Cello Lesson Number 5

Yesterday, June 12, 2026, I had my fifth cello lesson with Ana Ospina at New School of Music.

Lesson Notes

In my practice sessions last week, I struggled with finding and playing notes in the first position. I am experiencing tension in the first position in my hand, lower arm, upper arm, and back. I am squeezing the neck of the cello so hard that sometimes I push the cello away from my body.

Ana’s guidance is that I must retrain my left hand and arm to get it out of guitar mode. This will require diligent, focused, and repetitive practice, and I will struggle for a while until I build new habits.

Ana gave me a digital copy of Practical Method for the Violoncello by Carl Schröder. This is available from IMSLP as Practischer Lehrgang des Violoncellspiels. She had me work through exercises 1-5 on the D string.

1. Exercises on the Open Strings
2. The Placing of the First Finger
3. The Placing of the Second Finger
4. The Placing of the Third Finger
5. The Placing of the Fourth Finger

Ana taught me how to play a harmonic by bowing while placing my finger halfway up a string, just touching the string without pressing it.

I need to remember many things simultaneously while I play:

• breathe
• hold the cello properly against my sternum
• keep my bow straight
• raise my bowing arm, especially on the A and D strings
• raise my left elbow in first position
• do not squeeze the neck
• keep my left thumb flexible and able to move around behind the neck
• when playing notes such as C# and D on the A string, use all of my fingers

Assignments

• Schröder exercises 1-5 on all four strings, working on them ten minutes for each practice session
• “Twinkle” on the D, G, and C strings
• the following tunes in Blue Book of Tunes - Cello:
  • “Sad Brother John” (p. 17)
  • “Close Friends in Dm” (p. 18)
  • “Close Friends in Gm” (p. 19)
• “Jazz for the Open Strings”

Additional Notes

The lesson was fun and stimulating. I always come away from a lesson with enthusiasm for practicing the next week. I did better at suppressing self-criticism during my lesson. I need to force myself to keep playing instead of stopping after I make a mistake.