Abstract
The main purpose of this essay is to develop the most effective and logical sequence of skills for teaching children how to play the cello. This essay deals with the questions "When does one introduce specific skills for playing the cello?" and "Is there a sequence of skills that is universally the most beneficial for learning how to play the cello?" The chapters include a detailed examination of the existing cello methods currently available to cello teachers, and explore whether the ideal comprehensive cello sequence exists. It is important for teachers to have a complete plan for the young cellist and to have the proper repertoire that will make this thorough education a possibility. Many teachers use multiple scale and method books that do not fit into a sequence. These books are not designed to be used with each other, and it can be inconvenient to have numerous books in every lesson. I have created a method that contains a logical sequence of skills, spans from the very beginning stages of learning to the most advanced stages of learning, has corresponding scales and exercises for each piece, and avoids confusion and clutter of multiple books by placing scales, exercises, and pieces side by side. This study is meant to assist young teachers by providing a clearly progressive and comprehensive cello method with a corresponding instructional website.