Excited to finally release the first installment in my Classic Jazz for Strings course, The Saints: Level 1 for cello. It’s available as a multimodal course (including video guidance,) or you can download level 1 coursebook by itself.
Distilled from my work with cellists in Knights of Jazz String Band, this is the only course and method book that I know of for beginning cellists aspiring to play jazz.
Here’s an arrangement of Pachelbel’s Canon in D that I’ve been using with my elementary age students over the last couple years. Violin, viola and cello parts all get the theme, so it’s an “All-Inclusive” arrangement. My version is simplified to make it playable for everyone. The students clamor for the Canon in D, and learning and rehearsing it builds so many musical skills. Even my seventh and eighth graders who hate everything love to play it!
When Pachelbel wrote his beautiful Canon in D in 1680, he discriminated viciously against the cellists and violists in his local orchestra, scoring his masterpiece for 3 violins and basso continuo.
My All-Inclusive Theme from Canon in D reverses centuries of injustice, offering cellists and violists the world over the opportunity to join the violins as partners, getting their shot at Pachelbel’s timeless melody.
I simplified and abridged the theme for beginning string players. Extended positions and shifting are almost entirely eliminated and meter is adjusted to simplify notation.
This a flexible arrangement, playable in a wide variety of formats: a single solo instrument with chording accompaniment, a duo in two-part canon, or a larger string ensemble in a multi-part canon.
I’ve written continuo parts for every instrument — violin, viola, cello and bass. The burden of the infamously repetitive 8-bar basso continuo part is now available for everyone to shoulder.
I recorded an example of the arrangement (mp3,) featuring two cellos in canon.
Downloads:
Full Flexible Arrangement for String Ensemble (with cello demo Mp3)
Arrangement for violins (with cello demo Mp3)
Arrangement for violas (with cello demo Mp3)
Arrangement for cellos (with cello demo Mp3)
If you teach cello students like I do, and use the Suzuki books, chances are many of your students get excited to play the Bach at the end of Book 1 and the beginning of Book 2.
Another good Bach option is Jesu, Joy Of Man’s Desiring, but If you’ve played an arrangement you’ll likely remember awkward shifts in G Major, overly-intricate rhythm notation, and a musical form out of reach for beginning students. I couldn’t find an arrangement out there without these problems, so I made my own.
My duo and trio arrangements move Bach’s masterwork into C Major, the same key as his minuets in the Suzuki books. This does away with the awkward shifts, and showcases the cello’s most resonant key. I also simplified the form while retaining harmonic interest.
The duo arrangement works great at a student recital, with a teacher accompanying on the second cello part. The trio arrangement is an excellent intro to chamber music for cello students.
Along with scores and parts, I’ve also included a series of Preparatory Exercises for students. These exercises isolate the C Major scale and all the diatonic arpeggios found in the piece. I’ve learned that students who first master the Preparatory Exercises prior to taking on the piece are much more successful!
Finally, to aid home practice, I’ve included reference audio recordings (mp3 and wav) of the Preparatory Exercises, stems for each of the three cello parts separately, and the full trio.
Please share the download link for my arrangement with your students!
I’ve been meaning to make bow hold videos for beginning cello students ever since I began taking remote students. These videos will work well for both remote students and as a technique builder for in-person students. Following along the videos with your dowel or pencil at home is a great way to warm up at the beginning of your regular daily practice session.
The first video in the series is Cello Bow Hold Video #1: Pre-Dowel Exercises. These exercises help students form a mental archetype of a relaxed, agile and balanced hand, prior even to work with a dowel or a pencil. Practice Notes for the first four videos in the series are available for download here.
Videos 2-4 are available here:
Cello Bow Hold Video #2: Dowel + Caveman Exercises
The Chromawheel project got a nice writeup in Synthtopia. Chromawheel Music Compass allows students to play with music theory in a unique, tactile way, and to see how music works.
I made an arrangement for my middle school string orchestra of one of my favorite folk songs of all time, Oh Shenandoah. It’s from around the time of the American Civil War, and the lyrics are beautiful. I recorded a demo of the recording for cello quartet in case the students wanted to hear it. The photo is from Lake Onalaska, about 5 hours north of Chicago in Wisconsin.
Download the sheet music here.
Rock The Cello 