Cello Teacher's Friend

Posted on May 17, 2008 by Abigail McHugh in Extensions - Left Hand/Arm

I saw Christine use this trick with a student who wasn’t reaching far enough on his extensions, though it could also work if the extension were too big.

Using a variety of cookies of different sizes, she and the student measured the distance between first and second finger in the correct extension position, in order to find which cookie size was the best match. I seem to remember that the Fig Newton won, after which the student was allowed to eat the cookie. Later, Christine used the code word “Fig Newton” whenever the extension needed to be widened, to which the student responded quickly and positively.