Questions tagged [cello]

The "baritone" member of the string or violin family, played upright between the legs. Short for violoncello.

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What's special about cello strings?

I've built a skeleton cello (680mm scale length, 79mm fingerboard radius) and due to the high price of cello strings (2-400$ a set?), I found some flatwound bass strings whose string gauges seem to match well (0.100 to 0.045). Tuning these up to…
Brydon Gibson
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Playing cello, should my left hand thumb clamps the neck like pliers do?

I just started learning cello for about 40 hours, I am really puzzled about whether my left thumb should press hard on the neck, in the same way pliers clamps something, meaning that the thumb apply the same amount of force as the fore finger…
golopot
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What is the safest way to set down a cello?

In my orchestra group, all of the cellists set their cellos on their side on the floor next to their chair during break. However, one cello coach told us that since it's easy for the cello to fall over in that position, you should never leave your…
margalo
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Cello string crossing from open string to fourth finger: unwanted harmonics

I've been practicing slurred bows in 1/8th notes on cello for Pachelbel's canon, and there are many places where there is a string crossing in one bow either from fourth finger on the D string to the open A string or the other way around. Every time…
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What are the different types of cellos?

When I was looking into buying a cello, I found that there seemed to be different classifications for cellos beyond size (1/2, 3/4, full, etc). For example, some cellos were being called "Stradivarius models," and there was a wide type with a darker…
kat
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Why are the cello strings tied with a shoelace?

At the beginning of this video you can see that the strings of the cello have been tied with a shoelace right below the bridge. What is the purpose of this? Is it just decoration or is it something like a string eliminator:
Shevliaskovic
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How fast can a cello play with string crossings?

im currently writing a piece for orchestra, and im not sure if the cello part is actually playable. Can a cello player play this in Adagio (around 70 bpm)? I have never played cello myself, but I think the D would be played on the C string, the A…
Neins
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How to play notes in the kHz range on a cello

I have a piece in which there are notes exceeding 1 kHz (B5). I can only currently play up to 440 Hz on my cello. How can I do so? If it's hard, are there any strategies?
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Ideas for solofying for cello

I'm looking for some schemes to solofy a simple tune on cello. Some obvious things, like adding a fancy bassline fail in this case of course. As an example let's take this simple tune. One obvious idea is to add some double stops. Are there other…
DrSvanHay
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Note question: Stravinsky Suite Italienne (Cello)

Anyone familiar with Stravinsky' s Suite Italienne? I've got a question on a odd-sounding note. See the first circled chord in the pic -- the fingering doesn't make sense, and the note doesn't match the E doesn't match the D in the second circled…
Carl Witthoft
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What is the hypothetical string scale length of a 9/8 and 5/4 sized cello?

This link has a lot of cello related measurements. How can we calculated the string scale length of hypothetical 9/8 and 5/4 size cellos? CELLO mm. 1/2 3/4 7/8 4/4 9/8 5/4 string length 602 637 672 695 ? ?
M.Viking
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How many notes can a cello play at one time?

What's the biggest number of notes that a cello can play simultaneously? Does it always play only one note at a time or is it common for a cello to play two lines at the same time? Can it also play three or even four notes, or is it totally…
brilliant
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