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- Alternate meaning: Cello web browser
The cello (also violoncello or 'cello) is a stringed instrument and part of the violin family. The cello is much larger than a violin, and unlike that instrument, it is played in an upright position between the legs of the seated musician, resting on a metal spike, called the endpin. The player draws his or her bow horizontally across the strings.
The cello has four strings tuned in fifths: C (the lowest), G, D and A (below middle C); these are tuned exactly one octave below the viola. The music for cello is usually written in the bass clef. For the higher notes, the cello sometimes uses the tenor clef and occasionally the treble clef.
The name cello is an abbreviation of the Italian violoncello, which means 'little violone'. The violone is an obsolete instrument, a large viol, similar to a modern double bass.
The cello is most closely associated with western classical music. It is part of the standard orchestra and features in the string quartet and many other chamber groups. A number of concertos and sonatas have been written for it. It is less common in popular music; though, the instrument features in a number of pop and rock recordings, it is a rarely part of a group's standard lineup. An exception are Apocalyptica, a group of cellists best known for their versions of heavy metal songs. It is a style that has become known as cello rock. Another great example is Rasputina, a group of three female cellists committed to an intricate cello style intermingled with Gothic music.
Construction Cellos are normally constructed with a spruce top, and maple back, sides, and neck. The top and back are hand carved, although less expensive cellos frequently have a top and back made of a laminate, giving an inferior sound. The sides are made by steaming the wood and bending it around forms. The neck, pegbox, and scroll are carved out of a single piece of wood. Ebony is usually used for the tuning pegs, fingerboard, nut (piece above the fingerboard which the strings rest on), and tailpiece, but other dark woods can be used. The tailpiece is also frequently made of metal. The bridge (piece in the middle that the strings rest on) is not glued on; tension from the strings keeps it from falling off. The f-holes in the top serve two purposes: they allow sound exit the top more freely, and they allow reaching in to adjust the sound peg (see below).
Internally, the cello has two important features: a bass bar, which is glued to the underside of the top of the instrument, and a sound peg, which is sandwiched between the top and bottom. Like the bridge, the sound peg is not glued; Because of this, if it should be necessary to remove all of the strings, the cello must be kept horizontal, or the sound peg can fall over. A luthier has a special tool for positioning it should this occur.
The bow is made from Pernambuco (high quality) or Brasil (lower quality) wood. Both woods come from the same species of tree (Caesalpina sappna L, or sappon wood, native in Asia), but Pernambuco is the heartwood of the tree and is much darker (Brasil wood is stained/painted dark to compensate). The hair is horsehair. Synthetic hair sounds terrible; even if the bow is made of fiberglass (terrible quality), real horsehair will sound much better. Recently, they have started making bows out of carbon fiber or wood with a carbon fiber core; these are much better than older fiberglass bows, but they are also more expensive. The hair is coated with rosin (normally every time the instrument is played) to let it grip the strings. Bows need to be re_haired periodically as the hair loses its grip over time. The hair is kept under tension while playing by a screw which pulls the frog (the part of the bow one holds) back. Leaving the bow tightened for long periods of time can damage it.
Modern cellos differ from Baroque cellos in only a few places. The neck had a different form and angle which matched the baroque bass-bar and stringing. Modern cellos have a retractable metal spike at the bottom to support the instrument (and transmit some of the sound through the floor), while Baroque cellos are held only by the knees of the person playing them. Modern bows curve in and are held at the frog; Baroque bows curve out and are held closer to the tip, or top of the bow. Modern strings normally have a metal core; Baroque strings were made of cat-gut (the G and C strings were sometimes wound with metal). Modern cellos often have fine-tuners connecting the strings to the tailpiece, which make it much easier to tune the instrument.
Pls note that Cello and Bass are used in Chinese Orchestra besides the Symphonic and the Chamber.
Cellists A person who plays the cello is called a cellist. Famous or well known cellists include:
See also
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