Book Review: Cello Playing for Music Lovers

Cello Playing for Music Lovers is geared toward adult beginner musicians aspiring to learn the cello. The easy-to-understand written instructions are combined with examples that demonstrate each musical concept. Many of these samples are songs that are well-known by everyone, musician or non-musician alike, so they will sound familiar when the reader begins playing them. The book can be used by beginners looking to improve their cello skills by teachers of beginner students looking for a great teaching manual.

This book is split into four parts, to make it easy to find the help you need. Part One walks you through the process of shopping for a cello and finding a qualified teacher. It also gives you a glossary of musical terms and a summary of basic music theory concepts. This part is arranged as a step-by-step guide to explain scales, chord, fingerings, and how to properly use a bow. There are excerpts from approximately 60 songs included to demonstrate each of these concepts as the book progresses.

Parts Two and Three focus on reading music and playing by ear. The reader gets a basic introduction to concepts such as musical structure and theory. While Part Two is written for first position only, Part Three begins to introduce the ideas of accidentals, arpeggios, extensions, and minor scales. Cello positions two, three, and four are covered in Part Four, along with more advanced music theory principles. There is also a section on how to perform with other musicians. Despite this logical arrangement, each lesson is still designed so that it can be read and understood separately, depending on the reader's musical experience.

Cello Playing for Music Lovers is a unique blend of music theory concepts with popular culture references and a loose, conversational writing style. The book covers all of the important areas for beginner cellists, including posture, hand position, scales, notation, how to hold the bow, and basic cello maintenance, all with no musical experience on the reader's part.

Some of the songs included in the book are Shenandoah, Some Enchanted Evening, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, My Funny Valentine, and Hava Nagila. There are also classical excerpts such as Pomp and Circumstance, Bach's Arioso, and Tchaikovsky's Song Without Words. The book includes an audio CD with 97 songs to illustrate the concepts and lessons presented in the book. Each of these pieces are a familiar melody that can easily be adapted to the cello. The melodies very frequently use lower positions, open strings, or lack vibrato so they are not too difficult for beginner musicians.

The author does not claim to be a master cellist, so she is able to tell her own anecdotes and add a touch of personal experience to the book. The book lists a number of suggested songs for students to attempt to figure out by ear on their own. The list is broken down by difficulty level and gives the key and starting note as a hint to get the reader started.

Originally posted 2008-11-21 05:55:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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