Why and How to Learn to Play Cello | 5 Tips for Cello Beginners | Your Questions Answered

[@ladygiraffemie8984]

I'm 29.I've been learning playing cello for more than one year.This is the most amazing thing in my life now.Thank you for sharing tips to us.

[@Cellopedia]

Welcome to cello community! I am so happy to hear that you are enjoying it. Best of luck to you!

[@maggiemartin1422]

Well said Maxim, us oldies need encouragement

[@jankarman4951]

Thank you for providing such wonderful instruction. I started playing cello at age 60 -- I have to remember it's all about the process -- the journey. I feel frustrated at times, but I also adore the potential for gorgeous sound, so now almost three years later, I'm still at it. My goal at first was to be able to play Appalachia Waltz (Yo Yo Ma's version). I quickly realized how much I needed to learn before I could even approach it. While I now wish I had started 30 years ago, I won't give up. Your slow versions of the pieces in the Suzuki books have been lifesavers. Thank you again!

[@Cellopedia]

So happy to hear it! I respect so much adult cello students. I know how hard it is to learn cello, but it brings so much joy to life. I hope to be of help again and again. Best of luck!

[@MrArchibald7]

I am 56 and for 1 month ago I gott my first cello lession! I study with a teacher and with you in youtube! It is amazing feeling to play cello! I am already playing piano, saxophon, and some other instrument! In my expirience it Will be fine, just need go practice , practice, practice! All the time! Thank you very much! 😻😻😻😻👍

[@Cellopedia]

Great to hear it! You are at the beginning of very unique journey. Best of luck!

[@cathygoltsoff9615]

Hooray. ! I play the clarinet and I too am new to cello. The base clef is also new to me. I do not have a teacher, I am nearing completion of Suzuki Cello 2 and I think I need a teacher as I learn more about bowing and alternative cello fingering positions. It took me a whole month to play a song on the cello as I had to learn how to tune it and change strings. You are awesome to play cello. Keep up the good work!

[@MrArchibald7]

@@cathygoltsoff9615 I learned saxophon without the teacher, but I think one need a teacher for the fast progress! Best of luck, my friend! ❤❤❤

[@nedgrant7718]

Wonderful, thank you! I’ll be 69 in two weeks, have been playing for 4 years, with 14 months inactive after left elbow surgery. I play every day, Bach Suite 1 and first 2 movements from Suite 2. I accept my current inadequacies as part of the process, and that they’ll improve in time, but they are not as important as my joy in playing (no matter how awful it may sound - to others! I don’t care), it will improve the longer I play, because that is the way things go, and I will wait. Didn’t Casals say that at age 90 he saw room for improvement? Thank you again, I look forward to more of these! Careful on those ice skates!

[@Cellopedia]

Dear Ned, thank you! When I was at school, my teachers would never let us play sports fearing that we will injure ourselves and skip precious practice time. I think you have a perfect approach to your cello studies. Thank you for reminding me about Casals - he showed us the way to go through this life!

[@nedgrant7718]

@@Cellopedia yes! I broke my elbow in 1960 and couldn’t play sports or music until 1965, when I started Jazz drumming... at school in 1972 I played a cello in String Class and decided to get a cello someday - that day came 44 years later! PS I love your slower versions: they help very much. Thank you again!

[@peterdesmier6165]

Thanks Ned. I’m 68 and started cello April 2021. This site is superb for aiding my practice. Encouraging to hear of your practice.

[@marcelaboente4543]

Muchas gracias por el aporte!! Tengo 56 años y comencé a estudiar cello a los 50. Lo disfruto mucho!! Formo parte de la orquesta de cuerdas de la Comuna donde vivo en Chile. Al principio pensaba que no lo lograría. Durante estos años aprendí a disfrutar del proceso y que el secreto es simple, estudiar y explorar. Gracias de nuevo!!!

[@Cellopedia]

¡Qué bueno saber de ti, Marcela! Con tu violonchelo abriste una puerta a nuevas oportunidades para ser feliz. ¡Mantente a salvo y sigue tocando el violonchelo!

[@patriciomunoz4090]

Hola tb. De chile concepcion especificamente saludos

[@patriciojaviermunozvasquez33]

Inicie en agosto del 2020 tengo 51 años y voy super con mi aprendizaje gracias por sus palabras que me motivan a seguir en este instrumento hermoso

[@adrianbitelmajer980]

Muchas grcss por contestarme...espero algún día poder tocar como ud....muchas grcs!!!🙏

[@andrepaio7751]

62 here. I am completing two years of cello studies. I am now at the end of Suzuki book 2. I play everyday, sometimes twice a day. I have a teacher once a week and I found it extremely important for me. Your KZbin videos also help me a lot. Thanks for the tips.

[@Luis_Santos.]

Great hints, Master !!!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@brennasouza625]

Fico emocionada! Está me inspirando e ajudando. Muito obrigada! ❤️

[@shaykavanagh1003]

God bless you Maxim, I am 66 and play in a Late Starter Orchestra. However I failed my Grade 5 ABRSM Exam and feel like giving up. Thanks for your words and to make me carry on !!

[@Cellopedia]

You know, Shay, that you would only failed if you would not take this exam. Every time I failed an audition or did not perform well, I knew that my next success will make me twice as happy. Best of luck to you!

[@mcmelody9216]

What is ABRSM?

[@shaykavanagh1003]

@@mcmelody9216 it is the Associated Board of Royal School of Music in England . They have a very high standard and are difficult to pass. The grades are recognized worldwide.

[@mcmelody9216]

Thank you,Why do you want to pass the exam? Is it good for anything? Can Americans apply too?

[@shaykavanagh1003]

@@mcmelody9216 they are very good for making you better cello player, as you pass the exams you improve, I think you can do the exams in America

[@auroratripodi8771]

Thank you for your suggestions Maxim! I play cello almost every day for 30/45 minutes, "jumping" from Dotzauer and Suzuki 3, and I think it is better than too much time together... my head is more relaxed and it helps me to be better on intonation (and my family is happier!)

[@cathygoltsoff9615]

I taught myself Cello (I played violin as a kid). I have been playing since September 2020 and I am almost finished with Suzuki 2. My fun goal is playing Decpacito. I do play along music for fun and Suzuki. I am a beginner with good vibrato. I watch videos and practice. I am over 50. Tip for new cello players: until I learned to tune and change strings playing as an adult using play along was impossible. Keep Cello in tune.

[@ГлебДмитриевичблок2]

Tank you

[@evelynchung8235]

Thank you so much for your comments and your encouragement. I am learning tp play the cello in my 40s as I follow my 6 six-year-old daughter on her journey with the cello. It is a very challenging instrument, but we listen to your videos nightly to get a sense of how it is done. Thank you for all your videos and sharing your beautiful music.

[@Cellopedia]

All the best to lovely cello family!

[@aldotanca9430]

Thanks, I kind of needed this :) I have been playing cello for several months now, coming from other instruments, and I found a good teacher. My main problem is that I have fallen in love with Baroque music and early music interpretation. But my tecnique and intonation is light years away from that. While I am used to set targets long term, 3, 6, 10 years.. Well, at times I feel a bit down and your video helped, thanks for that.

[@Cellopedia]

So happy to hear it! I was ( and still am ) going through learning cycles. It brings a lot of joy and frustration. We all have to embrace it to get better. Best of luck to you!

[@luigivicari5607]

This is my first comment to this channel. I'm really appreciating more and more what you are trying to do with this channel. I'm also an adult learner, with a very clear objective: play in some amatorial orchestra one day! The journey will be long, but, as everything in the life, not only the goal matters, but also how goals are reached. Thanks for the material that you are providing to all of us. I'm really considering to support contributing as patreon because I really appreciate all this effort for preparing all of this very useful material!

[@Cellopedia]

Thank you! It is so much joy to help other people to achieve their goals!

[@kingaberlakovich5585]

Lieber Maxim, vielen Dank für die Tipps! Ich habe mit 41 Jahren begonnen, mit fast null Notenkenntnissen🙈 Ich liebe mein Instrument! Natürlich ärgere ich mich , dass das nicht so schnell geht mit dem schön spielen, aber unsere Gelenke werden nicht beweglicher, und bestimmte Tatsachen muss man akzeptieren ( es braucht auch viel Übung!!!). Ich habe bei Dir die Popper ( leichten) Etüden gefunden, und es hat mir sehr viel geholfen, beim lernen ( wenn man schon mal hört, wie es klingen sollte...😉) . Ich möchte Bach spielen können. Das ist mein Ziel, ich hoffe ich habe die Latte nicht zu hoch gelegt!🙈 Freue mich auf weitere Videos von Dir! Liebe Grüße ☺️

[@Cellopedia]

Danke, Kinga! Ich denke, Sie haben sich ein perfektes Ziel gesetzt, um es zu erreichen. Um mich besser auf Bach vorzubereiten, würde ich vorschlagen, 2 Oktavskalen und irgendwann Sebastian Lee op.31 Buch 1 aufzunehmen - ich habe Aufnahmen von all dem, wenn Sie es hilfreich finden. Es macht keine Freude mehr, Bach spielen zu können. Alles Gute für dich!

[@jollkki4317]

Thank you Maxim! I'm of the ones who needs (and have) a personal teacher. But I learn also from videos like yours. Especially your etudes with fast and slow tempos. I asked my teacher for Kummer, seeing your video, but didn't have a copy. So I was assign the Lee's Etudes-Caprices no.10, op.100, which I tackled with the 'interleaved practice' method which proved to be very efficient.

[@Cellopedia]

Just in case, here is a page to get Kummer imslp.org/wiki/10_Melodic_Etudes%2C_Op.57_(Kummer%2C_Friedrich_August)

[@jollkki4317]

@@Cellopedia 1000 thanks! \(^o^)/

[@perlaeliasnemer6820]

Grazie mille Maxim! Proprio oggi seguivo con te gli studi di Feuillard, oltre al Dotzauer (che è il metodo del mio maestro) you gave me an idea: to set a goal, I think I'll love to learn Vivaldi's Follia 3 different parts (easy version of course!) and recording everything myself, just for fun. Will be so nice! We are not in lockdown here in Italy, but as a dancer and teacher I can't do my job actually, but... I have time! Of course I'll say hello to Civitavecchia from you. Saluti e grazie!

[@Cellopedia]

This is an amazing goal! I can only imagine how proud you will be when you achieve it. I miss Italy! A presto!

[@estelafilmaker]

Hello Maxim, thank you so much for this video, I really needed to listen to your words!!!! I am an adult beginner (almost a year and a half of studying). I practice daily. I love the sound of cello, I admire many cellists a lot and listen to much music written for cello. That's why I decided to start studying. I would like to play some melodies, and would love to play with more people too, but classes are usually individual and the pandemic situation does not contribute to make classes with more than one student possible. I am a physician, and I can say that playing cello is much more difficult than my job! Sometimes I feel dissapointed, I find that the correct tuning and the right posture in relation with the instrument are too difficult aspects to bare with, but so basic for finding a correct playing technique by the way.....I feel that I won't be able to play properly until I can improve those two facts. But I keep practicing, I enjoy my studying, and I hope that some day I will be able to play a little better. Thanks for your encouragement and for dedicating us these kind words and advice!! Regards!!!

[@Cellopedia]

Thank you so much for sharing it! You know, I have a very good friend, a doctor, who is also my student. He keeps telling me how much easier it is to play cello compared to what he does. I keep laughing :))) I am so happy you found time for cello in your busy life. Thank you for all what you do and stay safe and sound!

[@luiscerutti9194]

Thank you very much for your words and encouragement to continue working to be better yourself! my sincere thanks!

[@Cellopedia]

Absolutely! When we encourage each others, we all can achieve much more!

[@Luciinthetube]

Thank you very much for your videos, they are amazing and help me every day to keep studing. Greetings from Brasil!

[@pabloperalta6254]

Happy to know your name profesor you help me a lot!! wanted to say it you are great!! and your job is AWESOME!!

[@Cellopedia]

Thank you! 😃 MANY THANKS for your support to Cellopedia!

[@davidmangeruga4963]

👍👍👍

[@celiobrito3366]

Boa tarde koslov, obrigado pela dica muito interessante não existe vitória sem luta, Deus abençoe grandemente.

[@dianededek2648]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you 🙏🏽.

[@Cellopedia]

You are so welcome!

[@vielkobainblack9087]

It's the first time that I dare to comment, but I want to thank you for your invaluable contributions. I started with the cello at an adult age because I would love to be able to one day play the Sonata in Am Arpeggione acceptably (that's my purpose), simply for the fun of playing this wonderful piece. I studied four years with my teacher who taught me a lot and later I have continued studying with your videos, which have been of great help to me to solve and understand many doubts. Thank you so much teacher Maxim, you have taught me a lot and I just want to express my admiration and respect to you. Thanks also for putting subtitles in spanish, as my english is not that good. I would like to know if you have a video playing the Arpeggione?

[@Cellopedia]

Thank you so much for writing to me! We both use English as the second language, so we can understand each other well! I enjoy sharing crumbs of knowledge and experience I got through my teachers and friends. It makes me so happy to know that it means something for other people. I love Arpeggione and performed it few times- it was never close to what it could and should be. In general, for Cellopedia recordings I stay away from chamber music since it needs a really good pianist to make a meaningful interpretation. I wish you best with your cello studies - I am sure you will do well, having such a special goal to achieve. Please stay in touch!

[@vielkobainblack9087]

@@Cellopedia Teacher, thank you very much for taking the valuable time to respond to me with such encouraging words. I will keep following your videos and studying to be able to achieve my goal one day. And because it is always a pleasure to hear your performances.

[@alyxai6095]

Amazing video!

[@diegoDL851]

lo que dice sobre estudiar de grande es cierto, siempre se venera a los pibitos que la rompen con 5 años y nunca se valora el esfuerzo de un tipo de 50. por otro lado en lo unico que discrepo es en lo de ponerse metas, en mi opinion solo sirven para generar en el alumno la sensacion de que "llega a algun lado" la musica es el fin, no el medio. tocar todo lo posible y disfrutar lo que se hace, ya sea una grabacion o un ensayo o simplemente una tarde encerrado estudiando escalas, no todo tiene que ser para prepararse para lograr un objetivo. demas esta decir que sos un gigante y agradecerte todo el material que subis. saludos desde argentina

[@adrianbitelmajer980]

Hola soy de Argentina ,lo sigo hace bastante tiempo y UD me ha ayudado mucho con todos sus videos...no logro conseguir videos del método de Sebastián Lee...shule...UD podrá decirme dónde conseguirlos...grcs..Nancy

[@Cellopedia]

Hola Nancy, grabé estudios op. 31, 70 y 131, pero desafortunadamente nunca tuve la oportunidad de grabar el método de violonchelo de Lee. Ahora paso por el método de violonchelo de Piatti. Quizás a veces en el futuro habrá tiempo para comenzar a grabar el método de Lee.

[@adrianbitelmajer980]

@@Cellopedia Holaa,muchas grcss por responder a mi consulta...ojalá algún día logré tocar tan bien como ud....muchas grcss!!

[@cristinamartinonlopez6891]

Muchas gracias por estos buenísimos consejos. Estoy recién jubilada☺ y tengo la ilusión de estudiar este precioso instrumento a pesar de mi edad. Algunas de sus sugerencias me han sido de gran ayuda y procurare ponerlas en práctica. Un saludo afectuoso.

[@54baxers]

¡Enhorabuena! El chelo es un magnífico instrumento y espero que aprendas a tocar la música que te guste más

[@rafaelsaavedraelninoviolon3492]

Grasias

[@marzenafroow5401]

I got my motorcycle driving license when I was 50 whereas 10 younger guys dropped out on the exam. With the cello it is much worse. And I think it is not a problem of the body but of the head 🤣 BTW Is it a good idea for you to go to the ice rink? Do you have motocross hand pads?

[@Cellopedia]

You see … you are well ahead of me. I am still gathering courage to learn to ride a motorcycle :)

[@marzenafroow5401]

@@Cellopedia Do not do it please 🙏 did you draw conclusions from my collar bone? Chess, maybe a swimming pool 🧐

[@ferrermacea]

In my experience, some teachers won't even bother teaching or taking serious adult students. :/

[@Cellopedia]

I know. It is hard for working adults to commit to regular lesson schedule, which often makes it tough for teachers to arrange lessons.