A collection of Peruvian and other South American folk songs adapted for teaching violoncello

This essay presents a collection of Peruvian and other South American folk songs adapted for teaching violoncello technique with the goal of providing students with a more culturally diverse method which equally develops the left hand and right hand technique. Peruvian and other South American children learn the violoncello with European or American method books based on European folk songs. The repertoire of traditional methods usually lacks music familiar to pupils from Peruvian and other South American cultures. Written in foreign languages, the texts often exclude Spanish translation. Peruvians, especially children, are not necessarily familiar with folk music from Europe; neither are they fluent in foreign languages. Unless the teacher is familiar with the method's philosophy and is multi-lingual, a vast amount of information is lost, causing slow, and sometimes incorrect, learning. As a consequence, Peruvian music students are at a disadvantage compared to American and European music students.

The core of this project consists of the collection of folk tunes arranged for violoncello and piano. The included preparatory exercises will help the student prepare for the technical challenges presented in each piece, and the original recordings of the songs' arrangements will serve as a reference for students and teachers. The purpose of this essay is not to create a new teaching philosophy, but to provide Peruvian and other South American students with a more familiar learning repertoire, drawing on the most effective methodology of three popular violoncello methods. Nonetheless, anyone interested in learning the violoncello with a multicultural repertoire can benefit from this collection.