The Swan:how to make people cry withyour cello stylings.

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The Swan:part gorgeous concert piece, part headache, 100% essential repertoire.

I have a deeply personal relationship with The Swan: it is my redemption piece. One summer, Iperformed the Prelude to the first Bach suite as part of my participation in Hans Jensen’smaster class. I had a terrible memory slip and train wrecked it as badly as is humanly possi-ble. I ran off the stage under a fog of tears and humiliation. The worst part? I’d have to per-form something else the next week in front of these same friends and faculty, where they’d nodoubt be anxiously awaiting my next prolific failure. Backstage, Hans cradled my face in hishands and told me that I could play whatever I wanted the next week- anything at all. I hadbeen fighting with some Cassado, but could not even muster the thought of attempting it. Inbetween sobs, I sputtered, “I would like to play the Swan.” He smiled and exclaimed, “That’sthe ticket! Next week you’ll make them cry!” And I did. A few years later, I played The Swanfor my high school’s graduation bacceleaurate service. I’d been regarded as a freak and aweirdo artist since about 4th grade. After the service, people who had only demonstrated dis-dain for me and my awkward instrument shook my hand and said things like, “So that’s whatyou’ve been doing all these years? Wow.”

It can be your redemption piece, too. What feels strange under the fingers today will evolveinto something very natural and fluid in just a little time. Don’t worry if the tenor clef is newto you. By the end of this piece, it will be an old friend.

Nearly every measure of this piece presents some sort of challenge that requires a lot of fi-nesse to pull off, and the second measure (the first one we have notes in) is no exception. Theinitial shift from 4th position down to 1st needs to be done quickly and efficiently but withoutpanic.

This exercise reminds you to cultivate awareness of the 1st finger throughout all of yourshifts. Sure, you’re moving from F# to B, from 3 to 1, but the real shift is from 1 to 1, isn’t it?Practice feeling your 1st finger. The second part of the exercise extends the F# and the B toease you into the pace of the shift.

Try to enjoy playing your 4th finger. Yes, it’s shorter, yes it’s weaker. We canhear it when a player is trying to get a note over with. This G is the first andlast note of The Swan- it’s the unavoidable tonal center of the piece. Channelyour best Leonard Rose and “tripod” your 3rd and 4th fingers by keeping yourthumb in the most flexible and supportive position possible. Spend some timeon 4th finger vibrato. Hold each note its true duration, and not a moment less.

The next shift is the real kicker for many. Using the template from the last study, I framed theshift in terms of where the 1st finger has to be in order for 4 to be in the right place, in thiscase, C#. The following measure just runs the shift up and down in 2 different contexts. Relaxand enjoy racking up the reps on this one.

There are 2 ways to accomplish the across-the string D to G that comprises the last 2 notes ofthe second measure. You can barre (smoosh, pancake, etc.) your 2nd finger, or you can do thesneaky 2-1 that I tend to prefer. Try both over the course of a few days and see which one getsyou the more musical result.

It’s one thing to squeeze all of the notes into one bow. It’s another thing entirely tomake it beautiful and non stressful.

nb: If you use a different bowing, you can still benefit from trying this one and be-coming a master of bow speed.

This one is mostly about bow apportionment. The gorgeous scale in measure 4 (and again inm. 20) goes from lovely to lousy in a big hurry if you blow through too much bow as you beginthe ascent.Here is a common device I employ to get students comfortable with long slurs: basically, you“build” a passage by playing the first few notes and extending the last one. Then you add an-other note and extend it. The goal is to feel like you have extra bow at the end, so there’s nopanic.

F# to B. A perfect 4th, which we learned in music school sounds like “Here comes the bride”!Since the friendly A harmonic sits right under your 2nd finger as your 3rd reaches up for theB, I thought I’d scaffold the shift by adding the A as a kind of signpost. As you’re probablynow expecting, the second measure just sends you back and forth over a slur.

The scale in measure 8 looks scarier than it is. It sounds scarier than it is, too. The key here isto be sure of the initial shift and after that, whether you’re being asked for a whole step or ahalf step. Know these things before you even play this passage. Make a photocopy (totallylegal for personal, educational purposes) and write the note names and intervals, if you like.

The first part of this exercise scaffolds the shift onto the A string, highlighting the backwardsmotion of the “old finger” (aka the finger you’re on before the shift). Every high-end teacherI’ve taken lessons from or attended workshops/seminars with stresses the notion of an “oldfinger” versus “new finger” shift. There has to be something to that.

The second half is, as usual, running the shift back and forth over a slur.

There are two perfectly valid fingerings for the end of the scale in measure 8-9. Mine is theone on top, the other is on the bottom. The first measure is practice negotiating the wholetones. You know you have it right if it sounds like “Linus and Lucy” from Peanuts.

The next measure scaffolds the shift up to the high D by having you hit B with your 3rd finger.While you’re playing the B, bring your thumb from behind the neck of the cello, make sureyour 2nd finger is also down, relax your shoulders, and then slide up to the D.

I always practice shifts over slurs, even when the shift occurs on separate bows inthe actual piece. This allows me to hear whether my technique is solid and seamless:a lot of funny stuff can happen during a bow change that can disguise bad techniqueor at the very least distract the ear. Slurs have a way of revealing those unwanted ar-tifacts.

That’s still an A#.

Aside from a C scale, I think the following exercise may be the most-written item in my stu-dents’ notebooks. Depending on the instructor, this piece may be a student’s first practicalforay into thumb position. It certainly was for me, and I’m glad of it.

The first measure runs the shift in measure 10, the second measure runs the shift in measure12. I think there is much value to playing these in succession- not only are the gestures re-lated, but they also echo the initial cascading theme of the piece. Plus, this is, in my opinion,the most commonly seen shape of thumb position until you get into mid-advanced repertiore.Learn these measures well and make them automatic and you’ll be in a better place when youget to Haydn and Brahms. The (4) on the second measure is an alternate fingering.

Measure 22 marks the beginning of the soft, spiralling wind-down. Make sure you carry theintensity of the long B in measure 21 over to the subsequent B and the A.

I like to use dotted rhythms to build agility and confidence. In the first exercise, make surethe bow gets right back to the frog on your up-bows. Keep a sense of connecton to the finger-board throughout. The short notes are short, but they still count. Make them beautiful. Tone.Volume. Start AND finish these notes.

The second exercise is designed to highlight the larger gestures of measures 22 and 23. Focuson the arm and left thumb. Keep an eye on bow speed and make sure the energy of your righthand leans towards the point of contact with the string.

Rick Mooney’s books and Oxford’s Introduction to Thumb position are great forlearning to get around thumb. I like to think of thumb position (when thumb ison the middle harmonic) as a miniature version of 1st position. Thumb=0, 1=1,2=2 and 3, 3=4.

Forming a thumb callous is not comfortable. My advice is to play until the skinhurts, then wrap the playing edge in a cloth (not plastic- it rattles on the string)band-aid when you’re practicing. As soon as you’re done playing, take it off andexpose that thing to the elements. Wash your hands, don’t use any ointments orlotions on that part of your hand. The point is to develop a hard, tough area ofskin. Give it about 10 days and you’ll have something that should protect youfrom the string.

This final exercise should take the anxiety out of measure 25. It’s not a particularly hardshift, but nothing freaks a musician out so much as the prospect of bobbling the final notes ofa tremulous piece. Make your extension clean and very technical (anchor 4, make the stretchbetween 2 and 1 only, thumb relaxed and flexible) and your shift easy. Breathe and make sureyour shoulders aren’t shrugging. As usual, the last part of the study just drills the shift over aslur.

One of the best things I learned from John Walz was the idea that even thoughthe music may be soft or slow, the left hand should always play forte. This doesnot mean tense, but just with plain, simple movements. Change bows with nohesitation. You can do this softly, during a ritardando. Listen to JacquelineduPré or Janos Starker play a slow movement of a concerto. 100% confidence,even at most delicate moment.

References:

The Swan Camille Saint-Saëns. International Music Company. Edited by Rose.Thumb Position for Cello by Rick Mooney. Summy-Birchard.Introduction to Thumb Postion on the Cello by Benoy and Sutton. Oxford Universty Press.

A final note: when you play substantial repertoire, there is always a first pass through eachpiece. Sometimes we luck out and it suits us right away. Other times, it feels like something ofa narrow escape when we move onto the next thing. In any event, pieces like The Swan needtime to mature and evolve as you advance. When you return to it after some months or years,it will reveal more of itself to you, as well as illuminate your progress as a cellist.