文 | 吴临风
Many parents hope to let their children start learning the cello during the holidays. How to judge whether your child is suitable for learning the cello? Based on years of teaching experience, the author advises parents to avoid detours.
Cello performance requires certain innate qualities to support, such as the concept of intonation, physical strength and physical coordination. But dialectically speaking, for many industries, what it needs is exactly what it exercises—outstanding basketball players are often tall, and kids who play basketball tend to grow taller. Although the cello has requirements for hearing, fingers, and body, this requirement is not rigid. As long as the talent is not too abnormal, it can generally be improved through acquired training.
1, the concept of intonation. Stringed instruments have very strict requirements on pitch, and children need to have at least a concept of relative pitch. The so-called "relative pitch" means that the child can hear and express the difference between different pitches. When the child sings, the listener can only distinguish the melody sung by the pitch of the child's humming, which means that the child initially has the concept of intonation. Corresponding to relative pitch is absolute pitch. If the child can accurately imitate the pitch of each note of the original song when humming (rather than just the relative relationship between the sound and the sound), then the child has the absolute pitch, which is a very favorable natural condition.
2. Physical strength. Although cellos are used by children in various sizes, they are larger in size and weight. Children who are too thin or too young are not suitable for playing the cello: if their limbs are not strong enough to play the cello forcibly, it will deform the playing posture and movements and develop wrong habits. If the parent or child really likes the cello, wait until the child is older and stronger before starting to learn.
At the same time, playing the cello requires pressing the string with the left hand and holding the bow with the right hand, which are based on the premise of strength. Especially for the left hand, part of the extended fingering needs to be played with open hands. Therefore, a wide palm and strong fingers are great advantages. Children with normal development of palms and fingers can learn the piano, and their left hand will be exercised in the acquired training; some children will have their left hand slightly larger than their right hand in adulthood.
3. Body coordination. The performance of the cello requires the left hand to move up and down and the right hand to move left and right, which puts forward requirements for the player's coordination. A simple test of the child’s coordination can be done to see if the child can cope with such a task.
If it is determined that a child can learn the cello, at what age is the most appropriate to start learning the cello?
According to a lot of teaching experience, the author recommends that children start to learn the cello after entering elementary school-after elementary school, the child's physical and mental development has been initially stabilized, which can meet the basic physical and intellectual requirements of learning cello.
At the beginning stage, children need to practice every day, and most of the sounds they play are not pleasant to the ears. At this time, parents should take advantage of the situation and let them learn to be calm and persistent. If they give up lightly, it will be the worst example for their children.
If parents want their children to use musical instruments as their livelihood in the future, or want to "play a look", it helps to start learning piano early-the younger the child, the stronger the plasticity, imitation and absorption capacity. From a technical point of view, "boy skills" are easier to practice at an early age; from an artistic point of view, being exposed to music at an early age is conducive to fostering children's taste.
If you start to learn a musical instrument at a relatively old age, it is not completely impossible to learn; but when you see that your peers around you have mastered advanced techniques and played more complicated and beautiful songs, your child's enthusiasm may be frustrated. At the same time, the heavy academic burden of the upper grades will make it difficult to guarantee the piano practice time.
To learn the cello requires three preliminary preparations
1. Knowledge preparation: Children should have a certain musical foundation before starting to learn the cello, including basic music knowledge, for example, the pitch and rhythm Basic listening and expression skills, knowledge of staff, etc.; accumulation of music appreciation, that is, listening to some common classical music works, and having a preliminary understanding of composers. It will be more helpful if the child has learned the piano formally and strictly for a period of time-most of the requirements for body shape and hand shape in piano performance are also applicable to the cello, and the child's determination will be initially cultivated.
The teaching of most music basic knowledge courses mainly revolves around the treble clef, And cello playing mostly uses bass clef in the primary stage. Parents should remind teachers of basic music courses to strengthen the training of children to identify bass staves.
2. Equipment preparation: Parents need to choose a children's piano (and matching bow) of the right size for their children according to their height and strength. The common children's pianos on the market have different specifications such as 1/8, 1/4, 2/4, 3/4, 7/8, etc., which can basically meet the body needs of children from 4 to 12 years old. When choosing a piano model, please be sure to uphold the attitude of "not going for it", and choose the model that is most suitable for your child's current body shape, instead of the idea of "buy a little bigger and use it in a few years"-you will play it It can cause deformation of posture and movement, and the child's left hand is not large enough to cause poor pitch and impair his hearing ability.
Compatible with musical instruments and necessary accessories: rosin (used to smear the bow hair and increase the "string grip" of the bow hair), floor mats (used to prevent the piano feet from being on a smooth ground Insufficient friction), piano bag, music stand, and position stickers.
The textbook uses the first and second volumes of "Suzuki Cello Textbook", the first volume of the exercises and the first volume of the "Diversity of Scale Etude for the Cello Tutorial".
3. Learning musical instruments is a protracted battle. Are parents ready to spend another hour with their children to practice piano after a hard day's work? Is the child ready to arrange school homework and set aside one hour for the cello every day?
Can parents and elders accept their children's hardship? Does the child have enough concentration while watching other classmates play around? In the enlightenment stage of stringed instruments, there will definitely not be a pleasant auditory experience-this stage will last one to three years. Are parents prepared to endure it, and will neighbors complain? These issues are all that children need to think about before learning the piano.
