London and online classes to learn how to play the cello easily and enjoyably!! Professional cellist with international experience teaches all levels and ages

Learn more about Pablo

• When did you first develop a passion for music and your favourite instrument?

  My first contact with music was when I was 5 and I started playing the piano. One year later I began with the cello and here I am yet. Of course, with a musical instrument it happens as in any hobby: there are always good and bad moments, and when I was a child I had of course moments of doubt. However, as a teenager I went to listen to concerts by myself, I discovered the beauties of Bach and Chopin and I realised how cool is to play music. Also playing the cello allows you to meet other people that share your same passion in the orchestra and chamber music groups, so the amazing mixture with many other instruments made a hugely positive impact on me.

• Is there a particular type of music or artist that you listen to on a loop without it driving you crazy?

  Of course, there are many! I specialize in music until the 20th century, but I listen to a great variety of music as much as possible. I suppose that I feel a great attraction to the human voice and there are some singers such as Maria Cristina Kiehr or Rosa Domínguez, who move me deeply. Or some instrumentalists who are almost like singers and actors with just a bow and four strings, such as Amandine Beyer, Andrew Manze, Anner Bylsma, Pablo Casals... Just to name a few people in classical music.

• Explain to us the most difficult or riveting course you could personally give to a student of music.

  I never make my lessons difficult! From my Spanish teacher, Aldo Mata, I learned that there are always tricks, exercises and safe ways while practising to arrive to play a difficult piece or passage for every person with motivation and dedication.
  The most riveting... Hmmm. Maybe when we practice improvisation skills and sometimes we do the most beautiful things out of nowhere! Or when approaching the performance aspects and we invent a story to develop the emotional side of the piece. Sometimes with children, we have even drawn a tale!

• What do you think is the most complicated instrument to master and why?

  Well, obviously the cello! No, just joking 😃 I have no idea since music up to a certain level is always super tricky. But wind and string instruments have to deal with the intonation of several simultaneous sounds, something that in the keyboard world doesn't even exist most of the time. But they have also several difficult lines at the same time...

• What are your keys to success?

  For the technical aspects, in order to master the instrument, as Anner Bylsma used to say, we the cellists are lazy so we must practice in the most efficient and effective way.
  Regarding the musical career and playing... Just try to be yourself and do what you prefer in music, play with whom you feel more comfortable, play the repertoire you like the most, etc. Of course many times you cannot choose too much but have always curiosity in your playing.

• Name three musicians you dream of meeting in your favourite bar in the early hours of the morning. Explain why.

  I don't drink too much so it would be probably a café! I would love to meet the women composers of the past such as Fanny Hensel, Elizabeth Jacquet, or Louise Farrenc... Unfortunately, their music has been ignored for a very long time but they composed some of the most beautiful pieces ever. It would be amazing to talk with them about their circumstances and their heroic life overcoming so many challenges.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to music or your days at music school.

  I still remember very fondly my first trips with the orchestra to the North of Spain. We used to go with all my friends, we played in wonderful music halls and above all, it was really really fun, I remember laughing most of the time.

• What are the little touches that make you a Superprof in music?

  I have been very lucky enough to have many good teachers but of course, I had some really difficult ones as well. I try to share what the good ones told me and the contrary of what the others said. And I also use many different tools: from breathing and Alexander techniques to postural exercises, from études ranging from the first cello treatises of the 18-19th centuries to usual Dounis, Dalcroze, Colourstrings or Suzuki, even funny bow experiments learnt from Instagram... I borrow new procedures all the time from all the pedagogical schools just to invent different and varied methods that are helpful and never boring to my students. Of course, they play as often as possible pieces that they choose. Finally, I personally try to use strategies that I learnt from mindfulness or psychology.