I love your way of explaining, it makes so much sense and is very helpful. This is talking to adults! I'm 66 and have just started following an old dream... I bought my cello yesterday!

I'm 64 and have been playing for about 10 years. Thank you for this video and for not pushing the concept of arm weight and gravity. My teacher and I disagree with each other on the concept. Physically, unless you have no neurological or muscular control, you do not have a dead arm.

This is maybe the single most helpful video for beginners I've seen on the bow side of the things. Thanks so much!

You are amazing. I m watching you with so much interest. I m 36 and now I m learning to play at cello. Is a fantastic instrument. I will look at your video and learn who much I can. Really appreciate it ❤

Carolyn your videos are SO helpful - another one you produced recently was warming up exercises BEFORE playing - I found they were VERY helpful in getting better intonation almost from the get-go. Another "warm up" I use every day is playing each open string for about 3 or 4 minutes as a bowing and "listening to quality of tone" exercise 🙂 sincere THANKS !

Been playing for 3 days. The low string sounding wispy was literally the first thing I noticed and wasn't sure why. Brilliant explanation.

Great job on your video! I'm a cello teacher myself, and dealing with teaching these concepts every day, and I think your explanations are great!

This was incredibly helpful. Thank you!

Thank you, that was very helpful

thank you for this. Some good explanation and demonstration of the technique. I will apply this to my practice today

That is all very useful advice.

Near 40 new-ish player here. I struggle HARD with a good sounding tone on my G and A strings. I think it's my Cello/strings honestly. G string feels very muted and the A string is super tinny. Thanks for the video, very helpful.

Wonderful!

You are awesome 👏 ❤❤❤❤❤ thank you for this

Wow, eye opening stuff Thanks!

Once you know the notes, you can focus on your bow. Press into the string with your forefinger.

I think there's a muffled sound with my D string? Open D sounds OK. Do you know what could be causing this. I do have a wolf eliminator on D string.

What is the name of string smooth for thouch pls reply

First sentence is me all over. It’s the bowing, always. Oh, and keep your nails short.

Hi! I just found your videos and I've already learned a lot! I've been focusing on improving my sound (I can play correctly, but it doesn't sound beautiful...) One particular thing I'm wondering about - why are my open strings so much more resonant than any other tone? Say, I'm playing an A on the D string, trying to let it "ring" for a while, but the sound cuts off much sooner and isn't as beautiful as if I'd done the same bow stroke on the open D string. Am I doing something wrong, or is it just "cello physics" that make open strings more beautiful?

This was great! I sometimes get a skating sound on the G and C strings - too fast on the bow speed. The A string sounds scratchy sometimes- too much weight, or not enough speed, or both! The G string is the toughest for me, the notes sound so...thin?...flat...? terrible? I noticed that when I bow nearly center between the finger board and bridge on the G string it sounds SO much better. QUESTION: I get a sort of vibrato when I bow on the F note (C string), and sometimes on the E note (C string), same with the E note on the D string, is that good? I hope so, because t sounds good to me.😂 I just love this challenging instrument, so many nuances.💜

Every time I attempt to play my cello I get a squeaking sound. I'm getting to my wits end. What should I do to correct this?

Hi! Great tips! Thank you…I do have a couple of doubts. I’m an adult (36), and I’ve been playing for two years now, I can’t practice every day, but I try to do it at least three times per week, minimum. I’ve read and tried to put into practice those tips you described. Still, my teacher has aaalways told me that I’m too tense and that got my right arm used to lift my elbow and not bend too much mu wrist, something which my teacher has tried to help me fix, but the muscular tension will never go away even though I exercise. The point is, now that I pay more attention to my elbow (keep it as close to my body) and my wrist (bend it down and not up), the sound started to fail…Do you think it could be my brain stressing over mi arm position? my teacher also told me I need a new cello, that I’m no longer a beginner and the one I have may already gave his best. Thank you so much!

Intermediate adult learner. I am still so inconsistent with double stops, especially involving the A string. Also struggle with double stops in thumb positions. That sounds dreadful.

Thank you for the great video. I find I get a fuzzy sound when playing at or above 4th position on the C, G or D strings. I also get a dramatic change in timbre when going between A and D string in 4th pos. Any tips to help that?

A string is the hardest to control. Especially when you get from G to A.

Do you have recomendation for getting a smoother sound? I know most of my problem with the sound is the angle of the bow to the string. But the sound is 'choppy' and the slurs are not clean. Thank you.

What is the size of your cello?

I've been playing for a few months. WHY AM I NOT HAUSER!?

Other things that can strongly impact your tone from sounding well are 1. Dead strings. 2. A cheap instrument. 3. An instrument in poor repair. I am lucky enough to live near Indiana University. I have taken my cello to string shops in Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, and many other places - They ALL said my cello was structurally just fine. Listen to me when I say, the string repair technicians near Indiana University are the best at what they do. Turns out, my fingerboard had an obvious problem in it's structural integrity - that several other string repair shops didn't even notice. The difference it made after repair was huge. My wolf tone is mostly gone also. If you are pressing very hard with your fingers on your cello and the sound is very difficult to make, please know that it is very likely NOT your fault, it is your instrument!