Books About Playing the Cello

This is a list of books about playing the cello that I want to read.

The Cambridge Companion to the Cello

The Cambridge Companion to the Cello
edited by Robin Stowell
September 11, 2011
424 pp.
$33 from Apple Books.
$35 for the paperback from Porter Square Books.

The Cellist’s Guide to Scales and Arpeggios

The Cellist’s Guide to Scales and Arpeggios: A Comprehensive, Systematic, Sequential Approach
by Theodore Buchholz and Robert Jesselson
May 16, 2024
140 pp.
$25 for the ebook and online video

For more information about this book, listen to The Cello Sherpa Podcast episode from September 27, 2024, “Tales of Scales, Scales and More Scales.”

Cello, Bow and You

Cello, Bow and You: Putting it All Together
by Evangeline Benedetti
September 2016
288 pp.
$36 from Apple Books
$45 from Porter Square Books.
This book complements standard cello lessons and books.

Cello Practice, Cello Performance

Cello Practice, Cello Performance
by Miranda Wilson
2015
154 pp.
$49
“This book is a resource for all advanced cellists—college-bound high school students, undergraduate and graduate students, educators, and professional performers—and teaches them how to be their own best teachers.”

The Cello Who Loved Me

The Cello Who Loved Me: An Accidental Pilgrimage to Master the World’s Most Beautiful Instrument
by George Sorensen
February 24, 2026
301 pp.
$10 from Apple Books.
$20 for the paperback from Porter Square Books.
The author started learning cello at age 71.

CelloMind

CelloMind: Intonation and Technique
by Hans Jørgen Jensen and Minna Chung
November 2017
284 pp.
$75
Available from Apple Books as two volumes for $40 and $35, but a user commented that the formatting was poor.
“CelloMind is a two-part, pedagogical method book that has been written to help musicians understand HOW intonation works and, more importantly, WHY it works the way it does. Purchase of the book includes exclusive access to an online resource portal with supplemental videos and audio.”

Contemporary Cello Études

Contemporary Cello Études
by Mike Block
December 2017
120 pp.
$30
Buy this from Mike Block’s website and get bonus études.

Fiddle Tunes for Beginning Cello

Fiddle Tunes for Beginning Cello
by Stacy Phillips
October 2015
40 pp.
$15 from Apple Book and from Mel Bay.

How I Play, How I Teach

How I Play, How I Teach
by Paul Tortelier
1992
128 pp.
$40

Notes for Cellists

Notes for Cellists: A Guide to the Repertoire
by Miranda Wilson
September 6, 2024
240 pp.
$24 from Apple Books.
$35 for the paperback from Porter Square Books.

Playing (Less) Hurt

Playing (Less) Hurt: An Injury Prevention Guide for Musicians
by Janet Horvath
April 2010
234 pp. $33 from Apple Books.

PracticeMind

PracticeMind: The Complete Practice Model
By Hans Jørgen Jensen and Oleksander Mycyk
May 2022
218 pp.
$65
$40 from Apple Books.

Solos for Young Cellists

Solos for Young Cellists: Selections from the Cello Repertoire, Cello Part and Piano Acc., Volume 1
Solos for Young Cellists, Volume 1: Digital Audio Download
Compiled, ed., arr., and composed by Carey Cheney
88 pp.
$15 + $16
There are eight volumes of these solos.