His Rigadoon is a classic, historical piece of early music that is worth learning. Henry Purcell (1659-1695) was an important composer in the English Baroque period. This arrangement is well-adapted for the beginner cellist, using the A, D and G strings in 1st position. Foster wrote all types of songs with great success, from bawdy drinking songs to temperance songs opposing alcohol, to some wonderful hymns that are still included in many hymnals. He wrote many songs for travelling minstrel groups and parlor musicians and many of his songs are embedded in American musical history, including such titles as Oh Susanna, Old Folks at Home and others.Ĭamptown Races was a very popular minstrel song, and word has it that the good people of Camptown were so upset about being associated with the debauchery of this song that they voted changed the town’s name to Irvington in honour of the writer Washington Irving ( Rip Van Winkle, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ). Stephen Foster (1826-1864) is famously known as the “father of American music”.

This is a great first piece, if you haven’t already learnt it.Ģ- Camptown Races, by Foster ( A New Tune A Day Performance Pieces for Cello ) This old French melody is found in many beginner books because it partly uses a descending scale which is easy to understand, and is usually arranged in D major so it’s on the D and A strings. The final piece will be your first foray into actual cello repertoire.ġ- French Folk Song ( Suzuki Vol 1 Essential Elements Book 1 ) All pieces have been selected for their educational value, and can be found in some of our best-selling beginner method books.

They are listed in the order Michael would teach for progressive reasons. This list has been put together by professional player and educator, Michael Scott-Branagan. Congratulations on starting to learn the cello! Here’s a quick list of some of our top recommendations of easy to learn songs for beginners.

Graded cello repertoire