Top 10 Pro Tips for Duport Cello Etude No. 6:
- 1. G Major: Scale and Arpeggios. Get them going with daily practice.
- 2. Spiccato: With springing bow between middle and nut. Experiment with your speed and how much the bow lifts off the string.
- 3. Bow Distribution: Manage your bow usage. In measure 15, use a faster and lighter bow on the first down bow of the group of three notes. And a slower bow on the two up bows. If you pronate your right forearm this will help with the up bows as well.
- 4. String Crossings: Plan for efficient string crossings. In measure 7, prepare your right elbow. In measure 53, you are jumping over a string. Stop the bow, then roll to the new string. In measure 55, watch out for the C natural. You will have to open your hand shape into extended position changing the pattern.
- 5. Blocked Chords: Pivot your bow to the top strings at the balance point. We have a blocked chord at measure 44 and at the end. Play the bottom two notes then stop the bow at the balance point and roll to the top two strings and play the top two notes.
- 6. Upper Position Work: Get your 5th, 6th, and 7th position hand shape in order. You can pratice this with taking out your Position Pieces Book and going over each shape. What is most important is keeping your first finger curvy, round, and supported. This can happen when your left elbow is up clearing the cello's shoulder. We find all of these positions in measures 51 & 52.
- 7. Thumb Position: Get your general thumb position hand shape set. We need curvy fingers, the first finger touching the inside of the string, and the thumb crossing the D and A string at a perpendicular angle to the strings resting right at the harmonics. Make sure your left elbow is up and clearing the cello's shoulder. Organize your thumb. Sometimes it stays on top of the D and A string like in measures 29, 30 & 33, 34 for the arpeggios. And sometimes it hops to the lower strings like in measure 3. In measures 37-41, use a caterpillar motion to practice the 3rds and 2nd intervals crawling back down the A and D strings.
- 8. 4th Finger in Thumb Position: Land the thumb, then land the 3rd and 4th fingers together. This happens in measures 10-13.
- 9. Trills: Place your trills from the top note in classical repertoire. This happens in measures 8, 14, 20, 26, & 28. And if it is coming from the same note, we repeat it so it speaks again as part of the trill.
- 10. Grace Notes: These happen before the beat. Try and stay in tempo and sneak them in before the beat.