These etudes must be used along with the Suzuki Violin School to learn and master different positions. Dr. Suzuki recommends that first position etudes be started when the student is working on Volume 2. The student should always be careful that fingers are placed before the bow moves. Dr. Suzuki repeatedly says, "One, fingers -- two, bow -- three, start." Since this is the first time the student plays an etude, the teacher needs to explain its purpose.

Position Pieces for Cello is designed to give students a logical and fun way to learn their way around the fingerboard. Each hand position is introduced with exercises called "Target Practice," "Geography Quiz," and "Names and Numbers." Following these exercises are tuneful cello duets which have been specifically composed to require students to play in that hand position. In this way, students gain a thorough knowledge of how to find the hand positions and, once there, which notes are possible to play. Using these pieces (with names like "I Was a Teenage Monster," "The Irish Tenor," and "I've Got the Blues, Baby"), position study on the cello has never been so much fun!

Students learn to listen to sound more carefully. Although almost everybody plays with beautiful tone while tuning the violin, many press the bow and make a terrible sound when they start playing, especially double stops. The first exercises in this book are to practice playing the double stops with beautiful tone while listening to the resonance. There are exercises to shift the fingers between the G string and the E string, moving upward and downward in fifths. There are also many exercises to practice listening to the resonance of open strings.

These etudes must be used along with the Suzuki Violin School to learn and master different positions. Dr. Suzuki recommends that first position etudes be started when the student is working on Volume 2. The student should always be careful that fingers are placed before the bow moves. Dr. Suzuki repeatedly says, "One, fingers -- two, bow -- three, start." Since this is the first time the student plays an etude, the teacher needs to explain its purpose.