Deryn Cullen Adult Beginners, Adult Learners, Amateur Musicians, Cello, Getting Started on the Cello, Online Lessons, Professional Cello Gear, Tips and Resources for Teaching

Getting the Most Out of Online Lessons

The Covid-19 Pandemic has banished face-to-face music lessons to Skype, Zoom and other online video chat options. We private music teachers are fortunate to be able to continue teaching during this global upheaval, but teaching and learning online is certainly not without several frustrating hurdles. Grainy, pixelated images, unintelligible audio, screen freeze and numerous other glitches can make lessons feel like a lost cause, especially for teachers and/or students who are new to online learning.

What follows is a breakdown of the most common technical headaches and how to fix them.

1. Is your Internet Up to Scratch?

Fast broadband is far more widely available these days, but for some rural areas, the rollout of fiber optic broadband is still a painfully slow work in progress, as are the existing internet speeds. The good news regarding video conferencing is that you can get away with a very modest download speed of 1 – 4mbps, so long as your upload speed is at least 1 mbps. If your average speed is less than that, unfortunately you’ll find that most video calls will consist of badly pixelated video and barely intelligible audio that sounds more Dalek than human; and the call is likely to be split up into several short-lived sessions that time out due to insufficient or non-existent connection speed. Needless to say, music lessons are impossible under these circumstances.

You may already have a connection speed of 4mbps or more, and still experiencing the aforementioned frustrations with your video calls. Alas, there are more factors than just your internet speed that can cause problems. Fortunately most can be fixed.

  • WiFi vs. ethernet: You may have a perfectly respectable speed, but a weak wifi signal can make your browsing and video call experience as much of a lost cause as the sub 1mbps speed dilemma. If possible, be in the same room as your router, and use a device that can be connected to the router with an ethernet cable. That way, your internet speed and stability will always be what your provider is giving you, rather than what your wifi signal can offer. If you can’t be in the same room as your router, consider upgrading it or investing in range extenders. These clever devices plug into a normal wall socket and boost your signal, as well as some models allowing you to plug in an ethernet cable
  • Bandwidth: The more people in your household are making simultaneous demands on the internet connection, the slower your download speed will be. While general browsing, social networking and email shouldn’t make much or any difference to your connection speed or stability, you should aim for your lesson slot to be at a time when others in your home are not downloading, file sharing, streaming or video calling.
  • Traffic management: You may find that your speed drops at certain times of the day due to general traffic, especially while so many more people are working from home. In addition, many internet providers use traffic management techniques to deal with increased demand, which often includes slowing speeds at certain times of day. It’s worth checking your provider’s small print to see what (if any) traffic management policies they apply to your subscription, especially when it’s time to renew.

2. Your device

If the computer, phone or tablet you’re using is a bit of a relic, you may experience the same sorts of issues you’d encounter with insufficient connection speeds, such as poor video and sound quality, image freezing. In addition, you may encounter software or even system crashes. Without getting too technical, if your computer is generally limping through its daily tasks and prone to crashes and system errors, it’s time for an upgrade. If you’re not sure what specs you should go for, fear not – all new laptops and desktop computers are more than adequately equipped to deal with video conferencing.

3. Camera and Microphone

At a pinch you can use your onboard camera and microphone, but really, if you want to get the most out of your online lessons, you’ll need to invest in a reasonable quality webcam, tripod, USB microphone and mic stand. Quality issues aside, the main problem with relying on your onboard camera and mic is the very limited camera angle and mic level you get. In order for me to be able to assess your playing, I need to be able to see a full length image of you, and I need the best possible representation of your sound. If you’re using your laptop, tablet or phone you have your camera and mic in the same place which is problematic. Being close to the camera means I’ll be able to see your head and torso at the very most. Move away from the camera and you end up too far away from the mic, so I can see you but I can barely hear you. It also makes it challenging for you to see and hear me properly if your device is too far away from you. Solution:

  • Don’t use your phone – the screen is too small.
  • Tablets are okay, but only if you can plug in an external camera and mic.
  • The ideal device is a laptop or desktop with external camera and mic plugged in and placed in such a way that you get your ideal camera angle and mic placement, and you can be as close to your computer screen as you like because it makes no difference to the sound or picture.

You can spend as little as £30 or splash out as much as £300, depending on just how impressive you want your webcam to be. £30 – £50 will buy you a basic but respectable camera that will comfortably outperform the onboard camera on your laptop or most tablets. The opposite end of the scale will buy you something capable of streaming in ultra HD (4k) quality. Don’t worry if you’re not sure what that means – you don’t need it for basic 1 to 1 video calling. If you’re thinking of taking up vlogging in your spare time, or just fancy getting something top of the range, this is the sort of camera you’ll be considering.

The same is true of USB microphones, although the high end options can run to thousands of pounds. You’re not trying to compete with Abbey Road Studios or BBC Radio 4, so don’t fret about the pricey end of the scale. Like webcams, £30 will buy you something perfectly adequate and significantly better than your nasty, tinny onboard mic. You’ll also find that many, if not all budget USB mics come with a very handy desktop mic stand.

As for Webcam tripods, a simple desktop stand or tripod can be found on Amazon for as little as £2, but I wouldn’t vouch for quality at that price. If you want more flexibility in terms of where you can place your camera, traditional floor standing tripods start at around £20 and can be used for a range of devices.

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Deryn Cullen Adult Beginners, Adult Learners, Advanced Technique, Cello, Cello Positions, Elementary Technique, Getting Started on the Cello, Intermediate Technique, Left Hand Technique, Neck Positions, Playing the Cello, Position Exercises for Cello, Practising, Teaching the Cello, Three Finger Positions, Tips and Resources for Teaching

Cello Fingerboard Map: First to Seventh Position (Updated 2020 Version)

Whether you’re finding your way around first position or you’re venturing into the tenor and treble clef registers, an understanding of the note layout is essential. The more demanding your repertoire, the more you need a detailed internal ‘sat-nav’ to find your way effortlessly through challenging passages. The less you have to calculate your route map, the more you can focus on musical shaping, phasing and interpretation.

The map below is a visual aid to indicate the location and content of each position from first (including half) to seventh. You’ll notice that some positions go by 2 names (e.g. upper first/ lower second), and some of the notes on the fingerboard include enharmonic equivalents (different letter name for the same pitch). Positions are named according to the note names they accommodate. For example, the notes in upper first position on the A string are B#, C#, D and D# – predominantly the same letter names as those in first position, while lower second position – C, Db, D, Eb share the letter names of upper second position. As a rule, positions with the upper label tend to favour sharps, while those with the lower label favour flats.

Cello Fingerboard Map 2020

 

Further posts on cello positions:
An Overview of the Neck Positions
An Introduction to Stretch Position
An Introduction to the Three Finger Positions

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Deryn Cullen Adult Beginners, Adult Learners, Cello, Improvising, Music theory, Teaching the Cello, Tips and Resources for Teaching

Minor keys and their scales Part 3

Melodic Minor Scales

I like to think of the melodic minor scale as the chameleon scale as it changes its colours. The ascending scale creates more tension by sharpening the sixth and seventh steps, and the descending scale relaxes that tension by flattening the seventh and sixth steps. The sequence of intervals for the ascending scale of A melodic minor is as follows:

Step 1 – 2 (a – b): whole tone

Step 2 – 3 (b – c): semitone

Step 3 – 4 (c – d): whole tone

Step 4 – 5 (d – e): whole tone

Step 5 – 6 (e – f#) whole tone

Step 6 – 7 (f# – g#) whole tone

Step 7 – 8 (g# – a) semitone

The descending half of the melodic minor scale is identical to that of the natural minor scale:

Step 8 – 7 (a – g) whole tone

Step 7 – 6 (g – f) whole tone

Step 6 – 5 (f – e) semitone

Step 5 – 4 (e – d) whole tone

Step 4 – 3 (d – c) whole tone

Step 3 – 2 (c – b) semitone

Step 2 – 1 (b – a) whole tone

So the ascending scale shares its first five steps with the natural and harmonic minor scales, and its sixth to eighth steps with its major counterpart (note: the major key with the same keynote and NOT the relative major). As already mentioned, the descending melodic minor scale is identical to the descending natural minor scale. We now know that harmonic minor scales form the harmonic basis of minor keys, so it stands to reason (and the name suggests) that melodic minor scales form the melodic basis. The raised sixth step prevents the dissonant augmented second interval found in harmonic minor scales and the raised seventh provides a strong resolution from a leading tone to the tonic. Since descending passages don’t require the tension and definition provided by a leading tone, the descending melodic minor offers a sound truer to the overall minor structure.

The diagram below shows the structure of A melodic minor ascending on the keyboard:

Here’s a video diagram showing the lowest octave of A melodic minor ascending and descending on the cello.

Deryn Cullen Adult Beginners, Adult Learners, Cello, Improvising, Music theory, Teaching the Cello, Tips and Resources for Teaching

Minor keys and their Scales Part 2

Harmonic minor scales

Now that we have studied the natural minor scale, we will look at and listen to the harmonic minor scale. The sequence of intervals in A harmonic minor is as follows:

Step 1 – 2 (a – b): whole tone

Step 2 – 3 (b – c): semitone

Step 3 – 4 (c – d): whole tone

Step 4 – 5 (d – e): whole tone

Step 5 – 6 (e – f) semitone

Step 6 – 7 (f – g#) augmented second¹

Step 7 – 8 (g# – a) semitone

The only difference between the structure of the harmonic minor scale and the natural minor scale is the seventh step, which is raised in the harmonic minor to create a leading tone². This means that there is an unusually large and dissonant interval between the sixth and seventh steps – an augmented second. For this reason the harmonic minor scale, true to its name is typically used as the harmonic foundation of minor keys. This means that it forms the foundation of the chords used to enrich melodic lines. The keyboard below shows the structure of a harmonic minor. The seventh step has been raised from the g natural found in the natural minor scale to g#. In spite of this the scale still shares its key signature with C major. The g# is shown as an accidental within the music. The same rule applies to all harmonic minor scales: the seventh step is raised and shown as an accidental within the music score, but never in the key signature.

¹Augmented second: an interval consisting of three semitones. An augmented second is the same size interval as a minor third but is spelt differently. If we were to spell the augmented second in a harmonic minor as a minor third we would spell it either as E# – G# or F – Ab.

²Leading note: the seventh step of a scale always a major seventh above or a semitone below the tonic. When the seventh step of a scale is a minor seventh from the tonic it is called a subtonic rather than a leading tone.

Here’s a video diagram showing the first ascending octave of A harmonic minor on the cello. The augmented second requires an unusual extension from the second to the fourth fingers.