Review: ‘The Cellist’s Guide to Scales and Arpeggios’ Covers Information Every Cellist Needs to Know

By Miranda Wilson

The Cellist’s Guide to Scales and Arpeggios by master teachers Theodore Buchholz and Robert Jesselson solves a problem the cello world has had for a long time: the lack of a comprehensive and explanatory scale book for students of all levels. With stated goals such as “progressive order,” “a sequential blueprint,” and “a logical and systematic order,” this book covers information every cellist needs to know in a way that preempts common errors and misconceptions.

Buchholz and Jesselson’s lack of dogma is refreshing: they recognize that there is often more than one way to play and teach a given concept, and to this end they present many different viewpoints in fingering patterns for scales, arpeggios, and double-stops. Their thoughtful pedagogy for frequently misunderstood aspects of technique demonstrates the depth of their combined teaching experience. Their explanation of extended position, to give just one example, is a godsend for confused learners and exasperated teachers alike. Another outstanding feature is the inclusion of QR codes that take players to short videos of the authors modeling concepts from the book and to drones for intonation practice. 

The aim of this book was no doubt to create a resource that will last students from beginner through collegiate levels of playing. Buchholz and Jesselson’s use of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” to relate finger patterns to intervallic relations within various trichords will be memorable for children and first-time learners and a handy reference guide for more advanced players. Another user-friendly feature is their order for beginning scales; unlike many books that order scales chromatically, or by the key signatures of the circle of fifths, Buchholz and Jesselson teach one-octave scales according to the number and type of extensions. (First are C, G, D, and F, which require no extensions, then B-flat and E-flat for backward extensions and A and D for forward extensions.) Suzuki teachers will be delighted to see the “Twinkle Variations” rhythms integrated into suggested scale bowing patterns; in this and many other respects The Cellist’s Guide is an ideal supplement for the lack of systematic technical instruction in the Suzuki Method books. In all aspects of technique, Buchholz and Jesselson demystify principles in a way that will help beginners control their equipment and more advanced players to understand the why as well as the what of efficient fundamentals.

The Cellist’s Guide to Scales and Arpeggios is a significant achievement in present-day cello teaching that stands on the shoulders of two centuries of pedagogy. Many concepts come directly or indirectly from Louis Feuillard’s Daily Exercises (1919), which the authors describe as “the cello bible”; others acknowledge the contributions of modern pedagogues such as Richard Aaron, Gordon Epperson, and Hans Jørgen Jensen. A chart showing the terminology of fingerboard positions and half-positions recalls that from Friedrich August Kummer’s cello method (1839); exercises in finger-to-finger movement across intervals are an apparent nod to Bernhard Cossmann’s Agility Exercises (1876) and Julius Klengel’s Daily Exercises (1909–11). Fingering system options include several from Feuillard, plus a “universal fingering” pattern first suggested by Carl Davidoff in the nineteenth century. Alongside these are more contemporary materials, including non-diatonic scales and scales in quarter-tones.

The Cellist’s Guide to Scales and Arpeggios is a much-needed book, and one that I plan to adopt in my own teaching. I hope all cello teachers and students will do the same. There is no doubt that Buchholz and Jesselson’s work will become canonical in publications on pedagogy.