thank you

[@davidmangeruga4963]

Grazie... Great help... Generally all the teachers tell you too keen all the fingers down

[@tevbuff]

Great stuff man really helpful. Do you have any advice on how to better control your bow? In terms of bowing straight?

[@matthewmcdermit8744]

Yes, this lesson is valuable. I realize that I have too much tension in my left hand. My thumb is too involved.

[@caseyhrynkow339]

I'm a rookie...5 weeks in. This was really helpful! Although my teacher likely won't let me lift fingers off quite yet 🙃

[@OnlineCelloLessons]

Glad it helped! I can see why your teacher would not recommend that just yet, although, when you feel like you're ready, just allow any pressure on the unused fingers to be alleviated. This will free up range of motion in vibrato and help with less tension overall and better shifting as well. Just don't let the fingers 'fly away' from the string. They should be touching the string, ready to play, but not pressing in and creating more tension in the hand. The hand should always look organized with any finger ready to play.

[@noodlevilled3960]

Ok gotcha ty!

[@mrssibelius]

How would you describe stopping the notes in thumb positions, compared to what you have just explained? Always so good to hear someone talk about balancing the left hand, not the set position, with the thumb always opposite the second finger... Thank you

[@OnlineCelloLessons]

Hi Tilla, great question. I would say when it comes to thumb position, making sure you are feeling the weight of the arm/elbow is key. Your thumb can actually cover two strings at once and is very useful in upper position/register playing. I have an exercise that I may post a video about on how to develop a good thumb callus and proper thumb position technique. I call the exercise the ski slope. Basically, you take your thumb and make a fist with the other fingers and slide up and down the strings. If you don't have a callus yet, this will help you get one for sure. Also, practicing octaves with thumb and 3rd finger is really good training. Hope this helps!

[@sabineb6971]

My first finger touches the string at a slightly different angle than the other three fingers. So I get hard skin along the right corner of my 1st finger. Is that wrong? Is it supposed to be directly under each fingertip?

[@bonzodachimp6897]

i wouldnt be too worried, i get the same thing and his first finger also comes in at a different angle from the rest. its probably better to come in at a different angle to be able to comfortably reach the right notes

[@MiltRodgers]

Pulling the string down? What does that mean.?

[@donnabyrd6368]

when I play using the pull back method my shoulder hurts a lot more

[@notmyworld44]

It will loosen up.