Best string songbooks according to redditors

At least a handful of lessons. If your school has an orchestra program, ask that teacher if they could give you a few-even if they weren't a bass major, they will be a better start than going without any type of instruction.


As far as books,Simandl is one of the main schools of playing. I started with Simandl and then supplemented it with the Michael Moore Bass Method. The catch, I studied each of those under the guidance of a bass teacher. Initially in high school (I was in the band program, took lessons from the middle school orchestra teacher-an actual bassist), and then in college. From there, it was a hodge podge of others when my teacher deemed them appropriate ranging from Petracci to Ray Brown.

A copy of fiddle time starters

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fiddle-Time-Starters-CD-beginner/dp/0193365847/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1536037987&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=fiddle+time+joggers+violin+book+1&dpPl=1&dpID=51FOIxu2sYL&ref=plSrch

and Team Strings Violin

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Team-Strings-Richard-Duckett-Paperback/dp/B00GOHIKXC/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1536038070&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=team+strings+violin+book+1&dpPl=1&dpID=51Ed7yveHgL&ref=plSrch

Both good for learning. I warn you that the first is aimed at the under 11s but it works. I use Team Strings because my teacher is a sixth form student who learned through it (There aren't many tutors in the inbred town of which I live, the other one is an ex friend of my tutor).

Despite the slating they get for learning on, it might be worth investing in an electric violin that will fit a set of headphones and a 9v battery. On top of that you want your practice mute. You can get a small disc one which attaches between the tailpiece and the bridge on the strings. You then slide it up and clip it over the bridge when you need it on.

Video lessons on YouTube...

Alison Sparrow - violin and piano
https://www.youtube.com/user/theonlinepianotutor

Man with a cheesy grin - Violin Tutor Pro
https://www.youtube.com/user/violintutorpro

I can only vouch for Ms Sparrow, she and the fiddle time book got me going before I went to spend time and money with a tutor.

As for Mr Wahabi, you might want to point out that proclaiming one self as holy is heresy as such a thing could only be determined by a deity. Then blast him with some Sunn O))) as you slowly close the door. I recommend this one in particular https://youtu.be/7c6uMbP4--E

https://www.amazon.com/American-Fiddle-Method-Beginning-Techniques/dp/0786688025/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484678977&sr=8-1&keywords=american+fiddle+method

https://www.amazon.com/American-Fiddle-Method-Intermediate-Techniques/dp/0786688033/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484678977&sr=8-2&keywords=american+fiddle+method

https://www.amazon.com/American-Fiddle-Method-Canadian-Styles/dp/0786695722/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484678993&sr=8-1&keywords=american+fiddle+method+canadian

Dave Reiner's Old Time Fiddling Across America

I'm an adult learner and I started with Suzuki. I actually like it. I also use Whistler's Introducing the Positions Vol. 1 and my preferred scale book is The Complete Scale Compendium for Violin by Larry Clark although I also have Galamian's Contemporary Violin Technique. I like Larry Clark's because it's good for beginners and very thorough. Galamian's and Carl Flesch's Scale System are good if you're really familiar with scales and need something more advanced.

YouTube has a lot of excellent videos. I prefer Eddy Chen if I'm stuck with something really particular. His advice helped me to really develop a practice routine that helped me stay focused and actually accomplish something. If you do Suzuki, there are some instructors who do play along videos (some even do slower tempo versions) of the etudes which I find helpful.

Yes they are very very worth it!!! If you pair the book with an app that can slow down songs like CAPO on iOS, it is golden (or simply use Youtube's slow down option on the desktop site)! There are variations of those tab books, some of them only show the name of the chord and nothing else. Make sure you get the version with the actual tabs with lead parts and everything. This is the one I have: https://www.amazon.com/JOHN-MAYER-HEAVIER-THING-Play/dp/1575607336/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478739400&sr=8-1&keywords=heavier+things+guitar+tab

"PLAY IT LIKE IT IS" seems to be the indication of the exact version you need.

Book wise, the two things I could not be without, both for initially learning technique and also revisiting as well are the Whitehouse Scale and Arpeggio Album (UK|US) and then also the Feuillard Daily Exercises (UK|US) (both Schott published).
Record yourself playing and watch it back, don't be afraid to use a metronome and a tuner.

Personally I'm looking in to learning to draw right now, but the approach is very similar for effective learning, focus on technical skills as they are the base to build off. Style is great to develop, but without the technique there to support it you could be building fundamentally poor habits. Things like bow control are honestly easier to understand when being observed, but Scales and Arpeggios will help you understand basic shapes you should form for each key helping you to not fear key signatures with more sharps and flats.

Feuillard is key to building all technical habits. The book is split in to 5 sections so you can focus on one part at a time, and once you've built up your skills can then mix and match exercises from each section to make sure you keep on top of everything. The book helps build a solid left hand, good transitions between hand positions, smoother bow control and for the bolder also working on thumb position technique.

It's imperative you have the cello tuned properly when you play, and from early on be relentless on ensuring you are in tune, so if necessary go very slowly and use a tuner to check each note is right before moving ahead. This will help train your ear to pick out when a note is not only out of tune, but better understand whether you are flat (under) or sharp (over). A good way to mix this would be using a tuner while you approach the first exercises in Feuillard as they focus on smaller shapes such as moving between two close notes. There are a great many free apps out there for smartphones that can help with tuning (personally use insTuner on iOS).

The other side to understand would be rhythm. Again, a good thing to revisit even if you have musical history elsewhere as it never hurts to check. Metronomes are an essential tool for learning in my opinion. When approaching a new piece of music it is best to ignore style initially to focus on accuracy. Once you know the music then you can play with how you want to present it, but until then, keeping a steady and consistent pace is a good habit to build. Again, many great free apps for this, (personally using Metronome by Soundbrenner on iOS). I'd personally recommend focusing on note accuracy before rhythm as a priority to ensure that what you're playing is correct before adding the pressure of time constraints through keeping tempo.

I started learning when I was 6, and for 10 years of learning through teachers my schools had there was a focus only on learning the music for each graded exam and barely any focus on the scales and arpeggios part and worse still no real focus on understanding technique beyond the music I would be examined with. It wasn't until 10 years later, well after finishing the graded system and getting a private teacher that I was completely pulled apart for my lack of technical understanding and foundation. From here I was told I had to get the two books I mentioned at the start and they formed the basis of not only my practice at home, but also each lesson I had with them. I noticed a rapid change in what I could do as a cellist though, seeing sight reading become incredibly more simple having the shapes and sounds already in my head. The movements and habits you build speed up your learning process everywhere else too, so technique always and first.

Lastly, even if you don't pursue a teacher right now, still get others opinions on how you are progressing, even if that means putting a recording of yourself and sharing it with other cellists to receive feedback. I've seen others do that here and until you build enough knowledge to be able to check yourself effectively, it's always good to get another's opinions on where you are at in case you subconsciously have been maybe avoiding improving on one skill or maybe even just need to return to another.

Hope that helps.

EDIT:
If you want a good selection of music to learn alongside technical development, baroque music in general is perfect for that given the way music and harmony was approached during that era of music, but I'd recommend the Bach Six Suites for Cello (Barenreiter BA 320 UK|US).

For Upright Bass Technique: Simandl New Method

Also, the best way to learn is to listen to bassists you dig, and transcribe their lines; and then listen and transcribe the bassists they dig, to understand where they got their sound from. Start simple, then move to transcribing more complex stuff.

Violin is as demanding as Piano. Perhaps that is reason they won't let you do both. The thing is you can do so many things to change the quality of its sound, it has its own "tricks " The bow is the singer, and you have to learn how to make it sing, that by yourself would be really difficult without someone telling you what ,how and when. I couldn't afford lessons at first besides I wanted a nice, good teacher to help me out. So I was on my own for about 6 weeks, I play piano also and have a solid music background, I wouldn't say I was playing violin, I was playing the notes, sight reading and exploring the instrument. It was great fun! I was holding the instrument as a baroque violin (no chin rest or shoulder pad, and baroque bow) I figured it would be much easier later on to have a big (switch) change all together once with a teacher, besides I was afraid to hurt myself. You can do a lot on your own but I trust you will love it so much you will soon arrange to have lessons, cause you will want to play and sound better. There are many very generous people teaching on line in YouTube channels unfortunately they cannot see if you do what they teach you correctly. It makes a world of difference, believe me. I have now a teacher and I sound like a completely different person. I bookmarked this site the other day, for the adventurous out there who wish to give violin a try. They are the only books I know which actually come with intructions. They have 2 books, not only they come with backing tracks, they also offer video tutorials for each piece. Their main focus is for adults, who are learning or returning to the violin. Self taught or with a tutor. http://violin-works.com/ You can find the books in amazon as well https://www.amazon.com/Violinworks-Book-CD-comprehensive-beginner/dp/019340267X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502888762&sr=8-1&keywords=Violinworks

Is this what you're looking for?

I want to try something new! Which is learning my violin that I've had for a little while. Something that might help is these charts so I can know where my fingers go in order to play the notes I want. It also has the actual notes on a chart in case I forget which note is which. Very helpful.

David Popper: High School Of Cello Playing Opus. 73 (Schirmer Library of Classics) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1458418561/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_jnKxDbDWFR26Y

Bach: Six Suites for Violoncello solo BWV 1007-1012 (Cello) Sheet Music https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00006M06L/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_6nKxDbZBFQ6CC

The Great Cello Solos https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/071192998X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_vpKxDb17V51HW

These are my bibles. The Popper is used for studies and the Bach for both. The final book is some of the greatest cello pieces and accompaniments (like Faure’s Elégie and The Swan, etc) however it misses out the Rachmaninoff sonata (the third movement is my favourite)

I'm a big fan of Patterns for Jazz for day to day exercises. Although the title indicates jazz music, this is a great exercise book for much of the harmony that you see running through rock, blues, jazz, and most popular music.

Another favorite of mine are the Bach Solo Cello Suites. I'd get the cello music rather than any transcriptions for bass. IMHO they all sound beautiful on bass and you'll run the gamut from relatively straightforward to very challenging.

Two books I would suggest are
The Bach cello suites. [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhcjeZ3o5us
Sheet music. [2] http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Cello-Suites-1007-1012-Starker/dp/B004610HD4/ There are many out there (some cheaper than this) But this is the copy that I have. I like the fingerings and the bowings.
CD [3] http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Cello-Suites-Johann-Sebastian/dp/B0000CG8EF/ I like Pablo Casals’ recording (of the several I own) because he takes the pieces faster. Yo-Yo Ma and Jacqueline Mary du Pré have good recordings as well.
This has already been mentioned many times on this thread because it’s truly a classic. If he doesn’t have a collection of all 6 then this is a good choice. The first suite is the most commonly heard. It might be a bit hard in the beginning but it’s a collection of pieces he can really grow with. I got a book of the six suites when I was nine and I still play them. I remember the prelude of the 2nd suite got me into the Phoenix Youth Symphony.
Every Body’s Favorite Cello Solos. Sheet music. [4] http://www.thejuilliardstore.com/browse.cfm/cello-solos-(everybodys-favorite-series-volume-40)/4,31636.html Sorry not an Amazon link, those guys only had a used version for $75 (wtf). Either way the link includes a list of the songs that come in the collection. You also get a piano accompaniment, but no worries the piano part has no melody, only supporting harmony. He should find some of the songs easier and other songs will be too overwhelming. Looking through my copy, it ranges from around year 1 to year 3 music. Another book that should last over the years.
Man this is hard. Cello music for the first few years is the hardest to find. There are a lot of different series intended to teach like Suzuki with the “Suzuki method” and the Essential Elements series. I played a few of each of those books and they weren’t bad, but I never really liked them. I had and loved a printed version of the e-book for “Music Book 1 - Cello Part A (melody)” [5] http://www.celloonline.com/cellomusicbooks.htm but can’t find a printed version now. It might not be a bad idea to take him to a music store and have him look around to find something his level (maybe on the day of the anniversary ) I wish I could be of more help, tell me how it goes.