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Cello Repertoire Initiative

Spring Parade

by Ailbhe McDonagh

Instrumentation
Cello, Piano
Composed
2018
Duration
0'35''
Publisher
Boosey & Hawkes (in It's a Cello Thing, Book 1)
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About this piece

Spring Parade is a short piece for cello and piano (35 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 C major 2 octaves and the brush stroke. The composer puts it at around Grade 2. It is set on the ABRSM cello syllabus.

Technical overview

No technical overview is available yet.

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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