@mookje Thanks for the encouragement. I was getting a bit concerned. This year I had a lesson on Jan 8. The other ones were all cancelled, at the past minute before I headed out the door. Very frustrating. 

They did not have another cello/violin/viola instructor before. So, I was glad to hear that when I went in to play with my former cello instructor. 

My husband and I thought about pros and cons for each. Since I am able to figure out my violin issues and then spend a lot of time working on that before moving on, been doing it since Jan 8. It made sense to take official cello and schedule extra day with violin when needed.

I switched to using Essential Elements on my own after the second cancelled lesson and that works so much better for me. Plus, I have a fiddle book put out by Mel Bay, I think. It is white with blue ink for the text. I love that book and am working on Going to Boston or something like that. I also have the books I purchased from the ad that was in the for sale section of this forum. I think it may have been from newbieRon. I love those books! They are so good. I think I am good for resource material. I have the online link set up with my Essential Elements and that is great to play along with.

I need to get the books that are just normal bound spiral bound at Staples. So much easier. One of the books I bought from newbieRon, which is another another Mel Bay, is spiral bound. One of the smaller format size books I bought from newbieRon has text too close to the binding to be able to have it done, but the others will be able to be spiral bound. So much easier to use that way.

Thanks, again, for the encouragement. I was not very happy or encouraged as the lessons were being cancelled one by one, but, now that it has happened and snags worked out, I am good to go. 

Nobody to jam with here. Plus, there is no way I would that. Can’t play in with anyone except an instructor and can ot play in front of anyone. This is strictly for me. I habe a former cello teacher that I played my violin with as she player her cello with yesterday. That wss fun, but she is the only one thag will happen witn.

I just can’t do it, unfortunately.

@Fiddlerman That is actually a good idea. I could also do it to some of my CD’S, right?

I just finished working on Book 1 from the Essential Elements for Strings Violin Book 1. What I like is the EE series online interactive ability. I have an account for my violin EE books, and account for my Viola EE books, and and account for my cello EE books.

Since the organization of the way the instruction is presented varies from the progression in the Suzuki series my former instructor used, I decided to start with book 1 on my own to catch anything the EE series did earlier than the Suzuki. The EE series has a lot more fingering exercises to help with accuracy, too. I did those tonight, too.

With the online interactive feature, you can select a background instrument to play with. The background does not do the melody you are doing, it does accompaniment. If you want, you can just have a metronome. 

I tried to connect my iphone via bluetooth to a little speaker we have that usually connects to the phone, of course, tonight, it would not work. Therefore, it was hard for me to hear the accompaniment. Will have to have my husband check it out later. Bluetooth was turned on on the phone. It beeped showing it connected but the sound only came through the iphone. I was using the Essential Elements App in my iphone. 

I think I will try to do it to some of my Peter Paul and Mary in a few weeks. I have to get a little better with timing first. I was working in thag with the EE app tonight.

Earlier today I received my EE cello book 1, so I was brushing up on my cello to prepare for my lesson Friday, would have been tomorrow, but I won’t have a car tomorrow, so this week, my first cello lesson with the new instructor will be Friday. That is a rare occasion and probably won’t happen again on a Wednesday for a long time.

I was in the middle of Suzuki book 2 when I stopped cello for violin. As with the violin, the progression for cello is different, so I want to catch anything that the EE series touched on earlier than the Suzuki method.

I could actually use my cello with my CD’s after I get my cello up to snuff, too. Thanks for the idea.

I was wondering what that post about you comic gold post was referring to, too?