Study The Cello with Barbara Brown

I started studying the cello in my forties. I had studied music when I was a teenager at a Music Conservatory in France, but I had stopped after 4 years. Then, one of my work colleagues, deciding that he had no talent for the cello, gave me his instrument knowing that I loved the sound of it.

I decided to study with Barbara and I have been her student for over 20 years. I had everything to learn about the cello, but fortunately the fact that I had studied music earlier was a great advantage. Barbara knew how to approach someone like me, and she was clear in pointing out problems, and asking me how to correct them. I loved the fact that she made sure that I had the necessary understanding to correct mistakes, and that I was making sure I was thinking about what needed to be corrected so my practicing was more effective. I could not justify changing teachers since I was constantly learning from her. She was always making sure that I had the necessary basis to improve intonation, fingerings, and making beautiful sounds.

Since I enjoy performing I was lucky that her teaching included a recital of her students at the end of the schoolyear, which helped in playing comfortably in front of an audience, and gaining confidence which I continued acquiring during chamber music workshops. She always made sure that each student was able to select the pieces that they were studying on the condition that there was a benefit for the student.

Barbara Brown has been my teacher for a long time, and I know that she brings the best teaching experience and enjoyment towards her students.

I had one in-person lesson with Barbara, then tried a Zoom lesson since I live over an hour away from her. For me there is no difference between a lesson with Barbara online and one in her studio. She can observe my fingering and can hear my notes clearly. Having the opportunity for both, I choose the online lessons.

Barbara is a teacher with an exceptional ability to adapt to the needs of her students. Working with her for the last year and a half, our son has grown tremendously as a cello player, and also gained self-confidence. He looks forward to his time with her every week.

Per Albert Einstein, “It is the supreme art of a teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” This teacher is Barbara Brown. Learning how to play the cello was a “bucket list” wish of mine for many years. I was fortunate to find Barbara Brown, the cello whisperer, who specializes in teaching adult learners during a web search.

Initially, I took lessons in-person. However the COVID-19 pandemic had other plans and lessons were switched to online. Then, I moved out of state and continued my study of the cello on-line with Barbara and have been doing so for over 2 years. Once you have a teacher that you are comfortable with and “gets you”, changing to a new teacher is hard and as an adult learner, I think even harder.

Some instructors promise to give step by step guidance and support, but still leave you wondering what to do next, how to improve, and how to practice; Barbara’s content delivery is different. Barbara has excellent communication skills and is very skilled in how to coach and motivate the adult learner. She is friendly and very helpful. She provides useful feedback in a way to help motivate and uses examples that are easy to understand. She is excellent in her skills of confidence building and keeping the lessons fun.

Ms. Brown is an amazing and accomplished professional cellist in her own right and an outstanding cello teacher to children, teens and adults as well. Ms. Brown possesses an amazing talent to impart technical skills but also to nurture desire in any student to explore and appreciate various kinds of music -- she hosts classical and dress-the-part pop recitals each year. FUN! Ms. Brown has been our daughter's cello teacher for eight years, in which time our daughter has gone from saying "I don't get it" five times in every lesson to now being a poised, passionate and confident cellist. Our daughter is just starting high school and has already been accepted to some reputable youth orchestras in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. She has aspirations to be accepted in programs outside of our area too and even to travel internationally with her current orchestra this summer now that she's been promoted to the highest orchestral ensemble. It's awesome to see our daughter excel as a cellist and Ms. Brown has been instrumental in making that happen (pun intended ?). We highly recommend Ms. Brown for any family who wants well-rounded and exciting progress for their hardworking cellist!