Two videos only about ‘The Swan’ - maybe I seem a bit obsessed with the piece! I chose to make tutorials on this piece because it’s so far the favourite among my students, the piece that can draw someone to the cello for the first time. So I made one tutorial without sheet music, and here is one with the sheet music.

(01:32) Step 1: Familiarize yourself with the rhythm.

(03:11) Step 2: Play the piece only with the bow.

(04:33) Step 3: Pitch by pitch, position by position, shift by shift.

(26:04) Step 4: Phrase by phrase, see the bigger picture.

(29:16) Step 5: Combine the left hand with the bowings of your choice.

(30:26) Step 6: Acquire technical confidence so that you can tune in to the present moment whenever you play.

Link to the sheet music I used.

Here you can download the fingerings I used in this video.

And here you can download the phrases I suggested you can practice with.