Learning Together 2: Cello Book & Online Audio

Three master educators with over a century of combined classroom, studio, and conducting experience built this resource from the ground up to solve real teaching scenarios. The sequential design and flexible instrumentation mean you can use the same pieces across heterogeneous groups, solo instruction, and full ensemble work without rearranging. The included audio tracks offer genuine performance models (solo, ensemble, and accompaniment versions) that students can reference between rehearsals.

Each piece unfolds with clear, singable melodies that sit naturally on the cello while supporting parts add warmth and texture without overshadowing the primary line. The arrangements honor the orchestral tradition while staying grounded in the fundamental skills that young string players need to develop.

This book serves cello students in group string classes, private lesson settings, and mixed-level ensembles from elementary through early secondary levels. It works equally well for students learning to read music for the first time and for those developing solo technique and ensemble awareness simultaneously.

• Assign students the solo track first to hear the melodic line with clean phrasing and intonation, then move to ensemble performances to understand how their part sits within the full arrangement.
• Use the piano accompaniment tracks during sectional work to build rhythmic independence and confidence before bringing parts together.
• Encourage mixed-level ensembles to double parts strategically; stronger students can carry the melody while developing players anchor harmony and bass lines.
• Record your own class or ensemble performances against the accompaniment tracks to give students an immediate sense of how close they are to professional sound quality.

Build your spring concert around a mixed-level cello ensemble, assigning advanced students the melody and harmony while newer players support the bass line. The sequential nature of the book also makes it ideal for a semester-long unit on ensemble skills, with each piece introducing slightly more rhythmic or intonational complexity than the last.

• Reading unison and harmony parts in first position
• Matching pitch and tone within an ensemble
• Developing rhythmic independence while listening to other parts
• Understanding score layout and how parts relate to the whole
• Establishing consistent vibrato and bow control through sustained melodic passages
• Building confidence in solo and group performance contexts