170 Foundation Studies for Violoncello, Vol. 1

By Alwin Schroeder and Alvin Schroeder

Book Overview

Selected and progressively arranged from the foremost instructive works of Buchler, Cossmann, Dotzauer, Duport, Franchomme, Grutzmacher, Kummer, Lee, Piatti, Schroeder and Servais. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Sheet music
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0825802628
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Carl Fischer Music Publisher
• Length: 110 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.9" x 11.7"

Customer Reviews

Better late than never

I began learning cello as an adult about 10 years ago, and my progress has been very slow due to a number of factors, primarily lousy practice habits. The exercises in this book, which start at a very basic level and progress rapidly, would have been a great help and I really wish I had been working with this from the beginning. Better late than never, though.

Prepares you for Bach and Beyond... Best for adult beginners and those with music background

When I decided to learn to play the cello, I was 42 years old and had been playing piano for 37 of those years. I also grew up playing violin so I know how to read music and understand "string instrument" concepts like bowing and fingering. So I wasn't looking for Suzuki or other books that are more oriented towards total beginners. When I found a cello teacher, I asked him for a recommendation and he recommended this series. Only the first couple of pages are "very basic" and the exercises progress fairly quickly in difficulty. With each exercise, you can actually see how the exercise is preparing you for the great cello repertoire -- the Bach Unaccompanied suites, in particular. Therefore, if your goal is to move beyond the basics that most beginner methods use (like "Oh Susannah" and "Row Row Row Your Boat") and start playing the pieces that motivate you to want to play cello in the first place, this method is going to get you there and progressing at a pace that will definitely challenge you and prevent boredom. I believe every instrument has their "standard methods". Piano uses Hanon. Violin has Sevcik and Galamian. Shroeder is invaluable for helping prepare you to play serious and enjoyable cello repertoire. By incorporating these exercises into your daily practice sessions, it becomes an important ritual for helping you to warm up and mentally prepare for whatever you will be working on that day -- regardless of your skill level. The one thing I would recommend is as soon as you receive your copy -- immediately take it to Kinkos to have the covers laminated, remove the binding and replace it with a spiral binding. This will allow the book to lay flat on your music stand and it will last much longer that way (i.e. the pages won't come separated from the binding and go missing on you). [NCJAR]

THE Classic Cello Etude Book

This is the classic technique and etude book for cellists. From the very easy to the quite difficult, this study book gives plenty to work on in technique, fingering, bowing, and many other aspects of cello playing. Unlike many etude books, "the Schroeder," as it was (fondly & often unfondly, due to the level of difficulty!) called, will not take the student a short way then run out, leaving the cellist to go out and purchase yet another etude book. The student could easily spend a year or two with this book, and on indefinitely as a way to "keep on one's toes." In a way, it's ironic that I find myself providing a review for this book, as the exercises were often grueling (to me) and elicited many a groan. Not a lesson passed that my teacher did not assign several of these exercises in addition to whatever else I might be working on. (In fact, there was so much material to work on again and again that I never went on to Vol. 2 -- though it could have been due to changing teachers when I left for college to pursue my cello degree.) At any rate, the Schroeder offers a wealth of material to sharpen technique and facility, and for that I highly recommend it. It will put you through your paces!