Dotzauer Project — Episode 14

A deep dive into the Scales and Exercises, Appendix 1 of the Violoncello School, [Op. 65] — Chapter 1 (Ex. 1-22)

This article is a follow up to the Editorial Notes that can be found in the published edition and available here. The book is available in print (coming Fall 2025) as well as digitally (PayPal/Stripe — Apple Pay/Credit card). Five promotional videos have been released for this edition and they can be watched here (No 22, No 26, No 28, No 30, No 47). You can also expect several videos from me explaining these exercises in great detail.

The 63 Scales & Exercises – Appendix 1

The first appendix of Dotzauer’s Violoncello–School contains exercises that do not require the use of the thumb—that will be the topic of Appendix 2. Excluding the first section, which serves as a blueprint of sorts, the exercises are organised in such a way that each key features a trio made up of a two-octave scale and two pieces for two cellos—usually the student and the teacher—of contrasting character. Each scale is notated in two open-metre bars of fifteen notes each, concluding with the final tonic, and often proposes two sets of fingerings, separated by a straight line. The first duet invariably contains the scale in the accompanying voice, while the second duet is frequently of a contrapuntal nature. This approach introduces the student to the principles of harmony and counterpoint, considerably enhancing their intonation, musical awareness, and accompaniment skills.

The initial C major section contains thirteen exercises preceding the duets, clearly implying that those same exercises should be applied to every other scale. Two keys—G major and D minor—receive three duets instead of two.

Time signatures and Musical Forms

A collection called “Scales & Exercises” is naturally dominated by scale-based exercises, with 25 duets building a melody above a “simple” scale (No. 14, 16, 18, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, 45-46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62). Excluding the initial thirteen exercises, four duets offer useful practice material for scales (No. 19, 24, 36, and 44). The A-B-A song form is otherwise predominant, with seven duets (No. 26, 30, 32, 38, 40, 61, and 63). Melody-focused duets occupy the third position with five units (No. 17, 28, 34, 51, and 57). Contrapuntal exercises follow closely, with four specimens (No. 15, 22, 47, 59). Nonetheless, contrapuntal elements are prominently featured in almost every duet. Finally, we have two exercises with a distinct technical focus (No. 53 & 55) and a ricercare-like duet (No. 49). This basic classification should help you find what you are looking for more quickly.

Regarding time signatures, there is an absolute prevalence of common time (c), with 32 duets, with everything else following at great distance:

• C (or 4/4): No. 14–17, 20–22, 24–25, 27–28, 30, 32-35, 37, 39, 43-46, 48, 51–52, 54-55, 57, 59, 61–63;
• 3/4: No. 18, 36, 40, 49, 56, 58;
• 2/4: No. 19, 29, 38, 41, 60;
• 6/8: No. 23, 26, 31, 47;
• 2/2: No. 42;
• 3/8: No. 50;
• 3/2: No. 53

There is no definitive suggested practice order for these duets. While a general difficulty progression exists, with the last exercises being distinctly more complex than the first ones, an experienced teacher will establish a dedicated order for each student or—better—pick and choose only those exercises that s/he deems useful for each specific case.

The following section provides a detailed analysis of each exercise.

Notes on Performance and Practice

C major

Dotzauer proposes this scale with two alternative fingering sets: one with and one without open strings. Both sets are written above the staff, separated by a straight line. When string allocations differ between the two sets, the alternative one is placed above everything else. All notes have the same duration, leaving it to the teacher to assign (or to the student to decide) a specific rhythmical and slurring pattern for practicing.

Exercises 1–13

Exercise 1 proceeds by ascending two steps and descending one, producing a three-note scalar fragment beginning on each scale degree (e.g., C-D-E; D-E-F; E-F-G; etc.). This and the following are excellent exercises when paired with different slurring patterns. Exercise 2 presents the same challenge as the previous one while playing four consecutive notes on each degree (e.g., C-D-E-F; D-E-F-G; etc.). It is curious that Johannes Klingenberg, in his “Dotzauer: Cello Tutor” trilogy, decided to omit these exceptional exercises in favour of Duport’s ones—whilst failing to credit the French master. The next four exercises follow in their predecessors’ footsteps, just increasing the number of notes played on each degree: Ex. 3, with five notes; Ex. 4, six notes; Ex. 5, seven notes; and, finally, Ex. 6, with eight notes.

Exercise 7 proposes a linked scale: going up one octave, then, from the next note, coming back down one octave, and proceeding likewise (e.g., from C to the next C, then from the upper D back to the previous D, then moving up again from E). Exercises 8 to 13 deal with scales in melodic intervals, from thirds (No. 8) to octaves (No. 13).

Several practicing ideas can spring from these last examples, from simply inverting each couple of notes to shuffling a predetermined set of notes. For example, taking the first four notes and playing them in a different order, such as 2-4-3-1, then moving on to the next four notes. All such variations should be performed at sight, without writing them, to develop the student’s permutation skills.

As mentioned before, these thirteen exercises should be applied to every scale, and their practice should continue even when the student moves forward to three- and four-octaves scales. The separate part contains optional fingering suggestions for students already practicing the alternative fingering set without open strings. Starting with No. 6, I decided to include the horizontal line seen in the full score from No. 37, signifying the requirement to play using the second disposition of the left hand (extended position).

Exercise 14

This initial duet is in common time (c) and quite elementary: while the second cello plays an exclusively ascending C major scale in whole-notes, the main line answers with a basic—but by no means dull—harmonisation in half-notes. The suspension of the 6th over the 5th is proposed as dissonance.

Exercise 15

The second duet in C major, again in common time, introduces the student to the concept of imitation: the main line starts alone for two bars, which are then repeated equally by the accompaniment. The increase in difficulty from the first duet is substantial, with the introduction of notes tied across barlines, secondary dominants, and the concurrent usage of both second and third fingers.

While Dotzauer will eventually soften the learning curve of his exercises towards the end of his life (see Op. 155 from 1839), we should not forget that small cellos were exceedingly rare in 1824. Students would start on the piano, or violin, and then transition to the cello, equipped with enough musical and technical knowledge to make the complexity differential much less problematic.

To achieve a correct bowing structure, a down-bow has been added in b 8 of the separate part.

A minor

All minor scales proposed by Dotzauer in this book are of the melodic kind, that is, with the 6th and 7th degrees raised by a chromatic half-step going up, and lowered again to their natural state when coming back. Teachers may want to present the harmonic and natural variants to their students at their discretion.

The two-octave A minor scale introduces three novelties: the tenor clef, the second disposition of the left hand (extended position), and the intermediary positions (5th position). While, in the C major scale, one could handle it all in 1st position, with A minor this is no longer possible. It is therefore suggested that the student practices the alternative fingering of the C major scale—which introduces positions 2 to 4—before tackling the A minor one.

The fingering proposed by Dotzauer for the descent has certain advantages for intonation, but it is not ideal for rapid execution. The universal, alternative fingering has been added in italics above the existing one.

Exercise 16

The first of the A minor duets, in common time, is built upon the corresponding scale, which the accompaniment plays in both directions in whole notes. The main line, by contrast, has a constant run of eighth-notes, helping the student become familiar with the regular subdivision of the bar. Half, third, and fifth positions are used besides the regular and extended first position. Double string crossings (bb 13, 17-20, 26) and harmonic progressions (bb 17-20) complete the technical challenges.

This piece should be practised slowly at first, with a lot of bow, and paying close attention to intonation. Then, to help the left hand develop security, it should be practised in legato (2, 4, and then 8 notes in a bow). As the speed increases, ultimately, the quantity of bow should be progressively reduced.

The separate part contains several fingering suggestions.

Exercise 17

Slurs make their first appearance in this exercise in common time, beginning with a dactylic rhythm. The dotted rhythm (augmentation dot) is also introduced (bb 3, 5, 7, 15). The accompaniment is quite dense, resulting in a complex contrapuntal exchange. Dotzauer doesn’t suggest a fingering for the beginning, but my recommendation is to start on the second string (see separate part).

G major

The G major scale is proposed with two fingering sets, one with and one without the employment of open strings. It may come as a surprise that the descent bears no alternative fingerings, but Dotzauer took a lot for granted. Whenever helpful, additional fingerings in italics and string indicators in square brackets have been added. Where this is absent, it should be assumed that the descent uses the same fingerings used for the ascent.

Exercises 18

G major, being the first of two keys to offer three duets instead of two, sets up its first exercise in 3/4 time and introduces rests on the downbeat. The accompanying scale uses a half-and-quarter-note rhythm throughout. Students should pay attention not to abruptly stop the bow at the rest’s onset, but rather simply removing all weight from the string by relaxing the index finger of the right hand.

Dotzauer does not use a single bowing marking in the entirety of this appendix, assuming it would be clear for everyone how best to begin. In the separate part, an up-bow start has been suggested.

Exercise 19

The focus of this exercise in 2/4 time is to practice descending scale fragments with different starting points, while the accompaniment challenges the partner’s intonation through long-held notes, followed by a suspension and a resolution every couple of bars. The extended position is used in the temporary modulation to the Dominant (D major) in the middle of the piece. It is recommended to keep the left hand in extended position for bb 15-18. The separate part contains comprehensive fingering suggestions where clarification was deemed necessary.

Exercise 20

The last duet in G major focuses on string changes with short strokes in the upper third of the bow. If one follows Dotzauer’s indication, the final note will come up-bow, which, at the time, was not considered as objectionable as it is today. Should one wish to finish down-bow, the last two 8th-notes may be slurred together, as suggested by Klingenberg in No. 63 of his Cello Tutor. Following the original markings, though, allows for a better management of the musical phrase, especially in bb 9-16.

This is the first duet where the main line is playing the role of accompaniment for the second cello’s melody.

E minor

For the version using open strings, Dotzauer employs different fingerings for the ascent and for the descent, while for the version not using open strings, only three markings are added during the descent. I have added the missing digits, which, whenever not belonging to Dotzauer, are written in italic typeface.

Exercise 21

The rhythm of the accompanying scale becomes more complex here, with the descent being also abruptly stopped after the first octave. The main line starts with an 8th-note’s rest on the downbeat and is rich in chromaticism and secondary dominants, albeit in closely related keys (B minor, A minor). Syncopes (b 3) also make their first appearance here. Despite being short, this exercise merits careful attention, and transposing it to other keys could provide valuable practice material.

Exercise 22

A new contrapuntal duet, No. 22, in common time, begins as a straight canon at the unison, with the second cello being the first one to derail. After the initial, apparently calm period, the accompaniment cuts half-a-bar and tightens the imitation (bb 9-12). Bars 14 to 18 use a harmonic modulatory progression to explore F major, G major, and A major, before coming back to E minor for the closing phrase. The harmonic complexity of these pieces may also be part of the cause of their premature fall into oblivion. In fact, while beautiful, they require a degree of preceding knowledge to be fully appreciated, as their harmonic language increasingly departs from Classical conventions.

In the separate part, I have added a few ‘×’ extension characters (bb 20-23) to show when the next note should be attained through extension instead of through shifting—nevertheless always paying attention to keeping the thumb relaxed.

Bottom Line

That’s all for today, folks! Thank you for reading so far.

Come back next week for the second chapter of this deep dive, covering exercises 23 to 44. Subscribe to the blog to be notified of new articles and consider leaving a like if you enjoyed reading this one.

Contact me for any questions you may have concerning this edition, either here in the comments or via the contact form on the blog site.

Until next time, thank you!