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Cello Repertoire Initiative

Cello Time Runners (Second Edition)

by Kathy Blackwell and David Blackwell

Instrumentation
Cello, Piano
Composed
2023
Publisher
Oxford University Press
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About this piece

The second book in the Blackwells' best-selling Cello Time series, by Kathy and David Blackwell. Thirty-four lively original pieces, traditional tunes and a few classical arrangements (Mozart, Daquin, Charpentier) consolidate first position and introduce extensions, with duets of equal difficulty throughout. The second edition (2023) refreshes the presentation and adds play-along audio on streaming platforms and the OUP companion website; scales and arpeggios for each key in the book and a Music Fact-Finder page are included. The piano accompaniment book is sold separately.

Technical overview

First position with 1st- and 2nd-finger backward and forward extensions; scales and arpeggios in the keys of the book including G major over two octaves; duets with equal parts.

Level rubric

Late Beginner

Left Hand

  • Mostly 1st position with small extensions.
  • Early shifting to 2nd/3rd positions.
  • Controlled vibrato on sustained notes.

Right Hand

  • Expanded bow technique for faster passages & wider dynamics.
  • Longer slurs (3–4 notes).
  • Hooked bowing for dotted rhythms.
  • Practice basic martelé accents.
  • Increase speed in string crossings with minimal arm movement.

Bow Strokes

  • Standard détaché; add staccato, martelé, short slurs, hooked strokes.

Rhythm & Musicality

  • Incorporate dotted figures, compound meters (6/8), triplets & syncopation.
  • Develop subdivision sense; introduce rubato in small measures.
  • Slightly longer phrases.
  • Introduce basic dynamic shading.

Levels are approximate guides, not strict requirements.

Music

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