Practical Scales and Arpeggios for Cello: In preparation for All-State and similar Auditions

Don’t let scales hold you back any longer!

Scales are the foundation of music and must be learned by everyone. However, most musicians struggle learning their scales and placing well in region, all-state, and ensemble auditions.

But it’s not your fault! Most scale books are hard to use, confusing, overwhelming, and not user friendly.

Current resources fail musicians in the following ways:

• Specific scales are difficult to find. By the time you find what you need to learn, you’re already frustrated, which leads to a bad start of practicing.
• Everything is crammed. There is too much information in too little space leading to excessive straining of the visual system which results in poor focus and concentration.
• No guides or explanations. Modern books give you what to learn, but no effort or help in how to learn the material.
• Do not teach how to practice your scales effectively and efficiently.
• No visual highlight or advice on which sections to work on.
• No space for notes or alternative fingering. Your scales end up looking like a mess and are hard to read.
• Most books give way too much material that is not necessary, thus overwhelming the musician.

As a lifelong musician and educator, I struggled with the same issues. I hated learning and practicing scales, and often did not get the scores or placements I wanted due to poor scales. As a teacher, I made it my mission to create resources that empower the musician to succeed. I created this scale books FOR musicians.

Practical Scales and Arpeggios serve the musician in following ways:

• Part of a series that can be used as a stand alone book, or as a series, where Violin, Viola, Cello, and Bass books have corresponding page numbers for every scale, where every instrument book's C Major is on page 16, A Minor on page 17...
• The scales are organized from lowest number of accidentals to highest, so they are easy to find. Plus the table of contents provides specific pages for the scales you need.
• One page has everything you need for any particular key! The reader is presented with 2 and 3 octave scales arpeggios, and an octave scale in 2 octave range, all on one page.
• Each page highlights the most difficult spots, focusing your attention on what you should spend your time on, and offers advice on how to improve that particular section.
• There is ample room to write in notes, advice, alternate fingering or any visual aids to help you learn.
• Beginning of the book shows step by step, what effective and efficient practice should look like, and most importantly explains why. Through understanding what makes scales challenging, you can work on those challenges in a guided fashion, improving your technique.

By using this book, you will improve your playing because learning scales will no longer be frustrating and confusing. Patterns are explained and shown, thus making it easy to learn what you need for auditions, competitions, and ensemble placement. Hard parts are highlighted in order to make them easy to see, so you spend most of your time on what you should practice, leading to efficient and effective practice. With Practical Scales and Arpeggios, scales will not hold you back any longer.