Early Start on the Cello Volume 2

Early Start on the Cello Volume 2

For more than three decades the ‘Sassmannshaus Tradition’ has been the household name for excellence in beginner string methods in German-speaking countries. More than half a million students have successfully learned to play string instruments using this publication.  

What makes this cello method so unique?

- The leading German cello method now available in English.

- Large print notes and texts as well as many colourful illustrations are ideal for pre-school as well as school children.

- Note reading is emphasised from the first lesson, encouraging ensemble playing from the very beginning.

- Songs and scales in different positions are easily mastered within the first year of playing to ensure that children are not confined to first position playing.

- Advanced cello techniques such as varied bow strokes and shifting are introduced in a basic form

Being a large instrument, the cello makes a lasting impression on many small children, frequently leading to a lifelong rapport. “Früher Anfang auf dem Cello” – the 'Cello Sassmannshaus' – was developed specifically to make proper musical and technical progress on this special instrument.  It transfers the principles and experience gained from the violin tutor in order to ensure quick success.

Volume 2 in our series, with colour illustrations and easy-to-read fingering charts, is designed to expand the technique of the left and right hands and above all to introduce playing in other keys.  In addition to nursery rhymes and folk songs, it contains classical recital pieces for two cellos to help learners improve their ability to read music and to prepare them for ensemble playing.  The second finger is included, and students become acquainted with and receive training in dotted notes, 16th notes (semiquavers), first double stops, the extended finger pattern and alternating between normal and extended finger patterns.  Depending on the pupil's level of achievement, Volume 3 of the cello tutor can be used in parallel.  It is subdivided by finger patterns and key and provides easily locatable sections with additional practice material.

The authors
In 1976 Egon Saßmannshaus, one of the most experienced and renowned violin teachers in Germany, published his tutor “Früher Anfang auf dem Cello”.  This standard work for young string players quickly became the most popular and best-selling tutor in the German-speaking countries for beginners on this instrument.  His son-in-law Michael Corssen, the co-author of Volumes 3 and 4 , is a baroque cellist and conductor who heads a music school in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Egon Sassmannshaus's son, Kurt Sassmannshaus, functioned as co-editor of the English-language edition, “Early Start on the Cello” (BA 8996, BA 8997, BA 8998, BA 8999), adapting his father's successful tutor to meet the needs and requirements of English-speaking children.

The combined knowledge and experience of the Sassmannshaus/Corssen family make these four volumes the most thoroughly researched and thought-through cello tutor for beginners all over the world.