Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 154
•
Trim: 8¾ x 11¼
978-1-4422-4676-8 • Hardback • May 2015 • $137.00 • (£105.00)
978-1-4422-4677-5 • Paperback • May 2015 • $65.00 • (£50.00)
978-1-4422-4678-2 • eBook • May 2015 • $61.50 • (£47.00)
The New Zealand–born cellist and writer Miranda Wilson has performed on five continents and made several broadcast and compact disc recordings. She is a professor of cello at the University of Idaho.
List of Figures
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part 1: Fundamental Principles
Chapter 1: Whole-Body Cello Playing
Chapter 2: Warm-Ups for the Fundamentals of Cello Playing
Chapter 3: The Inherent Expressiveness of Good Intonation
Chapter 4: Solutions to the Challenges of Cello Playing
Chapter 5: Habits for Efficient Practice
Part 2: Repertoire in Practice and Performance
Chapter 6: Harmonic Intonation in All Major and Minor Keys
Chapter 7: Composing Your Own Etudes
Chapter 8: A Practice Session on Fauré’s Elégie
Conclusion
Appendix: Non-Diatonic Scales and Arpeggios
Bibliography
This book is an excellent resource for advanced cellists (tertiary students, professional players and teachers). By exploring strategies for playing the cello both effectively and efficiently, players are encouraged to become their own best teacher. As professor of cello at the University of Idaho, Wilson’s experience and knowledge as a performer and teacher is evident throughout this comprehensive, well planned and easy to read book. Central to Wilson’s ideas on technique, is her ‘whole-body’ approach, where both arm-movements, breathing and the intellect are mutually interconnected. There is a particularly good chapter delving into the principal challenges of cello playing; here Wilson discusses common problems and provides solutions. The first-rate section on ‘Habits for Efficient Practice’ is meticulously prepared and thorough, and is expanded by demonstrating how to invent etudes for improved practice on difficult technical passages in the repertoire. Wilson discusses intonation in great detail and gives examples in different contexts, as well as providing a step-by-step guide to every key. Throughout, the text is well illustrated with exercises and many examples from the solo and chamber music repertoire. This is one of the better books that I have come across on the application of core technique.
— Stringendo