I never realized how much watching videos help until I found videos on the Sonata In C major For Cello by Jean-Baptiste Breval. I wanted to get the rhythm of the first 6-7 measures. I found a couple of great videos for learning from and a few to just listen to to get the general feel of the full piece, also makes learning easy, but the video itself was just for sharing the piece by the performer. The learning ones also fit that bill, but were not full speed tempo.

Here is a lesson a little boy is getting with this song. This little boy is fantastic! First I watched him. Then I watched a few more times to get tips from his fantastic teacher. Sometimes it is hard to hear or understand her, but there is enough to get the point. This video was so helpful, particularly with those first three chords. It was not the compete sonata, and I have not found a continuation video, but it has that beginning section I am working on and the next section that will most likely be added Wednesday, and continues far enough that maybe it will become easier to learn as I continue:

Then I found this video of a cellist playing this sonata at a slower speed than normal.

This is long because it is a slower tempo but I can fast forward to sections I am working on. I believe I watched another song played by this cellist at a slow tempo a few years ago. This helped me to really hear the rhythm of the last of the few measure we were working on for this week. It also helped me hear get the rhythm for that entire few measures we are doing. It put it all together. It also helped me familiarize me with the next few measures. I have continued on to the next logical break, what I think will be added this week.

I wanted to familiarize myself with that next section so I wasn’t playing so raw during the lesson that if there were spots I had trouble with I would not be able to identify them to ask questions. If there is a trouble spot and I am stuck all week because I don’t know how to do it, that is a week wasted. Hopefully, this will help alleviate that possibility.

This is a full tempo version. I found this helpful because it helped with my bowing and posture. Posture not is the sense of sitting up straight, but the relaxed posture and how it changes with the music. Watching her bowing lighten up in spots, etc. This video helped me immensely with my bowing technique and loosening me up.

I posted this in the cello learning section. I hope that violinists and violists also take a look because it could help with those, too.

I hope you all found benefit from these three videos. I know I did. I have actually made great progress in the last few days since I found these videos. I corrected rhythm problems, the chords at the beginning are coming along and less miss and more hit now. I am more confident that I can do this. All three videos combined have a lot to offer.