▲ 28 r/Cello
In the orchestra they gave us this to play.
The piece is beautiful; I first saw it in the film "All the Mornings of the World," but I don't particularly like the arches. Has anyone else played it?
u/Toroalcista — 8 hours ago
r/Cello
▲ 8 r/Cello
Tuning
Hi. I’m a very new student and take weekly in person lessons.
Once I was taught, I hadn’t really had any trouble fine-tuning my instrument.
Today I cannot get it, and I’m using two different tuning apps.
We went from 80° and humid to 38° and freezing in a day so I imagine that has a lot to do with it.
But I cannot get this cello to tune, and I’m starting to freak out because I need to practice every day.
I don’t know if I’m looking for advice or comfort, but if anyone has either, I’ll take it. Would an extreme temperature change make tuning that much more difficult? Thank you…
u/Relevant-Ad-2950 — 21 hours ago
▲ 5 r/Cello
Advice/Input on Purchase Decision: Adult Beginner
Hello all! I’m trying to decide my course of action here. The local shop I rent from applies the entirety of the first year’s rental fees toward purchase of an instrument which will total just under $1000. The final payment contributing to that $1000 will be this July. I also own my own hard case (Bobelock XL) for my rental cello.
I am an adult beginner who has been taking lessons for 11 months and for skill level reference, I’m within the Suzuki Book 3 skill set (though not taking Suzuki-specific lessons, just using that as a sort of universal gauge of where I’m at). My 2026 goal was to be ready for Book 4/related difficulty by January 2027. I am putting in a lot of practice and work to make this happen. I won’t be mad if it doesn’t happen because I’m putting in a lot of good work! But that’s just my goal for some solid skill progression.
I don’t want to keep paying a rental fee after August if I can avoid it and hope to purchase an instrument within the next 6 months or so. My current instrument is a student 2008 Eastman in great condition and would be, after the $1000 from my rental fees, another $2000 to buy out. If I were to buy it and want to upgrade later, I would be able to apply the total $3000 value toward an upgrade at the same shop.
Ultimately my question is: as an adult beginner with no intention of performing in any serious capacity but who does care about how I sound and wants to be able to grow, is it worth it to purchase my current instrument and put that monthly rental fee toward upgrades like nicer strings, a new bow, savings for a future cello? Or would it be more worth it to rent a bit longer and upgrade to a nicer instrument (which would require more saving financially of course)?
Of course I understand it comes down to more than cost. Maybe I’ll find a $4k instrument that sounds like a million bucks to me in comparison to my current student model. But I’m curious the general opinion of everyone here on what they’d do in my shoes! Am I going to outgrow this thing soon and regret the purchase if I go that route?
Sorry for the novel. There’s just so many factors at play!
u/Muscles666 — 1 day ago
▲ 2 r/Cello
Looking for general info on inherited instruments with intent to sell
Hello everyone! Long story short, my step-father recently passed and my mother is asking for assistance in selling his instruments as she wants to eventually sell their house and belongings, and live a minimalist retirement life. He had a cello (and a violin) that we know next to nothing about as he was very private with his personal hobbies. Hoping to get at least some general information or assistance in next-steps! Please let us know if you have any questions and I will do my best to communicate with my mother as she lives 3 hours away. Thank you all in advance!
u/secantofx — 22 hours ago
▲ 5 r/Cello
Bach Suite 3 Prelude - fingering question
Hi all,
I am using the Gerschefski/Mueser edition as I find it to be very illuminative. However, in one section there is something I've never seen performed, and I'm curious about the validity of it, or if anyone knows the historical basis in it. Specifically in the Suite 3 prelude, there's no thumb position, instead everything is played on the A string that can be. The slur pattern is down up-up down, up down-down up, repeating. So one seperate note, two slured, one separate. This puts the G string as its own bow, and slurs the 1st 2 notes on the a string. Is this a thing anybody does? Just honestly curious.
u/Unlikely_Bet6139 — 1 day ago
▲ 10 r/Cello
Composer Asking a Few Questions About the Cello
Hello y'all! I recently got commissioned to write a piece for my friend's Percussion and Cello duo. Now, I'm a clarinet and piano player, with no experience playing any string instruments, so I have a few questions about writing for cello. They're rather scatter-brained and all over the place, but I'm really pushing myself (and the cellist) in terms of techniques. So I want to make sure I'm writing music that isn't realistic.
Is slurring notes together harder than playing them all separated? I know if the slur is too long, you run out of bow. I'm just wondering if it's more difficult than playing separated. I've read in passing that it's more so the fingers having to stay connected that can be problematic. But I've not really read anything definitive.
How far up can you go onto the string comfortably? Like, for example, "On the C String, we're comfortable with going 2-octaves above the open note" (This is just a random example, not based in anything)
For col legno buttato, will 16th notes at quarter = 60 over a few measures be too fast or too tiresome?
In terms of artificial harmonics, how comfortable/realistic are touch major 3rd and touch minor 3rd? Should I only go up to a certain note? Should I avoid certain notes? Should I mark it X dynamic? Or should I just stay clear of using them entirely?
I'll be happy to clarify any questions that are weirdly-worded. I know I'm not great at wording things well.
Thank you in advance!
u/PeopleAreStinky — 2 days ago
▲ 1 r/Cello
Help with present for 13 year old girl
Hello! My daughter is turning 13 in May and has been playing cello through school orchestra programs for the past four years. She has been begging for private lessons outside of school and I have finally found a great teacher with lessons starting the week of her birthday. The lessons are part one of her gift but I want to also give her sheet music or something else.
I know she enjoys Harry Potter and Jurassic Park theme songs (has learned them by ear quite a bit or reading music found online). She loves music from Jeff Buckley, Billie Eilish, and the Beatles (just to give a sense of her musical interests).
Or should I get her something else as part of her musical gifts? I would love it to be something that helps her continue to love her instrument. She wants cello to be the star of the pieces she plays… I know that. It is often her complaint about orchestra.
Thank you for any suggestions. Her birthday is in a month.
u/Noise_Nomad — 2 days ago
▲ 3 r/Cello
Entry/Student level strings
I have a set of Helicore strings on my cello and I have no complaints about them. I am somewhat new to cello though, so I am blissfully ignorant.
I want to slightly upgrade without spending $500 on a set. Or maybe just try a set with a different tonality. I would like to keep from being spoiled rotten with actual good strings, looking for any recommendations!
u/Shavalito — 2 days ago
▲ 7 r/Cello
Is this cello worth $2K?
I love the reddit community and was happy to find a cello subreddit as I am clueless. My son has been taking cello for mandatory school music classes and we were renting an instrument. However, we recently decided to start private lessons as he has an ear for music and is starting to enjoy playing. His teacher recommended we get a better sounding instrument to encourage his playing and our neighbor happens to be selling her grown daughter's cello. It's an Ivan Dunov VC401 with a hard case. The cello has clearly been well played and the case is a bit banged up but $2K seems like a good price based on my research. Our cello teacher also agreed though she did say that the seam was coming apart at the bottom and needs to be rebonded. I don't see it but I am obviusly not an expert. Just looking for a second opinion before we commit to buying this cello.
u/cyfbtd — 2 days ago
▲ 11 r/Cello
Dumb Question from a Guitarist
I have been playing guitar for over 40 years. My daughter recently started playing cello. I find the tuners mind boggling.
Why aren't cellos made with better tuners? I get tradition but I find it annoying that you have to keep pushing the tuning pegs in. I love the fine tuners but the pegs on the headstock are just horrible.
u/srdnss — 3 days ago
▲ 6 r/Cello
Harmonics in cello concerto
Hello, I'm stuck on how to play the harmonics in the "armonici" section in william walton's cello concerto. Any suggestions?
u/eemmkkaay — 2 days ago
▲ 8 r/Cello
Teachers experienced with teaching thumb position, what method book/s do you use and why?
I’m doing research for my thesis on existing methods for teaching thumb position and their flaws. Has anyone got any books they’re very familiar with? What flaws/challenges do they have?
u/Jarrahmoo — 3 days ago
▲ 20 r/Cello
Starting a cello collection from zero. What are the absolute "must-own" albums?
I'm looking to buy my first few cello albums but I want to start with the "essentials", the kind of stuff that is universally considered a masterpiece or a perfect entry point into the instrument. I don't have a specific genre preference yet, so I'm open to anything.
If you could only recommend one Cello album to someone who owns literally nothing, what would it be?
u/diff_in_diff — 4 days ago
▲ 3 r/Cello
How to play this?
Dotted quarter equals about 76 BPM, its in 3/8.
I've mostly been trying to do fourth finger across C and G string but not on the D sting, then use second and first finger on the D string. I mostly struggle with not having my fourth finger touch the D string, and doing this makes it hard to get first and second finger all the way back there to be in tune, if I try to pull those in tune, my fourth finger tends to be slanted, causing the Eb to be flat.
I've tried other fingerings for this but they all suck, the thought of doing something with my thumb only just popped in my head so I think I'll go mess around with that for a bit. Any fingering suggestions or ways to get my current fingerings to work better would be appreciated!
u/Embarrassed-Bee-1875 — 3 days ago
▲ 7 r/Cello
Folk and Pop Cellists: What’s Your Current Setup?
My last folk gig was with the band Høly River.
I tuned my Luis and Clark down a half step for a couple songs in Eb minor and played the rest on my wooden cello in standard tuning.
I recorded separate impulse responses for each cello and dialed in a touch of reverb and cut low end for both via the ToneDexter.
I am using custom-installed LR Baggs pickups on both instruments.
The show went over very well and I was happy with my plugged-in sound for once!
u/jkndrkn — 3 days ago
▲ 16 r/Cello
How to make "higher" positions on cello sound better?
I'm a beginner when it comes to cello, and am currently starting with practicing the 3rd and 4th position. However, when I play in these positions, it sounds kind of bad? Not even necessarily out of tune, because I can compare my A on the D-string to the open A string for example to check whether I'm in tune. But it sounds... Muffled perhaps in a way? I don't know a proper word to describe it (English is not my first language so that doesn't help). When I bow closer to the bridge, it sounds a bit better, but still not nearly as nice as the tones in the first position sound. Is there anything else I should be doing? Any advice is appreciated!
u/simsampuk — 4 days ago
▲ 6 r/Cello
Please help, first finger on D sounding creaky. I have no idea why and it’s driving me crazy.
I played cello as a kid and am just getting back into it. I got a rental cello (it’s brand new and cheap).
At first practice was going well, I found that I remembered a lot and was seeing improvement. But not even a full week into having my new cello, towards the end of a longer session I noticed that my playing sounded creaky when I played first finger on the D string (ONLY). After some futile struggle I figured my finger was tired (it was a bit purple) and that I should rest.
Next day same problem so I took a few days off of practicing. It still sounds creaky. I’m starting to worry it’s something with the cello.
I tested by using my middle finger in the place of the first finger and it still sounds creaky. I also tried using my first finger in the place of my second and it sounds fine.
It’s not consistent and sometimes I’m able to get it to sound normally, which makes me think I might be doing something wrong with my bowing (having some trouble keeping my thumb relaxed) but I’m confused as to what suddenly changed as this didn’t happen in the beginning.
Ive tried adjusting the bow position and pressure but the only thing that sometimes works is playing very slowly (though that only works for the down bow)
Here’s a recording of it (I begin with playing the open D string for reference). (Also, despite what it sounds like I am not constantly stopping and starting my bow from what I can tell)
u/UovoAnsioso — 4 days ago
I posted the introduction of my Rhapsody for Cello & Piano earlier, and I managed to complete the first draft today including a read-through. This basically ended up being my internal monologue, as I decided to follow the model of rhapsody that Bloch’s Schelomo does in the form of a “discourse.”
My goal with this movement, aside from incorporating Egyptian folk elements into it, was to leave the audience with that feeling of heaviness when a piece with high tension finishes. To me, that brief sense of focus when the music stops and everyone realizes what just happened is probably the coolest feeling when performing. I guess profound is the answer, but that’s what I wanted to convey through this
and in order to fulfill this, i needed a contrast that seemed almost stubbornly out of place for the b section. I took some inspiration from Alberto Ginastera (AR) and Evencio Castellanos (VZ). They have a quality of just going for it every time without hesitation, which results in some really cool textures like cluster chords sounding as unison (Estancia, Danza no1) or an intense cloud of sound dissipating into subito changes via scale+harmonic runs (Santa Cruz de Pacairigia Suite). Interesting enough they’ve both always been popular in studies here in Egypt. if you don’t know them i highly recommend because their music is unlike anyone else’s
anyways, hope you enjoy!
u/HaifaJenner123 — 3 days ago