The Cello
Speech Class
11-28-11
Valerie Westlund
The Cello is one of the only stringed instruments in the world that you have to sit down on a chair in order to play. It was invented in the early 16th century by Antonio Stradivari. Today’s Cello is a lot smaller than the original Cello.
The main parts of the Cello are the Scroll, the Peg Box, the Fingerboard, the Body, the Bridge, the F holes, the Tuning Peg Board, and the Endpin.
The Scroll is a beautiful addition to the Cello. Most types of stringed instruments, like the Bass, the Cello, the Viola, or the Violin have this beautiful piece. The Scroll is a delicately carved piece of wood that curves around and around and under like this. (Demonstrate)
The Peg Box is inside the Scroll. Its job is to hold the pegs. The pegs hold the strings in place. You use these to tune the Cello. When you tune the Cello, you simply turn the pegs until the string is in tune. (Demonstrate)
The Fingerboard is the board on which the strings and your fingers rest on when you play. The Fingerboard runs all the way from the scroll to just before the Bridge. The Fingerboard allows you to make a clear sound with your fingers, and to support them when you play.
The Bridge holds the strings up. If you didn’t have the Bridge, you wouldn’t be able to play the Cello at all, because the strings wouldn’t be up off the fingerboard, and so the strings wouldn’t be able to vibrate and make a sound.
The Tuning Peg Board is the board that runs down from the Bridge, all the way to the top of the Endpin. In it, there are the fine tuning pegs. You use these after you use the actual Tuning Pegs, to make sure that your strings are perfectly in tune. (Demonstrate)
The Endpin is located at the bottom of the Cello. It is a long metal stick that is pulled out of the Cello to make the Cello your height. There is a knob at the right side of the pin. You use this to tighten the pin so that it doesn’t slide.
The F holes are a very important part of the Cello. They allow sound to come out of the Cello. Without them, there wouldn’t be any sound at all.
The Body of the Cello is the central part of the Cello that runs from the middle section of the neck of the Cello, to the top of the endpin at the bottom.
In order to play this instrument, you must use the Bow. The Bow is made of wood with horse-hair on one side of it. You hold the Bow like this, (Demonstrate) with your thumb on the bottom and your pinky on the top, and your middle and ring finger in the middle part, called the frog, and with your index finger off to the side like this.
However, you can’t just use the Bow, either. If you did, the Cello wouldn’t make a noise. You have to first coat the horse-hair with a special substance called rosin, which is a type of Amber. You must be careful to never touch the horse-hair, though. If you do, the oils on your skin will ruin it, and then you won’t be able to play anymore.
When you play the Cello, you put your legs around it, like this. You hold your hand straight, keeping your fingers apart. Your Bow needs to stay in a specific area on the instrument. This area is inbetween the fingerboard and the bridge. If you put your Bow on the fingerboard, you get a very week sound, vs. if you put your Bow on the Bridge, it will squeak.
When you are done playing the Cello, you should always wipe ot off using a rag. The reason you do this is because the rosin will cut into the finish on the instrument, and eventually it won’t look nice anymore.
This long white worm-looking thing is called a Damp-it, and it is a little humidifier that is put inside the Cello so that it will keep it moisturized. When it gets cold outside, the strings like to slip out of tune. The Damp-it helps it not to do that.
The Cello is my favorite instrument. In my experience, the Cello takes a lot more finesse and skill than other instruments. I played and studied the Violin for four years before playing the Cello. The Cello and the Violin have a lot of similarities, which made learning the Cello both really fun and really easy. In addition to that the sound is very beautiful. The deep sound vibrates through the floor. I love the Cello.
