BEGINNING CELLO POSTURE INFO

Bowhold on a pencil:
Right Hand holds the pencil!
Monkey Hang
Thumb TIP touches pencil.
Thumb is curved.
Flop all fingers over the pencil.
Middle finger folds over the pencil, touching at first knuckle across from thumb.
Ring finger folds over pencil, also touching at first knuckle. Hug the FROG!
Index finger flops over and lands on the pencil between the first and second knuckle.
Pinky flops over pencil and rests on the first joint of pinky.
All joints should be rounded, flexible, relaxed. In case of double joints, the joints should be eased into the right position with the help of the other hand. The more you practice un-sticking the joints, the sooner they will stop locking up.

Exercises:
Bunny munches the pencil
Bunny ears wiggle
Tap the pencil with different fingers (TAP TAP taptap Tap; T-A-P T-A-P; Pinky pinky pinky tap; Circle circle; Pet The Frog)
Elevator
Rocket ship
Place pencil on head, shoulders, forehead, nose (any place would be great to add taps).
Windshield wipers, fast and slow
Wrist waves Hello, Side to side, Circles
Rhythm exercises with pencil in hand and focusing on opening and closing the elbow
What time is it?
Hills and Valleys
Mississippi Hot Dog (Pepperoni Pizza)
Down kitty Up kitty
Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwich
Red Light (STOP!) Go
Also do rhythm exercises without bow with right hand moving along the
left arm. Start each rhythm by going in the “DOWN’ direction.

Cello Posture
Sit on FRONT EDGE of chair. (Put tissue box between back of chair and your body, to see where front edge is)
Feet are one shoe length in front of chair legs.
Sit up straight - puppet string pulls up top of head.
Put enough space between knees to place cello in between.
Knees should be under C bout.
Feet are under knees.
Cello comes toward body.
Rest top of cello on "Tarzan" bone (sternum).
Cello is at 45* angle.
The neck of cello is over left shoulder. Make sure there is space for an animal on your shoulder.
No "Miss America Sashes."
C peg is behind left ear.
Hug the cello to get used to all that wood in your personal space.
Stabilize cello by moving body around cello without moving cello!
Pop can hand - space between hand and cello neck
The "Arch" is strong.
Palm to chest.
Straight wrist
Thumb is behind 2nd finger
Finger tips touch the string and fingerboard. Fingers are curved.
Fingers are equally spaced
Finger taps - target practice!

Beginning Songs
Ant Song
A A A- D D D- G G G- C C C-
(Ants, ants, ants, digging in the
Dirt, dirt, dirt, underneath the
Ground, ground, ground all the way to
China, China, China!)

DAD Song
D A D -
D A D -
D D A A
D A D -

Hot Cross Buns on D string
F# E D -
F# E D -
DDDD EEEE
F# E D -

Boil Them Cabbages on D string
F#F#F#F# G-G-
F#F#F#F# E-E-
F#F#F#F# GGGG
F#F#EE
D- D-