The following Popper Études are tagged Level 3 difficulty. These cello studies present a substantial challenge and need more practice time than levels 1 and 2.
Teaching Notes for Popper Cello Etude No. 7 We had a lot of fun exploring Popper 7. We found a lot to concentrate on in this study, particularly as it pertains to the difficulties of bow distribution and string crossings. It just goes to show how Katie’s very first cello teacher told her… Popper is […]
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Teaching Notes for Popper Cello Étude No. 8 A beautiful étude which focuses on bow legato and distribution in thumb position. A nice sound quality is produced without too much weight on the bow. Try to be relaxed everywhere. Be sure to stretch often if you aren’t using a lot of thumb position normally. Keep
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Teaching Notes for Popper Cello Étude No. 14 We had a BLAST doing our Popper 14 session with the fantastic Christian Elliott (principal cellist Irish Chamber Orchestra, member of the Phoenix Piano Trio and Zehetmair Quartet). Popper 14 is all about up-bow and down-bow staccato, a very specific technical stroke that is tricky for nearly
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Teaching Notes for Popper Cello Étude No. 17 We enjoyed exploring this shorter study, Popper 17, which focuses on legato in double stops. Practising this study very slowly and focusing on the connections between the double stops is very important so that they work well at the final speed. An especially interesting technical aspect of
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Teaching Notes for Popper Cello Étude No. 18 We were delighted to work on Popper 18 with the fabulous Madeleine Kabat. We had so much fun with Madeleine, a self-proclaimed Popper nerd (she’s in good company). This is a tricky and long study focusing on thumb position technique, and lightness of stroke. It also includes
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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. 20 This study is so satisfying to perform! It involves so many techniques all in the one place but sounds really beautiful. Legato shifting, legato string crossing without interrupting the line. Legato octaves and broken ones. The list goes on!
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Teaching Notes for Popper Cello Étude No. 21 Here is our live discussion of Popper’s 21st study. It was a fun one! This focuses on bow legato, bow distribution, string crossings and shifting often in thumb position. Can each shift and string crossing stay smooth so that it doesn’t effect the legato sound? Interesting to
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Teaching Notes for Popper Cello Étude No. 23 Popper 23 was our final étude of the year. In this video, we reflect on all that has made this project an awesome challenge. This study offers many different technical challenges and approaches. Bow legato, string crossings, bow distribution, quick changes of bow speed, shifting, octaves, unusual stretches
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Teaching Notes for Popper Cello Étude No. 24 Christian Elliot (Irish Chamber Orchestra) came back for a second time with Popper 24, a beautiful and challenging study that explores a vast amount; thumb position, harmonics, developing the ear, string crossings, legato bowing and more.
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