The Block Strap

The Block Strap is the first intentionally designed cello strap to allow you to stand/move/dance while playing cello!

Each strap comes with the following components:

1. Main Body (with adjustable Bottom Extension, adjustable Neck Extension, and adjustable Main Body Loop)

2. Chest Cushion (with five customizable padding inserts, and adjustable Small Strip Connector)

3. Adjustable Waist Belt

4. Removable Bow Hook

5. Travel Bag

NOTE: Sometimes EU and UK customers get charged an additional “International Tax" upon arrival to your local customs. If your strap delivery is delayed in these countires, check with your local post office in order to receive your package.

Unisex - Navy, round neck

Women’s - Medium blue, v-neck

Contemporary Cello Etudes: Studies in Style and Technique

by Mike Block, published by Berklee Press

This etude book features a groundbreaking collection of 28 Non-Classical cello etudes, composed by 13 contributors, from a range of stylistic backgrounds. You will also receive six additional unpublished Bonus Etudes, originally intended for the book, that are ONLY available when purchased here!

Progressively ordered from Beginner to Advanced, all 28 published etudes come with the following:

1. Background Text on the style/technique

2. Tips on how to practice it and master your performance

3. Online reference recordings played by the composers (You can access these with a code that comes with the book)

4. A list of “Ideas for Further Practice” (We hope that each etude is just a jumping off point for your own creative journey!)

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS:

Ashley Bathgate (member of Bang on a Can All-Stars)
Stephan Braun (jazz cellist from Berlin)
Rushad Eggleston (rhythm goblin from the Land of Sneth)
Rufus Cappadocia (African cello specialist)
Erik Friedlander (modern jazz cellist with John Zorn’s Masada Trio)
Eugene Friesen (GRAMMY-winning multi-style cellist)
Natalie Haas (Celtic cellist with Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser)
Giovanni Sollima (cellist/composer from Italy)
Mark Summer (GRAMMY-winning founder of Turtle Island Quartet)
Jacob Szekely (jazz cellist and educator at String Project Los Angeles)
Matt Turner (jazz cellist and educator at Lawrence University)
Jeffrey Zeigler (former member of the Kronos Quartet)
Mike Block (GRAMMY-winning member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble) 

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Foreword, by Yo-Yo Ma

Preface

Acknowledgment

1. “Nice Tuxedo” by Mike Block: 3:2 Polyrhythm • Aeolian Mode • Improvisation

2. “Cradle Song” by Stephan Braun: Fingerstyle Pizzicato

3. “Kill the Bugs!” by Mike Block: Chopping • Improvisation

4. “Slap” by Eugene Friesen: Pizzicato • Percussion

5. “Don’t Ever Rush!” by Mike Block: 2:3 Polyrhythm • Phrygian Mode • Improvisation

6. “Krakow” by Stephan Braun: Chopping

7. “The Investigator” by Natalie Haas: Celtic Style • Melody • Ornaments

8. “The Reformer” by Natalie Haas: Celtic Style • Rhythm • Chords

9. “I Need to Go Outside” by Mike Block: 3:4 Polyrhythm • Mixolydian Mode • Improvisation

10. “Bilateral Coordination” by Erik Friedlander: Coordination • Warm-up Routine

11. “In the Witching Hour” by Rushad Eggleston: Rhythm • Chords • Chopping

12. “I Won’t Ever Love You” by Mike Block: 4:3 Polyrhythm • Locrian Mode • Improvisation

13. “Bibi’s Blues” by Mark Summer: Jazz Style and Vocabulary • Bowing

14. “The Chicken” by Mike Block: Singing While Playing Rhythmically • Chopping (Low Voice and High Voice Versions)

15. “Polyphony Utopia” by Giovanni Sollima: Four-Part Harmony with Two Bows

16. “My Toy City” by Stephan Braun: Chopping • Tapping • Coordination • Improvisation

17. “Prelude to a Dream” by Mike Block: Fingerstyle Pizzicato

18. “Gaucher” by Rufus Cappadocia: Rhythm • Percussion • Afro-Latin Style

19. “I’ll Never Clean My Clothes Again!” by Mike Block: 4:5 Polyrhythm • Dorian Mode • Improvisation

20. “Going Home” by Mike Block: Singing While Playing Harmonization (Low Voice and high Voice Versions)

21. “Bebop Bowing” by Matt Turner: Jazz Style and Vocabulary • Bowing

22. “I’ll Escape the Spinning Planet!” by Mike Block: 5:4 Polyrhythm • Lydian Mode • Improvisation

23. “The Blue Danube in Budapest” by Mike Block: Pizzicato • Improvisation

24. “A Cat’s Front Door” by Rushad Eggleston: Rhythm • Chords • Chopping

25. “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8!!” by Ashley Bathgate: Alternating Polyrhythms

26. “The Rake” by Jacob Szekely: Pizzicato • Funk Style • Rhythm

27. “Caribounteney County” by Rushad Eggleston: Rhythm • Chords • Chopping

28. “Mirrors” by Jeffrey Zeigler: Electronic Looping • Improvisation