1. Introduction and warm up activities

Meet Ana! From an early age Ana developed a strong passion for teaching and since 2008 she has been teaching cello and conducting string orchestras at different independent schools and institutions in Berkshire. In this resource Ana shares some ideas about teaching Chez le Docteur from our Grade 3 syllabus.

When introducing a new piece to a pupil it is very important to build a clear picture of the character of the musical work before they play their first note with their instruments. I will perform the piece to them or preferably play an audio recording with accompaniment that I consider of good musical quality, so that they can build a clear idea of what they are aiming for as a final result. We discuss the composer, cultural background and time when the piece was composed. If the lesson time allows, looking at other forms of art of the similar period can be very inspiring. If the session is short, I would ask my pupil to read the footnote out loud from the bottom of the page, as it is concise and helps to achieve this aim. 

Warm up activities

Ask your pupil to check the time signature and key signature of the piece. Play through the scale and arpeggio together with your pupil, remembering specific fingering patterns, such as when to use fingers 2 and 3 in the first position, to apply it later to the piece. It could be a good idea to discuss the different dynamics of the piece at this point and try the scale/arpeggio with different volumes. 

Maybe during the second lesson, a good warm up to this piece would be to practise some sight-reading in this particular key.