[robhack]

1997 but still relevant today, nice! (well, except maybe the very last part about tapes and not being able to adjust tempo).

While this is pretty much a goldmine of information, one thing I would advise of being careful about is about this « My practice hours are divided about equally between works from the standard cello literature and highly focused mechanical exercises ».

While I'm sure it's the the best solution if your only goal is to get better, it is not a format I would suggest for everyone. I for one would have been so bored if I had to to this that I probably would have quit. What I'm doing is about 1/3 practicing scores with sheets, 1/3 mechanical exercises and scales and 1/3 improvisation and just fun (which is very important to me for keeping the motivation to go on, and I guess it could apply to other people). Just for the record, I started playing violin at 24, a bit over one year ago (first instrument), so obviously I can only say that as a total newbie, just keep in mind though (: