Chamber Music Cello
SKU: CF.BF126
Composed by Roland Vamos.
Edited by Horacio
Contreras. SWS. Book.
With Standard notation.
64 pages. Carl Fischer
Music #BF126. Published
by Carl Fischer Music
(CF.BF126).
ISBN
9781491150009. UPC:
680160907502. 9x12
inches.
Written by
world renown pedagogue,
Roland Vamos, this
collection of double-stop
exercises fill a void in
the literature of
technical exercises for
cellists. These etudes
feature a systematic
series of fixed
double-stops that enables
the player to practice
and master every possible
combination of finger
patterns across two
strings without shifting.
Mr. Vamos says of the
book, The most important
accomplishment is the
development of a strong
left handà These
exercises, when practiced
slowly and carefully,
will help to develop a
keen sense of pitch and
intonation. Adapted for
cello by Horacio
Contreras, teacher,
chamber musician, and
recitalist.
When I
first became familiar
with Roland Vamos’
Exercises, I was
impressed with itsclarity
and effectiveness. The
book focuses on a few
important fundamentals of
string playing,and it is
accessible to students of
every age. Moreover, its
tonal organization in C
major makesit simple and
easy to understand. I
recognized the potential
this book could have for
cellists,and after
spending several months
working on an adaptation,
I witnessed its results
in buildingand
maintaining important
fundamentals of
technique.Mr.
Vamos’ Exercises
is comprised of simple
patterns of double-stops
in sevenpositions. There
are two basic groups of
variations: seven
double-stop variations in
differentcombined rhythms
that develop finger
coordination and
independence of the left
hand, andnine bowing
variations that use
détaché at the
frog, middle and tip of
the bow to work onstring
crossings, coordination,
and balance of the bow.
The whole work provides
training thatimproves
intonation, sound, and
ease of playing in all
positions and all parts
of the bow.In order to
adapt Mr. Vamos’
book for cello, I needed
to make some
modifications tothe
original. To address the
different needs of the
neck and the thumb
positions, I chose to
writetwo separate books.
I kept the original
ascending stepwise motion
for subsequent
variationsin Book I by
following a diatonic
scale on the top line of
the patterns. However, I
modifiedthe tonal
framework to adjust to
the more limited range of
the cello. Therefore,
unlike in
Mr.Vamos’ book,
variations in Book I do
not ascend through the
positions in a uniform
pattern.I also switched
the order of patterns to
create a gradual increase
in difficulty. In Book
II, Iadded options that
work on the fourth finger
and an extended left hand
frame, and at the end,
Iincluded five sets of
variations with different
bowing alternatives.Mr.
Vamos provides a number
of specific instructions
regarding left hand
techniquein his
exercises. For his
original version, two
fingers must remain down
for almost the entireset
of variations, providing
a solid reference for the
frame of the hand. In
variations H and I,he
instructs students to
lift these fingers when
they are not being used.
In the case of
thumbposition on cello,
lifting the thumb could
make the hand unstable;
therefore, I suggested
thatthe thumb remains
down while the other
fingers are lifted
alternately in H and I. I
have foundthis exercise
quite useful to work on
thumb independence and
relaxing the thumb while
usingother fingers.Mr.
Vamos gives precise
instructions for the
bowing exercises as well.
Following hisdirections,
the exercises should be
performed with a relaxed
hand and flexible
fingers. Thenotes should
be consistently connected
even when crossing
strings. The bowing
patterns shouldbe
performed at the frog,
the middle and the tip of
the bow in every
position.
