As a professional cellist who started playing the cello from scratch at age 25, I’m in a unique position to help others, like me, who found the cello later in life. I have developed strategies from my own musical journey to accelerate the learning process, and I am here to share them with you.
great tips, thanks! I just realized that the chair angle might help so I'm going to put shims under the back legs of my chair and see if that helps with the back/hips angle.
Excellent video. This explains why my intonation sounds.... "off" when I listen back to a home recording. It's articulation but not only the hammer down type (guitar term), but the pull off type of articulation as well (another guitar term).
Yeah! I just found a 7/8 cello i love. 50 when i started on a full size. Always bothered me that as i 5' 4" woman the same cello for a 6' man considered my best fit. On the 7/8 all is easier, first position, extensions, bowing, and to my surprise thumb position. I did choose to add a posture peg on the c string to allow for more flexibility in placement. I play for myself and in a community orchestra. Because this cello is an upgrade it actually sounds bigger than my full size. Thanks!
Please talk to me about the rubber tube on your bow that appears to include parts of the base and spiraling wire. This video is definitely helping my bow hold position/activation. Although I feel like that corner of my thumb is protesting somewhat (even in a flexed position). It appears that yellow rubber piece acts as a cushion for that thumb. Thanks for all you're doing here. Sooo much good information. You are a god-send!
Works like magic! Well it’s not magic but yet again, Billy has a way of explaining and demonstrating exactly what fixes frustrations in playing. Thank you for sharing this!
Thanks so much for your awesome videos! One question. I was a little unsure of which point you were making (my fault, not yours). When checking bow tightness, I think you were saying that when flexing your bow with your first finger, you DON'T want the stick touching the bow hairs. Makes absolute sense, but I wasn't quite sure if that was your point. Again...my fault. Thanks!
i play some bass guitar but i now have issues with my plucking fingers due to some mild arthritis. As such i 'm keen to learn the cello as i can keep my right hand fingers fairly steady on the bow without having to flex them. . I have a fair idea of where the notes are for my left hand so i'm looking forward to seeing how you could help guide me along this rocky road.!!! I.m 5ft 7ins so do you reckon a 3/4 would be good to start with. Thanks for your thoughts.
What if i cant find a song that has that harsh dark mysterious mood/sound that tickles my ear? I have a hard time learning if i cant practice in the right vibe. Any musician references that you know of that may help me find that mental groove with that kind of style, if it even is a style? I go from 0 to 100 right quick mentally and that kind of sound slows me down and helps me relax. I just got my cello and have absolutely 0 experience lol. But i got her set up and did one stroke on it and my damn heart jittered and i felt happy in a way that i havent felt for a long while. I think this will be good for me and my wife wasnt mad when it suddenly appeared at the door so i take that as approval. I do have some musical experience with drums and piano. (No expert playing) but i can play parts and mix them together on ableton. Oh and my cellos electric! Oh! Duuuuuuude! I wonder if i can connect it to ableton! If i can then i could totally play the cello over my mic on rust and force people to pay me scrap or ill make friends with the toxic players and hire an army of noise makers to stand outside of their base... now i want to play rust... but first, the cello, then rust, or soulmask, after i water the garden and feed the dog and cats. I made a tee shirt for my one cat lol its awesome. I got my wife one too lol. Huzahhhh!
I started to learn Drums by 33. Started Piano By 36.. Considering Cello now, by (almost) 38... Always loved music (rock and classical) but never had a chance to study as a kid. No worries about perfection for a performance, Im here more about having fun every day, on every step.
I never knew why it always felt like I was about to drop my bow. These exercises and the explanation of the mechanism are so incredibly helpful. Feels like my whole bow hand finally fell into place. Thank you so much!
He comprado un estuche para violonchelo Accord en la página web Accord case. El 2.8 Medium Notary, que estaba hecho según ellos y que solo era enviarlo a mi casa en Madrid-España. Pues bien, he estado desde el 28 de abril, día que hice la compra casi rogando información de cuándo me lo enviarían. A veces contestaban y otras no. Se comprometen a enviármelo el 29 de Mayo y como era de esperar no cumplieron su compromiso. Como mi pago fue por PayPal, yo cancelo la compra del estuche, hago la reclamación y gracias a PayPal pude recuperar los 1.879,78€ después de un mes y medio, si no, ellos me habrían mandado el estuche cuando quisieran desoyendo mi cancelación, porque eso era lo que querían hacer. Total, la peor experiencia en mi vida de musico profesional en la compra de un articulo. "NO recomiendo bajo ningún concepto que compren en la página web de Accord si no queréis tener problemas" Saludos cordiales.
Yes, the bow grip and bowing feels like it could do me in. Been playing about a year. Having trouble with the thumb on my bow hand. Changing my grip based on your video. Hope it fixes things because I was not headed in a good direction with the thumb. I watched your bow grip video and I think I've been doing it wrong. My teacher never analyzed my grip. I think she assumed I was doing it properly. Also unhappy with my sound. Slow practice and focusing on the bow arm is advice I will follow.
Unburned sugar also gets converted into fat. And fat (as well as being unsightly) it also contributes to strokes, heart attacks and clogged arteries. Many people don't know this and they think it's purely animal fat. But sugar is very bad for you body and it also contributes to diabetes as well. Diabetes can result in blindness and loss of limbs where the doctor will need to amputate your limbs. So there's a lot of reason to not over eat sugar, especially processed sugar like high fructose corn syrup.
im more curious on where you got that glass enclosed cello display in the background=). i have dogs and cats, and need something to keep the dog hair off, and cats out =)
Great advice, and not at all what I expected. This is so helpful, so thanks for sharing your journey and discoveries. I hope to begin cello later this year, so doing plenty of research. BTW. I gave up caffeinated drinks (tea and coffee) a few weeks ago - my body and brain feel so different already. (Other readers: best to take advice on decaf/detox.)
I also play violin so this was so helpful. I had a mirror in front of me and noticed I was bending my left wrist - oops! and it is so important to walk those fingers up and down the notes keeping your fingers springy. This information is foundational to playing a cello without tension!
I agree with the person who posted below. Lessons are helpful and easy to relate to. I'm also using his Adult Cello lessons. I had taken a few lessons from a local person who played cello but found immediate improvement with Billy's lessons. Videos are great, but his Adult Cello course is a valuable way to get started with cello.
Right at the end, you mentioned one of the "bad words" in this video, for me an adult learner. I came to the orchestral strings from being an obsessive piano student as a child, spending hours and hours at the keyboard each day. When I went off to college I just put the piano studies aside and went on to other things. Yet all those years I had spent years of my time learning **the repertoire** and not really having the best time playing. When I came to strings, I started with the repertoire on the cello but had to move to viola for medical reasons, and then decided that was the LAST thing I wanted to play, No more 52 variations of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, ad nauseum. It was the most fun! And now 20 years later I'm over the medical issues and I'm wondering if it might be time to go back to cello because it is such a physical experience of feeling the vibrations that you just don't get in any other instrument. And it won't be the standard classical repertoire: been there/done that/it's not enjoyable. (To me) it feels like being back in elementary school and playing Popper etudes. In my case, that was inhibiting my growth as a player, and I think the big blame for that was indeed that I had done it all before at the piano, and remembered the burnout with it. Of course this is just one perspective: different singer/different song.
You really brought the concepts to ground level, for me. I’m so grateful. Keep cello fun and experimental to learn quickly, in a relaxed but dedicated manner.
