title: My Very First Cello Method, Vol. 2: My First Steps to Playing the Cello and Understanding Music Theory
author:  Kathryn Schutmaat 
description: Kathryn Schutmaat is a classically trained, professional cellist from a family of musicians who began her career as a concert cellist at an early age. She has worked for more than 25 years in symphony orchestras, chamber music groups, and as a cello teacher at the university level. She is a founding member of the Venezuelan National Youth Symphony Orchestra in 1975 as well as the prestigious Simn Bolvar Symphony Orchestra in 1981, both conducted by Maestro Jos Antonio Abreu, creator of the highly praised El Sistema system which is used today in many countries worldwide. In 1992 she became the principal cellist in the Barranquilla Symphony Orchestra in Barranquilla, Colombia. She later became the professor of cello at the University Of Valle Arts Faculty in Cali, Colombia, in addition to working as a full-time orchestral cellist in the Valle Symphony Orchestra and as the associate principal cellist in the Cali Chamber Orchestra during the same period. Kathryn began teaching children as a young cellist herself and believes that the earliest years of training are essential for the success of cello playing.
zlib_text: ##  **Learn to Play the Cello**
  
  ### Beginners  
  **Introduction**
  
  Perhaps you’ve fallen in love with its rich sound. Or maybe the idea of
  playing a unique instrument appeals to you. Or maybe you just happened to come
  across this book.  Whatever your reason is for picking up “How to Play the
  Cello,” you’re close to learning  about a string instrument capable of
  producing some of the most full-bodied sounds you’ve ever heard.
  
  Learning how to play a string instrument requires incredible diligence and
  patience. I recommend you have a teacher guide you through this book. If
  that’s not your style, be sure to at least observe the masters. Check out
  Youtube for some videos of Yo Yo Ma, Erik Friedlander, Pablo Casals, and
  Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, to name a few. Do more than listen to
  their resonating sound - watch how smoothly they cross strings and slide into
  new positions. Take note of their expressiveness and flawless execution. The
  music they’re making is a product of hours and