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, Cello Positions, Elementary Technique, Intermediate Technique, Intonation, Left Hand Technique, Neck Positions, Pairing Positions, Position Exercises for Cello, Practising, Stretch Position, Teaching the Cello, Three Finger Positions, Tips and Resources for Teaching

Pairing Positions: Second and Fifth

This blog and its content is copyright of D C Cello Studio
© D C Cello Studio 2011 – 2014.
All rights reserved.

If you found these exercises helpful, please consider making a donation.

Deryn Cullen Adult Beginners, Adult Learners, Cello, Cello Positions, Elementary Technique, Intermediate Technique, Intonation, Left Hand Technique, Neck Positions, Pairing Positions, Position Exercises for Cello, Practising, Stretch Position, Teaching the Cello, Three Finger Positions, Tips and Resources for Teaching

Pairing Positions: First and Fourth

This blog and its content is copyright of D C Cello Studio
© D C Cello Studio 2011 – 2014.
All rights reserved.

If you found these exercises helpful, please consider making a donation.

Deryn Cullen Adult Beginners, Adult Learners, Cello, Cello Positions, Elementary Technique, Intermediate Technique, Intonation, Left Hand Technique, Neck Positions, Pairing Positions, Practising, Stretch Position, Teaching the Cello, Three Finger Positions, Tips and Resources for Teaching

Introduction to Pairing Positions on the Cello

Cello students who have studied the entire range of the cello will almost certainly have discovered a recurring pattern of similarity between certain positions one octave and string apart. Recognising this pattern can be very useful when it comes to getting secure in the higher positions, the fear of which often causes poor intonation and inferior tone production. The pairing I’ll be discussing in this and the following four posts is as follows:

1. First and fourth positions:

1.1   First position on the D string and fourth position on the A string
1.2   First position on the G string and fourth position on the D string
1.3   First position on the C string and fourth position on the G string

Also:

1.4   Half position on the D string and upper third/ lower fourth position on the A string
1.5   Half position on the G string and upper third/ lower fourth position on the D string
1.6   Half position on the G string and upper third/ lower fourth position on the D string

2. Second and fifth positions:

2.1   Second position on the D string and fifth position on the A string
2.2   Second position on the G string and fifth position on the D string
2.3   Second position on the C string and fifth position on the G string

3. Third and sixth positions:

3.1   Third position on the D string and sixth position on the A string
3.2   Third position on the G string and sixth position on the D string
3.3   Third position on the C string and sixth position on the G string

4. Fourth and seventh positions:

4.1   Fourth position on the D string and seventh position on the A string
4.2   Fourth position on the G string and seventh position on the D string
4.3   Fourth position on the C string and seventh position on the G string

The first pairing (first and fourth positions) shares identical fingering patterns since both are neck positions. The same applies to lower second and lower fifth positions. From extended fifth position onwards, the three finger system comes into use, so the notes of the paired positions remain the same but the fingering does not. The changes are as follows:

In the higher positions, the second finger plays notes that would be covered by the second and third fingers in the lower positions.
In the higher positions, the third finger plays notes that would be covered by the fourth finger in the lower positions.
This discrepancy applies to closed and stretch (or extended) positions.

The following four posts will show these pairings through simple exercises and melody lines.