Notes For Rosetta Etudes

Introduction
These so called etudes (I think they are more like Progressive exercises) were written in response to a
challenge by a Suzuki teaching friend of mine asking me if it would be possible to create a teacher's
method for some of the core concepts from The Improvisors Guide To The Cello in such a way that it
could be presented to intermediate students with minimal explanation.

Instead of a concert/performance piece, these etudes are designed to shape (or in many cases) reshape
a students concept of the cello fingerboard by relating melody and harmony (using the same fingerings
for scales and arpeggios), developing a full range position based concept of their instrument and
expanding the concep of “positions” to incorperate the full chromatic scale (Also known as my 2+4+1
system).

Any good lesson plan consists of asking the student to make as small a leap as possible between
concurrent steps and in order to build positive habit strenght, I chose to emphasize repetition and
careful sequencing of most to least ergonomic hand patterns over “musicality.”

These Etudes are all based on standard Jazz/Blues changes, including Now's The Time by Charlie
Parker. The Blues is the stylistic and harmonic foundation for many popular forms of music and
because it contains almost all the standard harmonic formulas and turnarounds students will encounter
in Jazz and popular styles, it is an ideal vehicle for developing the ear as well and a viable harmonic
concept on the instrument. That said, my goal was not to teach students any particualr style including
the blues and many of the most critical elements of this type of music (ornaments,feel, discussions
about swing and syncopation etc.) have been left out in order to focus on the task at hand.

That said, the teacher is free to add them during improvisation or rote lick copying at their discretion.

Prerequisites:
Before attempting these etudes for yourself or with your students, one should be familiarity with:

1. The lower positions on the cello, and the abillity to easily read notes up to 4th position.
2. Basic left hand position and comfort with extensions.
3 (Teachers Only) Please watch the videos “Why you can't Improvise on the cello” and “Why are we
talking about scales” on TheImprovisorsGuide.com Youtube page. I will be referenceing other videos
as well that I have made available for free online.

*Ideally, students would also have a basic command of music theory (Chord symbols and spelling /key
signatures, modes etc), however this is not necessary and can be discussed with the student after
studying the etudes themselves.
Supllementary Materials

To get the most out of these materials, I would highly recommend the following supplements:

*Amazing Slowdowner App-Speed up/slow down and loop the background tracks. An indespensable
tool that I havee used for years.

*Jazz Conception By Jim Snidero (Berklee Press)

.. and OF COURSE

*The Improvisor's Guide To The Cello (www.theimprovisorsguide.com)

Concepts:

The etudes are designed to teach the following concepts from I created in The Improvisors Guide:

2+4+1 concept: Developing the Ear/Hand Connection

“Hybridizing,” and “Substitution” of the pentatonic scale
Rosetta System: Least to greatest complexity, “framing”, etc.
Inner Melody: Approaching Changes

Quick Tips:
*Don't play straight through! Repeat/Speed up/Try improvisation or rote copying limiting yourself to
the pitches contained in each exercise. This is a great chance for the teacher to incorperate ornaments
and other stylistic emelmentsif desired.

* no shifting!

*The background track is panned with the cello to the right and rhythm section on the left. This allows
the student to just play with the cello, rhythm section or both.

*The second staff line is intended as an inner melody to help students “Hear Their Way” through the
changes. The student is encouraged to sing the inner melody and memorize it's sound, before
attempting the solo part. Students are then to perform the solo line with the inner melody in the
background (preferably played by the teacher).
*The Fingerboard diagram is designed as a visual aid for students. The hollow note in the first diagram
represents the root, and the hollow note in subsequent diagrams represents the new note being
introduced in that exercise (each exercise adds a new note/color building from arpeggio pentatonic,
hexatonic (Shredding position), tensions (blue notes), full 7 note scale (slip position), and eventually all
the notes of the chromatic scale (1+4+2 method).

The overall sequence was based on ease of fingering with the most difficult cellistic elements (sliding
on the fourth finger and the extend and hop technique) reserved for the end.

After each section has been thouroughly absorbed, you may experiment with the following:

• Call and Response: This can be with or without ornaments if you want to try to introduce
stylistic elements of The Blues.
• Improvisation with rules (IE within the note choices)
• Modulate to at least 2 other keys: This will help intonation/Solidify concept) try first position.

Next Steps:
There is so much good music out there. My work as a teacher has never been to reinvent the wheel
(teaching basic theory etc) but to help students bridge the gap between the unique challenges of our
instrument and the music we wish to play. Once given the proper tools, I've always encouraged
students to dive in to the music they wish to study as soon as possible.

These etudes are a functional way of understanding the fingerboard, in short: a way of thinking that
can be applied to any style. Once students have mastered this material it's helpful to approach music in
the same way great artists do… by singing, playing and copying the music of the masters through
transcriptions!

Rock solos for example, may not go past the pentatonic level of framing but for Jazz, I would highly
recommend progressive etudes to help the students master the standard harmonic formula that exist in
the pantheon of what is now called Jazz. Studying a book like Jim Snidero's Jazz conception and
approaching the fingering through the use of the Rosetta system can be extremely helpful for the few
students who are genuinely interested in Jazz Improvisation.

Enjoy!
Jacob Szekely