Oh I think I asked the whole question in the topic - Sorry if everyones been asked this a million times before.

Your all very patient

*and i'm an incredible suck up*

Ta!

My children have enjoyed the Cello time Joggers and Fiddle Time Joggers books. Each come with a CD so they can play along.

Is it for you? Then you might not want something too childish. The American 'Essential Elements for strings' comes in a version for each of the bowed strings so, say you were learning both, you'd be doing basically the same pieces each time, which you may like or may find a bore.

My daughter liked Cello Time Joggers too and has moved on to Cello Time Runners and Cello Time Sprinters which she also likes.

Are the Joggers and Sprinters tutor books or music, or a little of both?

They are not really tutor books, they have no explanation of notes and fingerings or anything. They are just books of tunes which get progressively more difficult and a CD to play along with. I don't know the cello ones but Fiddle Time Joggers goes up to about Grade 1 (one of the last pieces "Fiddle Time" is in the Sylabus). Runners goes up to about Grade 2 level difficulty. Haven't seen Fiddle Sprinters.

I heard a recently-passed-grade3 cellist play something from Cello Sprinters in a school concert I think.

OK - thanks

A couple of the Cello Sprinters pieces are on the Grade 3 syllabus.

If you want to be more technical. Joggers has only first position. Runners introduces forwards and backwards extensions and more complicated rhythms. Sprinters has fourth position and a few harmonics. Both Runners and Sprinters have jazzy pieces and Sprinters also has arrangements of pieces by "famous" composers.

All three have CDs of the pieces as cello + piano. Sprinters also contains piano only tracks.

All three books have a few scales and apperggios at the back.

Thanks K. I found some of this info on a website, but it didn't really explain whether it taught them (or tried to) or not.

I didn't realise the first 2 books didn't have piano-only tracks...

Ahh well. I guess in all fairness what I need is someone to teach me - Allan did attempt to teach me the backwards extension of the 1st finger over Skype the other day

Sorry, I'll stop derailing the thread

With violin my teacher got me to use: stepping stones, waggon wheels and now am on fast forward and shooting stars.
they are not tutor books and don't explain fingering etc so you have to use them with a teacher or alongside a tutor book really.
I found them really good.

My daughter keeps complaining she wants cello only tracks


My daughter only had one tutor book, which she didn't even finish, and it was in German so I didn't understand much of what was written. But then she does have a teacher ...

Backwards extentions seem easier to me (as an ex-violinist) than forward ones - it's a bit like half position but without moving your second finger. Shifting up to fourth position is a doddle (you just stop when your thumb hits the neck of the cello) although as my daughter said it's a pity there's nothing to stop you on the way back down


My daughter also used Stepping Stones and Waggon Wheels on the cello. Stepping Stones is really easy - the first pieces are pizzicato, about half the book is open strings only, the last half is open strings + first finger. Most pieces are only about 8 bars long.

Waggon Wheels uses 1st 3rd and 4th fingers. Compared to Cello Time Joggers the pieces in Waggon Wheels are shorter and have less complicated rhythms.

Yes, backwards extensions seem to make sense though they're rather... stretchy

Oh I didn't realise that about 4th position! may have to try that!

I forgot to say that in 4th position, your thumb is under your first finger not the second (but you'll hear anyway if you put it in the wrong place).

OK... Am I aiming for 4th position as in where my 4th finger would be? As obviously that isn't really the equiv to 4th position on the violin? Sorry, I know it's a dumb question but I don't actually have any music using 4th position to know what I'm aiming for - if I know where I'm going I don't think it'll be a problem, but fumbling blind I may get confused

On the A string you're aiming for an E .. if that helps!

That does help - thanks! So basically 4th position isn't actually where your 4th finger goes, right? It's the same note as the string above?? Yesno?

That's exactly right!

Thanks! I'll have a go.......

I've got a fab CD which came with a recorder book. The CD is recorder + guitar accomp. BUT, the recorder is on the 'right channel' and the guitar is on the 'left channel'. So you can shift the balance on your speakers, and have just the guitar (left speaker only), just the recorder (right speaker), or both (both speakers). Simple idea but one I think lots of CDs could learn from!

I'm glad you asked this. When my daughter's teacher said she would start teaching her 4th position I wondered exactly the same thing.

Actually if you think about it, it is quite logical since you don't have a fifth, sixth and seventh finger on the violin so the number must refer to notes/intervals rather than fingers.

Sorry you have sort of lost me with talks of wagon wheels, shooting stars, joggers and runners?

I don't know wagon wheels and shooting stars, I think they are books of learner tunes, perhaps in the same series as stepping stones. Joggers and runners are shorthand for a series of books of tunes for learners. On Violin they are Fiddle Time Joggers, Fiddle Time Runners and Fiddle Time Sprinters in increasing order of difficulty. On Cello they are called Cello Time Joggers etc. Perhaps there is also a Viola Time Joggers but I don't know

tHANKS EAR PLUGS!

Yes, I've come across CDs like that - really sensible idea.


I'm glad it isn't just me who wondered

I have a go at 4th position last night so now I can play G major 2 octaves, but I sympathise with your daughter about it being harder to move back down to first - especially after being a violinist where 1st is an easy home to go back to......

Good Intentions - sorry, I'll stop derailing your thread now!

I used team strings when i began violin i found it really good, I know they do a cello one too.