Why teach and learn etudes?
I have been teaching other people to play the cello for more
than 35 years, and for most of that time, I have been grateful to my first
teachers for including etudes as part of my weekly lessons. In my view, the
most important thing that a teacher must give his or her students is a good
technical foundation which is based on proper physical set up at the cello.
Because of the size of our instrument, easy physical access to the entire
fingerboard coupled with a comfortable and effective bowing pattern is
essential information for the beginning student. It is often the first thing I
need to correct when taking on a student that has not been given that
information, so that they can move forward and play comfortably with a good
sound. Scale study and related exercises (arpeggios, broken 3rds, etc.) can
then be undertaken to build a solid technical foundation that gives the student
a method of moving accurately and easily from position to position to find the
next group of notes in whatever is being played.
At about this point in their study, students can rightly
begin to wonder.........”but why am I doing all this hard work, and when do I
get to play a piece?”
This is the time to introduce the study and performance of
well written etudes as a bridge between pure technique and making music. There
are a number of time-tested etudes that provide solid technical practice as
well as interesting and tuneful music. Some of the old favorites are the
Dotzauer collection (113 Studies in 4 volumes), the various etudes of Sebastian
Lee (I have used his excellent 40 Melodic & Progressive Etudes for many
years and find that students enjoy them.), David Popper’s 15 Easy Studies in
first position, and the excellent series of etudes by Rudolf Matz are great for
less advanced students.
Later on, and as the student progresses, I would recommend
the 20 Etudes by Josef Merk, and the 21 Etudes of Duport,(essential for good
left hand structure!).
The Popper 15 Studies, the Duport studies and some of the
Lee etudes include a 2nd cello accompaniment which is another important device
for not only making the etude more fun to play, but to begin to introduce the
concept of ensemble playing! Students love playing duets with their teacher and
when etudes are turned into duets, the learning takes place in a better
atmosphere. It is for this reason that I composed 2nd cello accompaniments for
the challenging High School of Cello Playing by David Popper (published by
International Music Company (edition # 3631), and why I recommend using etudes
with accompaniments and other cello duets as wonderful teaching tools! Popper
wrote the accompaniments for only the first ten of his 15 studies, and so I was
asked to compose the last five 2nd cello parts as editor of a new edition of
the studies soon to be published by International Music Company.
Some other 2nd cello accompaniments I have composed for
popular pieces that students like to play will soon be available here at
CadenzeOne.com.
THE ESSENTIAL POPPER ETUDES
The study, understanding, and mastery of Popper’s technical
principles as demonstrated in his High School of Cello Playing Opus 73, are
essential components in the development of every aspiring cellist. The 40
etudes of Opus 73 were termed “forty etudes of transcendent complexity” by Lev
Ginsburg in his History of Cello Art, and they certainly are that. But as we
become more familiar with more of the etudes, we begin to realize that the
technical requirements of playing them with relative ease are consistent and
quite simple. Popper tells us, in not so subtle ways, precisely how the left
arm and hand must be positioned and organized in order to successfully navigate
the length of the fingerboard as we make our way through the many
sequential and chromatic passages
contained in these excellent studies. Along the way, Popper has a great deal to
teach us about the Romantic style of cello playing that he exemplified during
his long and distinguished career. Cello pupils of our time know Popper
primarily as a composer of very challenging etudes, but we need to remember
that he also composed nearly one hundred short pieces, four cello concerti, a
suite for cello and orchestra, and enjoyed a busy and successful career as a
performing cellist. He composed the 40 etudes of Opus 73 between 1895 and 1898
while he was on the faculty of the Budapest Conservatory because he felt that
his pupils needed better preparation for the careers that awaited them. It is
no accident that so many of the etudes resemble the cello parts of Wagner
operas in complexity and chromaticism since Popper was Wagner’s principal
cellist at Bayreuth. Others seem to be based on selected and standard cello repertoire,
at least in style. He also composed two other sets of cello etudes-- both
composed after the completion of the High School--the Fifteen Easy
Studies, and the Studies, Opus 76
[Preparatory to the High School of Cello Playing].
Getting to the High School
I would recommend that the Fifteen Easy Studies be the first
Popper undertaken by most cello students. They are all playable in first
position, but in ways that will test the playing level of the beginner. Another
benefit of using these studies is the second cello accompaniment included in
most editions. Popper composed the “teacher’s part” for only the first ten, and
some editions provide the last five accompaniments as created by other
cellist/editors. These tuneful etudes become much more enjoyable when both
parts are present.
After these first position studies are mastered, I recommend
the study of other etudes by Dotzauer {at least volumes 1 & 2}, Sebastian
Lee, Joseph Merk, Franchomme, and
definitely Duport. The Twenty One Etudes of Duport {published in 1813} were the
first etudes published for cellists and there is great similarity in the
message put forth by these two cellist/pedagogues even though they lived a
century apart. The Duport studies are full of double stopping and a few carry
hints of the kind of sequential passages that Popper would later employ. Look
for an edition that has the original second cello accompaniment. Both Duport
and Popper were telling us that the left arm and hand must be placed in a
position and at an angle that gives complete access to all of the notes in that
position, and often across all strings. In all positions, this means that the
left hand structure must enable the cellist to be able to play the octave {
thumb and 3}, the third {2 and thumb}, and the fifth {thumb} without altering
the angle and structure. Number 9 from the Opus 73 Studies makes this
requirement frustratingly clear in the first two bars. The most important
interval of those mentioned above, and the one to first focus on when learning these
etudes, is the interval of the major or minor third formed by the thumb and
second finger. Popper uses this as the primary means for moving the hand up and
down the fingerboard {like two wheels on tracks} during the sequential
chromatic passages that help cellists learn the fingerboard. With that interval
in place the hand is stabilized, balanced, and all of the other notes and
intervals in that position are within easy reach, provided that the angle of
approach is correct.
Now that the cello student has developed more facility and
better access to the fingerboard, it is time to finish the Popper experience.
While several of the High School etudes are fairly accessible to hard working
cello students by a certain point in their studies, I strongly recommend the
mastery of the Studies Preparatory to the High School of Cello Playing, Opus 76
before attempting most of the Opus 73 studies. Popper was well advised to
create these ten primers, because while they are not as long, as chromatic, or
as complex as many of the 40, they make
clear what type of left hand structure needs to be in place and this knowledge
will save the student a lot of work when the High School studies are
undertaken.
When practicing the sequential passages in the Opus 73 High
School {examples: #5,m.66-73; #11, m. 7-10; #12, m.31-33; #31, m.22-25} take
care that you are shifting the interval of the major or minor third as you move
gently and securely to the next position, and remember to create the extension for
the larger major third with your thumb! Practice playing just the thirds as
double stops(2 and thumb) as they are the foundation of each position.
The 32 Essential Etudes in Opus 73 and the Popper Diet.
As you get to know the High School etudes, you will soon
realize that the technical requirements for virtually all of them are very
similar, and based upon the above discussion of hand structure and
accessibility.
Here is a list of all
40 in approximate order of difficulty:
3, 11, 1, 2, 5, 10, 6, 19, 21, 17, 7, 34, 8, 36, 25, 12, 22,
16, 30, 31, 18, 26, 20,
15, 23, 28. 27, 32, 35, 40, 4, 24, 9, 14, 38, 39, 37, 13,
33, 29.
Non- Essential Etudes in Opus 73
I consider the following seven studies to be non-essential,
either for technical or musical reasons: 14, 25, 27, 29, 32, 37, 40. Some of
these are very similar to the style and requirements of other studies in Opus
73, others are simply weak musically, and a few involve specialized bowing
techniques that can be studied separately in a volume dedicated to bowing
issues. Learn them later on if you wish, but they need not be mastered in your
first exposure to the High School because the issues they deal with are covered
in other etudes or in studies.
When you have mastered at least half of the forty, I
recommend beginning a daily practice of playing 3 of the etudes as a set, a
Popper Diet. You may not lose weight, but you will certainly minimize your
daily warm-up time. Choose the first one from the less challenging etudes near
the beginning of the above list, the second from the middle, and the third from
nearer the end. Challenge yourself to learn the etudes with which you are
unfamiliar and you will soon realize how similar are the techniques required
for playing them. Keep adding new ones until you have all 33 listed below under
your fingers. Doing this on a daily basis, right after your normal technical
warm up of scales, triads, broken thirds, etc., will set you up completely for
whatever is on your musical agenda for the day. It works like a vitamin
supplement for the health of your cello playing. Enjoy!
A suggested Popper Diet:
Day one: 1, 21, 17 Day two: 2, 18,
4 Day three: 3.34, 24
Day four: 7, 19, 35 Day five: 5, 31,
9 Day six: 10, 30, 12
Day seven: 11, 22, 33 Day eight: 6, 15,
13 Day nine: 16, 23, 38
Day ten: 8, 26, 39 Day eleven: 36,
28, 20
A graduate of the Eastman School of Music,Carter Enyeart has
enjoyed a distinguished and varied career. His experience as a member
of the Pittsburgh and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras, principal
cellist of the Dallas Opera, member of the renowned Philadelphia String
Quartet and American Piano Trio and his duties as Associate Artistic
Director and cellist of the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth give him
strong credentials in the symphonic and chamber music fields. His
teaching at Ball State University, Northwestern University, and the
University of North Texas preceded his current appointment as Rose Ann
Carr Millsap/Missouri Distinguished Professor of Cello at the University
of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory where he also coordinates the
String Chamber Music Program.
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