How I Play, How I Teach

Fourth Edition. A cello method by the celebrated French cellist, including many photographs and musical examples.

CONTENIDO:

Foreword by Professor D. Lev Ginsburg
Preface
Explanation of signs

Part one

Fundamental position

-The Bow:
Position of the arm
Points of contact on the bow
To find the hand position on the bow
An alternative method of finding the hand position on the bow
Movement of the wrist on the up-bow stroke
Hand position on the bow and first up-bow stroke
The role of the thumb in relation to the position of the fingers on the bow
Weight distribution of the hand and co-ordinated use of the fingers

-The Left Hand:
Positions of the arm, elbow and wrist
Position of the fingers
The thumb under the neck
Another way to find the position of the thumb under the neck

Part two - To combat natural weaknesses

-The Bow:
For feeling the course of the bow in its strictly perpendicular position on the string
To avoid tension by regulating the breathing
To fight the immobility of the thumb
To vary the tone colour and to avoid rigidity of the thumb by strengthening its first joint
To free the índex finger and strengthen the others
To combat shocks during the changes of bow at the heel
To develop the action of the wrist. "Boomerang" stroke
To combat the advance of the hand on the bow
For the combined action of the elbow and wrist in up-bow strokes
For staccato
To dissociate the movements of the wrist from those of the arm
Linked staccato
For spiccato
To combat weakness of the little finger and obtain stability of the bow at the heel
For sautillé
To obtain independence of the elbow in relation to the wrist
To overcome weakness of sound volume in the middle register and strengthen the sound in general
For varying the speed of the bow
Bow change at the heel

- The Left Hand:
For articulation
For intonation
For maintaining the position of the hand almost perpendicular to the strings in all registers
To ensure the correct shape of the thumb in the thumb positions
For the study of different sliding (non-articulated) shifts
For the study of articulated shifts
For independence between the left hand and the bow during shifts
For the study of extensions
General points about vibrato
Harmonics
Pizzicati
An alternative method of fingering in the upper registers

Part three - Exercises and miniatures

Two exercises for velocity
Exercise-"Marathon anti-routine"
Three Miniatures for the substitution of the fingers
Miniature for the articulated shift
Exercise-Extensions combined with articulated shif ts
Exercise for practicing positions in the middle of the string
Exercise for the accuracy of finger placement in the thumb positions
Exercise for the development of the 4th finger's agility and to train the hand to be as perpendicular as possible to the string in the thumb positions
Exercise for the eight openings of the hand in thumb positions
Miniature for the development of shifts on the lower strings
Exercise and Miniature to prevent the hand from a natural but faulty tendency to slope backwards
Exercise for the necessary shortening of the 2nd finger by flattening it and not curling it up
Miniature to develop the stretch between the middle fingers
Exercise for the callouses
Scales
Exercise for the study of arpeggios
A new fingering to master scales in octaves
New fingering for scales in thirds
Exercises for the "pianistic passing of the thumb" and to forte the índex finger to be perpendicular to the strings
Exercises for the independence of the fingers
Exercise for practicing groupetti
Exercise for the "flying thumb"
Miniature for pizzicati, pischnetti and onglizzati
Miniature for left hand pizzicati, harmonics and the conjunction of the two
Miniature for a variety of double-stops