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Beginner cello pieces, free and in teaching order

SheetScroll’s free cello course has 16 public-domain pieces in teaching order, from the four open strings to minuets from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach. All are in bass clef and first position, and they listen and turn pages without Pro.

Updated

How is the cello course ordered?

Piece 1, Open String March, uses all four open strings. Then the course takes the D and A strings, the G string, and the C string, one at a time.

  1. Pieces 2 to 6: fingers on the A and D strings, with the D major pattern, then fourth finger G and fourth finger on A. All on the D and A strings.
  2. Pieces 7 to 10: the G string in Go Tell Aunt Rhody, 2/4 with a pickup note, the C string in May Song, and C major across the G and D strings.
  3. Piece 11: a half-note piece by Sebastian Lee that crosses all four strings, down to low C.
  4. Pieces 12 to 14: second finger F in Ode to Joy, long lines in 3/4 in Brahms’s Lullaby, and running eighths in G.
  5. Pieces 15 and 16: two Baroque minuets, with repeats, a triplet, D♯, and eighths down to the C string.

What will I learn?

The whole course sits between C2 and D4, in bass clef, and pieces 2 to 6 stay on two strings. Tempos run about 80 to 100 beats a minute for the quarter.

  • Finger placement on each string, with the fourth finger arriving early.
  • Crossing strings: Little Piece, Op. 101 No. 2 moves across all four.
  • Meter and rhythm: 2/4 with a pickup, 3/4, dotted quarters and eighths, then running eighths.
  • Reading by key: D, G, C, and G major scales and arpeggios.

Lee’s two pieces are duets, written for a pupil and a teacher. The course gives the first cello’s part, complete on its own. Many tunes are the violin course’s an octave lower, so a cellist and a violinist can play together. All are public domain, checked against editions, with no fingerings or bowings.

How do I begin?

Go to Setlists → Learn and tap Cello, or tap Learn an instrument when the library is empty. SheetScroll imports the pieces, creates Learn cello, and opens piece one. Each piece’s note says what it teaches. It is an ordinary setlist, so you can reorder or annotate it.

How should I practice with it?

  • Tune the four strings first. The tuner names a string and shows flat, sharp or in tune.
  • Put the device near the cello. For the low strings, move it closer if SheetScroll says it is too quiet.
  • Mark bowings with the Up-bow and Down-bow stamps, and add fingers with Finger stamps.
  • Start each piece at a slow tempo, then work up to the course tempo.
  • If you lose your place, tap the bar you are on.

What do I play next?

The free cello sheet music is the next step, or bring your own PDFs. The cello is among the strings SheetScroll follows. See the string players page.

The pieces

Learn cello: From open strings to Bach minuets. 16 pieces, in the order they are played.

  1. Open String March, SheetScroll: The four open strings
  2. Hot Cross Buns, Traditional: Fingers on A and D
  3. Mary Had a Little Lamb, Traditional: First and third fingers
  4. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Traditional: D major on two strings
  5. Lightly Row, Traditional: Fourth finger G
  6. Song of the Wind, Traditional: Fourth finger on A
  7. Go Tell Aunt Rhody, Traditional: The G string
  8. O Come, Little Children, J. A. P. Schulz: Pickup notes in 2/4
  9. May Song, Traditional: The C string
  10. Au clair de la lune, Traditional: Key of C
  11. Little Piece, Op. 101 No. 2 (first cello), Sebastian Lee: All four strings
  12. Ode to Joy (theme), Ludwig van Beethoven: Second finger F
  13. Lullaby (melody), Johannes Brahms: Long lines in 3/4
  14. Little Piece, Op. 101 No. 5 (first cello), Sebastian Lee: Eighth notes in G
  15. Minuet in G, Anh. 116 (melody), Anonymous: Repeats and a triplet
  16. Minuet in G, Anh. 114 (melody), Christian Petzold: Down to the C string

Start this course

In the app: Setlists → Learn.

Questions

Is the cello course free?

Yes. It is part of the free reader, and its pieces listen and turn pages without Pro.

Can a cellist and a violinist play together?

Many tunes are the same, an octave apart, so they can. The Lee pieces and the minuets are not shared.

Why are there two pieces by Sebastian Lee?

Lee wrote them in 1867 as first-cello parts of duets for beginners: half notes across all four strings, and running eighths in G.

Is there a version in treble clef?

No. The cello course is in bass clef.