How to Get a *BETTER* Cello Sound - Lessons for the Beginner to Intermediate Player

[@verabilling]

I love your way of explaining, it makes so much sense and is very helpful. This is talking to adults! I'm 66 and have just started following an old dream... I bought my cello yesterday!

[@cellodiscovery]

Congrats, Vera! How exciting! Come on over to CelloDiscovery.com if you haven't yet found a teacher. Lots of fun things on the site to learn easily. :)

[@davidsanme1715]

Hi I am spanish spoken, I hope to write well. Ian aldo 66 years old. The videos of Carolyn are a nice support for adult begginer like me. Thanks a lot.

[@elenaalinacita4221]

You are amazing. I m watching you with so much interest. I m 36 and now I m learning to play at cello. Is a fantastic instrument. I will look at your video and learn who much I can. Really appreciate it ❤

[@joseph_kenyon]

This is maybe the single most helpful video for beginners I've seen on the bow side of the things. Thanks so much!

[@cellodiscovery]

Hi Joseph! You are so welcome. :)

[@MiltRodgers]

I'm 64 and have been playing for about 10 years. Thank you for this video and for not pushing the concept of arm weight and gravity. My teacher and I disagree with each other on the concept. Physically, unless you have no neurological or muscular control, you do not have a dead arm.

[@eylam9690]

Been playing for 3 days. The low string sounding wispy was literally the first thing I noticed and wasn't sure why. Brilliant explanation.

[@davidbee8178]

Carolyn your videos are SO helpful - another one you produced recently was warming up exercises BEFORE playing - I found they were VERY helpful in getting better intonation almost from the get-go. Another "warm up" I use every day is playing each open string for about 3 or 4 minutes as a bowing and "listening to quality of tone" exercise 🙂 sincere THANKS !

[@cellodiscovery]

Thank you, David!

[@sexymanicou3403]

​@@cellodiscovery Can a cello be restrung ( inverted tuning- CGDA left to right), as a left handed person wanting to play but the symmetric seem very odd.

[@cellodiscovery]

@@sexymanicou3403 - That wouldn't work because the cello is not perfectly symmetrical. The fingerboard is shaped such that the A clears one side of the fingerboard and the C string clears the other side - so that would need to be completely rebuilt as well - and that's rather costly. But honestly, if you are a left-hander you have an advantage because the fine motor work happens with the left hand! Also, if you were to ever play in a cello section, your bow would be crashing into your stand partner's bow because you would be going opposite directions. So in answer to your question, no. People don't alter the cello to compensate for hand dexterity.

[@danjohnson8738]

@@sexymanicou3403 you have presented an interesting question. I am an amateur cellist . Been playing for 60 years and have never seen a left handed cellist who played backwards. The little Tramp - Charlie Chaplin also played the cello . He wrote several pieces for cello and held the bow in his left hand. His cello had to have the bass bar and sound post location changed and the strings reversed. It was probably rather expensive. Most left handed players do fine playing the normal way. Cellocarp

[@sexymanicou3403]

@@danjohnson8738 Thank you for replying. Also what if I were to purchase a 'normal' cello and learn to play it on the right shoulder then. [As things such as triple-stop will be more natural (Ie. Inward motion of the arm.)

[@dmoulton963]

Great job on your video! I'm a cello teacher myself, and dealing with teaching these concepts every day, and I think your explanations are great!

[@cellodiscovery]

Aaaw - thanks, David!

[@renarenae9900]

This was incredibly helpful. Thank you!

[@jeffmarett321]

Wonderful!

[@donpotts7591]

very helpful....thanks

[@cellodiscovery]

Glad it helped. :)

[@Wilsondan27]

You are awesome 👏 ❤❤❤❤❤ thank you for this

[@marcnevins9491]

Thank you, that was very helpful

[@cellodiscovery]

You are welcome!

[@joseph030]

thank you for this. Some good explanation and demonstration of the technique. I will apply this to my practice today

[@corinneseaside2512]

I think there's a muffled sound with my D string? Open D sounds OK. Do you know what could be causing this. I do have a wolf eliminator on D string.

[@nickpetersonvfx]

Near 40 new-ish player here. I struggle HARD with a good sounding tone on my G and A strings. I think it's my Cello/strings honestly. G string feels very muted and the A string is super tinny. Thanks for the video, very helpful.

[@cellodiscovery]

It could be the strings, for sure. Worth investing in a decent set of strings for the best sound.

[@Emp158]

I have the same exact problem with the muted g string and tinny a string.

[@nickpetersonvfx]

I did end up replacing my c and g strings and it did help the g in particular to sound richer and more full.

[@michaelwas8549]

Wow, eye opening stuff Thanks!

[@cellodiscovery]

Glad it was helpful, Michael!

[@abrahamvalles2486]

What is the name of string smooth for thouch pls reply

[@TheBereangirl]

This was great! I sometimes get a skating sound on the G and C strings - too fast on the bow speed. The A string sounds scratchy sometimes- too much weight, or not enough speed, or both! The G string is the toughest for me, the notes sound so...thin?...flat...? terrible? I noticed that when I bow nearly center between the finger board and bridge on the G string it sounds SO much better. QUESTION: I get a sort of vibrato when I bow on the F note (C string), and sometimes on the E note (C string), same with the E note on the D string, is that good? I hope so, because t sounds good to me.😂 I just love this challenging instrument, so many nuances.💜

[@cellodiscovery]

Thanks for your comment! So what you are referring to in your question is likely a "wolf tone". It's a *thing* with most all cellos - some are worse than others. There are ways to tame the wolf tone. I suggest you go to a local string shop and ask for a wolf stopper for your cello. Have them help you set it up. I bet that will solve your issue. :)

[@TheBereangirl]

@@cellodiscovery Ah! A wolf tone, huh?...since it is undesirable, I'll try to abate it with proper bowing, but if it persists, then I'll seek out the stopper you mentioned. Thank you again for your wonderful tutorial!

[@cellodiscovery]

@@TheBereangirl Yup! Unfortunately it can't be contained with proper bowing. That would be too easy. ;) It's physics and how the sound reverberates through the instrument. Just a part of the beast.

[@TheBereangirl]

@@cellodiscovery I looked up the wolf tone eliminator. I've actually seen it on some KZbin instructors cellos, and now I know what that cylindrical contraption on the string between the bridge and tail piece is and what it's for! Mystery solved!☺️

[@davidbee8178]

@@TheBereangirl HI there . . . I'm NOT the teacher here ! - I refer respectfully to Carolyn for that ! - But if I'm reading correctly between the lines here, it SOUNDS like you MAY be getting a HINT of NICE "natural vibrato" on the E and F on the C string . Getting a wolf tone when playing the E on the D string mystifies me somewhat. USUALLY (!) wolf tones live on the upper part of the C string (or sometimes G string) between the B on the C string and the end of the fingerboard. If you can bring your cello to a luthier or consult with a teacher or player, they will very quickly zone in on the wolf tone for you and then make suggestions. Happy playing !!

[@Suppameen]

Hi! I just found your videos and I've already learned a lot! I've been focusing on improving my sound (I can play correctly, but it doesn't sound beautiful...) One particular thing I'm wondering about - why are my open strings so much more resonant than any other tone? Say, I'm playing an A on the D string, trying to let it "ring" for a while, but the sound cuts off much sooner and isn't as beautiful as if I'd done the same bow stroke on the open D string. Am I doing something wrong, or is it just "cello physics" that make open strings more beautiful?

[@cellodiscovery]

Hi - I replied to this yesterday, but I see that I must have deleted it instead. :/. Anyway, the cello open strings will always resonate much more than a stopped note. The stopped note will, as you say, cut-off much sooner than an open note. You might also try to be sure you are sinking your left hand fingers FIRMLY into the strings. Sometimes people believe they are holding the notes down firmly, but they are not. Try to over exaggerate once but really sinking (not squeezing from the thumb) the left hand fingers into the fingerboard and see if they resonate better that way. If so, you've found the culprit. :)

[@virginiacentanni3259]

Every time I attempt to play my cello I get a squeaking sound. I'm getting to my wits end. What should I do to correct this?

[@yirlanda]

Hi! Great tips! Thank you…I do have a couple of doubts. I’m an adult (36), and I’ve been playing for two years now, I can’t practice every day, but I try to do it at least three times per week, minimum. I’ve read and tried to put into practice those tips you described. Still, my teacher has aaalways told me that I’m too tense and that got my right arm used to lift my elbow and not bend too much mu wrist, something which my teacher has tried to help me fix, but the muscular tension will never go away even though I exercise. The point is, now that I pay more attention to my elbow (keep it as close to my body) and my wrist (bend it down and not up), the sound started to fail…Do you think it could be my brain stressing over mi arm position? my teacher also told me I need a new cello, that I’m no longer a beginner and the one I have may already gave his best. Thank you so much!

[@cellodiscovery]

Hi Irlanda! Well, stress is indeed a difficult demon to defeat. It takes time and real effort to get rid of it. And honestly, most of us always battle with it to some degree- we just get better at noticing it and correcting it quickly. I'm curious about the wrist thing you mentioned. Without seeing you play it would be difficult to say for sure why that is making your sound worse. The wrist does not stay either up or down. It bends with the bow stroke. It also depends upon where you are playing on the bow, the frog or the tip. But regardless, keeping at it. Slow and steady is the best way to learn. :)

[@RobManser77]

Thank you for the great video. I find I get a fuzzy sound when playing at or above 4th position on the C, G or D strings. I also get a dramatic change in timbre when going between A and D string in 4th pos. Any tips to help that?

[@cellodiscovery]

Hi Rob! If you are getting a fuzzy sound above 4th position, it's very possible you are bowing too close to the fingerboard. As your left hand moves up (towards the bridge) the fingerboard, your bow ALSO needs to move closer to the bridge. Experiment with this and I think you will hear a difference. Also, if you get a big change of timbre between the A & D strings, that is very possibly your strings.

[@RobManser77]

@@cellodiscovery thank you - that’s helped. 👍🏻

[@kathijohnson2462]

Do you have recomendation for getting a smoother sound? I know most of my problem with the sound is the angle of the bow to the string. But the sound is 'choppy' and the slurs are not clean. Thank you.

[@cellodiscovery]

Hard to answer that definitively, but it could be several things. One is the length of time you have played. And, angle of the bow to the string is such an important component to a great sound - so you have honed in on that. Your difficulty may have something to do with the change from down bow to up bow (and visa-versa). Instead of thinking about the bow change as linear, think about it as circular. Make an elongated oval when you draw the bow and see if that helps.

[@charlesming7875]

Once you know the notes, you can focus on your bow. Press into the string with your forefinger.

[@marlyswilliams9949]

Intermediate adult learner. I am still so inconsistent with double stops, especially involving the A string. Also struggle with double stops in thumb positions. That sounds dreadful.

[@cellodiscovery]

I plan to do a video on double-stops. There's a system to learn these correctly.

[@ToxicJusticeBook]

What is the size of your cello?

[@cellodiscovery]

It is a 7/8 size. I love it.

[@AtTheEnd1000]

A string is the hardest to control. Especially when you get from G to A.

[@cellodiscovery]

I agree.

[@charlesming7875]

First sentence is me all over. It’s the bowing, always. Oh, and keep your nails short.

[@SatanLiterally]

I've been playing for a few months. WHY AM I NOT HAUSER!?

[@cellodiscovery]

Careful what you wish for... 😏

[@Cheesesteakfreak]

Other things that can strongly impact your tone from sounding well are 1. Dead strings. 2. A cheap instrument. 3. An instrument in poor repair. I am lucky enough to live near Indiana University. I have taken my cello to string shops in Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, and many other places - They ALL said my cello was structurally just fine. Listen to me when I say, the string repair technicians near Indiana University are the best at what they do. Turns out, my fingerboard had an obvious problem in it's structural integrity - that several other string repair shops didn't even notice. The difference it made after repair was huge. My wolf tone is mostly gone also. If you are pressing very hard with your fingers on your cello and the sound is very difficult to make, please know that it is very likely NOT your fault, it is your instrument!

[@sexymanicou3403]

Can a cello be restrung ( inverted tuning- CGDA left to right), as a left handed person wanting to play but the symmetric seem very odd.

[@donnap5906]

@@sexymanicou3403 - No, as the fingerboard is curved to accommodate the strings as they are. If you ever want to play with an orchestra or string ensemble, you'll also need to be bowing in the same direction as everyone else. Plus, you'll likely have an advantage over righties on the fingerboard, as your left hand is more dexterous for fingering notes. There are such things as right-handed cellos, but they're very few and far between, likely more expensive and, as previously mentioned, you're probably better off playing a regular cello.

[@sexymanicou3403]

@@donnap5906 What about a left handed cello played on the left shoulder instead.

[@sexymanicou3403]

@@donnap5906 What if you are missing fingers in the left hand; would it be more logical to get right-handed cello as to have more fingers available on the-string stopping-hand.

[@donnap5906]

@@sexymanicou3403 - Then you'd have to reach across your body to use your right hand on the fingerboard. You'd still have issues with bowing in the opposite direction of everyone else in a group.