Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to create a flexible cello teaching methodology, to be used with adolescent intermediate/early advanced-level students. The methodology uses Baroque and early Classical cello repertoire to aid in developing, in young students, secure performance technique, stylistic interpretation skills and a keen interest in their instrument and repertoire. I also present various ideas and strategies to incorporate the teaching of music history and theory into studio lessons, in ways that increase the student’s active participation in the lesson. The research draws largely on existing literature on the development of the cello as a solo instrument, the growth of cello technique as a separate entity from violin technique, and elements of cello technique from twentieth-century cello pedagogues. Other pedagogy-based research areas for this study include aspects of present-day teaching, including the 'flipped classroom' concept, using a student's inherent learning style to devise appropriate teaching strategies, and developing games and exercises to help young students understand the techniques they learn. The study is divided into four chapters. The first describes the development of the cello from its earliest stages in the sixteenth century, to its present twentieth-century design. This is followed by a discussion of how cello teachers can incorporate discussions of the instrument's development in studio lessons, using a variety of teaching strategies and ideas which may engage a young student's thinking and imagination. Chapter Two explores the suites for unaccompanied cello by J. S. Bach, and describes the characteristics of each dance movement in a typical suite. This leads to a consideration of the teaching of the suites, which encompasses the development of essential cello playing techniques, the introduction/revision of basic harmony and methods of interpreting a dance movement. Chapter Three considers the use of Italian Baroque repertoire as part of an intermediate-level student’s development as a performer, exploring the advantages of learning Italian Baroque sonatas. This chapter also describes the practice of ornamentation and cadenza improvisation in Italian Baroque music. This is followed by a discussion concerning the inherent ‘learning styles’ of music students, and how they might affect a student’s confidence in embellishing their music. In Chapter Four, the focus transitions to the early Classical period and describes the changes in musical aesthetics and style from those of the Baroque period, including changes in the practice of free ornamentation. I discuss the impact of the French and Dresden schools of cello playing on the development of cello technique, and how the extant method books from these schools can be used in current cello teaching. Following this is a presentation of ideas in applying the ‘flipped classroom’ concept to the teaching of sonata form to students. My study concludes that Baroque and early Classical repertoire yields a larger proportion of cello repertoire that meet the technical levels of intermediate/early advanced-level learners, than those of the subsequent musical periods. Furthermore, using such repertoire as part of a student’s cello study could provide an ideal learning environment in which cello students can refine their cello performance technique, develop stylistic interpretation skills (including the practice of free ornamentation), and in the case of Italian Baroque repertoire, perform full sonatas.