Who plays the cello here??? Anyone????

I just started playing the cello three years ago and never expected to excel as far as grade 7 now. Of course, I don't own a strad. or a guarneri. I've never thought my cello which is actually a china-made ( most china-made are usually low in price) helped me throughout the years until I've almost earned a place to play in my country's 1st international youth orchestra (MPYO-Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra).

I know there are many cellist around the world who would like to share their experiences with others.

Why not tell us through this topic?

Finally! I'm so glad you decided to post this... along with you, I believe I am the only cellist here. Let's keep this topic alive. I really don't know what else to say... um... I've been playing for about 5 years now... I just started lessons a year ago, but I can already play class A... um and I'm currently working on Elegie by Faure. I also love the Bach suites. Oh... and if you like baroque cello here are some really cool pieces by Triemer: http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/mirable-triemer/

well I *will* be learning the cello soon. i cant wait. i love the cello :D just such a great instrument...

Hmm seeing as this is a cello thread, I'm just gonna pop a question.

In my string quartet, I've written parts up to Eflat - top line of the treble staff.

Is this too high?

Also, if I use a treble clef, would it be standard to play it as it is written, or an octave lower?

Finally! I'm so glad you decided to post this... along with you, I believe I am the only cellist here. [/b]

Wromg :angry: FPSchubertII (Austin) also plays Cello

I've usually written cello for bass clef, although there could be instances where I would switch it up to a different clef if it was to stay in a different register that made it plausible. [/b]

Yep, that's what I was doing. However I've seen several composers use treble clef, but sounding an octave lower. This isn't notated in anyway.. it just.. is.

So I was wondering how players actually interpret something like this.

Another question. Applies to all string players though.. How long should I leave for switching between pizz. and arco?

I at one point have continuous 8ths at Allegro, and there's a switch with no rest. Is this ok?

I used to play cello :D

Damn my youthful lack of patience..

It really pisses me off that I quit..... oh well. No point regretting it, right?

As far as I am concerned you can play that extremly high Eb, it would be very hard to play if you did not have a very nice instrument... I might think about changing that note just because of its difficulty. If it is a difficult piece in itself, leave it in. If an orchestra is playing it, the first chair should be able to play it. If it's not to terribly hard.. u might want to change it.

You could always start again Daniel

also, depending on how well ppl are train, they can switch between arco and pizz pretty easily, your last 1/8th not might just get cut off a bit

It's written in a string quartet, and this particular movement is, in some fashion, meant to show the cello off.

The cellist is pretty good... so I think that would be ok then?

Another question. Applies to all string players though.. How long should I leave for switching between pizz. and arco?

I at one point have continuous 8ths at Allegro, and there's a switch with no rest. Is this ok?

It's acceptable. During pizzicato, string players have a way of holding the bow so that it is quicker to switch back to arco. Though rests are nice, it's perfectly fine to switch without a rest. :ninja:

Good cellist + good cello = one fine Eb

I must ask though... what is the note previous to the Eb... if the shift is too high, he/she might not be able to get there... also, if there are many notes that high (maybe not as high) it could be hard to play... the distance between notes becomes smaller than a finger that high up

In this case, it depends on the cellist.

Thanks for the advice guys.

The Eb comes just after the D below it :ninja: I'll take care not to have too much quick shifting.

So... more about cello. Anyone know some really great solos (besides Bach's).

I PLAY CELLO! It's the best instrument by far. I've been doing it for 6 years now. Hmm that's a rather long time. I've been working on the Haydn C major for a bit now but never performed it (since my private teacher doesn't even know I have it!). The cello suites are overplayed and not that difficult save no. 5 which is a killer and one of the hardest cello pieces out there since you gots to tune down the a string to g! Some good solos are the concerti. I suggest looking at some Vivaldi concerti or Goltermann both intermediate in difficulty. The Haydn is a little father in the intermediate range almost to the advanced stage but not quite. If you really want to get fancy check out the Haydn D Major or the Dvorak. I'm looking to buy the Dvorak (since I just heard Lynn Harrel perform it last night) but it is extremely hard and I'm not sure if it's a great idea. Anyway to answer daniel's question, Eb is not at all out of the range of the cello; for solos you can go a lot higher but then it starts sounding like a violin and who wants that? Anyway. I'm a cellist too!

Ok... well... have you even seen the 6th suite mr. FPSIII. Also, if you think they are so easy, try using almost all open strings, using all first position (with some rare exceptions), hardly any vibrato, holding your cello in the baroque style, not tuning any strings out of their normal note, playng them all in tempo (which is most likely faster than you play it), and making it still sound appeasing. You will not have such an easy time then. I belive the first Bourree in the 4th suite is one of the hardest to play, until you get all those 16th notes. The Courante from the second and third suitea are also hard if you play them correctly. I actually think the 5th suite is somewhat easy (by no means compared to the first three, rather the latter three).

I don't think they are overplayed, I just believe people play the same movements over, and over, and over, and over again... making it seem like they are overplayed (just walk into an audition room, practically every kid will have out that first suite first movement... it annoys me too)

Anyways... I have discovered the Britten cello Suites MUAHAHAHAHA! Those are so incredible.

I would also like to know what people see in that Shastakovich concerto :happy: That is just a bunch of random squaking cello sounds.

The suites are intermediate. They aren't overly difficult and are by no means easy. I'm simply saying compared to many other works for cello, they are easy. Like the Dvorak concerto; a marvelous work might I add.

I've played the cello now for a year and half (just about!) - I think it's the best of the string instruments as I've played and once had all four in my room at one time (talk about one-man quartet)!!!

Does anyone know of any site that had cello sheet music to download - I don't want to be trawling through google searches for hours on end....:sadtears:

I've played cello for...six years now. Wow. Hard to believe it's been that long.

At the moment I'm working on the Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor. Great piece.

Virtualsheetmusic.com is usually reliable.

The Elgar is quite beautiful. I still wanna play mes the Dvorak. That's probably the hardest and I'd say the best of the cello concerti.

I don't know which cello concerto you listened to FPSII, but the one I heard was neither impressive nor seemingly complex to play (Dvorak cello concerto in B minor... keep in mind these are my personal opinions), especially compared to some I have heard.

Some great cello songs I recommend (based on what I have heard) are:

György Ligeti's Cello Sonata (1st movement is the definition of the cello)

Benjamin Britten's 3 suites (cool... bit more sophisticated and modern than Bach's)

Beethoven's 2nd Cello Sonata (another sad one, cool and fun)

Chopin's Cello Sonata, op 65, (it's chopin, what couldn't you love about it)

I'll post some more when I find them.

You're joking aren't you? It's insane! You probably listened to the MIDI or something. I saw it live played by Lynn Harrel (the best concert I've ever been to). It is crazy. One of the hardest pieces for cello, that's for sure.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. To be honest, I got quite bored with it after a while. The entire song hardly concentrated on the cello. I mean the first 5 minutes was just a droning orchestra. I want to hear the cello not some random horn player or string section. I will admit that there were some difficult cello sections, but how hard can a song be when you're just sitting there half the time. I believe your definition of hard is extremely passionate, which I find very appearent in this piece, but I want more of the wholesome dark "cellistic" tones rather than some rather high squaking sounds you find in many concerti. And by the way, I did not listen to a midi I went to this place:

http://www.garageband.com/song?%7Cpe1%7CS8LTM0LdsaSnZ1Cyam0

i can't and probably never will play cello but it is one of favourite instruments, why have a DB when cellos can play the tenor and the bass? I also love the vivaldi cello concerti, my favourite is RV419 in Am and I'm also a massive fan of the Bach suites.

Mark

I just started playing the cello three years ago and never expected to excel as far as grade 7 now. Of course, I don't own a strad. or a guarneri. I've never thought my cello which is actually a china-made ( most china-made are usually low in price) helped me throughout the years until I've almost earned a place to play in my country's 1st international youth orchestra (MPYO-Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra).

I know there are many cellist around the world who would like to share their experiences with others.

Why not tell us through this topic?

Three years of intense practice will do that. People advance at a different speed than others. I knew this amazing cellist at music camp. She played an elegy in C minor (can't remember the composer), she played it so beautifuly. Every time she was done playing that she would cry. She put her heart into all of the pieces she played. She is an amazing cellist, both in her technique and her delivery. It's as if she felt the composer's emotional burden when he wrote that piece. That, my friend, is a model musician.

Hmm seeing as this is a cello thread, I'm just gonna pop a question.

In my string quartet, I've written parts up to Eflat - top line of the treble staff.

Is this too high?

Also, if I use a treble clef, would it be standard to play it as it is written, or an octave lower?

It isn't too high. It is just kinda annoying :P

As long as it isn't some random jump up to that note it should be fine.

(as written)