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Cello Repertoire Initiative

Barrel Dance

by Ailbhe McDonagh

Instrumentation
Cello, Piano
Composed
2018
Duration
0'38''
Publisher
Boosey & Hawkes (in It's a Cello Thing, Book 1)
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About this piece

Barrel Dance is a short piece for cello and piano (38 seconds) by the Irish cellist and composer Ailbhe McDonagh, written in 2018 and published in It's a Cello Thing, Book 1 (Boosey & Hawkes, 2021). McDonagh suggests it for teaching the change between 1st and 1/2 position on the cello and includes some left hand pizz. The composer puts it at around Grade 2.

Technical overview

No technical overview is available yet.

Technical focus

  • Half Position
  • Left-Hand Pizzicato

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.

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