I think most of you read my post about losing my violin teacher. I had only had two lessons all year. All the others were cancelled. I have been teaching myself all year. As a matter of fact, thank you all for sharing your experiences and playing on this forum. It has all been so helpful to me to keep me forging along, and not just give it all up. Thank you, @fiddlerman for providing this forum. 

So, I start cello this week. I am very excited. I have new strings for Belle on order from, where else but, Fiddlershop. Clare is a peach! My new instructor, as I stated in another thread, uses Essential Elements for Strings. I had Cello book 2 already, and my book 1 arrived today, as I was playing Belle. She is a little dull, so the strings will be really nice when they arrive.

We stopped at the music store today on our way home from grocery shopping to drop off a book my former violin teacher told me to check out back in January at our last lesson. I still had it because I haven’t seen her since, neither has the store. Texts but nothing in person. That is a whole other story that I won’t get in to. The neat thing is that I talked to the store owner. He said that my new cello instructor can do violin and viola, he is mainly a cello player, but plays all three. 

I was talking to him and said that I was actually very excited about my first cello lesson. I have been brushing up. I told him that I was going to continue the violin and viola on my own. I told him that we were hoping that I could pay for a lesson with my new instructor, for either as needed, when there is a free slot, if I am having difficulty with something. The store owner actually told me that we could do cello one week and violin one week. I told him I would consider that after I get my cello back to where I was before I took up violin.

It would actually be a good idea to alternate because that would give me two weeks between lessons for each instrument, which would be good for me. I will give this considerable thought. I can’t afford to pay for two lessons a week. Would not be able to drive in twice a week, either. This could work, after I get my cello smoothed out.

So far, things seem to be working out. Can’t wait to give Belle her new strings.

I have just ordered the third book of the Essential Series for each instrument. If I am going to work on my own, I am going tp use this series, as does the current instructor. Based on the Essential books I have, I am actually in the middle of book 2 in them, but since the organization is different than the former book series, there are some things in the earlier books the former series did not do. 

I am super excited. I sure hope this instructor is good and sticks around.