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‘Early focus on musicality helps adults thrive’ - Billy Tobenkin on adult learning

2023-08-23T08:17:00

Billy Tobenkin teaching 3

Billy Tobenkin on why he believes it is beneficial for adult learners to dive straight into ‘grown-up’ repertoire – offering tips on how to proceed

Picking up the cello as an adult can be a bit like living in one of those small frontier towns in the days of the Wild West. There are rules, regulations and even a sheriff (your teacher), but things can often feel a bit more lawless and unstructured than life in the big city. Out here there’s no telling what can happen next, especially when it comes to choosing repertoire.

Having started the cello from scratch at 25, I found myself in such a situation. After a few months of hard work and rapid progress, I asked my teacher if I could start learning the famous Prelude from Bach’s Cello Suite no.1 in G major BWV1007, to which she agreed…

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