As cellists, we are always working towards better intonation in our playing. Being able to open our ears and blend not only our sound, but also our intonation with others is vital in the music making process. The earlier we start exploring the idea of opening our ears, the better. (Do not feel hurried in your practice of intonation, it takes time and discipline to train the ear!) Here are a couple of ways to begin that process.
PLAYING OUR D-G-C
I like to start out playing as many ringing notes on my cello as possible when warming up (notes that resonate well with the open strings). If we have not learned or are not yet comfortable with higher positions, we can still practice this by playing ringing notes in first position. While playing the D on the A string in first position, listen for the D string to be ringing. You should be able to see the D string vibrating as well! This lets us know that our cello is happy with our D on the A string in first position. You can do this with the G on D string in first position, and C on G string in first position. I encourage you to play through all the ringing notes in first position. (notes that are A-D-G-C) It is also important to make sure you use a nice legato bow stroke. The healthier our sound is the easier it is to hear our intonation more clearly!
PLAYING AGAINST OPEN STRINGS
Tuning notes to our opening strings is a great way to check our intonation. It allows us to hear whether or not we are in tune with our cello and if our cello is ringing in its healthiest way. This method can be difficult as it requires our ear to recognize intervals clearly. One way to begin working towards this is to 1. practice with a tuner 2. check the note against an open string after we see that note is in tune with the tuner 3. catalog that intervals resonance. I recommend starting out with one or two notes. As you get more comfortable with those couple of notes, slowly add another and so on. You will notice some notes have a certain 'buzz' to them, while others will sound like they clash with the open string. For instance, a major sixth (playing an E on the D string while playing against the G string) will create a nice buzzing resonance if we are in tune.
These are just a couple of ways to open up our ears towards better intonation. I would recommend starting these exercises by doing them 5-10 minutes a day. If you have any questions, feel free to comment below!
vm
(Here is a recommended reading that I have found helpful! https://www.thestrad.com/mastering-intonation-by-cello-professor-antonio-lysy/3723.article)