Chapter 9: Teaching the Cello Flashcards
The cello endpin is adjustable for the purpose of positioning the cello at the proper height for the player.
What criteria are used to determine the proper height?
Position the end pin so that this cello is between 55 and 65 degrees.
Position the end pin so that the corners of the lower bout about are at knee level in the C peg is behind the left ear.
The top right side of the back of the cello contacts the body at about the middle of the chest.
Why is it important for the beginning cello student to have a chair that makes it possible for their feet to touch the floor?
The knees of the cello player are part of holding the cello and being able to put the feet on the floor becomes important.
List several of the differences between the cello bow grip and the violin and viola bow grip.
The bow arm is in a lowered position for the cello in contrast to the raised position of the arm for the violin and viola.
What are some of the objectives of the beginning or open string stage of cello study?
To hold the instrument in bow correctly.
To draw the bow parallel to the bridge.
To draw the bow on the proper string.
To draw the bow for the specified duration.
To make satisfactory bow changes from up to down and down to up.
To identify the strings by their letter names.
To know the signs for the down bow and up bow and following these directions.
To be able to identify the parts of the cello and bow.
On the cello, what interval is spanned by the hand in the first position setting?
A perfect fourth.
Discuss the backward and forward extension of the left-hand.
Backward extension-the backward extension is accomplished by moving the first finger back one half step. The side of the finger rather than the pad will contact the string.
Forward extension-in the forward extension the first finger acts as a pivot becoming nearly straight while the other fingers and the thumb move down the fingerboard one Halfstep. The thumb should remain opposite the second finger.
What are the advantages cited in learning fourth position at an early stage?
Fourth position extends the range of the player considerably.
Fourth position is easy to find and be certain of because the thumb rest in the curve of the net.
Draw the symbol used to denote the thumb position.
Q
The symbol used to denote the thumb position is a zero with the short hyphen vertically placed at the bottom of the zero.
Discuss and illustrate the clefs used in cello music.
To avoid excessive ledger lines the cello uses the bass, tenor and treble clef.
What does the use of the thumb position make possible?
The thumb position extends the range of the cello and gives the cellist a great deal of facility in the upper register.
In the upper register the notes are close enough together so that the cellist can utilize violin-like fingering.
