Baby, You’ve Changed
Since the last time you picked up your cello, a few things have happened:
- You’ve grown out of those unfortunate bangs
- You’ve learned how to set boundaries around who you are and what you want.
- You no longer give a shit about what the “popular kids think” (admit it, you’ve peeped them on Facebook)
- You’ve finally realized what was “nerdy” about you is actually pretty badass.
It’s been a long road, but you’ve evolved into a different (more elevated) version of yourself.
But not everything has to be left behind.
Cello Forgives You.
Cello’s not bitter. Cello witnessed your highest highs and your lowest lows. Cello’s always know that you’d eventually be back because what the two of you had was real.
And now…thanks to a not-so-convenient pandemic year…it’s the perfect moment to reunite.
You’ve (involuntarily) been given the chance to slow down and remember what’s important to you and what brings you to life. And the cello is the waiting for you (cue slow motion running on the beach sequence)
And just like you, the cello world has gotten some upgrades.
Check out cross discipline cellists like Kelsey Lu, and Zoe Keating as well as the new guard of classical superstars like Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Pablo Ferrandez, and Kian Soltani… not to mention all the cellists sharing their creative processes and practice on YouTube and Instagram) It’s a whole new world.
Learning cello has changed, too. (at least when you study with us)
Because of how we teach
Our Attitude
While we definitely place a high priority on healthy playing habits, we’ve done away with a lot of the guilting/shaming/“practicing feels like a chore” that comes along with taking instrumental lessons.
Our commitment to equity
Everything from how we’ve structured our business, how we pay our teachers, the payment options we offer to students, the repertoire we teach, and our pedagogical philosophy is done with the understanding that it needs to be equitable. We’re here to set a new (and better) example for string pedagogy and make cello more widely available as a hobby.
Agency and choice
We are in a collaborative partnership with each of our students– you get to have a say in what you learn and we value your feedback! Super formal and intimidating we are not.
Because you know who you are
Bring Your Full Self
You’re bringing your personality and your character into cello playing– you’re not a small child performing tricks for the amusement of others, you’re a grown-ass person.
Cello Makes You Cool
You no longer need to hide the fact that you play cello. It’s actually one of the things that makes you special and unique.
New Opportunities For Playing
Opportunities to play have gotten a lot cooler: you can play along to pre-recorded tracks of classical pieces, make friends and get together for duets and trios, and learn how to create your own loops and mess around with delay and reverb and distortion in Ableton or Garageband.
In the same way that you would never repeat your middle school haircut (bangs, ugh), there’s no reason to repeat the parts of cello lessons that didn’t feel good when you were younger (getting nagged about practicing, being tortured with a metronome, feeling confused about reading tenor clef, getting singled out in front of the entire orchestra because you messed up your part).
This time, you can bring your full adult self to the cello and get to have a say in what and how you learn.
It’s time to stop saying “I used to play cello” (coming from a cellist: that shit sounds sad) and start moving forward through life AS a cello player…not a former cello player.