What they don't tell you about learning cello (as an adult)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 พ.ค. 2024
- If you're an adult looking to start learning how to play the cello, chances are you've been doing some research. When I was reading up on the cello before getting started, I kept running by the same sentiments over and over again. I've picked out 4 in particular that - while I agree with them - are actually more nuanced for the adult learner. So here are my top four things they don't tell you when you start learning the cello. Enjoy!
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Billy Tobenkin is a Los Angeles-based cellist who specializes in teaching adult learners. As a professional cellist who started playing the cello from scratch at 25, he is in a unique position to help others, like him, who found the cello later in life. He has developed strategies from his own musical journey to accelerate the learning process, and he is here to share them with you.
Please contact him at billy@adultcello.com with any questions or comments! Or visit adultcello.com
00:00 Intro
1:00 1: Your health matters
3:03 2: Growth is non-linear
6:13 3: Cello is not all rainbows
9:31 You can make a great sound Today
I find I learn something new every day. Makes me happy. I am my fifth year in at age 75.
It's never too late to learn a musical instrument. Great job. I'd love to see more adults come to my store as beginner cellists.
No bs, it is if you plan to make a living as a professional Orchestral musician
Never too late, and one of the best things you can do in life. Music is magic 🪄
Will be 81 in a couple months. Just starting. Something I wanted to do maybe 70 years ago.
I started cello at 40 something and played for several years before giving up (because I had to, not because I wanted to.) At 64, I'm playing again with the best teacher I've ever had. Ive improved leaps and bounds in just two sessions with her. Now, I don't expect that pace to continue, but I'm hopeful.
Number 3 is one of the reasons why I'm glad I played an instrument before the cello. Knowing that there are going to be times where I get frustrated, but also knowing that I can overcome a difficult part with time. This section, I believe, ties in well with another one of your videos where you talk about hunting for perfect. I just turned 36 and have only started playing for 2 days. However, with my previous band experience (trumpet), I know I'm not going to sound like Yo-Yo Ma anytime soon. It's good to have goals, but to set insane goals can feed into that frustration. I think that those who have never played an instrument should be told that even the tiniest bit of progress is still progress and it's something that they should be proud of.
I’m 45 and haven’t played the cello in 29 years. My husband bought me a cello for Christmas after me harping on about re-learning for X amount of years and I almost cried. I’m so looking forward to playing again. Your channel is gonna be very handy for me, so thank you. ✌️
I started 2 years ago at 65. Not to be a famous Cellist, but to take advantage of all the amazing brain and memory benefits of learning music.
My wisdom was to find a great teacher…Jeff Hamacher of the Kingston Symphony. He has with great patience and persistence worked on each of your points. I’ve followed traditional Music Teaching and am not attempting songs that I am familiar with. Senior Cellists, I believe find it hard to that sweet spot where the Cello fits like a miter between the legs. I also have issues of seeing small print and my teacher might agree hearing instructions.
But I would say lastly not to give up and enjoy each and every note that you play. I pretend that I am playing for my mom, who loved classical music.
PS: I’m following you and enjoy your videos. Cheers 🌺🙏🏽
Thanks so much for your message! It sounds like you're set up for success, and I'm so glad to hear that you enjoy my videos!
I love the diet part. I recently started playing cello after decades of classical guitar and internally I realized I need to change my diet if I wanted to continue learning. My arms, my joints, my back....all my bad eating habits felt obvious. I'm a thin guy but my heart was telling me to eat better if I wanted to have cello in my life.
It's amazing how differently our bodies react to the different food choices we make! Thanks for your comment!
Yep, number 4. I started playing cello in my 50's but had been listening to classical music since a child going to concerts with my father. I knew what a cello should sound like and I felt like it just wasn't happening no matter how much I practiced. Eventually, I hated practicing and then felt guilty when I didn't. So I quit playing after five years of lessons and sold my cello! Now, at 66, I have started playing again and I so resonate with what you are saying. I enjoy every minute [so far LOL] but I am also a lot more mindful of the sound. I'm not trying to work up the next piece-just enjoying the journey more and wanting whatever I play [no matter how "easy"] to sound rich and glorious.
Awesome! I started learning cello at age 52 and I've been playing/learning for 3 years now and this is the first time i have heard this. I have been at a plateau but you have inspired me! Thank you so much, your words are deeply appreciated.
Reading your comment inspired me. I thought I am too old to learn this btw I am 33.
Oh, hell, I'm 71 and want to start. Today's videos have me revved.
u have just inspired me to start this journey is never late 👏🏼
Number 4 is definitely the one I feel, but with a twist. I started playing the cello about three-four years ago and didn't really do anything during the covid period. Now I'm back with a new teacher, and I am struggling with technique. This shouldn't come as a surprise, but the problem is that it holds me back from playing music. I can play notes, but it's not enough. And trying to focus on something I learned some time ago helped me to really enjoy the music I play. It's still fun to learn new pieces, but I really enjoy making music. So it's not exactly the same as your "make a beautiful sound", but replace it with "make music" and the whole section still works and it resonates with me.
My method of trying to overcome this is to spend much longer on each piece than my teacher is used to do with her students (most of them are kids, though). She loves really working with me on individual bars of the pieces, so I can get to the point where I actually like listening to what I play.
So for me it's "it takes years and years to make beautiful music". But I think I found the way to overcome it and feel the love of playing again.
As a singer, I can relate to all of this and I have a very similar story to your story with the cello teacher. My voice teacher told me to put myself out there! Sing for people! Go out and find local opera companies to sing for. I went to this one woman who had a group that helped young opera singers. And I went with my castle, my swamp castle and sang for her. She closed up my book and basically told me to stop singing. I left in tears. After putting in so much work I felt like I had wasted years in trying to build a voice that could make me money. Ironically, years later, she heard me sing again I thought my voice was gorgeous. I went back and I studied and worked very hard on building the foundation on better property.
I also felt number three. When I came home from a trip abroad, for singing and it turned out to be a huge scam, I was so despondent and wanted to just quit. I had a gig that I had to cover a soprano. The person who booked me said that I should’ve been singing the part but I didn’t have the right look. So I basically said the same thing I hate myself I hate my voice and I went through a deep depression. Yet, I’m still singing. I am at a different place now where I have more control out of what comes out of my mouth. These things, I feel, season our music and makes our playing an expression even more soulful because of how our process shaped us.
Now I’m learning the cello. But the thing is I am so much easier on myself with this process because I’m allowing myself to have fun and discover and play. Since I’m not doing it for a monetary achievement it feels easier. The difference is, I know how to practice, I know how to pinpoint tension, I know how to sight read much better and I’m not putting pressure on myself to be this superstar Cellist . Hope that makes sense.
Thank you for sharing this. It’s very important to remind ourselves to take some of that pressure off and have fun in the process. I know that now that’s why ,for me, playing the cello is so much fun I only wish that I had the same fun when I was learning how to sing opera.
Thank you so much for sharing, and I agree that fighting through difficult times can actually enhance our expressive potential! It's wonderful to hear that you're enjoying your journey with cello so much!
Very perceptive and honest! As a professional woodwind player and director of student ensembles, I'm looking to improve my cello playing and understanding. Everything you say is spot on and so well articulated. It causes me thought on my own study on primary instrument. Thank you. About to watch your "First Lesson" Sample. I love seeking a beautiful sound from the start!
Watched a couple of your videos. Really glad to hear the things you’re saying. I’m just barely learning and can definitely see myself running into the issues you are talking about, changing my expectations based on what you’re saying is really helpful.
Great advice! Thank you. My parent’s surprised me with a cello yesterday (it was one of my childhood dreams) and I’m excited to learn.
i just wanted to say i’ve been doing tons of research on the cello because i want to start but i thought i was too old then i found your videos and i just want to say your channel has helped me so much throughout my cello journey. you give great tips that are very helpful thank you
Hi Emily... I'm 70 and have started learning to play the cello!! So, if you're anything younger, then it's never too late!😅😅
I love how you communicate and share your experience! I especially appreciate your point about beautiful sound. It's so important!
I'm surprising my wife with a Cello for her birthday (March) (3 month rental just in case i misunderstood and she just wanted a cd or she doesn't practice🙂) - she has never learnt any instrument but a cello is her favourite. subscribed to your channel to aid her journey I hope she can get 100hrs and work towards 2000hrs +
How s she doing??
This sharing is so worthwhile. Thank you. I often feel so isolated in my beginning cello experience, and so appreciate this.
Brilliant advice. I have noticed the plateaus and the frustration, and the most important one of these for me is the last - focusing on making a beautiful sound. So so important - and closely tied with that - making music, not just playing notes.
I totally agree about making music! Thanks so much for your comment!
Thank you for the videos in this episode, it made me feel a lot of empathy as an adult learner. I am lucky to find your videos, I will watch carefully and experience the exercises.
The one about beautiful sound production is so true. I feel like, I actually really enjoy going back to the very first little pieces I played and trying to play them as beautifully as possible. Little Ode to Joy theme or some suzuki 1 thing. Something that helped for me is basically just playing like you, yourself love every single note. It sounds dumb but kind of playing like over the top like this often helps exaggerate things that make you sound good... Like now if something says expressivo I really go ham with it and then dial it back if needed haha
I love it! Thanks for your comment!
How I wish I had found your channel 4 years ago! I relate totally with non-linearity-process. I fought YEARS trying to learn how to recognize that I was playing in tune (without a drone in the background). I quit out of frustration maybe 5 times, being sure I would never be able to learn it at my 22, 28, 30, 38 (no money for a teacher, so I had to learn all by myself). But this takes me to the other point, about enjoyment. Well, I never quit entirely, because even when I knew I was not playing in tune, I somehow enjoyed the vibration from the sound immensely, so I learned to focus on it, and enjoy practice in spite not achieving that goal. Then one day, I somehow got it. I learned to recognize the sound by the resonance it was creating with the rest of the cords. Now the challenge is to train the muscles of my hand to recognize the precise distance between the notes.
Great channel! thank you for sharing!
Thank you!
Your lesson is great for beginners like me.
I’ve started to learn cello when I was 45years old…still struggling 💦
Thank you so much, I'm so glad you found it helpful!
this is such a fantastic video. I’m so grateful that you talk to all of us like human beings and people with emotions and bodies instead of just robots who are meant to repeat things.
I want to start playing the cello and your explanation helped me a lot to really start and enjoy what I do.
I'm also 25 getting my first cello soon. This video was very helpful and just honestly enjoyable to watch and listen to a pice of your story. So thank you very much for that.
So so right about progress being nonlinear. I have definitely experienced that. I think a caveat to that is that sometimes when we've been working on cello a while, we may not immediately recognize a breakthrough. When I am hearing a piece over and over in my head, sometimes I don't actually hear the progress I have actually made. Thanks for these videos!
Thank you, Billy, for the information and confidence you give to adult students. It is because of you that I started playing the cello. It was this video that you said a beautiful sound can be made that first day. I have a great instructor who gets that I want to enjoy this stage in my life, yet set realistic goals. I appreciate you, and after seeing this video, I felt ready to start learning...while also making a JOYFUL NOISE, even when it doesn't always SOUND beautiful. It makes me HAPPY!
You doing such a great work, I progressed a lot after watching your videos. Thanks 😊
Thank you so much, I really appreciate it!
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.
I just read your interview from the latest Strad issue and found your channel. Excellent viewpoints on adult learning. I'm actually adult starter on violin. I've been learning for four years. However, I can relate to everything you mentioned as an adult starter on string playing.
I think it's absolutely possible!
My teachers have focused on mechanics which are of course important but this focus on mechanics taught me that a beautiful sound only came after developing some sort of perfect technique. i have recently tried playing much simpler pieces with a more mindful non judgemental approach and found it wow relaxing even ! WOW
tx Billy
I'm so glad to hear that! Thanks for your message!
Actually I start learning cello October 2020 but because of covid so most of the lessons only through online which is I can't really into. Now I am 40 years old and started to begin physical lessons again after take a break for 4 months because of I change the size of cello. My palms hands is quite small which is I struggle to play for 4/4 size cello, so I make a custom made 7/8 cello. And thank you for your info to cut of the sugar. Start right now, try to avoid sugar.
I think much if what you observed resonated with me as a beginner violinist. Learning an instrument for the first time is exciting but there comes a time when it gets boring and the incessant self criticism overshadows the artistic emotional essence of just making music. Idk maybe thats just me. Nice vid!
Wow!!!!! Thank you 🙏🏽 this is such an important video
Thank you so much, and thanks for your comment!
Growth is non-linear, soooo true!
Thank you really great advice
I've experienced exactly what you describe. It's important to know progress isn't linear as expected. Once you understand this, you're nit as hard on yourself. You learn to appreciate the times you make significant progress and the plateaus become easier and less discouraging to endure.
Love your sharing!
Thank you so much!
Great and honest tips! Diet is difficult but it’s true. I am working out in the gym and this helps sooooo much for posture,…and besides, you build up stamina!
Thanks so much! Yeah, the diet part was definitely a major adjustment, but totally worth it!
I’ll be honest, I was expecting the dive in “ok do this, repeat after me!” Instruction, and begrudgingly formed a premature opinion. Overriding my inner critic’s voice, I humbled myself to shut up and listen to your wisdom from experience. 😅 and grateful that I did! Your insight and perception is running into deeper levels. At 52 I decided to begin. Hat tip, thank you.
I going to start learning the cello in a few days I can't wait to start your lessons .I been watching your videos and I enjoy your style of teaching so thank you for making videos I can learn from
Thank you so much, and congrats on getting started!
Well.... Update? Are you still alive or did the cello take you out?
About eating no sucker I had the same works really good. Really nice how you teach the people without and pressure
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.)
This is a great video. I have just bought a cello this evening after years of playing violin. All of the things you've mentioned, goes for violin too. And I think it's probably the same for any instrument. :)
Valuable insight indeed! Wish someone had shared the whole truth with me when I began, especially about making a beautiful sound.
Thank so much! That's how I feel, too!
Billie, I have felt like quitting many times in the past 3 years because I do not like my sound - I have often thought maybe my teacher was just being nice and not telling me that I should just stop because I don't have what it takes. You gave me some inspiration to keep working. Thank you - I love your videos.
I'm so glad to hear that, and thank you so much for sharing, it really means a lot to me to read that!
I would suggest not to stop. I did quit after 6 years because I didn’t like my sound even though I could play things out of Suzuki books through 8. However I felt like I sounded no better from pieces in book 2 then in book 8. It’s now been 6 years since I quit playing and I’m trying to play again but can’t play any of the things I used to And I can’t play vibrato anymore. I’m starting over agin but I think about where I would have been if I hadn’t quit.
I'm 53 and now that my 4 kiddos are off and running - I'm starting cello! I've been playing piano for about 3 years and enjoying it immensely; so decided to add another instrument. I'm on day 2 of learning the cello. I sound like a rat clawing it's way out of hell. BUT - I loved this video because it allowed me to at least notice that I CAN make a beautiful sound on the open strings...usually. So - that's what I'm practicing. Someday, I 'd like to play a Metallica song....ever the GenX'er!
I started playing cello in 4th grade, all the way thru high school and college...Got into guitar, Studying cello again after 30 years. It's hard!! It's going to be a long road, but I feel it will be with it! Maybe someday I'll play Danse Rustique' again...😊
Kudos for this. Appreciate the honesty. Learning cello is so hard and totally frustrating at times. Easy to forget i am training muscles and body to do new things and that always takes time. As far as sound, how different is the sound from the person playing to the person sitting across listening?
Thanks so much! As far as sound, a lot of times it depends on the instrument. Some instruments sound very loud to the person playing but don't project to an audience as much, while others give are harder for the player to hear but project easily to an audience. Hope that helps!
THANKS , I'm just learning the cello later in life also, not easy......thanks for the info
I enjoy your videos very much, started learning as an adult (but I am a musician and played classical guitar and piano for many years )
I was surprised to hear you do ceramics too, as I am a ceramist as well, I wonder how do u manage the hand care with the wheel throwing and water and the cello playing.. my poor hands between the wheel and both the guitar and cello are really suffering atm . Thanks for your videos
Great tips! I've always maintained that progress is made by plateaus, and the plateaus get farther and farther apart, not closer. I mean, if you play another instrument and someone sets you up correctly, you can get through the 1st Suzuki book in an afternoon! Also, cello destressing your life? Ha! We live in an apartment on the 3rd floor, and it's really fortunate that our window screens don't open. Otherwise, my Jay Haide would have been out the window more than once. Thanks again for your dedication!
My pleasure, thanks so much for your comment! That's great that you have a Jay Haide, I'm a fan of those cellos!
Nice to read, I have a Jay Haide too! Great instruments!
thnak you, helpful
This advice reminds me a lot of natural bodybuilding, especially when you talk about plateus, enjoyment and overuse injuries, I find it interesting.
Hey Chris! Funny you say that, I used to lift in high school and college before I started cello. I agree, I think there are huge similarities between learning a stringed instrument and a lot of sports!
as an adult violin learner i agree too☺
I’m an adult cello learner I’m 80 years just learning and enjoying it probably not perfect form but great fun and ennjoyment
I started the cello at 30, never played an instrument before. I must say I don't have much time to practice, but I do my best. More adults now are going to music school and the teaching staff are not ready for this. Because the body is less flexible than a child's one. And because most of us have a job... And yes there is a focus on the left hand before the right hand. I feel lucky because I had great teachers who knew how to guide me to a warm and beautiful sound. In the very beginning of learning, every one can have a "beautiful" sound. Find the vibration and the way to sustain the sound... Why ? because it helps us play in tune (la justesse des notes comme on dit en France). Cello makes me angry sometimes but I love playing cello so I accept frustrations & stressfull moments ! 😁
That’s the same age I started 😊
Oh Billy, yes!-- it is frustrating at times, but that's true of learning anything. The question is do I have the grit to stick with it? I love what you said about making a beautiful sound. Isn't that why we all love the cello in the first place? I've heard many cello players more or less say, music isn't a matter of playing every note correctly, it's a matter of feeling, and good sound conveys good feelings. So yeah, good sound is more important than hammering out correct notes. I can play the F on the C string and get that vibrating resonance that makes my heart SING! I almost have that with the open D and G strings. The A string?-- sigh, for some reason that string is very hard for me, but I will figure it out. Thank you for your honesty.
Thank you so much for your comment! I love what you wrote about the resonance of the strings making your heart sing! With the a-string, I've found that if you're very comfortable making sound on the C string already, then there is a good chance that you're sitting too heavy and working a little too hard on the a-string. Hope that helps and thanks again for your message!
@@adultcello it does help, Billy, I think my hold on the bow isn't quite there when I reach for the A string, so I'm over compensating or trying too hard, since I find it difficult. Thanks for the tip.
What you are saying it's more general to other instruments. I still have really annoying plateaus in some guitar technics. With the sounds on the cello or something similar with a bow a old teacher told me you should learn to get a beautiful tone with the bow before you start putting a single finger on the fretboard. If you try both at the some time you gonna lose your focus on one of them - this was my main failure at learning violin 😅 the bow is making the sound not your left hand
OMG, you're amazing 🤩🤩
Thank you so much!
Just starting out. I'm 44, have never read music and I haven't played any other instrument. It was recommended to me as therapy for a head injury, and I loved it immediately. Wish I could make up for lost time!
Good for you! I started playing the cello a couple of years ago. Never played an instrument before and couldn't read music. It's coming slowly but I'm getting there. Don't give up!! (I'm 69.)
I don't even own one. But I am loving these❤❤❤❤
I started at age 53, been playing 2 1/2 years now. On my "bad practice days" when I'm frustrated and just want to put her back in her case and call it done, I pick something non-musical to focus on. On my worst days, I say "I'm going to put my fingers on the strings. Then I'm going to make sure I don't lose my callouses." And I play with the sole intent to not lose my callouses. Some days, if my intonation is just... not happening, I focus on my right hand. Note: not focus on my bowing, just focus on my right hand - are my fingers loose, is my hand dropped, is my wrist loose? I think this helps tremendously with those "plateaus". Because maybe I can't get all aspects of the piece(s) I'm working on to sound wonderful, but I can get something to sound okay-ish. At my last recital, I went into the recital with severe stage fright (first in-person recital). I decided that the only thing that mattered in my performance was dynamics. As I was leaving, one of the audience members actually stopped me and said "great dynamics!". So there's always something to work on when you feel like you're utterly failing at some other thing.
I’m a guitarist of 3 years. It’s the same process. You can learn technique fairly quick at any age (I’m 39) and master it from a technical standpoint. But that doesn’t mean you’ll sound good. Whereas you can play one simple note and make it sing. And I find the latter especially hard because it takes a lot of feel and the right touch. I want to learn the cello and I’ve wondered exactly about how one can make a note sound good. And you hit the nail on the head. Just practice on one string. It’s basically the equivalent of practicing your touch on the guitar. You pluck one note and add a little vibrato and see how long it’ll sustain and how it’ll sound. And you do the same with the bow. You need the feel in that hand to make the strings ring. Of course the left hand is also very complex but I think for the cello if your right hand doesn’t make the strings sing you can be as good as it gets with your left hand you just won’t sound great.
There's also a thing I think called the intermediate valley. (Could be misremembering the name.) First heard about it in the context of language learning, but it probably applies to most skills. Basically, when you're a complete beginner you have no clue just how much there is to learn. Every single thing you manage to do feels like progress. But once you've been studying for a while you've accumulated some theory, and you're able to spot your own mistakes, you're able to recognise how much there is that you don't know yet. So suddenly being more aware of your challenges can feel really disheartening, like you're getting worse or plateauing. But really, being able to spot your own mistakes is a great sign of progress! Keep pushing, you're doing great :)
Why are adult learners told to set goals? Like, If you're an (aspiring) professional musician that makes sense. But as a hobby? Chill. Any hobby. Can it be challenging? Sure, any hobby can be. Think video games. But only if you *want* it to be challenging. Sure, if you wanna get to pro-level in the near-ish future, then you'll have to practice through the hard parts, even if it's not fun. But otherwise? Challenge yourself if you enjoy it, but if it's making you miserable just try something easier. Maybe you can come back to the difficult thing later on and it will be easier.
The beautiful sounds of the open string where the thing that made me really happy when I first started :D Hadn't done any research, and just heard people saying that violin is super hard... So being handed the instrument, told to make a sound and it immediately sounds beautiful? Wow. Motivation up 100 haha.
your 4th point was very good.
I like the sound of the c string. Just the vibration gives me motivation to learn more.
Also, thank you for the video!
My pleasure! Thanks for your comment!
How do you train your ear for the note and how do you get all your fingers in the right place
Thanks for this. I m turning fifty at the end of the year and am goimg to get cello lessons for my bday. I d say these are even more relevant to me at my age.
Your videos are wonderfully inspiring. Thank you.
I have an issue that I cannot find answers to. I have a visual impairment and am feeling very discouraged because it’s difficult to read the sheet music. I have the desire but need some encouragement.
Thanks for your message, and I truly believe when there's a will, there's a way! Depending on what you're working on and the nature of your impairment, I would suggest trying to memorize the pieces you are working on (if they are repertoire for solo cello, cello and piano, etc), or blowing up the sheet music on larger pages (for orchestral music). I shared a stand with someone years ago who brought our orchestra parts on oversized pages because she had trouble reading standard sized sheet music. Hope that helps!
Very encouraging video! I always start my home excercise with playing open strings, just to hear the beauty of their sound! Because later it doesn´t sound so nicely haha. ( Out of the cello learning....Billy, can you tell me, please, what is on that black-white painting behind you???? I can´t decrypt it, and I always think about, what is it :P )
Thanks so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it! The painting is actually an oil painting of a comforter :D
I'm finally making a beautiful sound thanks to your advice. But I still hit wrong notes!! When do you become more consistent with notes
Thank you. Could you, at the end of your presentation briefly summarize the main points (nothing more than a simple label is needed) - it helps learning. I really appreciate your presentations - they are informative and motivating.
I Ve been learning cello for 1 year as a self-taught but i Always liked the sounds i make
Hi Billy!
Thank you so much for sharing all of your cello videos, expertise and advice!
I am 32 and would like to go back to school for cello performance. (I am an RN and NP by trade. And, a seasoned adult learner).
In your journey, how did you find a school that would accept you? Did you take lessons to prepare you for an acceptance audition? Or is there a program that is willing to invest in you as is - novice and an adult-learner?
Britt
Hi Britt, Thanks so much for your message! In terms of schools, I was lucky to find one local to me, Cal State Northridge, that accepted second Bachelors degrees. I totally recommend taking at least a few lessons with your potential teacher wherever you are planning to apply. Unlike some majors, with music performance it really makes a huge difference to find the right teacher for you. If you're at all worried about getting in to a particular school, it will help tremendously if you have already formed a connection with your teacher and then they can go to bat for you (if necessary) during the audition/admission process.
I don't know of a program that caters to adult learners or novices. When I auditioned I had to play repertoire that would be considered college level...movements of Bach and 1-2 movements of the Haydn concerto in C major if I remember correctly. Hope that helps!
@@adultcello Thank you so much for taking the time to respond! I appreciate this a lot! I am fortunate enough to be starting in the upcoming week with a cello instructor and I am looking forward to where this path will lead me. I look forward to watching all of your upcoming videos. Sincerely, Britt
Beautiful sound as a beginner - maybe without the irksome A string. 😊 I just completed first 2 years of cello instruction and I also throw clay. Let’s see some of your pots!
Congrats on 2 years! I returned to the potter's wheel during the pandemic, I had stopped after high school. Now I can't believe I took such a long break, it's so wonderful! I'll try to sneak a few pots in soon :)
Loving your videos
Where im at: I'm an intermediate approaching master guitarist. I can make a fretted note sound good on a Cello from the gecko. I need to learn techniques for fretting hand to make Melody. Hoping to learn rhythmatic melodies that can hold as a bass in the mix.
8:04 how funny, im a new-ish adult cellist who also does wheelthrowing! c: what you said comparing the two is true, building up your arm muscles to be able to center well takes a while, and it's 100x worse for cello so far haha, almost a year in and i'm still trying to build good habits especially in my left arm. But i'll get there eventually. Thanks for the vid!
My pleasure, thanks for your comment!
I started last year. It is tough. Hard on the body. But I love the instrument...just wish I had more time, tenacity, to devote to it...but of course it doesn't pay bills. ;) But I love the instrument.
I played from 6 to 9th grade. Got kicked out of school but never lost my passion. I'm 36 and I wanna start again
I just got my first cello (cecilio) and have practiced about 3 hours so far. My thighs feel like I rode a Shetland pony for 5 miles bare back and I can already tell my fibromyalgia is going to be the death of me. But I'm not letting that stop me yet. I also have a back injury so I'm needing to reevaluate posture and stretches.
Consistent trying more so than consistent improvement
number 4
I actually didnt know sugar promoted inflammation, wtf! I know whats next once i'm through giving up caffeine, it's been a rough week so far lol but damn... sugar is next.
This is amazing advice, man! THANK YOU
The thing with sound, is that you are right on top of yourself, and you lack the perspective of distance, that the audience would have.
Yeah, tbh, I had kinda love hate relationship with cello first weeks, because my right hand technique was ass my wrist hurt and I couldn't get a good sound so I did the wrong thing and just worked even more, one day I played 6 hours with fucked techniquetrying to learn cello suite in G major. Now, thanks to my teacher Diana who fixed my right hand technique, I started playing easy etudes and trying to learn canon in D instead of trying to jump up to the sky.
Wish I had seen this videos like this 20 years earlier. I started in my twenties too but I stopped after a few years...
Thank you so much! It's never too late to pick it up again!
@@adultcello the lock downs made me pick it up again. And I will not stop this time! Thanks for your inspiring videos!
Your Point 4 - that's VERY odd. When I started playing baritone horn (see link) in an English brass band, my tutor impressed this on me:
"It doesn't matter how good your sight reading, how accurate your fingering, how wide your range of notes is, how wide your dynamic range, or the complexity of the material you can play. If your sound is 'BLERRGGHH!', even *you* won't want to listen to yourself playing. If, on the other hand, the sound you make is beautiful, you can play a piece as simple as 'Silent Night', and everyone - *including yourself* - will enjoy it."
I've subsequently played trombone, tenor horn, 5 string banjo, clarinet and piano - and I'm *STILL* solidly of the opinion that my first tutor was dead right.
As a brass musician, I 100% agree that great tone is the most basic level of mastering any instrument. It doesn’t matter if you can rip through Flight of the Bumblebee at 300 bpm cut time; if you’re just rushing through with a crappy tone, nobody will want to hear it.
What about "gifted child syndrome "? I played through middle and high school and every time I've tried to get back into it, I get frustrated because I'm not playing like I used to. How do I push past this?
I play violin (poorly) and only picked it up again as an adult at 34... and ive picked up mandolin as my morale booster- whatever sounds god awful on violin will sound great or at least.."musical" on the mandolin. Its a balancing act... but it certainly keeps ones foot in the music and ones fingers in the right place. I imagine cello would be more pleasant since hardest thing about violin is suffering through the squeaky, screechy e string
The first obstacle- bow hand- just seems so impossible to overcome :/ I've tried 4 separate times to learn cello, but I don't want to form any bad bow habits..
Good ideas. I’m a returner not a beginner and what I’m realise is that if you didn’t learn to practice (anything not just an instrument) as a kid you’re missing how the stress IS actually the relaxing thing. You are totally focused on your stupid thumb or something and it removes you from all your normal life problems and boring repetitive nagging thoughts. Like an ice bath is horrible but it feels so good when you stop.
These could apply to any instrument.
I’m somewhat surprised ( and buoyed ) by the amount of “older” beginners commenting here, I too started Cello late in life ( late 40’s ) after a long career in music playing Guitar and Bass and Keys….
Cello has been hard for me, ( I imagine it is hard for any bowed instrument, because it can sound pretty terrible to begin with, an absolute beginner can play a middle C on piano and that note will sound the same as a master playing it….)
I started the cello last week at age 39. I am left handed and having a heck of a time holding the bow. Please please help me.
Hi! Congrats on having just started your cello journey! Here's a link to an in-depth bow hold video I made: th-cam.com/video/756oYsXruao/w-d-xo.html
I hope that helps! If you have any questions, feel free to email me at billy@adultcello.com
i start learning oud at the age of 25 and im always keep hearing that voice telling me it's too late. now for two months straight i practice 2 hrs a day and i start feeling that i can do it. all you need is to keep digging thats the idea
Hi!!!!
Hi!!
I wonder if learning violin is also possible for an adult. I have never seen a successful adult learn violin. What do you think?