http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mtDH61_l0Q <---- is my bowing angle/point of contact reasonably OK.

And does anyone have any help for my LH little finger which is feeling a little hard done by suddenly being used so much and having to use more pressure than it's used to........

Bow angle looks mainly okay - watch it on the C-string, it's a bit too slanted there.

As for the fourth finger, don't overdo it! Stop as soon as it hurts. Remember, you're not pressing with it, you're just letting your arm weight hang down on it.

Thanks CC.

Any tips for using arm weight rather than pressure on the little finger? Finding that very hard.

Planning to ask around at orchestra tomorrow and see if any of the cellists give lessons/know someone who does, to see if anyone's willing to come and give me some remedial help!

Your fourth finger will get used to it eventually.

My daughter used to find it very hard, particularly on the C string but now claims she never said that.

I guess part of the problem is that reading the music isn't an issue, so I've probably not built up as slowly as would be ideal.

If I go on too long it makes my wrist ache. I need to be careful. Is there any exercise I could do to increase strength without risking damage??

Are you lifting your elbow up high enough - this helps to transfer the weight of your arm which, as Cellocase pointed out, is what you want. You also need to lean into the note (if that makes sense).

You could always do lots of bowing exercices on open strings (or just using 1st and 2nd/3rd fingers) to get your bow hold rock solid.

Or do some shifting exercices. My daughter had some that consisted of playing in 1st position A,B,A,B, then the same thing in 4th position and then again in 1st position. Then the same thing with D,E,D,E etc. and I am sure you can make up more.

My bowing has improved a lot, I think... - what worries me is that my left hand (wrist specifically) starts to ache... I need to strengthen it.

I think I'll have to get the cello upstairs and see if I can record my left arm position... I guess I'm not lifting it high enough as I'm finding it hard to put any weight onto the string from it.......

I didn't mean to say your bowing hadn't improved. I was just thinking of all the really good string players on here who at various times have posted about how important the bow arm is and people like Bohemian (I think, although I may have got the name wrong) who were doing open string bowing exerices at post-grade 8 level to improve their tone.

Yep, I know what you mean - I didn't think you were trying to tell me something sorry, didn't explain myself well

What I mean is, although I definitely need to carry on getting my bowing better, what worries me is that I'm doing something wrong with my left hand/arm - sounding a bit pants I can cope with, it'll come with time, and even if it didn't - I'm still having fun. Potentially injuring myself is more worrisome if you see what I mean! And something I need to sort out in the short term - whereas bowing wise... I'm not expecting to become the next du Pre, and so short term as long as I don't sound like a strangulated cat (or I suppose, more likely lion - it is a cello after all) then I shan't worry TOO much.

edit: & yes, I'm pretty sure you're right saying it was Bohemian

Try lifting your elbow up more then. This is one of the things my daughter found made everything much easier, although she needn't constant reminders to do so, making me think it must be quite an unnatural thing to do.

I thought I was but this makes me think, maybe what I think is high is not nearly as high as it necessary - I'll give it a go, and see if I can't have someone at orchestra tomorrow help me out. Thanks

Hope you do find someone tomorrow.

I am always amazed at how a good teacher can instantly pinpoint what someone is doing wrong and by getting them to change one tiny thing make such a difference to sound/comfort or whatever.

Yes, definitely. The difficulty is finding the really good teachers in the first place!

I'm hoping that someone will be able to help me or know someone who will. I'll only have this cello for a short time, but if I can get reasonably comfortable on it then at least if/when I get my hands on one again, I will not be starting from scratch, and it would be nice to have reasonably sound basic technique/be able to produce a nice sound... and obviously without damaging myself so if some kind person knows of someone who'd come give me a couple of basic lessons... I can but hope, that would be great!

I regularly play open strings exercises! And I've only just learnt about using arm weight (at post-dip standard) so if you can learn now, you'll have a head start...

I may be misinterpreting kerioboe, but I wouldn't think that raising the elbow would increase arm weight on the fingers (unless you have it very very low). Rather, I tend to think of letting my arm hang, so my fingers are hanging off the cello. Take the thumb off for now - you should never be pressing with it anyway, just allowing it to touch.

Try this - hold your right arm up horizontally at about nose level. Then put your left hand fingertips on the top of the arm and let it hang off it. This is the type of feeling that you should get.

Any help?

I have absolutely no brain tonight but that sounds like it may get me in the right sort of area - thanks - I'll try it and report back

I was basing this on my daughter and perhaps I should have said "out" (as in away from the body) rather than "up." This was one of the things where I struggled all through the summer break suggesting all sorts of things to do to make it easier, none of which worked. She had her first lesson after the holidays and almost immediately her teacher told her to change her elbow position and it worked.

Trying to recall 'cello lessons from 37 years ago, I think "out" is correct, and you know you have it right when your wrist is comfortable (straight or nearly straight). I don't see how it can make much difference to the force going through the fingers. In any case, sarah-flute's problem is that the load on her little finger is already too much. The usual RSI advice applies: stop when it starts hurting. You can carry on practising trills with the other fingers, or long notes, varying the position of the bow on the string and adjusting bow speed and weight to keep the sound as good as possible.