This is the idea that every string crossing makes a clockwise or anti-clockwise/counter-clockwise circle when you watch the screw of the bow as you’re playing.
Teaching Notes for Popper Cello Étude No. 1 The first Popper Étude brings a significant number of challenges. Primarily a study for the bow staccato, the challenge is to always have clarity of sound and a very precise left hand and right hand coordination. Practicing this with the bow only on open strings first is […]
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Teaching Notes for Popper Cello Étude No. 10 Here is Ailbhe and Katie’s Popper 10 mash-up. We talk about lots of interesting things in this video, including finger anatomy, our personal history with this and lots of breaking-down nerd out action on string crossings and legato. Hope you enjoy!
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Teaching Notes for Popper Cello Étude No. 11 We laughed a lot in this super fun Popper session with the wonderful Dr. Erin Ellis of West Virginia University. This study is one of the first that Erin assigns to students, but don’t be fooled! There’s PLENTY to work on in this study, including string crossings,
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Teaching Notes for Popper Cello Étude No. 15 This is a great study with a wide variety of techniques. Not especially “thumb-y” but definitely focuses on some double-stops and tricky aspects of thumb position. We feel this is a great study to take a look at if you are interested in a career in orchestral
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Teaching Notes for Popper Cello Étude No. 16 We enjoyed a bit of a change of pace with Popper 16. Marked “Capriccioso”, this study deals largely with issues of articulation, string crossings, playing triplets cleanly and in an organized fashion… and of course, making this work seem fun, effortless, carefree and full of delightful character.
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Teaching Notes for Popper Cello Étude No. 19 The Lohengrin étude takes a line from the famous Wagner opera and basically expands on the techniques required in the opera. It’s similar (but more difficult!) to Popper 1 in that we have triplet staccato notes throughout. It is important here to have a real connection with
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Teaching Notes for Popper Cello Étude No. 30 We had such a blast exploring Popper 30 with the amazing Martin Johnson (Section Leader of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland). Popper 30 is a unique study – with a key signature of six flats! We’ve explored this study from all angles, plus lots of other
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