I used to put off teaching Double Stops as long as possible because they can make the left hand want to squeeze. Now, I introduce them earlier than I used to. Once a student can do a little shifting and is doing some vibrato, (this is usually around the beginning of Suzuki book 3) there is enough balance and relaxation of the left hand to start playing double stops.
Download the file below to see which double stops I start with.
Week One: I assign only 3 double stops (line 1) to practice from memory. I make a big deal out of teaching the student that it is vital to take time during the rests, to move the thumb, forearm and hand to a new shape that will be comfortable for the next double stop. With younger students I name each double stop (like Sally, Edgar and Frank) so they learn the feel. I tell them that you have to get to know a new friend and find out what they like. Learn what makes them happy!
Week Two: I assign lines 2 and 3 which add 2 "new friends". And they can learn (on line 3), that the same friends can be found on other pairs of strings.
Week Three-four: Lines 4 and 5 share the same "friends" but now they can also shift.
After this introductory month, the student can play the first octave of a G major scale in 6ths using separate bows and rests between shifts. Play the first 4 double stops on D and G strings starting in upper 2nd position and going to 5th position. Then do the same on A and D strings. Use fingers 1 and 2 for minor 6ths (a "lemon") and fingers 1 and 3 for major 6ths (an "orange").
I also assign folk songs (which you can find in Mooney's Double Stop book) keeping these songs slightly staccato rather than legato for a while.
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Double Stops - Getting Comfortable annotated.pdf Size : 389.822 Kb Type : pdf |
As a student progresses with double stops, I teach more about intonation.
I also teach a very effective way to practice going from one double stop to the next. What you do is, place the bow only on one string but allow the left hand to play exactly as it would if the bow were sounding both strings. In other words, shape your fingers as if you were playing the double stop but only use the bow to play one of the strings. Shift slowly and do a few tries on each string before playing both strings. This method of practicing will improve your double stops tenfold!
I teach double stop intonation by listening and playing all the perfect intervals first. Unison, P8, P5 and P4. These intervals sound calming when played perfectly in tune on a cello. Then I introduce the dissonant 2nds, 7ths and tri-tone so they can really hear the contrast in quality from most consonant to most dissonant.
Last to become familiar with are the mildly consonant intervals, 6ths and 3rds, because these are slightly more difficult to know whether or not they are in tune. If you want to understand this more scientifically, the beating sound (which is when sound waves interfere with each other - you can hear this easily with an out of tune unison) emanates mostly from the lowest common overtones that the two notes share. The perfect intervals share partials 1, 2 or 3 whereas the consonant 3rds and 6ths and the dissonant intervals are less obvious to detect when out of tune because they share only the higher overtones/partials.
If you don't know what a partial is, you can start to learn about them in Cello Fingerboard Geography.