The Cellist’s Journey #2 Life with the Cello -Materialized

So,

you have a dream, and you have an intention. Next, you'll need a cello, a bow, and a case.

I've also experienced that finding a teacher comes first. The order of events don't matter much.

To find your cello, the safest is to go to your local luthier, if you're fortunate to live in a place that has one or more of those. They might have a cello that you can rent or buy. You can be pretty sure it's a playable instrument if you get it from a luthier, while getting something via an online market place is more risky.

I have seen a cello where the fingerboard didn't line up with the rest of the instrument, which means that an expensive visit to a luthier has to happen before the actual cello playing can start. This is also the case if the cello has a crack, for instance. And if the strings are worn out you'll need to first order a new set of strings.

You can ask any music school in your city if they have cellos for rent or for sale. You might end up with an instrument with very old strings, and with a bow in need of a rehair, but it's potentially an affordable place to start.

And there are shops online where you can order a whole cellist start-kit complete with instrument, case and rosin. And among the adult beginners I have come across so far, ordering a cello online has been pretty common.

Once though, one of my pupils came to me with her brand new cello she had ordered online, wondering why the bridge was in bubble wrap and lying under the strings. I guessed that this had been done for safety measures during the transportation, and I could help her set the bridge in its place and tune all the strings. So you might want to be in contact with a cello teacher sooner rather than later.

In addition to traditional wooden cellos, there are also electric cellos and carbon fiber cellos. These are typically more expensive than a wooden beginner's cello, maybe unless you're fortunate to come across one second-hand.

Electric cello is practical if you want to play loudly without disturbing your neighbours since you can play it with ear phones.

And carbon fiber cellos are great if you live in a dry and cold climate far from a luthier.

I spent some years in the north of Norway. If anything were to happen to my wooden cello, I'd have to take an airplane to get it fixed in one of the bigger cities. My wooden cello has frequently opened up in the lining during the dry winter, which is nothing scary but it's not something I can fix myself.

So I ordered a carbon fiber cello to use during the winter when I was out and about, while my wooden cello could remain safely at home where I did my best to provide a stable level of humidity. However, most people use their wooden cello all year round.

Next, is bows.

You can also get bows made of carbon fiber, which is typically cheaper than a wooden bow and doesn't break easily. In my experience though, there's something about wooden bows that carbon fiber doesn't have. Since carbon fiber is a fancy word for plastic, it's especially in our current anti-plastic days a little funny to even compare the two. Also, it doesn't hurt to have 2 bows, in case something happens to one of them, so I have one of wood and one of carbon fiber.

As a beginner cellist, a bow often comes with the cello, so you don't have to think much about it. If you're getting something second-hand, you might want new bow hair, which is something that your teacher can take a look at, and it might be in need of a good dose of rosin.

Rosin is next on the list.

If you were to drag a bunch of horse hair across a metal string, not much would happen. We need to apply rosin to the hair, so that there's friction between the hair and the strings.

If your fingers get sticky when you touch the bow hair, there is rosin on it. And it's because of the rosin that we don't generally want to touch the strings at the same place we're bowing. Our fingers get sticky, and that doesn't go well with playing on the fingerboard.

Sometimes the rosin also comes together with the cello you're getting. But buying a new rosin is not expensive and it lasts a really long time. If you have a rosin that is a bit old, maybe it's broken into too many pieces or dried up so much that it's very hard to use. No shame if you chuck it and get yourself a brand new one instead.

You also want a case.

I have both a softcase and a hardcase. The softcase is cheap, and light in weight. The hardcase protects the cello better, and it's heavier to carry. The lighter the hardcases are, the more expensive they are, unfortunately.

Whether you get a hardcase or a softcase, make sure that it has a backpack system, or at least two straps. Some cases only have a handle for carrying it with one hand. That's very heavy after a while. And again, as a beginner cellist, the case might come together with the cello you're buying.

If the straps on the case can be detached from the it, you can also use them to support the endpin of the cello while you play.

You'll need something of the sort. There are many different items out there for the purpose of supporting the endpin while you play. My favourite is to have a sturdy carpet under the chair, but when there is no suitable carpet the best is to have a strap of a sturdy material that isn't flexible. The purpose of this item is to both support the cello on the floor while you play, and protect the floor from the sharp endpin.

Cellos often come with a rubber hat sitting on the tip of the endpin. I haven't experienced that that works well for keeping the cello in place while playing, but at least it protects you from injuring yourself or others. The endpin can be very sharp.

For the sake of support on the floor, I'm using a strap I rescued from an old cello case. It's also completely fine to use a piece of wood that is attached to a string you can have around the leg of your chair. A few different terms I've come across to name this particular item are: endpin stop, endpin anchor, and endpin strap anchor.

I usually just say strap, since that's what I'm using myself.

A so-called rock stop is not connected to a strap, and it's often not reliable.

Now I've been through the essentials.

I'll also mention some things that you'll probably want to get hold of as well.

A music stand is handy if you're interested in playing from sheet music.

Obviously, acquiring some sheet music is handy of you want to play from sheet music. More about that in a later episode.

It can be useful to have a tuner, if tuning an instrument is new to you.

It can be useful to have a metronome, at least I find it very useful in my practice.

Both tuners and metronomes can be downloaded as free apps on your phone, but I personally prefer to not rely on my phone during practice so I have a metronome device.

I don't have a tuner device since as a cellist you learn eventually to tune your cello with the help of the instrument itself. I do have a tuning fork, which gives me the A440 which is the starting point for tuning the cello.

You'll want a pencil for writing fingerings and bowings in your sheet music.

And some like to have a cushion on the chair they are practising on, a firm cushion that gives you a comfortable angle between your hips and your thighs. The cushion is typically higher at the back and more narrow at the edge of the chair. This type of cushion can really make a big difference to how it feels for you to practice, especially if you have long legs.

So now you hopefully have your shopping list in order. In the next episode I'll talk about things to think about when finding the right teacher.

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