Cello Notes

The cello (short for violoncello) is the deep, singing voice of the bowed strings: like a viola but an octave lower, and so large that it is played seated, with the instrument standing on the floor between the knees on a metal endpin. It shares the essentials with the violin and the viola (four strings tuned in 5ths, no frets, played with a bow), but it sounds in the bass and tenor range, which is why it is read mainly in bass clef. On this page you will find its notes, how it is tuned and how the hand moves along the neck.

The four strings: C, G, D, A

The cello has four strings, tuned in perfect 5ths like the viola, but an octave lower. They are exactly the same notes as the viola's (C·G·D·A): in tuning, a cello is a viola an octave lower.

To tune, start from A3 (220 Hz) and set the other strings in 5ths; you can check yourself with the cello tuner.

Bass clef: why the cello reads in the low register

The cello lives in the low register, so its natural clef is the bass clef (F clef on the 4th line). But its range is very wide: when it climbs into the middle and upper register, writing it in bass clef would fill the part with ledger lines above the staff (UK: stave), so the music switches to the tenor clef (C clef on the 4th line) and, for very high passages, to treble clef. A cellist reads comfortably in three clefs depending on the height of the passage: it is one of the particular features of reading for this instrument. In all three the cello sounds exactly where it is written.

How it is held: upright, on an endpin

Unlike the violin and the viola, which rest on the shoulder, the cello is too big for that. The player sits and the instrument stands upright on the floor, supported by an endpin (an adjustable metal rod that comes out at the bottom) and held between the knees. That is why a cello is always drawn vertically, with the scroll at the top and the body below. The left hand moves up and down the vertical neck; the bow crosses the strings in front.

Why the cello has no frets

Like every member of its family, the cello has no frets: the note is the exact point where the finger shortens the string, and it is decided by the ear. The note is not found, it is built, which gives the cello its expressive tools: vibrato, expressive intonation and glissando. On such a large instrument, intonation is even more demanding: a small slip of the finger is easier to hear than on the violin, because the distances between notes are larger.

Positions and the thumb

Here the cello differs from the violin. Because the strings are long and the notes are spaced wider apart, the hand reaches fewer notes without moving: in first position the fingers cover only about a perfect 4th above the open string (D to G on the D string), a little less than on the violin, so the cellist shifts position constantly to travel along a scale.

And there is a technique of the cello's own: thumb position. In the high register the thumb leaves its place behind the neck and rests across the strings as a movable "capo", acting as a new nut. It is what lets the cello reach very high notes, well beyond the octave of the open strings (A4 on the A string).

Try it: the cello diagram

Pick a note and the diagram shows on the cello where to press the string and at what point along its length, with its sound and its place on the staff (in bass clef). It runs from each open string up to its octave (from C2 to A4), with every sharp and flat, and you can hear it bowed or pizzicato. Because it has no frets, one note lives in several places: the diagram lights up all of them, and the player chooses.

The same note in several places

Because the strings overlap, G2 can be played on the open G string or higher up on the C string; the same goes for D3 and A3. It is the same pitch, but it does not sound the same: open, the string is brighter and more powerful but allows no vibrato; stopped, it sounds warmer and more even with its neighbors. Choosing where to play a note is a musical decision: the player picks whichever the passage asks for.

Bow, pizzicato, double stops and harmonics

The normal way to play is with the bow (arco), for a sustained, singing sound. But it is not the only way:

• Pizzicato: the string is plucked; on the cello it sounds deep and round.
• Double stops: the bow sounds two strings at once; with three or four, "broken" chords are played.
• Harmonics: touching the string very lightly gives high, flute-like sounds, the harmonics of the series, widely used on the cello because of its long strings.

The cello in the orchestra and its family

The cello leads a double life in the orchestra: it carries the bass line together with the double bass and, at the same time, it is a first-rate lyrical soloist, since its tenor register sings like few other voices. In the string quartet it is the bass of the group, and as a soloist it has an immense repertoire, starting with Bach's Suites for solo cello and going on to works as often played as Dvořák's Cello Concerto or Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations.

It belongs to the bowed-string family, almost all of which is tuned in 5ths: the violin (the highest), the viola (a 5th lower), the cello (an octave below the viola) and, as the exception, the double bass, tuned in 4ths and sounding lower still. The cello and the viola have the same four open strings (C·G·D·A), an octave apart. In the concert band, unlike the violin and the viola, the low strings do have a place: the double bass is a regular member (often the only string player, reinforcing the bass with tubas and euphoniums) and the cello joins in symphonic bands and in part of the repertoire.

The lowest string of each instrument, from highest to lowest:

The parts of the cello

It helps to know the names of the parts, above all the endpin, which tells a cello from a violin at first sight:

• Scroll and pegs: the top end; the pegs tighten the strings to tune them.
• Nut: the small grooved piece where the strings start: it marks the beginning of the vibrating length.
• Fingerboard: the dark, fretless board where the notes are stopped.
• F-holes: the two "f"-shaped openings that let the sound out.
• Bridge: holds the strings above the top plate and passes their vibration to the body; it marks the end of the vibrating length.
• Tailpiece: anchors the strings at the bottom of the body.
• Endpin: the adjustable metal rod that rests the cello on the floor. It is found only on the cello and the double bass.

What size is a cello?

Unlike the viola, the cello is standardized in fractional sizes, like the violin. The adult size is 4/4 ("full size"), and for younger players there are ever smaller sizes:

The size is chosen by the player's height and arm length: all of them are "the same cello" at a different scale, with the same tuning C·G·D·A. A 4/4 cello is about 1.2 m (4 ft) tall overall.

Common mistakes when learning cello notes

• Reading it only in bass clef. The cello also uses tenor clef and treble clef in the high register; ignoring them throws the notes off.
• Expecting the violin's finger pattern. The hand covers less: you shift position much more and, higher up, the thumb comes into play.
• Thinking the stickers are frets. They are a temporary reference; the ear decides the note.
• Thinking each note is in only one place. G2, D3 and A3 are in two places each, and they sound different depending on where they are played.

In short

• The cello has four strings (C2, G2, D3, A3) in perfect 5ths: the viola an octave lower.
• It is read in bass clef (and tenor and treble clefs for high passages), and sounds as written.
• It is played seated, upright on an endpin.
• It has no frets: the note is built by ear. The hand covers little, so there are many shifts and thumb position in the high register.
• It is both the bass and a lyrical soloist of the strings.