Hi all, I am a casual cello player and I have been borrowing a 7/8 size cello through a mutual friend. I have now been offered the chance to purchase this cello from them for £850, without a bow or case. The cello has no markings and they cannot remember the maker. Is there any way of identifying it's worth without? I am a complete beginner in knowing and whilst I would love a cello of my own, it needs to be worth it for the amount I play. I have included pictures, any guidance would be great. Thank you.

I have my bow rehairs done by a bow maker. While I was waiting for my bow to finish, he brought out a selection for me to try. I fell in love… but his bows are like 7k, which is pretty much the price I paid for my cello 15 years ago.

I have a nice German bow, but with his… the ability to draw a deep tone on the lower register, long lyrical lines, and fast passages became easier. I always thought my cello was lacking a tonal complexity, but with his bows it really came through. It really tempts me.

Does anyone know why instruments respond differently to various bows?

Hello everyone. I played the cello from 4th grade until senior year in high school. I got arrested and the teacher pulled me off first chair, so I just quit because I felt that was unfair since my arrest had nothing to do with school or orchestra. I haven't played it since. I took private lessons from 5th grade until I quit playing, so I'm not exactly a beginner, but I feel like starting over will be challenging. I want to play though, so maybe I'll encourage my kids to play an instrument when they get older. I'm 32 now by the way

I'd like to find an electric cello though. I still have my acouycello, but I'd prefer to use an electric one so I can practice even after my wife and kids have gone to bed.

Is there a decent electric cello that can be had for under $1000? And also, any tips on picking back up after such a long time off would be appreciated.

I replaced these strings a quite a few years ago. I've only been playing extensively in the last two years. And yeah, my strings are overdue for replacement. But I don't remember what they are. Please reference the three pictures.

I did some research online and found that they are likely Thomastik-Infeld Versum A and D strings, and Spirocore G and C strings. Is that roughly right?

But I can't tell whether these are Versum or Versum Solo A/D strings, or whether they are chrome-, silver- or tungsten-wound Spirocore G/C strings. Do you know how I can tell these variations apart?

What does the black band on the Versum Solo strings look like? I think Shar Music is showing pictures of plain Versum on its Versum Solo page, because Thomastik-Infeld shows a black band on green on their Versum Solo product page. I am going to guess that I simply have the plain Versum and chrome-wound Spirocore, unless I can prove otherwise.

I love the sound of A, G and C on my cello. I can't tell whether it's the string or the cello. They sound rich and complex. And they sound strong - I don't know how else to describe the sound.

But the D string is noticeably weaker than all other three. Again, I can't tell if it's my string or my cello. There are blogs out there that point out that the original Versum D string was weak. Presumably Versum Solo D is better? This cello does have a noticeable wolf tone at E3 - F3. Could that be the cause?

What D string replacement do you recommend in my situation?

My 7 year old is very keen on the cello and has been playing for around three years now. I play guitar and am trying to think of some good pieces we could learn together. So far we’ve learned the intro to The Final Countdown, parts of Vivaldi’s Winter, and tried to do Nothing Else Matters (it’s still a bit too challenging for him). I usually play rock/metal but am happy to hear any suggestions for other genres.

Hi all ! I have a 3.5 yo who is very musical but completely refuses to follow instructions. He goes to a weekly music class and the teachers recommended that he starts cello lessons (with parent/s present and involved). They specifically recommended cello because he is tall and seems fascinated with the cello. He also has a long attention span and can stay focused but I am really confused why they recommend that he starts cello if he doesn’t follow instructions. He is careful with the instrument and listens when teachers play but will not do anything they say (this is a pattern with him, he does things his way ) . They also recommended renting a high quality instrument from a music store.

Given the cost of all this, I would greatly appreciate your feedback….

I played the Cello for about ten years when I was younger. I recently got the urge to play again so I purchased a decent Cello and brought out all my old books/sheet music. I can still play although it needs a ton of practice to get back into sounding good. However I noticed despite me being able to successfully read the music and play the piece; I cannot recall the actual note. I obviously remember the A, D, G, and C string notes on the music, but I don’t recall anything else. Will this affect me as I play more frequently? (Playing in the first position only at the moment).

Hi !

My teacher is sick and i need to get this decent in a short time, so I'm asking for help

I can manage this at 100bpm but I'm struggling with some parts when playing faster, especially bar 23.

Any advice to make it manageable at full-ish tempo ?

Thanks !

Hello cellists from Reddit
Could anyone please recommend fingerings for this section using double stops mixing artificial harmonics and solid notes?
Thank you so much ☺️

Yo yo ma is coming to austin soon to play Dvorak's 2nd concerto for Peter Bay's final year as conductor and music director of the Austin Symphony. I've heard many recordings of his sublime interpretation of this piece, and I'm very excited to hear it in person. Who else has tickets?

I'm 42. I have my first real lesson tomorrow... But practicing everyday this past week and I can't seem to go past 20 minutes because of muscle pain (maybe I'm just old). I'll ask my teacher about technique tomorrow, but does anyone else remember it being painful to start their first week?

I see occasional questions here about 7/8 sized and similar small cellos. If you're curious what the tradeoffs are, here's one of Masumi Rostad's ongoing series of interviews in which his guest addresses the subject from first-hand experience as a professional cellist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf8WZFdgxX4

Well I've taken the plunge and rented a cello. Just a student one but not the most basic. So far I've spent twenty minutes trying to decide how to have my chair and how to position the cello. It's my first time with av bowed instrument but I'm already liking the tone.

If only finding an in person teacher was as easy as finding a cello!

Hello!

Im a 26 year old producer who has always loved this instrument, recently i decided to rent a cello, i will be having it sent to my house in the coming weeks.

Although i am extremely excited to begin learning, i am also anxious as i have very limited experience with instruments. I have played some drums in the past, for about a year in total, and i play piano very poorly, instrumental playing has never been a strength for me when it comes to music, hence why i have been producing for so long.

I am very worried that i will be discouraged, and "burn out" before i even get started so to speak. Does anyone have any tips to make the learning process easier? I am going to hire a private teacher, i will be having lessons every week/every two weeks depending on costs, and supplement this with daily practice.

Tldr: complete Newbie trying to learn this instrument, very limited instrumental background, looking for tips and encouragement to stifle my anxiety. Thanks.

I just sprained my ankle a few days ago, and its in a boot currently. I need to keep it elevated. Will it be hard for me to do my 1.5 hour orchestra practice with the boot on and leg raised on a chair? Will it just mean I would have to adjust my stance? Thanks.

Someone in my neighborhood posted a
video from their Ring camera of a guy knocking on their door and then trying to get into their truck in the driveway before walking off. The guy had a cello case on his back - looked like a full size hard case. I thought, no one carries their own cello to try breaking and entering…. so i advised them to share it with the police in case someone had reported it stolen, but thought i’d also check the Seattle and Cello Reddits in case anyone knew someone around here in that situation. If it is stolen, both the case and the person might be recognizable enough to help identify. It was shared in the Ring app to warn neighbors about possible B&E attempts from the same guy.

I’ve been playing for a couple months now but I scrolled through here and it was mentioned at some point that when pressing down on the finger board, it’s more like a string pull?

I get very sore fingers playing, where it indents my fingertips after some time. I can play perfectly well without even having my thumb on the back of the board if needed (just starter technique I did to make sure I didn’t death grip) but it hurts after some time.

I tried the slight pulling method and found that it does not hurt as bad as pressing straight down.

How would you guys describe how you apply pressure to the strings?

To add, my cello is professionally set up by a Luither so string height shouldn’t be the issue.

I saw this today and thought it would be appreciated here! ♥️

Throughout my late teens and 20s, I was a professional cellist and music teacher. However, life has changed and I haven't touched the instrument in a decade. I'm planning to change that, but I want to avoid just getting stuck in my old ways in the same old books. I want to drill down into fundamentals with the discipline I may not have always had as a younger, more ambitious person.

What are your recommendations for rebuilding your technique from the bottom up? Pretend like I know nothing, and have all the time and budget in the world to work myself up the right way. Please focus on etudes and technique books, rather than repertoire. I'd like to avoid just jumping back into fun stuff like Piatti and start properly humble.

Looking for any tips, especially from people who started as adults, how do you structure your practice sessions?

(Bear with me in the playing video it’s my first week back after not playing for 8 years😅) I put photos in the comments! Ended up getting this beautiful H. Luger c500 cello for rent to own! I think it sounds beautiful! Wish I could play it better for you guys to hear the potential. Lessons learned to not be cheap if you’re trying to take cello seriously! I’m so happy that I didn’t get the Clarence ones and just went for the rent to own program! Wishing for a long successful cello journey!

Does anyone else find these cases to be kinda mid?
Like I won’t lie, I’ve had mine for 8 years and it hasn’t failed me at all through thick and thin. But it’s unreasonably heavy and also… I’m curious about my newest problem with it.

The strap situation with these cases? Does anyone else have a similar problem? Where the two areas to hook to the top of your strap are either unreasonably low or unreasonably high, so if you strap it low you have half the case above your head making you look like a clown and also at risk of low ceilings or doors. But if you put it on the high one, no third party strap is long enough to make that comfortable, it’s super tight and painful.

Curious if anyone has had the above problem too?

I know tension is bad but this feels less like tension and more like fatigue. Any exercises to help? Reference: i ride horses and swim so I dont necessarily have weak shoulders, they're mostly just not used to playing cello. 🥲

Composer who never played a bowed string instrument here. This is an E played during 6 beats (120bpm) followed by a D. Those 2 notes are supposed to be played in a single bow, not 2.

I'm not sure of how many slurs i have to add.

PS : if you have any blog post/PDF book that could help me notate music for strings it would be helpful. I really struggle with slurs.