Advice for worried parents

Beginners level

At the very beginning, it is quite difficult for a child to make satisfying home practising on his/her own. The first step to learn the Cello is to draw the bow on open strings and to make smooth and free movements with your arms : playing just single notes on their own at home without the piano accompaniment they constantly have in the lessons, doesn’t make any sense to the child.

If a child is pushed too soon and too hard into practising he/she could be put off for life ! Children "decide" to practise at different stages and we have to give them time. The main goal is to make them love their Music, their instrument and their lessons, so that they always want to come for more !

Generally I noticed that many children start getting enthusiastic about practising when they start playing real tunes with their left hand : to reach this level we have to wait for at least one year or more !

DANGER ! Beginner Cellists, who practise too much right from the start, could get into bad habits and reinforce errors which will take 2 or 3 lessons to undo ( if not more ! ).

If they wish to play at home, by all means encourage them, but in small doses ! To recreate the musical atmosphere they have during the lessons, try to make them play with piano

accompaniment : use the Cello tape, the site midi files or, if you can, play the piano yourself. Be careful though to accompany the pieces at the right speed : if, for example, you go too fast in a piece supposed to be slow, your child will not have time to draw the bow properly and will get the wrong perception of the sound for that piece.

It takes some time to learn how to produce a good sound and children are very sensitive to it : they definitely do not like making "screechy" sounds, especially in front of their parents (critical eye !). The teacher needs some time to build up the sound and the confidence in the pupil.

It is a very delicate matter to have guidance from two different sources, the teacher and the parent. When I teach I try to focus on just one thing or two at a time, even if I would like to point out million of things which could be improved ! Sometimes parents want their children to succeeded straight away and maybe they show their impatience if their child doesn’t fix all the mistakes at once !

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a "quick fix" when you learn the Cello : it takes a lot of time and patience to learn the movements and build strength in the muscles.

Try just to encourage and praise the effort they put into practising and leave the hard work to the teacher !

First of all it depends on the age : if they are still young ( 5 or 6 for example ), we can still give them time before they start a serious routine. If they are a bit older it is time to organize a little practise schedule in the family.

- Start with one or two sessions a week ( 10 / 15 minutes each ) and make it a regular routine

It is human nature to be a bit lazy : isn’t it easier to sit on the sofa and watch TV, especially after a demanding day at school, instead of doing more work ? ( Believe me, practising the Cello is not "play time" or just a pleasant activity to do : it is really hard work ! )

The answer is again patience. Continue to gently, but firmly remind your child to practise and, in the long run, you’ll be rewarded.