Playing the cello is done while seated with the instrument supported on the floor. The fingertips of the left hand stop the strings on the fingerboard to determine the pitch of the fingered note. The right hand plucks or bows the strings to sound the notes.
The cello is played while seated. Its weight is supported mainly by its endpin, or spike, which rests on the floor. [1] The cello is steadied on the lower bout between the knees of the seated player, and on the upper bout against the upper chest. The neck of the cello is positioned above the player's left shoulder, while the C-String tuning peg is positioned just behind the left ear. The bow is drawn horizontally across the strings. In early times, female cellists sometimes played side-saddle, since it was considered improper for a lady to part her knees in public. [2] A player's handedness does not alter the way the cello is held or used. In rare cases, a player has used a mirror-image posture—usually because of a physical disability of the arm or hand that makes the required technique impossible for that side of the body. In such a situation, the player must decide whether or not to reverse the set-up of the cello (the string positions, bass-bar, sound post, fingerboard shape, and bridge carving are all asymmetrical).
The fingertips of the left hand stop the strings along their length, determining the pitch of each fingered note. Stopping the string closer to the bridge results in higher-pitched sound because the vibrating string length has been shortened. In the neck positions (which use just less than the half of the fingerboard nearest the top of the instrument), the thumb rests on the back of the neck; in thumb position (a general name for notes on the remainder of the fingerboard) the thumb usually rests alongside the fingers on the string and the side of the thumb is used to play notes. The fingers are normally held curved with each knuckle bent, with the fingertips in contact with the string. If a finger is required on two (or more) strings at once to play perfect fifths (in double stops or chords) it is used flat. In slower, or more expressive playing, the contact point can move slightly away from the nail to the pad of the finger, allowing a fuller vibrato.
Vibrato is an expressive technique that is imitative of the voice in the wavering of the pitch up and down. [3] [ unreliable source? ] It is not created by an upper arm motion; rather, it is more of forearm motion. The fixed point of contact of the fingertip on the string absorbs this motion by rocking back and forth, with the thumb typically aligned with the middle finger. This change in the attitude of the fingertip to the string varies the pitch. The use of vibrato is also very personal, some may prefer doing it faster while others may prefer doing it slower. Since vibrato is usually considered a key expressive device, a well-developed vibrato technique is an essential element of a modern cellist's skill.
Harmonics played on the cello fall into two classes; natural and artificial.
Natural harmonics are produced by lightly touching (but not depressing) the string with the finger at certain places, and then bowing (or, rarely, plucking) the string. For example, the halfway point of the string will produce a harmonic that is one octave above the unfingered (open) string. Natural harmonics only produce notes that are part of the harmonic series on a particular string.
Artificial harmonics (also called false harmonics or stopped harmonics), in which the player depresses the string fully with one finger while touching the same string lightly with another finger, can produce any note above middle C. They usually appear with the touching note a perfect fourth above the stopped note, which produces a sound two octaves above the stopped note, although other intervals are available.
Glissando (Italian for "sliding") is an effect played by sliding the finger up or down the fingerboard without releasing the string. This causes the pitch to rise and fall smoothly, without separate, discernible steps.
In cello playing, the bow is much like the breath of a wind instrument player.[ citation needed ] Arguably, it is the major determinant in the expressiveness of the playing.[ citation needed ] The bow arm divides itself into three independent portions: the arm, the forearm, and the hand. Flexibility in all three portions is required for relaxed playing and straight bowing. The right hand holds the bow and controls the duration and character of the notes. The bow is drawn across the strings roughly halfway between the end of the fingerboard and the bridge, in a direction perpendicular to the strings and parallel to the bridge.
The bow is held with all five fingers of the right hand, the thumb opposite the fingers and closer to the cellist's body. The shape of the hand should resemble that of its relaxed state, with all fingers curved, including the thumb. The wrist would slightly tilt toward the strings when making an up bow, keeping the bow straight when moving. The transmission of weight from the arm to the bow happens through the pronation (inward rotation) of the forearm, which pushes the index finger and to a lesser degree the middle finger onto the bow. The necessary counterforce is provided by the thumb. The other two fingers are used in various degrees to help maintain the angle of the bow to the string and are critical to controlling the bow when it is off the string.[ citation needed ] [4] (See also spiccato).
Flexibility of the wrist is necessary when changing the bow direction from up-bow to down-bow and vice versa. For very fast bow movements, the wrist is used to accomplish the horizontal movement of the bow. For longer strokes, the arm is used as well as the wrist.[ citation needed ]
Tone production and volume of sound depend on a combination of several factors. The three most important ones are: bow speed, weight applied to the string, and point of contact of the bow hair with the string. The closer to the bridge the string is bowed, the more projecting and brighter the tone, with the extreme (sul ponticello) producing a metallic, shimmery sound. If bowing closer to the fingerboard (sul tasto), the sound produced will be softer, more mellow, and less defined, which is often taught to be avoided for beginners.[ citation needed ]
Legato is a technique that requires notes to be bowed in a connected manner with no stoppage of sound between each note. It can be accomplished through détaché, by playing each note on a separate bow smoothly, with no breaks or accents between bow changes. It can also be accomplished by slurring, [5] or playing multiple successive notes in one bow, which is indicated in the music by a slur (curved line) marking above or below – depending on their position on the staff – the notes of the passage that is to be played legato.
In staccato, the player moves the bow a small distance and stops it on the string, making a short sound, the rest of the written duration being taken up by silence. In some instances, the note marked staccato is to be played at half its value, with the remaining half being a rest. In other words, a quarter note would become an eighth note with an eighth rest. [6] It is noted by writing a small dot above or below a note depending on its position on the staff.
In a fast tempo, it becomes difficult to use the bow to draw the sound out of the string for every note and becomes necessary to instead strike the string with the bow hair while still retaining some horizontal motion with the bow in order to play each note clearly. To play spiccato, the bow must be controlled with the wrist and fingers rather than with the whole arm as is the case when playing legato. As a result, the bow bounces off the string to produce a crisp, percussive sound, making each note audible even in fast-tempo passages.
Sautillé is a technique used for bowing notes in an upbeat tempo that is not quite fast enough to require spiccato. When tempi get too fast for controlled détaché, it becomes necessary for the bow to be bounced slightly off the string with the wrist in a manner similar to spiccato. However, when tempi are not fast enough for completely separated, crisp-sounding spiccato, notes remain slightly connected to create a brushing or scrubbing sound that results from the sautillé stroke.
Sul ponticello ("on the bridge") refers to bowing closer to the bridge, while sul tasto ("on the fingerboard") calls for bowing nearer the end of the fingerboard. (While reading music, "tasto" can also mean to play with the bow in normal position when having been playing "ponticello") Ponticello calls for more bow weight and slower bow speed, and produces a "harder" sound, with strong overtone content. Sul tasto, in extreme cases called "flautando," produces a more flute-like sound, with more emphasis on the fundamental frequency of the note, and softer overtones.
A player using the col legno technique rubs the strings with the wood of the bow rather than the hair. There are two forms, col legno battuto and col legno tratto. Col legno battuto is performed as a percussive technique with no sustaining of the sound. The much less common alternative is col legno tratto, wherein the wood is drawn across the string as the hair is in a normal bow stroke.
In music pieces, con sord means "with mute" in Italian, and senza sord means "without mute". The mute is a device that is typically made of rubber, and serves to dampen the vibrations on string instruments. On the cello, it can be clipped on the bridge when needed, and can be taken off and attached to the strings below the bridge when not in use. [7]
In pizzicato playing, the string is plucked directly with the fingers or thumb rather than being played with the bow. Pizzicato is often abbreviated as "Pizz.". Position of the hand is slightly over the finger board and away from the bridge. Usually this is done with the right hand, while the bow is held away from the strings by the rest of the hand or (for extended passages) set down. A single string can be played pizzicato, or double, triple, or quadruple stops can be played. Occasionally, a player must bow one string with the right hand and simultaneously pluck another with the left, or even possibly strum with both hands at the same time. This is marked by a "+" above the note. Strumming of chords is also possible, in guitar fashion.
Double stops involve the playing of two notes at the same time. Two strings are fingered simultaneously, and the bow is drawn so as to sound them both at once. Triple and quadruple stops may also be played (in a "broken" fashion), but are difficult to sustain because of the change in slope of the bridge. To extend the technique in this area, Frances-Marie Uitti has invented a two-bow system: one bow plays above the strings and one below, allowing for sustained triple and quadruple stops. However, this technique is very rarely seen or used.[ citation needed ]
The cello is famous as its melodic, deep and rich timbre. It is one of the most important instruments in symphony orchestra, chamber music, and even solo aspect. Different players in different countries have their own playing style. Usually the way cellists interpret the sound, and even how cellists use their fingerings, are influenced by their own music culture in their own countries.[ citation needed ]
The French School had a centuries-long impact, which continues today. French playing is often thought of in terms of refinement, finesse, and elegance. However, during the 18th Century in Northern Europe, the cello was still considered a lowly and rudimentary instrument compared to the viola da gamba. The French cello school evolved due to the exquisite playing of Martin Berteau (circa 1700–71). Despite maintaining the underhand bow-hold of the gamba, his sweet tone and depth of expression greatly influenced his students, Jean Pierre Duport, Tillière, and Jean Baptiste Cupis. Berteau developed an effortless fingering system, incorporating the use of the thumb, and introducing the use of both natural and artificial harmonics, which was quite unusual for the cello at the time. Cello fingering, he thought, ought to emulate violin playing where each finger plays a half step or semitone. [8]
There were originally two factions of styles in the German School of cello playing: those who followed Bernhard Romberg (1767–1841) in Germany and Friedrich Dotzauer (1783–1860) in Bonn. Bernhard Romberg, an outstanding performer, is responsible for simplifying cello notation. At the time, composers like Boccherini sometimes wrote cello parts in five different clefs. Beethoven and Mozart, when they wrote for cello in the treble clef, penned the music an octave higher than it was to sound. Romberg simplified notation, limiting cello music to three clefs—the bass, tenor, and treble clef (sounding where it was written). Romberg also introduced a longer fingerboard, with a longer neck on the instrument, allowing cellists to venture into higher positions by using the thumb. He established the notation for the thumb, a circle with a small line (see the diagram) and also modified the C string side of the cello so it could resonate more. [9]
Meanwhile, the Dresden court attracted some of the finest musicians, including Friedrich Dotzauer. Although Dotzauer still played without an endpin, he was the first to advocate holding the bow closer to the frog—the ebony end of the stick. This afforded more control of the right hand and production of sound. He also advocated limiting the use of vibrato. The beauty and purity of tone became paramount. [10]
Russian school developed slightly later than their French and German counterparts, with some influence from the German School. The first notable person to organize his style of playing was cellist Karl Davydov. He received instruction from Friedrich Grützmacher in Leipzig, giving him a strong base in which he further developed his technique. While German schools put more emphasis on the technique of the left hand, Davydov also contributed to the bow technique. He introduced a looser bow hold, and especially a relaxed wrist where the index finger was used to control the pressure. [11]
The cello ( CHEL-oh), or violoncello ( VY-ə-lən-CHEL-oh, Italian pronunciation:[vjolonˈtʃɛllo]), is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 and A3. The viola's four strings are each an octave higher. Music for the cello is generally written in the bass clef, with tenor clef, and treble clef used for higher-range passages.
The double bass, also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched chordophone, in the modern symphony orchestra. Similar in structure to the cello, it has four or five strings.
The violin, colloquially known as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino piccolo and the pochette, but these are virtually unused. Most violins have a hollow wooden body, and commonly have four strings, usually tuned in perfect fifths with notes G3, D4, A4, E5, and are most commonly played by drawing a bow across the strings. The violin can also be played by plucking the strings with the fingers (pizzicato) and, in specialized cases, by striking the strings with the wooden side of the bow.
In musical instrument classification, string instruments or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner.
Pizzicato is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of instrument:
In music, a bow is a tensioned stick which has hair coated in rosin affixed to it. It is moved across some part of a musical instrument to cause vibration, which the instrument emits as sound. The vast majority of bows are used with string instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, and bass, although some bows are used with musical saws and other bowed idiophones.
A variety of musical terms are encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special musical meanings of these phrases differ from the original or current Italian meanings. Most of the other terms are taken from French and German, indicated by Fr. and Ger., respectively.
The fingerboard is an important component of most stringed instruments. It is a thin, long strip of material, usually wood, that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument. The strings run over the fingerboard, between the nut and bridge. To play the instrument, a musician presses strings down to the fingerboard to change the vibrating length, changing the pitch. This is called stopping the strings. Depending on the instrument and the style of music, the musician may pluck, strum or bow one or more strings with the hand that is not fretting the notes. On some instruments, notes can be sounded by the fretting hand alone, such as with hammer ons, an electric guitar technique.
In music, extended technique is unconventional, unorthodox, or non-traditional methods of singing or of playing musical instruments employed to obtain unusual sounds or timbres.
A Baroque violin is a violin set up in the manner of the baroque period of music. The term includes original instruments which have survived unmodified since the Baroque period, as well as later instruments adjusted to the baroque setup, and modern replicas. Baroque violins have become relatively common in recent decades thanks to historically informed performance, with violinists returning to older models of instrument to achieve an authentic sound.
Playing the violin entails holding the instrument between the jaw and the collar bone. The strings are sounded either by drawing the bow across them (arco), or by plucking them (pizzicato). The left hand regulates the sounding length of the strings by stopping them against the fingerboard with the fingers, producing different pitches.
Finger vibrato is vibrato produced on a string instrument by cyclic hand movements. Despite the name, normally the entire hand moves, and sometimes the entire upper arm. It can also refer to vibrato on some woodwind instruments, achieved by lowering one or more fingers over one of the uncovered holes in a trill-like manner. This flattens the note periodically creating the vibrato.
In classical guitar, the right hand is developed in such a way that it can sustain two, three, and four voice harmonies while also paying special attention to tone production. The index (i), middle (m), and ring (a) fingers are generally used to play the melody, while the thumb (p) accompanies in the bass register adding harmony and produces a comparable texture and effect to that of the piano. The classical guitar is a solo polyphonic instrument, and it is difficult to master.
Spiccato is a bowing technique for string instruments in which the bow appears to bounce lightly upon the string. The term comes from the past participle of the Italian verb spiccare, meaning "to separate". The terms martelé, saltando, and sautillé describe similar techniques.
Violin acoustics is an area of study within musical acoustics concerned with how the sound of a violin is created as the result of interactions between its many parts. These acoustic qualities are similar to those of other members of the violin family, such as the viola.
String instruments are capable of producing a variety of extended technique sounds. These alternative playing techniques have been used extensively since the 20th century. Particularly famous examples of string instrument extended technique can be found in the music of Krzysztof Penderecki, Witold Lutosławski, George Crumb, and Helmut Lachenmann.
Guitar picking is a group of hand and finger techniques a guitarist uses to set guitar strings in motion to produce audible notes. These techniques involve plucking, strumming, brushing, etc. Picking can be done with:
In music performance and education, thumb position, not a traditional position, is a string instrument playing technique used to facilitate playing in the upper register of the double bass, cello, and related instruments, such as the electric upright bass. To play passages in this register, the player shifts their hand out from behind the neck and curves the hand, using the side of the thumb to press down the string; in effect, the side of the thumb becomes a movable nut (capo).
Cello techniques encompass a diverse set of approaches and methods employed by cellists to master the cello. Various techniques include bowing techniques that dictate the direction and pressure of the bow, as well as different fingerings styles that produce a myriad of tones.
