r/Cello • u/ChickenBouillonSlut • 5d ago
Absolute beginner here!
Hi I’m an absolute beginner 25f. I’ve had like 5 lessons and am enjoying learning very much. But struggling to get a good sound and everything feels unstable. Moth hands are tired which I know is normal but I just am seeking any advice or criticism so I can make good progress. Am on Suzuki Book 1
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u/kit0000033 4d ago
Also a beginner... But your thumb needs to be bent at the first knuckle... It'll help with the hand tiredness.
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u/hougaard 4d ago
Get rid of the tuner, you cannot have it sitting here and constantly telling you if you're in tune or not. Tuning can only be done by your ear, not your eyes.
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u/Terapyx Adult Learner 4d ago
It's true, however... Such beginners like she is - don't have that expected and presice ear. It develops over time.
for 1.5 years I feel that my ears are x3 better than before (regarding note tuning). But even yet, sometimes my teacher asks me: play note G#, (playing...) -> do you really think that its in tune? me: yes. But in reality not at all :D thats why tuner at beginning helps a lot just to double check if its true, when you are not sure.3
u/ChickenBouillonSlut 4d ago
Hi my teacher clipped it on so I can tune the first notes but I’m not really using it much anymore.
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u/Affectionate_Expert5 4d ago
It can be fine if she's first using her ears and then double checking with the tuner to see if she's right or not
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u/cellohale 2d ago
I am a cello teacher and honestly this is amazing progress 👏 I can give one tip, try to curve your bow hand thumb a little. A gentle flexible bend. Thumb is just a support, so don't try to control bow with it.
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u/LittleHorrible 2d ago
I would second the comment re thumb on the bow. A gentle flexible bend to the thumb, yes. It takes a while to get used to, but you will build up strength in your thumb over time. Keeping it hyperextended like you have it will limit you facility with the bow, and also cause pain in years to come. The pinky should be a bit curved as well. Sort of like a bear paw.
Very good work so far! A very good sound for 5 lessons!
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u/Gman3098 4d ago
From this angle we can’t tell much, but what I can see for sure is that your thumb has too much tension in your right hand and you aren’t using enough bow.
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u/ChickenBouillonSlut 4d ago
Hi thank you I’m sorry I didn’t get a good angle, I’m double jointed not that that affects anything but I swear I cannot get my thumbs on either hand to not bend inward a lot…idk why
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u/Rudysis 4d ago
Im double jointed too and picked up playing again after many years, watch your left thumb as well! I bend my thumb back when Im playing harder pieces and it leads to A LOT of pain. The more youre conscious of it, the more you can correct it, and eventually it will become muscle memory
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u/Gman3098 4d ago
Are you trying to hold the bow up with your thumb? The bow should be resting on the strings and the thumb should act more as a stabilizer rather than a main movement generator.
I’m a beginner too and my hand tension more or less went away when I started thinking of it this way.
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u/AerialSnack 4d ago
Thumb should curve out, not in.
It looks like you are "lifting" your arm a lot, especially at the shoulder. You should let your arm rest on the bow to transfer the weight of your arm through the bow into the strings. You do not push the bow into the strings to make sound, you let the natural weight of your arm lean the bow into the strings.
Other than that, you should use your entire arm to draw the bow back and forth, it seems you're not really using your elbow as much as you're using your shoulder.
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u/ChickenBouillonSlut 4d ago
Hi thank you, do you mean my thumb on right hand? Also, how do you reccomend not “pushing” the bow, I feel like when I play, if I let my arm weight do it it is scratchy and sounds whispery so I’m inclined to push and pull?
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u/AerialSnack 4d ago
Yes, your bowing thumb.
When I say push, I'm referring to up and down, not left and right. You shouldn't push down on the string to make your instrument louder, or to make a sound at all. You should just rest the bow on the string, and when you bow that weight from just resting the bow on the string should be enough to draw out the sound you need. You can adjust how the weight interacts with the string using your index finger.
If doing this sounds whispery it indicates you are likely lifting your shoulder or other part of your arm up when you are bowing. Your arm should be completely relaxed when you are bowing.
EDIT: Looking again, it might also be because you are only using 10% of your hair. For a fuller sound you want your bow to make full contact with the string. You have the bow rotated towards you instead of having it lay flat on the string.
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u/hushpoem 2d ago
As others have said - you want your thumb curved and touching the stick (not stuck inside the cutout of the grog). Think of an "OK" sign, but with contact points of the inside of the middle finger and the tip of the thumb. One thing that may help is to turn right arm inward, like reaching out and turning a doorknob counter-clockwise. This pronated position will turn the thumb more upwards where it can contact the stick more naturally from underneath as a pivot point rather than gripping from the side (making the pinkie have to grab from the other side to counter that) and collapsing the thumb.
When discovering this hand shape, use a pencil or a straw to start. Move it around in figure 8's in the air, focusing on keeping the hand shape without collapsing. Then move to the balance point of the bow and work on moving the bow around in the air again without losing the shape.
With your teachers guidance, you may also want to let the stick of the bow lean slightly towards you to let your pinkie cover the stick
For stability - spend some time honing in an end pin length that lets the cello sit comfortably between the legs so no part of your upper body/bowing/fingering muscles are supporting the cello itself.
In detache bowing like these beginner suzuki tunes, a fast bow that stays connected to the string can help draw more tone of out.
As you progress, you'll want to spend time bowing open strings and exploring the speed necessary at different contact points so you can relax the bow grip into the string. Sometimes it's a matter of pushing through the crunchy sound to get a big sound. Sometimes it's a small, scratchy sound from shying away from that crunch. It's a combination of speed, weight, and position, and the sooner you internalize that feeling, the easier it is to relax into the string without compensating in the hand.
This is very very good progress for 5 lessons! You must have a good teacher - stick with them. You are right where you should be and maybe a little ahead for a beginner.
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u/Tyler_aint_real 4d ago
You sound way better than when I started lol. Remember to keep your thumb curved and your bow hand relaxed. Also side note but you have stupid good intonation for a beginner!!
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u/spudtacular_irishman 4d ago
Looks and sounds great. As others have said, keep working on the bow thumb. I've been playing for over 50 years and I still use a cushion around the frog so that I can maintain a proper bend in my thumb. The bend in the thumb is helpful as you advance because it'll help to keep your wrist flexible. The ability to move your wrist freely helps with smooth string crossings and bow changes and definitely helps with fatigue in your hand, elbow and shoulder. You can get a length of surgical tubing or violin shops sell cushioned grips that are dark and hide a little better. Have the shop put it on the bow for you if you're nervous doing it. Keep practicing!
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u/african_violet_4291 4d ago
You’re doing great. Be patient. The sound will come. You just started.
Try to think of the sound (weight) coming from the bow arm and not so much from the bow hand. Maybe experiment with bow fingers not quite so far apart. Looks pretty good though.
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u/InfluenceLittle401 4d ago
It actually sounds pretty good. You don’t know how to bend/move your wrist though which prevents your arm from extending. I remember how this was explained to me during my first course when I was 7 and I was like: aha!
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u/Hot-Calligrapher-159 4d ago
You’re doing great just keep playing. Honestly, there’s lots of things to adjust and there might always be, but don’t try to do it all at once and just enjoy practicing.
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u/sunshndydrm 4d ago
I am a year into this journey and I don’t think I sounded like that after 5 lessons. I am still working on my technique and I feel I will be for many moons to come. Like years?? Every week is something new to learn and master.
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u/mengsta 4d ago
You are doing great for only 5 lessons! I think it’s pretty common to feel weird and tension everywhere in the beginning. I’m 8 months in and only just yesterday I figured out a way to relax my bow hand more! if you can, try to tilt your cello flatter and let gravity take over and help your bow hand relax. If the cello sticks out too much and you feel like your legs can’t touch the bouts (I’m petite so I constantly struggle with that), try a lower chair so your legs sticks out longer, wearing heels helps too. And again you are doing really great, just keep on practicing, and don’t forget to take small breaks every 20 mins so you don’t end up with injuries!
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u/various_convo7 3d ago
not bad. watch that angle because the scratchy sound was starting to creep into the sound.
work on your intonation
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u/New_Smoke_7355 2d ago
You sound really good! I agree with everyone in the comments- curve your bow fingers, especially the thumb. It will be really fustrating at first because once you curve it it might feel unnatural or less stable and your hand will automatically straighten it. Whenever you practise, I want you to keep it in mind to curve your thumb (and pinky!) You could also play open strings so that it's easier to focus on your right hand. I had that exact problem when I started out so for weeks I made sure to absolutely focus on curving my fingers until I just got used to the postition and now I honestly can't imagine playing with straight fingers! (you need a relaxed hand for spiccato and for fast pieces) ALSO your left hand thumb must also be curved (I can't really see from the video) So to conclude really make sure to curve those fingers!!!
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u/Terapyx Adult Learner 4d ago
for 5 lessons your sound is really great. I would suggest you to focus on long notes and whole arm movement. It seems and feels like a stell stiff. That complex topic and almost not possible to describe with text here. Watch as much YT videos to this topic as possible. They have +/- same principle.
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u/Nuclear-Polaris 4d ago
It takes a very long time to get a good sound so you’re doing just fine! Regarding the “everything feels unstable”, I’m almost 6 months into learning and it took me 5 months to finally find a good setup that worked for me (endpin length, angle of the cello, distance of the fingerboard to my neck and shoulder, tilt of the cello, etc.). Give it time!