Fundamentals of Violoncello Technique Vol. 1, The First and Half Position Francis Grant

SeriesFrancis Grant Cello Series

Fundamentals of Violoncello Technique has been designed to provide a modern and practical approach to the art of cello playing. Although it contains a generous amount of original material, it draws heavily upon the incomparable pedagogical literature of a number of master teachers from the nineteenth century. J. F. Dotzauer (1783 1860), Bernhard Romberg (1767 1879), Sebastian Lee (1805 1887), and Friedrich Kummer (1797 1879) were among the most successful of the virtuoso players who, at the height of their performing careers, devoted a large part of their energies to teaching and the writing of studies for their instrument.

With only minor editorial changes, the celebrated schools of these writers have constituted the major part of beginning instructional material for the cello up to the present day. Fundamentals of Violoncello Technique is essentially a compilation of the best and most effective excerpts from a number of such works. Arranged in progressive sequence, it eliminates superfl ous material, emphasizes the need for physical development of the hands and, perhaps most important of all, moves toward the goal of preparing the student for modern technical demands.