00:40 Playthrough

03:30 Pitch by pitch

15:50 Practice suggestions

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‘When am I ready to play The Swan?’ ‘Which skills do I need to play The Swan?’ ‘How many years do I need to play the cello before I can play The Swan?’

There are no general answers to those questions. No matter how long we have been playing our instrument for, we revisit our favourite pieces and find that improvements and changes can always be made. That’s why I like to expose my students to their favourite pieces as early as possible, so that they can get a feel for how it’s like to execute the piece and what it takes to do it. Not that we force our way through it, we just say ‘hello’ and avoid placing the music on a pedestal.

Life is happening now. I dislike focusing on ‘the future’, so I do what I can to help my students in their approach to their favourite music.