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Just as we all tend toward one of visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learning, I have found that when it comes to playing the cello, many students fall into two camps:
Ear Dominant or, conversely, Head Dominant
Ear dominant students are very expressive and musical. However, they struggle with inappropriate fingerings and don’t have a sense of where they are geographically on the cello. I have observed the following characteristics:
My approach for ear dominant players is to remind them stop and say the notes out loud, identify the target note and position they are in, play more slowly to ensure they are engaging their brain.
Head dominant students tend to be almost too thoughtful and therefore hesitant to play at the appropriate tempo, or to make a difficult shift. I have observed the following characteristics in head dominant students:
My approach for head dominant players is to encourage playing scales quickly to focus on the hand shape and flow of the notes rather than the individual notes, and to ask them to close their eyes or look down while playing as they tend to look up and to the left implying a disconnect between their head and body. Moving their body is also important, as they tend be more stiff when playing than ear dominant players.
Of course, the goal is to develop a balanced ear / brain approach to playing, with the resulting beautiful performance as the reward.