Devil's Dream Lesson: Free Exercises for Cello

So, Devil's Dream has some tricky string crossings! Both the bow and the fingers have to change strings with efficient, agile movements in order to play this piece at a fast "fiddle" tempo.  

Here's the version of Devil's Dream that we'll work on:

Devil's Dream for Cello

Here's a Warm-Up Exercise for String Crossings:

Devil's Dream: Warm-Up Exercise for Cello

Focusing on just the bow can help you identify underlying string crossing issues. Here are the open strings that your bow is playing under the actual fiddle tune:

Devil's Dream: Open String Exercise for Cello

Now, one of the main difficulties with this piece is crossing strings with the left hand. Here is an exercise to work on crossing strings with the fingers:

Devil's Dream: Left Hand String Crossing for Cello

And another exercise for the left hand:

Devil's Dream: Faster Left Hand String Crossing for Cello

And finally, three exercises for speed. Start slow and when you've learned them, play them as fast as possible. Keep your bow smooth and close to the strings. "Bar" your first finger across the strings in measures 3&4 and 11&12 to help make your motions as efficient as possible. 

Devil's Dream: Speed and Agility Study No. 1 for Cello

Devil's Dream: Speed and Agility Study No. 2 for Cello

Devil's Dream: Speed and Agility Study No. 3 for Cello

Happy cello fiddling!

Other String Crossing Books