The research focused on the identification and ranking of critical success factors that contribute most significantly towards the training of a cello student. The empirical study was based on a sample of cello teachers in four countries selected for the study, namely Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. A literature study, identifying a broad category of factors that could contribute towards successful cello training, formed the basis of the questionnaire. These critical success factors included the quality of the teacher, acquired skills, the talent and giftedness of the student, support rendered to the student, and the curriculum. Each of these factors comprised five sub factors. The respondents were required to rank these factors in order of importance. In the final analysis, they were requested to rank the five main factors. A statistical process of ranking (forced ranking) and Kruskal-Wallis was applied to rank and analyse the responses of the cello teachers in the survey. The critical success factors that contribute the most significantly towards successful cello training were identified and compared.