Cello Intermediate 35: How to Practise (part 1)

In this video, we will be discussing efficient practice techniques. To demonstrate this approach, I am using my piece "The Journey" from It's a Cello Thing, Book 2 (published by Boosey & Hawkes).

Watch a video recording of The Journey here.

When opening a brand-new piece of music, most cellists immediately start at bar one and play straight through. While that can give you a quick first impression, I prefer to save a full run-through for the very end of my session. Instead, I love to start practising right at the end of the piece and work my way backwards.

Why start at the ending?

Towards the end of any piece, your energy and concentration naturally begin to wane. That fatigue makes the final bars the most vulnerable to slips and errors. If you deliberately begin your learning process with the ending, the finale becomes the section you know best. When you reach the conclusion in a performance, your muscle memory and familiarity carry you through effortlessly.

I typically divide a new piece into four to six distinct sections. Each day, start your practice on a different section so you never fall into the trap of merely repeating what you played yesterday.

Give yourself one job at a time

If you try to tackle the rhythm, notes, slurs, shifting, and dynamics all at once, everything tends to unravel. Giving yourself just one specific focus per repetition makes the learning process faster and much less stressful.

Here is the step-by-step breakdown I use for the final bars of "The Journey":

1. Clap the rhythm first Before even touching the cello, understand the pulse away from the instrument. "The Journey" is in 6/8 time (six quaver beats per bar) in G minor. If a dotted quaver, semiquaver, and quaver pattern feels uneven, subdivide the bar into a steady semiquaver grid (counting "1-and, 2-and, 3-and") until the rhythm is rock solid.
2. Play with separate bows Play through the section very slowly using separate bows for every single note. This lets you map out left-hand finger placement and intonation without worrying about slur divisions or bow distribution.
3. Practise the bowing on open strings Because the bow arm governs your tone and rhythm, isolate the right arm by playing the exact bowing pattern across open strings. This allows you to identify your string-crossing shapes (such as whether a crossing forms an anticlockwise circle) and observe tenuto slurs without left-hand distractions.
4. Isolate the shifts When you add the left hand back in, do not restart from the beginning of the phrase every time you reach a tricky shift. Zoom in exclusively on the two notes involved:
   • The 1-to-1 shift: on the slide from D down to B flat, use a gentle circular motion (up, back, and down) while keeping the finger light on the string.
   • The 2-to-2 shift: practise moving at the very end of the down-bow so you arrive precisely as the bow changes direction. Repeat the shift isolated four or five times until it feels secure.
5. Layer your vibrato and put it together Once the notes, bowing, and shifts are comfortable, dedicate a repetition specifically to tone and continuous vibrato on your dotted quavers and crotchets.

Finally, play the passage through without overthinking individual mechanics. You will find the entire section sounds far more settled, secure, and musical!