Author Description

Cello Power is a series of books designed to be used to expand the cello student's facility and knowledge of the instrument. The books are structured to focus on the advanced materials that appear in our cello literature. Most important are the exercises and further recommendations on how to work on them. The process is first to digest the fundamental of each and thereby to enable on to build a solid technique in preparation for the difficult passage-work ahead. An example are the double-stop excerpts, which are broken down into two-string bow patterns to aid in intonation and to clarify the spacing for the left hand. Books 1 and 2 are planned to fill the gap left vacant by lack of materials covering, in a progressive order, the transition from the introduction of the thumb position into a student's studies and the work on the much more difficult application of this information into studies by Popper, Grutzmacher, and Piatti. Of course, then there are the ensuing repertoire demands of the concertos of Dvorak and Saint-Saens and such like. Book 3 is aimed at developing a sure and secure technique and facility in the lower area of the cello. This includes material to help make the fifth, sixth, and seventh positions less awkward for the student. The goal is to aid in the ability of the student to become more able to apply this technical comfort to the attainment of a more nuanced and emotionally fulfilling musical performance on the cello.