Octaves for cellists

SETH PARKER WOODS

Assistant professor of practice (cello and chamber music), Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California, CA, US

TEACHES Undergraduate and postgraduate students Aged 18–30

STUDIED WITH Frederick Zlotkin, Thomas Demenga, Lucas Fels

BORN Houston, TX, US

The very mention of playing is, bean octaves is enough to elicit a terrified response from the majority of cellists. Arguably the phrase ‘never practise in a state of fear’, which is often used by teachers in various guises, is especially applicable to octave practice. It is a mantra that is important to impress on students as they start to engage with octaves, otherwise a frightened state of mind will adversely affect their progress in this area. We have to help them learn to practise octaves calmly and analytically, then perform them with confidence.

It is not difficult to detect a student who is scared of octaves; there is a general physical tightening-up that affects intonation. This is often caused by mental catastrophising about the spacings and fear of being judged, resulting in a toxic spiral. So, instead of being present in the moment to listen, their focus is not only negative but also not in a relevant place.

EXERCISES

PORTRAIT PHOTO LEIGH WEBBER. PLAYING P HOTO JAMES HOLT

POSTURE

Good posture is really important; your body should act as a frame from which your arm is merely an extension. Check that your shoulders don’t roll forwards, as this distorts your frame and your shoulders will take too much strain. See the photo (right) as a guide.

FIRST EXERCISES

• Think of the bottom note of the octave as the core

• Break the task into smaller sections; finding a good balance in the left hand is important. Begin by doing one-octave scales over two strings. Start with the thumb on the D string (with the thumb on A below middle C, and E on the A string). Play a one-octave A major scale up and down in the position, playing the octave at the top. Think of the third finger as the top guy. Hold it for a while to feel the octave frame, but don’t press too hard.

• Work your way chromatically up to a Dmajor scale. Shift the thumb up by a semitone to play the one-octave B flat major scale and so on. As you play, map the movement, noticing the small incremental differences in finger spacing, and especially the distance between thumb and third finger at the top of each scale.

• Repeat the above, but starting from D and coming down chromatically to A again

• With your thumb on A below middle C, play the octave above with finger 3. Focus on the bottom A and check your top A is in tune. Then shift up a semitone to octave B flats. Expose your shifts not only to hear what you are doing, but so you can map the distance between the two different octave spacings.

• Repeat as above with a shift of a tone (A–B)

• With your thumb on A below middle C, do the above exercises again, but this time go up to the higher A and then back down

• Improvise little melodies in octaves using wider intervals than tones and semitones to understand the larger movements necessary when shifting further

ADVANCED EXERCISES, STUDIES AND REPERTOIRE

Here are examples of octaves within exercises, studies and core repertoire. Practise examples 1a and 1b by Thomas Grossenbacher in all keys. The rhythms should change as the student becomes more comfortable and finds more balance with the hand positions.

Example 2 from Popper, is a great exercise for octaves in many formations. Here Popper showcases broken octaves and scales in parallel octaves. The learning method for this excerpt may then be applied directly to the Rachmaninoff (example 3) and Dvořák (example 4) examples below. Isolate the first bar and play all the root pitches of the octaves first with just the thumb, carefully sliding from one semitone to another. Then add the upper octave and balance the voicing.

Example 3 is a fun and fiery octave excerpt. The main trick for this is to use the open A string in the second bar, then thumb for the 5ths on the last beat of the bar. This will help you set up for the octaves. Another point I work on with students is playing both As on the first beat of the third bar as harmonics, then sliding up in semitones till you arrive at the C octaves. This practice method prepares the hand for the shape changes needed to execute this gesture properly. Practise it well under tempo.

Example 4 (page 81) is the infamous octave passage from Dvořák's wonderful Cello Concerto. Segment it and practise it as a Bmelodic minor scale to make the student aware of the hand shapes required as the hand slides to the end of the fingerboard. You can also play it as broken octaves like the Popper, to build up accurate intonation. Remember to lead with the thumb as your anchor and not the third finger. Take care to not roll the left shoulder forward, which will cause tension.

IN YOUR PRACTICE

• Practise octave work in short, concentrated bursts; five minutes of focused work will be far more useful than time spent in the wrong mindset. Then return to it later in the practice.

• Think of the thumb as your bedrock and aim for supple fingers

• As you progress you should find the most comfortable position for your thumb to lie across the two strings; permanent indentations may then follow and stamina should increase with time

• As you go up in pitch try to map the way the fingers get closer together, and the opposite for going down. Think of the hand as a frame within which the fingers operate.

• Make sure that there is balance within the hand so that the shoulder and carpal tunnel system don’t become overloaded; your fingers should feel as though they are moving very smoothly

• To fully train the brain and muscle memory, make sure that you practise scales and repertoire both forwards and in reverse (fingering and bowing). Then you can focus more on the movement and the choreography rather than on the pitch content.

• Play with flat bow hair and don’t let your sound obscure what you are doing with your left hand

TIPS FOR TEACHERS

• Convey a sense of calm reassurance to your students as you embark on teaching octaves

• Assess where the student is in general set-up before demanding too much in terms of octave practice; smaller increments are more helpful than trying to force the issue. Octaves aren’t a quick fix.

• Use your personal octave practice as a case study and also observe issues arising from your students’ learning to gain experience and strategies

• Be sensitive to any early signs of carpal tunnel syndrome or tendonitis (check facial expressions, jaw clenching, tight lips, breath holding). It sometimes helps to take focus off the octaves by asking students to circle their hips on the chair (first one way then the other) as they play; imagine ‘creating a dance party on the chair’ to reduce and redirect tension.

• When looking at a student be aware of angles; the arm should rotate from the elbow without the shoulder rising

• Once students are relatively comfortable with playing octaves on the upper strings remember to practise and teach octaves on the lower strings too. These strings are obviously much thicker and the rotation from the shoulder is larger.

• As students become more advanced you might consider asking them to use the first finger rather than the thumb in lower positions. They are likely to need to rotate the elbow down and across to do this; following the intonation.

INTERVIEW BY NAOMI YANDELL

FURTHER MATERIALS

Scale and Arpeggio Album by W.F. Whitehouse and R.V. Tabb is an excellent resource, covering the entire range of the cello and moving directly from chromatic scales to octaves, setting the hand up well to play octaves. It is also particularly useful in that it gives different forms of the scales.

Daily Exercises by Louis R. Feuillard. The octave work in this book is really great for ensuring that the left and right hands work together and you don’t get a disconnect between the two.

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