Skip to main content

How to Tell What Size Cello You Should Play

Experiment with different sizes of cellos to judge what feels right.

Finding the correct cello size to fit your body type does not pose as much of a challenge as many people think. This is due in large part to the manner in which you play the cello, sitting instead of standing. Knowing what cello will fit you best is a matter of evaluating your age and size.

Consider your age in choosing the correct cello size, assuming that your height is average. A 4- to 5-year-old should choose a one-eighth size cello. Children ages 5 to 7 should start with a quarter-size cello. The half-size cellos are for 7- to 12-years-old, and the three-quarter size cellos fit children up to 15. Adults and older teenagers should choose a full-size cello.

Sit at the edge of a chair with the cello between your legs. Use proper posture to evaluate whether the cello fits your body type. The top of the cello should rest on the middle of your chest. The scroll should extend to just behind your ear while your feet remain firmly planted on the floor on either side of the cello. Adjust the cello base pin to raise or lower the cello as needed.

Stretch your arms around the cello to determine whether you can easily touch the neck and bridge of the instrument. If the arms fall short of touching the bridge, try a smaller cello. If the cello feels small and you can easily wrap your arms around the cello, try the next size up.

Attempt to play the cello and see whether you feel cramped or if you are stretching too far to play. If you attempt a major scale and find that the stretch between your fingers is too wide, this is an indicator to choose a smaller cello. If your fingers cramp and don't have room to move on the neck of the cello, consider a larger cello.

Tips


If you are shorter than average, try a cello smaller than the size recommended for your age. The important thing is that you select a cello that fits your body.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sunday Stories: The Power of Audiation in Music Composition

Happy Sunday! Today, let’s explore the transformative power of audiation in music composition and share an inspiring story about a composer who mastered this skill. Audiation, the ability to hear and understand music in your mind, is a crucial tool for composers, enabling them to bring their musical ideas to life with greater detail and precision. What is Audiation? Audiation is the process of hearing and comprehending music in your mind without any external sound. It is similar to thinking in a language, where you can understand and manipulate words and sentences internally.  For composers, audiation is an essential skill that allows them to imagine, develop, and refine their musical ideas before they are played or written down 1 . The Benefits of Audiation for Composers 1. Enhanced Musical Understanding Audiation helps composers develop a deeper understanding of music. By hearing and analyzing music internally, they can grasp the relationships between different musical elements, ...

Similarities of Classical and Baroque Music

Music has evolved through the centuries and undergone drastic changes. One of the most significant transitions was from the Baroque to the Classical period of music. In this paragraph, I will compare and contrast some of the main features of these two styles, such as ensembles, instrumentation, and counterpoint study. The Baroque and Classical periods of music have many similarities. While the style of music changed drastically, certain key elements remained the same between the two styles. Composers in the Classical period sought to simplify music and create clearly audible musical lines. In contrast, composers from the Baroque period were interested in creating complex and highly ornamented musical lines. The Baroque period occurs from approximately 1600 to 1750, and the Classical period extends from 1750 to 1820. Ensembles Ensembles are groups of musicians that perform together. Both the Baroque and the Classical period had similar types of ensembles, such as operas, orchestras, str...

List of Musical Techniques and Their Meanings

Musical techniques are the building blocks of any basic music training. These techniques allow performers to improve their coordination and develop accuracy through repetitive daily exercises. Musical techniques progressively build upon previously learned techniques. Scales Scales form the basis for other musical techniques. Student may study major and minor scales as well as modern scales, such as the whole-tone and octatonic scales. A scale consists of patterns of half steps and whole steps. These whole steps and half-step arrangements will be different for each scale. Scales are musical techniques that can help a performer to play faster and more accurately, and make learning new pieces easier. Chords Chords require knowledge of major and minor scales. Chords come in several different forms that affect the sound. Triads consist of three notes spaced a third apart and classified as major, minor, augmented and diminished chords. Seventh chords build on triads and have an additional no...