Essential Intermediate Cello Books in Order of Study

Cassia teaches shifting quite early: as soon as the student has developed a strong hand, with curved fingers. She almost always introduces shifting with this book.

Adult learners without a teacher may want to study Fourth Position Study Method instead, which has more pictures and explanation.

These are the duets that Cassia wouldn’t want to teach without.

They only use first and fourth position. That means that this book works perfectly alongside Fourth Position for the Cello. Students typically start playing these duets about 20 or so pages into their study of Fourth Position.

Cassia recommends starting Second Position for the Cello when students are fairly secure with fourth position (around pages 30-40 in Fourth Position for the Cello.)

If any of the regular position books are too complicated for students, consider using the Preparatory Studies series (Fourth Position Preparatory Studies, Second Position Preparatory Studies, etc.)

This is a straight-forward third position method that is studied two pages at a time. One page of exercises is followed by a page of short pieces that use the notes or shifts that were just learned.

This book works well when studied after the Fourth Position and Second Position books since it was written to be slightly more complex.

Fun solos that use all of the positions in Intermediate Level I.

These unaccompanied solos are great for students to practice. Since there is no piano part, the solos are more rewarding to work on on their own.

Once students have learned the first four positions, it’s time to start shifting in rows and patterns.

Shifting in rows and patterns teaches students when to extend in each position, on each string.

This book can be used in lessons after a finger exercise and before scales.

If this book is too complex, Cassia assigns C Major Shifting first. After this book, she assigns Shifting in Keys for Cello.

This book gives students major and minor cello scales, major and minor arpeggios, and broken thirds plus variations, all in two octaves.

The variations help the teacher work on a wider range of techniques than just plain scales. Rhythm, bowing, and pattern work are all included. 

The focus on keys means that teachers can assign this book along with repertoire to support the key the piece is in. 

Cassia uses this book to help intermediate students develop left-hand agility and speed while moving through the positions.

The exercises in this book make great warm-ups at the beginning of practice sessions and lessons because they pack a lot of technique in about 45 seconds.

Although students at this level may be confident about their ability to play fast, precisely rhythmic playing is often missing. This book can help students focus on building speed and precision at the same time. 

This second book of enjoyable unaccompanied arrangements for late intermediate cellists highlights folk and fiddle music.

This book can be used for student solos (some of the pieces have been used for wedding preludes and gig music) and are useful teaching material for both intermediate and advanced cello students. 

In these arrangements (and those in Book One), students can be taught to highlight the melodies above the supporting material to make the tunes clear to an audience. 

Reading tenor clef is an essential skill for intermediate and advanced cello music. 

This is an intensive study of tenor clef. There is a lot of back and forth between bass and tenor clef and this is intentional. 

When Cassia wrote this book, she wrote it three times. The first version was too easy; students were able to guess their way through the book without learning the notes. The second version was too hard and students got stuck. The third version kept everything playable but unpredictable in the places where students would zone out and not think.

The many clef changes force students to be awake and aware as they play. Brains tired from hours at school or work will learn to recognize notes and remember them with the techniques in the book. 

Cassia considers this the most essential teaching Sonata ever written.

Romberg wove early-intermediate shifting into his music so skillfully that when the notes and rhythms are learned correctly, students are inevitably playing at a significantly higher level than when they started.

Once a student has learned a fair amount of fourth position and at least some second position, they will start studying this Sonata.

Cassia demands absolutely precise rhythm throughout this piece, usually playing the piano part along with her students. 

Around the time they start the Romberg E Minor Sonata, students are assigned The C Major Study Book for Cello. This teaches them to easily shift back and forth between fourth and seventh position as it is used in a brief difficult section in the 3rd movement.

The Breval Cello Sonata in C Major is a well-known teaching piece; a staple of cello pedagogical repertoire that is included in Suzuki Cello Book Four.

Cassia teaches this piece after the Romberg E Minor Sonata even though it has less shifting that that piece. The rhythmic complexity in the Breval Sonata demands a solid shifting technique.

In some cases, she does not teach the Breval Sonata at all and instead has her students sight-read it. She does this when students are on an intensive path with a rapid trajectory and she feels that the Breval does not have enough shifting at that point in time.

However, she does use this Sonata with many students, including adults, who love the delicately beautiful music and certainly benefit from studying it.

Besides being one of the greatest works ever written for cello, the Bach Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major is an excellent teaching piece!

Since the Prelude uses a lot of second position, learning that position before starting this book is recommended (Second Position for the Cello, Second Position Technical Studies for the Cello, and Finger Exercises for the Cello, Book Two.)

While all of the exercises needed to learn the Suite are included in the book, supplementary string crossing study with Open String Bow Workouts, Book One might be helpful as well.

Probably the least-known teaching piece on this list, the Romberg Cello Sonata in C Major is an absolute gem!

Using all of the skills that he taught in his Sonata in E Minor, Romberg adds layers of difficulty that make this an Intermediate Level II cello piece.

More shifting, more rhythm, and more opportunities for phrasing culminate in several bravura sections that again eleveate the level of the student studying this piece.

The exercises in this book, written for every measure of the piece, build a strong foundation in shifting, left-hand agility, and string crossing.

This is a perfect piece to study before the Goltermann Cello Concerto No. 4.

This piece is a staple of traditional cello teaching repertoire. The last movement is included in Suzuki Book Five but Cassia actually loves teaching the first movement a bit more.

Dramatic, sweeping, and full of technical skills to master, this Concerto is an essential Intermediate II piece to learn on the path to Advanced music.

Listening to recordings of this piece (particularly the full orchestra version put out by Dowani) can be extremely helpful for students who don’t quite “get” what the piece should sound like. 

The Squire Tarantella is a wonderfully exciting teaching piece that allows students to really explore their musicality.

This piece can be studied either before or after the Goltermann Concerto No. 4, depending on the student. Suzuki put it in Book Six, along with the Goltermann 3rd movement.

Students should have a good grasp of left-hand agility in 6/8 timing before starting this piece. If they don’t, teachers can assign The Triplet Books for Cello and ask for the exercises and pieces in those books to be played as fast as possible.

Cassia uses this book to help her students work on tone and shifting into the higher positions. 

Included in Suzuki Book Six, The Swan is often used as an intermediate teaching piece. Practically speaking, it is much more of an early-advanced piece, as it requires significant left and right hand strength to be able to make the higher notes sound good. 

The books in the Open String Bow Workouts series are a good precursor to this book. They help prepare for pieces like The Swan that require a thick, luscious tone by letting the student focus on getting every note ringing without the distraction of hte left hand. 

One very memorable year, Cassia had to teach the Faure Elegie to eleven different students weekly, from June to December, for a district orchestra audition.

Several months in, she realized that she was giving out identical corrections and practice suggestions. Students would then go home, forget the suggestions, come in the next week and have to start over. That was the impetus for writing this book. 

The cello repertoire study books allow teachers to assign exercises during the week that teach the notes in a section. If the technique has already been learned, lesson time can be spent on musicality, phrasing, etc. 

This exciting, bravura teaching piece is often assigned to prepare students to play the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto.

However, there is still a fair amount of difference between the two pieces technically. And if Allegro Appassionato is sloppily learned, the distance to the Saint-Saens Concerto No. 1 is even greater.

This book can help! By giving students exercises that help them master every note of the piece, this book solidifies their technique in anticipation of their first major Concerto.

This book helps students learn and master every measure of this piece, which is often used as a student’s first “major” Concerto. 

Cassia actually chooses the first Concerto based on each student’s personality and technique. The Saint-Saens Concerto No. 1, the Haydn Concerto in C Major, and the Lalo Cello Concerto are all good choices for the first Concerto. 

Whenever this piece is taught, students tend to get stuck at the top of the third page, with the double stops. This book gives ample exercises for mastering that (and every) section in this important Concerto. 

Students can now master the highly technical last “movement” of the Saint-Saens’ Cello Concerto No. 1.

From fast runs, to patterns of sixteenth notes that cover the fingerboard, to double stop octaves, to artificial harmonics, every measure and every difficulty in this movement is taught. 

Don’t just stop at teaching the first “movement”! The end of this magnificent Concerto is worth learning and mastering!

The exercises in this book will take students to the next level, giving them skills that they will use in all of the other Concertos in the repertoire.