Stringtastic Book 2: Cello: Cello Book & Online Audio

The pieces take you on a musical tour across accessible but genuinely interesting styles. Rather than abstract technical exercises, you're playing melodies and participating in arrangements that sound like real music from the moment you begin.

This book serves cellists in their first or second year of study who are ready to move beyond Grade 1 fundamentals. It works equally well in private lessons, group classes, and flexible ensemble settings where mixed-string combinations are the norm.

• Download both the full backing track and the piano-only version before your first run-through. Use the piano-only track when you want to focus on intonation and ensemble balance without the extra orchestration.
• Work through the pieces in order. Each one builds on the previous, so skipping ahead will leave gaps in the technical foundation the book establishes.
• When playing duets with another cellist or different string instrument, ask your partner to rehearse the piece separately first so you can focus entirely on listening and adjusting together.

Use Stringtastic Book 2 as the core text throughout a student's first two years, pairing it with the corresponding violin, viola, or double bass books if you teach multiple strings. The 62 pieces provide material for student recitals, informal classroom performances, and mixed-instrument ensemble experiences without requiring outside repertoire.

• Playing in positions from first through third position
• Reading in treble clef and common time signatures
• Executing bow control across multiple bow strokes and articulations
• Developing secure intonation in ensemble contexts
• Building confidence through musical rather than mechanical practice
• Playing equal-level duets with other string instruments