Top 10 Pro Tips for Popper Cello Etude No. 2
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Scales: Practice your G Major and G Minor Scales, Arpeggios, and 3rds & 6ths double stops.
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Bow Distribution: Use flat bow hair, a straight contact point, and save your bow exponentially.
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Legato Bow: No portado please!
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Map your shifts: Figure out your old/new finger or old/new bow shifts. Find your ghost notes! Prepare your left elbow.
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Dynamics and articulation markings: Make a big dynamic contrast. Do something noteworthy when there are accents.
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String Crossings: make them efficient.
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Hand Shape: Make your fingers curvy and your left thumb curvy.
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Thumb Position: Make sure you have a strong thumb position setup.
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Tempo: keep your pace steady even with large shifts.
- Rhythm Practice: Practice with different rhythms, Long-Short-Long-Short, and Short-Long-Short-Long.
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Let me know what your challenges have been with this etude.
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