I need more info on this poor soul who has to keep making drake arrangements 😭

good day,

ive been playing the instrument for 10 years now but for some reason ive become a sailor and now ill be spending 8 months a year onboard

its a big hassle for me to bring the case with me to the vessel, so im looking for alternatives

i never used an electric cello so im clueless regarding what to buy, id like to maintain the feeling i get from acoustic but the main priority would be being able to shrink it up as much as possible during travel i suppose

again while id rather have the affordable option (below 5k eu maybe?) i still want to have a proper instrument as it will replace my old one

looking for any recommendations

I currently use a Coda Diamond GX carbon fiber bow which I do like a lot for how light and well balanced it feels, but recently ran into temptation when I was lent a nice wooden bow for a rehearsal. Certain fast passages I was struggling just seemed.. easier? Don't want to delude myself with what may have been entirely in my head, ("Oh this bow is nice, therefore I must be playing better!") but it also got me thinking if I were to have a second bow on hand for different occasions, what do people normally look for in a second bow to have as a contrasting option?

P.S For what it's worth I believe the bow I tried was about ~$400 more expensive than the bow I normally use, so there is of course the price difference, but price isn't necessarily everything either, right?

Right now I am currently in a bit of a "void" considering what I want to study next with my Cello teacher. I usually play only for myself, as I am shy as hell and don't like playing in front of people, that's why I prefer pieces that sound good for themselves, without much or any accompaniment.

I generally don't have a specific "style" of music I like for my Cello pieces - I just vibe with them or I don't.

I don't even know what exactly I am looking for as my next piece to learn. It can be fast, it can be slow, it can be happy, sad or melancholic. So I thought I might just ask here, what are your favourite pieces of all time to play for yourself and purely to enjoy music and to enjoy playing?

Difficiulty shouldn't matter too much, as long as I don't need to be Yo Yo Ma himself haha

Maybe I can draw inspiration from you :)

Hello

Please help me to identify the C string on the right. 1.9mm red silk, yellow ball.

I thought I was buying the same thing- string on left in package is S33 medium tungsten which is 1.5 mm

The old/new G string are 1.6 vs 1.3 also red silk yellow ball

Any idea where I can find one of those cover things that protects the cello inside the case? The bow sometimes gets loose and starts scratching the cello

New cellist here. Sometimes, usually after 25- 30 minutes of practicing, my hand (forearm specifically) starts to cramp. I think it's more due to exhaustion and not stiffness since I make sure to loosen it up every now and then.

I can't tell if I should push through to build stamina or stop and take a break till the cramp goes away. Been practicing for less than a month now.

Vivaldi concerto in g minor fir two cellos RV 531 how to do that martelé and not that classic staccato and accent

Hi everyone,

Looking for advice, from the most obvious to the most unhinged tips!

I have started the cello in my late 30s, roughly 6 months ago. I have two kids under 5 and I work. I am taking weekly lessons though I found it hard to have a regular practice outside of the lessons. There are weeks when I manage to practice quite regularly (for me it means 20 minutes five times a week) despite the lack of personal times and then comes the rounds of sickness from daycare and I lose my regular practice, and with it, I lose my finger placement and/or my bow movement and I find it a bit demoralising so it takes me some more time to get back at it etc etc. Rinse repeat.

Is there anyone else beginning cello with young kids? How do you manage? When do you practice & what do you feel is a sustainable goal re:times &duration?

Thanks!

As the title says. A new student needs new strings, but we aren’t finding good quality beginner strings in 1/4 size. Can the parents buy 1/2 strings?

EDIT: Thanks for all the inputs. The country where we’re based doesn’t have all the well-known brands readily available. The parents are renting the instrument and are looking to get a replacement (pegs are slipping a lot). I’ve passed along the information and I’m sure they have enough information to make an informed decision on their child’s learning journey.

I’m recording auditions at the end of november. How long before recording should I restring and rehair? I have a few bows so I can still practice while my bow is in the shop.

I am a beginner cellist, and while I still have less than a year playing I'm learning at decent pace and I'm proud of myself. Ik my technique needs a lot of work, but sometimes it's also disheartening when the gear I have physically feels resistant to play.

All my equipment is from gear4music so its cheapy stuff, the strings are factory apart from my A which is larsen aurora. I can't afford to just splash out on replacing it all with better stuff atm, and since I'm still new the expensive stuff is just going to be wasted because I don't have that precision just yet, but I would like to take a baby step to level up and I'm debating what the better option would be to do that.

I'm looking at either

A- replacing my other factory strings with Larsens

B- getting my bow rehaired (its never been rehaired but I'm wondering if doing this is worth the cost on a cheap factory bow)

Or C- getting a new low-mid range bow

I know overall it's not going to make me play better or anything, but given all my stuff is factory, I think these small steps would help me as I'm learning more and more.

Ty for any advice!

Found rosin. Like it. But what is it? Rosin actual, and topless box 👀 for identification. Thank you my darling cellists.

Last time I got my main bow rehaired, I mistakenly slathered on violin rosin. It wasn't sticky enough, and I was unhappy. I discovered my mistake and got some good cello rosin. Over time, the bow is roughly back to where I want it to be. But it wasn't immediate. And I wonder if the new bow hair is forever colored/tainted by the wrong rosin that I used first.

Anyone else done this?

Searched internet many times but my country uses syllabic music system so it is very demanding for my begginer's brain, and I don't have the right phrasing to find what I'm looking for, any help appreciated :)

Anyone else suffer from it? I just started with an electric cello... Haven't even got calluses yet and I just put money on an effects pedal to get some reverb to sound more acoustic.

I really liked a specific reverb pedal, but it cost the same as the multifx pedal I got, so I went with the multi.

Anyways I'm broke. Tell me I don't need anything else.

I also have four rosins. I only use one.

Maybe I need nicer strings. Lol

Spark multifx pedal if you're wondering.

This is excercise 51 in Schroeder 170 Foundational Studies for Violincello vol 1. Measures 15 and 16 are my roadblock. I have rediculously short stubby fingers especially the pinky so the standard fingering of IV position for measure 15 &16= 1242 etc is terrible sounding. I just can't get the pinky to the 4 notes or if I do my thumb and 1 shift upward. I have been playing for 1 year. Is it just that I don't have the right angle and it will just take me time to "get it?". I was thinking can I use thumb position here: thumb 12 thumb, repeat then thumb 212 repeat? Playing it that way is effortless. I watched Maxim from Cellopedia play this excercise and he does not use thumb but his fingers are very long. I have a teacher but I want to practice this session more before my first lesson.

Guys I'm a senior playing cello since 7th grade and I just found out that when playing c# on the A string, I'm supposed to extend my 2nd finger instead of using my 3rd. I would always just extend my pinky for the e flat but now I know I'm supposed to extend. Is this right? I can't believe I'm finding out about this just now.

So turns out the tip of my bow is broken, and you can see it in the picture. It's carbon and apparently very hard to break. The teacher was quite shocked that this could happen; they said it needs a lot of force to break.

Does anyone have any ideas as to how it happened?

Also, a friend's cat has been staying with us for a few weeks now. She does not like the cello, but has been a bit curious about the bow, and I put the bow in a kind of hard-to-reach place. Could she have done this? From what the teacher said, I assumed a cat does not have enough force to do it.

Hello, I am a composer looking to write some harmonics for cello in a piece.

I know how to notate common harmonics with diamond note heads and string instruction and such, but I'm curious about the natural harmonics past the second octave node, or fourth finger in first position.

I know this passage is technically possible with the E through A played on the D string and the G and F played on the G string. I myself, an amateur cellist, have played it, albeit poorly, like this. This would be up past the finger board or played in the same area as first position but the nodes are in between notes and backwards, meaning going towards the ground with fingers produces a lower pitch instead of higher because it is harmonics.

I prefer playing it up past the finger board, but I'm curious how professionals would do it. Also curious about what the notation would look like or how this kind of thing is handled in standard or famous cello repertoire. I will notate the string to be used for each note, but that's all I know what to do. Also, if this is just kind of dumb and should be played with artificial harmonics instead, just let me know.

I do know that it won't be extremely loud but it's a soft section so it should be fine.

IYKYK

I have a cheap bow from temu because it's carbon fiber. Also a £50. Can't seem to get a clear sound on either, the £30 might be a bit old. It came with the cello which was used. Would it make a difference and also, can anyone recommend anything?

I have a set of unused Jargar classic medium strings that are 15 years old. Bought when I had more disposable income (having kids will do that…). They have literally never been uncoiled from their packet.

Obviously I don’t break a string very often. But the sound of my current set is bugging me. They stay in tune fine, but they sound, for want of a better word, too “rough”, like I can’t get good contact with the string to get a smooth sound. Beyond wiping them down with a cloth I have not tried cleaning them. Is it worth doing that first?

How long do you think unused strings stay good for? I figure it’s worth trying the old unused ones before shelling out for a new set, isn’t it?

I play a couple of hours a week on average. Local amateur orchestra, mostly.