NEW: My new video Tele-Vision HERE features the electric guitar, but there's plenty of cello too.

NOT SO NEW: See my 2005 project A Cello Rondo. I promise you will laugh your head off.

BELOW: You will find a number of MIDI play-along files you can download for free, and links to other items of interest for cellists.

Cello Masterclass Videos

In the early 1990s I produced the Bernard Greenhouse Cello Masterclass videos, which are described below. I no longer sell these directly, but they're now available from Shar Music.

Reviews

These videos received very favorable reviews in both Strings and The Strad, and following are some excerpts from those reviews.

From The Strad, October 1993, page 992:

"The formula works very well, and the filmmakers have very sensibly done everything to minimize distracting detail so the student can concentrate on the musical content. This is all excellent material, especially for those teaching or studying any of the four works, who cannot fail to benefit from the minute attention to detail of shaping phrases and extending left and right arm technique. All cello students will have much to glean from Bernard Greenhouse's wealth of experience both as a soloist and long-time member of the Beaux Arts Trio. Greenhouse is acute, putting his finger instantly on the essential quality missing from each performance, and never losing sight of this in his bar-by-bar rediscovery of the work with the students. Throughout the four lessons, Greenhouse stresses the need for projection and tries to get the cellists to play with strength and conviction, and it is fascinating to watch how they improve under his tutelage. It is worth the equivalent cost of a lesson to share in the controlled practicing we are witnessing in these tapes."

From Strings, September/October 1996, page 121:

"Inspired by an amateur cellist who noticed a lack of instructional videos, these tapes successfully fill that void. Each tape features two young, accomplished cellists performing complete movements of advanced works. Following each performance, Greenhouse gives intelligent comments, both general and specific, and offers many insights into cello playing and practicing. Encouraging while also exacting, Greenhouse gets audible results, and it is gratifying to hear the improvements in the students' playing. These are valuable tapes for all cellists."

Video Contents

MIDI and Music Files

The following MIDI and music-related files on this page are available for free downloading. Each file contains the piano accompaniment for a popular cello work, which you can play along with for practice or fun. These files are in the standard Type 1 MIDI format.

Yuriy Leonovich submitted the Schumann Fantasy Pieces, and more recently sent me the Victor Herbert Concerto, Tchaikovsky's Nocturne, Rococo Variations, the Adagio movement of Dvorak's cello concerto, and two movements from Shostakovich's Eb concerto. Then Dan Kellett sent me the first movement of the Shostakovich, all four movements of the Britten Cello Symphony, the second movement of Prokofiev's Sinfonia Concertante, the second movement of the Shostakovich Cello Concerto #2, and the third movement of the Elgar concerto. Thanks guys!

The MIDICALC program is useful to anyone who uses MIDI to record piano and other music, without regard to the sequencer's built-in metronome, and then needs to determine the correct note quantization points to make minor corrections afterward. MIDICALC also includes time calculators for adding and subtracting times based on HH:MM:SS or bars, beats, and MIDI clocks. Complete instructions for using this program are provided via the Help screens built into the program.

If you don't already have the PKUNZIP or WinZip programs required to unpack these files, you should also click on the PKUNZIP.EXE file name below to download that utility.

Sponsored article: Movies About Cello Players That Hit Home

Cello-Related Articles

A Cello Rondo is my first cello performance video. If you play the cello, or if you just enjoy cello playing, I promise you will love this video.

Ethan's Cello Concerto was featured in the May 1999 issue of Strings magazine, and this article describes the concerto and how it came to be written and recorded. You can view and print the cello solo music, and even listen to the concerto online or download it as an audio file.

I wrote From Sawdust to Sine Waves, about luthiers Bob and Deena Spear, in 1994 for The Strad. This is a fascinating account of how modern makers use both state of the art and centuries-old techniques to create excellent modern instruments. Bob discusses the cello he sold to Mstislav Rostropovich, and I even got to meet Slava and interview him for this article!

Beta Blockers and Performance Anxiety in Musicians provides a rational look at using beta blockers to combat "rubber fingers," panic, and other physical problems faced by musicians in high-stress performance situations. (This article was written by the Beta Blocker Study Committee of FLUTE, headed by Karla Harby.) For another look at the effects and treatment of severe performance anxiety I suggest the book Stage Fright by Michael J. Goode, available at his web site.

In the Express Lane: Learning the Cello as an Adult is intended for ambitious adult cello students, but may also be of interest to cello teachers. It presents practice tips and suggestions to help achieve good bow control as quickly as possible.

Accompaniment Products for Musicians, printed originally in Strings magazine, July 1997. This article discusses and reviews accompaniment products such as play-along CDs and music backing software programs.

Also be sure to see my Articles page, which has many more articles about audio and recording, my Audio & Music page, and my Tunes page where you can hear pop music arrangements of several classical and cello pieces.

Saturday Night is my latest string quartet, and you can hear it on my Tunes page.

Cello Fast Track Program
Kyle Rakestraw offers a comprehensive course for learning the cello. Very cool. And hear my audio interview there too.

Corilon Violins is an online dealer of affordable old and antique stringed instruments
and bows. Their web site also has many articles of interest to string instrument players.

Oxingale Music
Oxingale Music offers a new source for a range of contemporary sheet music for voices, solo instruments, chamber ensembles, choir, orchestra, big band and big bands of cellos. The nucleus of Oxingale Music is a catalogue of works written for, premiered, and recorded by pioneering cellist Matt Haimovitz. Ranging in style from contemporary to classical to jazz to rock, these works explore all facets of cello performance.

European Violins repairs and sells old antique cellos, violins, and bows, and other antique string instruments.

Vera Jiji
Vera's book Cello Playing For Music Lovers is a must-have for adult beginners. It explains everything about playing the cello, how to hold the bow, and much more. Read all about it on Vera's web site HERE.

The Internet Cello Society has a terrific page for cellists, plus many links to other cello-related pages.

The New Direction Cello Association is an organization devoted to the promotion of non-classical and improvising cello playing.

Music Minus One offers accompaniment products for many instruments (voice too), including orchestra backings for many cello concertos - but without the cello so you can play along. MMO has been around forever, and their products are uniformly excellent. Their Pocket Songs division also offers a huge collection of popular music backings.

Kate Dillingham
Kate Dillingham was my cello teacher for many years, and the video interview with legendary cellist Bernard Greenhouse on the Recordings page of her web site is excellent. There are also links to buy her CDs and a printed Bach edition she co-edited with Mr. Greenhouse.

Bruce Levine
Bruce is a terrific composer and arranger, and his web site features two works of interest to cello players, and many pieces of interest to all musicians.

Visit the best Musician's Jokes Page on the web at www.mit.edu/people/jcb/jokes/

My friend Pete Levin has the most comprehensive collection of viola jokes anywhere: www.petelevin.com/violajokes.htm.

"If you play shy you will not know your weaknesses. Play strong and you'll find them right away."  - Mstislav Rostropovich

Martin Luling's three principles of symphony playing:

1. Play when everyone else plays.
2. If in doubt what to do, play what's printed in the music.
3. If that's too difficult, just play "Louie, Louie."

"Music is the only language in which you cannot say a mean or sarcastic thing." - John Erskine, American author and educator (1879-1951)

Entire contents of this web site Copyright © 1997- by Ethan Winer. All rights reserved.