Hello! Firstly I want to say that I really like your blog, it's very helpful! ❤ Im 17 and I've played for about 1,5 years so I'm a beginner. I really love to play and listen to others play. I wonder if you have any tips on learning how to read notes? It's really difficult for me to keep track of where I am and what I'm supposed to do. I also wonder if you have any tips overall or things that I should think about in order to improve. Thank you! Have a great day ❤ :>
For reading, I recommend working from a book! I did String Builders, but I know Essential Elements is pretty good as well. It starts out with short exercises to work on reading as well as bowing and left hand technique, progressing through the book. Try one or two of these a day, and focus on reading the notes - make sure to take your time and do this consistently.
This is how I learned though - followers, do you have tips?
As for general things for improving:
be consistent in practicing! Set time aside. It doesn't matter if it's just fifteen minutes or if it's an hour - if you get in the habit of practicing every day, or every other day, or whatever, it will help!
work through these books if you can - or work on scales. Scale technique solidifies good habits, from bowing to left hand to posture, and is vital. Work slowly through scales, preferably with a metronome, and focus on the motions and hearing the pitches. If you can, practice in front of a mirror so you can observe your technique and fix as necessary. Even if the only thing you practice is scales, it will benefit you so much.
listen to your body! If something is very uncomfortable, there's a chance that something is going wrong. A lot of us get tension in our wrists and arms from bad technique. Ask for help from teachers, or fellow cellists, if this is happening and don't wait too long.
don't overwork yourself! Reading music is very difficult and don't lose hope <3
A lot of other things you can find in celloproblems.tumblr.com/tagged/queries
