Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [cello]

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

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Are very cheap cellos acceptable for a beginner?

I'm looking at getting a 1/2 cello for my son. My options are either rent a mid-end one for 50$ a month, or buy a very cheap one (there seem to be some online for 150$~200$). My experience with very cheap instruments is mixed: The cheap ~100$…
Alex Kinman
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What does this symbol mean in cello music?

Klengel Technical Cello Studies Vol. 1, Triads through three octaves. I'm referring to two separate symbols. I looked here but nothing really matches. First is the 0 with the dash beneath it. At first I thought open with harmonic but that doesn't…
xerotolerant
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Should I loosen the tension on the bow for a break?

According to Violin for Dummies, we should loosen the horsehair before put violin back in the case. However, I always give myself about an hour break after I play violin for 1 to 2 hours. Should I leave the horsehair tight for an hour or loosen it…
Chek Wei Tan
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Is it spelled "violincello" or "violoncello"?

I’m trying to understand the proper spelling of the full name of the cello. I’ve seen it both of these ways, violincello and violoncello. I thought since the cello is part of the violin family it would be violincello, but it seems some places are…
Benjamin Hale
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What is this upside down square fermata?

I was wondering what this marking means, it looks like an upside-down square fermata or an upside-down down bow marking with a dot. I found it in a piece for cello by Nadia Boulanger.
Kognise
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Is it acceptable to play the same note simultaneously on different strings on cello?

For a piece I am performing with a local school orchestra, a final open A is to undergo an "insane" crescendo to a Fortissississimo, which our conductor interprets as "as loud as possible." A fellow cello player suggested I play a double note with…
nanofarad
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What are some qualities to consider when purchasing a cello?

My wife is a Suzuki-method violinist but wants to dabble with some cello pieces. I'm a rock guitarist--so I have absolutely no clue what to look for in a cello. It's clearly not a Les Paul so any expertise I have is out the door on this one. Two…
Jduv
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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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What does "silonveut" mean?

I am typesetting a Cambini Quartet. In the score for the cello part I see the following phrase: What does it mean? It appears to say "silonveut". This is the context (I don't think the piece is contemporary enough to consider the salamander-looking…
Richard
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What's this rectangular notation symbol?

I recently encountered a symbol in a Violoncello score which I was not able to identify. It is shown in the image below after the p (piano). I looked for it in the Musescore documentation and in the Lilypond notation tables, but was unable to find…
Fabian
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How to avoid excessive bow-hair damage when playing "scratch percussion" on string instruments?

Prominently featured in Bluegrass fiddle playing, the ever-so-feared noise of a bow "squaking" over the strings can be used to produce distinctive, yet surprisingly sweet percussive accents if well controlled. (Especially 5:20) I start to get the…
leftaroundabout
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Do pegs for stringed instruments require holes?

We bought some new pegs for a cello but they came without holes. As a result, it seems impossible to tighten the strings as they keep slipping. But there must be some use for pegs without holes, otherwise why would they sell them that way, right? …
Michael
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Can I play the cello without pronation of the bow hand?

I would like to learn to play cello, but I have a mini-disability that prevents me from turning my right hand down (palm-down, or pronation) or up (palm-up, or suspination). How much is this going to get in the way of handling the bow? How…
mcadorel
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Chord in the Bach d-minor prelude

I'm playing the prelude in Bach's d-minor suite. My teacher and I were wondering what the third to last chord is. We didn't find that A, E and D form a chord, but do they? Is the D maybe a "queuing" note that resolves to the C#? We found that this…
sverrirarnors
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Cello tuning by harmonics: Just intonation vs ET

Since fifths in just intonation (JI) are 2 cents wider than ET fifths, should I expect an electronic tuner to tell me that my D, G, and C strings are flatter (and getting progressively flatter) if I use harmonics to tune my instrument? If so, this…
abelian
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