When I was growing up and learning to play cello I had a terrible time with intonation! Even though I knew I was out tune and was trying really hard to fix it, I was at a total loss on how to get it right. The hours I spent with little success make me cringe. Fortunately, one day a new concept came into my world. I learnt that left hand string crossings were executed by the arm and not fingers… what?!! What a game changer that was. To my amazement when I learned how to execute them properly from the arm intonation suddenly happened. Reliable and relatively effortless intonation was happening and practicing wasn’t nearly so painful or frustrating. Today’s lesson gives you the tools to make sure intonation problems don’t happen to you.

We will be working on some of the basic concepts that you will need to keep your hand shape consistent across the strings. Doing this will give the the tools that you will need to be able to execute most of the basic functions of string crossings. Even though these exercises are presented in first position they apply to all your initial shifting positions and the function remains the same. I hope you enjoy today’s lesson and that it helps you to become a better more well rounded and proficient cellist.

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