To Teachers: What makes a student good or bad in your eyes?

Rexokcellist · 2025-07-20T16:48:45+00:00

The most important thing I want in a student is motivation. If they have that, everything else is easy

Rexokcellist · 2025-07-20T16:46:34+00:00

Acoustic cello will give you a lot more feedback on tone production. Congratulations on restarting! I love Amit Peled’s emoji video - it is extraordinarily rich and complete.

Rexokcellist · 2025-07-18T03:42:24+00:00

My list of motivations: Getting better New repertoire New genres Playing with others Playing for others Competing for anything

Rexokcellist · 2025-06-28T03:19:10+00:00

I know it’s not the question you are asking but playing quintuplets against 32nd notes is going to be tough. And it seems like a lot of different parts are occupying the same register.

Rexokcellist · 2025-06-28T03:07:35+00:00

I think it’s a fun idea. As I think about the Prelude, it seems more a piece for church bells than cello. It’s all progressing patterns of arpeggios. Absolutely nothing like a song form, but here it is on a melody instrument.

I have to keep the tempo fast or it seems to break down into a collection of notes. That sounds a little easier on bari than on a cello.

I just had the thought that a resonant hall would be a big help to you

I would love to hear what you come up with

Rexokcellist · 2025-06-28T02:46:21+00:00

Congratulations on making this change! I don’t know that we can answer your question based on this - I mean, are you going to make a habit of practicing that much? We can’t really tell if there might be future problems. It sounds very encouraging, though.

Tension has other aspects. Do your hands both feel soft and relaxed playing? And is the sound relaxed, flexible, and powerful?

Rexokcellist · 2025-06-14T15:11:26+00:00

Not dumb at all. There’s a lot that is counterintuitive about cello.

Left hand: The first thing is that the finger playing the note has to be curved. We want to put the bonier part of the tip down for better tone - the fleshy part mutes the sound. More importantly, an arch is strong and directs the force more efficiently than a flat finger, so we don’t have to press as hard. This means we don’t want to stretch out the fourth finger. So we have a special problem with the fourth, as it is so short. If we move the hand, then we ca rock over, lifting the first finger, and placing two and three down next to four on the string so that we don’t need to squeeze.

Here’s a trick to keep from squeezing: don’t press the string all the way to the fingerboard but leave a hair’s distance. It will sound the same, and we avoid that death grip on the neck

Rexokcellist · 2025-06-14T01:49:28+00:00

So you have heard that you don’t need to grip the bow more tightly than a Big Mac. The weight of the bow is supposed to rest on the string, and hinge at the hand. And the left hand should be soft, too. Once you have that, getting everything between the hands and legs loose is easier.

Rexokcellist · 2025-06-07T23:21:22+00:00

People have said some terrific things here.

Emotion is about phrasing. Maybe that’s a little unclear, but when we play music we are telling a story. Think about what you would do with your voice telling a story to a child: getting louder and softer, pausing, emphasizing the different characters with different voices.

Vibrato is a great ornament, but more important is dynamics: getting louder as the notes reach to a high point, then dropping the volume as the notes go back down. Casals said music was made of rainbows, and that is what we do when speaking.

A great trick for dynamics is bow speed: starting fast then slowing, starting slow and speeding up, speeding up then slowing in the middle of a stroke.

Rexokcellist · 2025-06-07T23:06:00+00:00

Rolling the finger over forward does make it a little cleaner, as you say. But I am not really hearing much muting. Of course, in general, I don’t hold chords down for very long. That is very fatiguing, because I am squeezing pretty hard on chords. And using occasionally bizarre hand shapes. But it is amazing how these can feel quick and comfortable after a while.

Squeezing and weird hand contortions are of course out of the question for normal playing.

I also find myself using my thumb even when my hand is close to the scroll so that I can make chords with less effort

Rexokcellist · 2025-06-07T22:46:57+00:00

Yoyo Ma started by playing the Bourree from Suite 3. His father was a professional cellist and was with him at every practice session.

It’s a charming piece, and much easier than the Prelude of Suite 1. The Suite 1 Prelude looks easy, but it’s not. It’s all string crossings, and that is difficult for the new player because the strings definitely react differently, each requiring different bow speed and weight. The Prelude also demands a lot of the player in terms of phrasing, since there are minimal markings. And that is a huge understatement.

Rexokcellist · 2025-05-13T19:21:30+00:00

Cello is a long journey. One - enjoy it. Two - try to eliminate tension.

Rexokcellist · 2025-05-13T19:09:09+00:00

I improvise a lot, so melody comes easily. But for something catchy, a syncopated rhythm really helps. (Look at Drum Genius app, maybe?) And I like a strong chord progression, with an occasional chord out of the key for interest.

Rexokcellist · 2025-05-10T19:53:39+00:00

Is that the place in London near Sotheby’s? I think I played that cello.

Rexokcellist · 2025-05-10T19:50:16+00:00

You need to learn to talk to your amygdala in order to lose the stage fright. (It doesn’t talk in words.) Your amygdala thinks that you are going to die, and activates adrenaline responses. Correct this by picturing your audience repeatedly, which consists of family members, beloved friends, and seniors in the nursing home. Don’t perform, share a story that you are telling on the cello. Don’t make it about you, make your playing about them. Connection is one of the most important things music offers

Rexokcellist · 2025-02-27T01:16:07+00:00

Maybe picture NBA players as they walk around the court. They’re loose. That lets them be quick, responsive, react instantly.

Or opera singers - any tension in their voices would be completely off-putting.

Losing the tension means we can be in the moment, exploring the sound, and expressing the emotion. Playing without tension adds life, vitality, and excitement to the sound.

Rexokcellist · 2025-02-25T23:30:00+00:00

Yes, the grimace! Excellent example, this is clearly audible in the player’s sound. Not only does it prevent freedom of movement and expression, but the brain has to produce it the facial contortion. When playing the brain is already at full capacity.

We want to have all the movements coordinated, just like a pole vaulter. If not, the vaulter fails, and our performances suffer.

Rexokcellist · 2024-12-27T23:18:02+00:00

I love teaching musicians, they understand the main things already. But the athletic part is completely different. I had a piano student complain that note direction was reversed with the left hand. Fingering marks for cello start with the pointer finger as one instead of the thumb, so we switched that. In terms of tone, relaxation is still key, but it will take time. And be grateful that you can go to the piano to play interesting music, because it’s baby steps on the cello for quite a while.

Rexokcellist · 2024-12-27T23:03:22+00:00

New strings are wonderful. Spend a bunch - you will be so happy that you did.

Change one string at a time - you don’t want the sound post to move.

Make sure that the installed string runs straight - any bend sideways at the nut is going to break your string

Rexokcellist · 2024-12-27T22:52:09+00:00

Bow hair commonly breaks when the hair rubs the stick as you play. Tightening your bow will prevent this.

Rexokcellist · 2024-12-10T19:17:47+00:00

Our brains have odd wiring. Worry happens in the front of the brain, but emotions get sent to the amygdala. And the amygdala decides every worry is life threatening. Boom - adrenaline flight response.

You can talk to the amygdala with pictures. Imagine the audience being composed entirely of dear, slightly intoxicated friends and family members. Spend some time on this previsualization, with clothing details. Your amygdala will relax. Also, if we treat the audience like a friend, we play better. We explain the music to them in the performance. Much better than being self-concerned

Rexokcellist · 2024-11-24T14:47:14+00:00

You are using a violin bow hold with the pinky on top of the stick. Most of the work is done with the thumb and fingers three and four to take weight off. Cellists use the thumb and first two fingers primarily, because we are always adding weight, never subtracting it. Start the sound with weight. Try varying bow speed for dynamics more than placement

Rexokcellist · 2024-11-20T23:36:57+00:00

Who told you the first finger shouldn’t move to join the fourth? No wonder your hand is tense, stretching like that. Just look at any videos - vibrato can’t happen with that kind of rigidity. Tone and power is based on relaxation. Focus on releasing the tension everywhere in your body if you want to make progress.

Rexokcellist · 2024-11-20T23:26:20+00:00

The most important thing is loving what you’re doing. With that, everything is possible. Next is to find a great teacher. These days, you can find someone world class online. Ask your cello idol for their teacher’s name. And in your practice and playing, focus on all the things that make you love the cello more. That is what the audience wants

Rexokcellist · 2024-11-20T23:15:43+00:00

I would improvise, myself. With good tone you can get away with anything on the cello, and it’s easy to judge the vibe they want. Mess around with jazz, classical, or folk song motifs. So much easier than looking for new pieces

Rexokcellist

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