Cellos

Cellos are a bowed string instrument that is the second largest member of the same family as the violin. It is also one of the four instruments that make up the string quartet. The abbreviation for cellos is commonly used but the full name is violoncello. Similar in shape to the violin cellos are twice the size and are played resting on the ground on an adjustable spike resting placed between the knees. The potential of playing cellos solo was recognized by Johann Sebastian Bach and the concerto repertoire extended from Joseph Haydn and Luigi Boccherini to Antonin Dvorak, Benjamin Britten, Edward Elgar and Witold Lutoslawski. Cellos are associated to with the Western classical music and have been said to sound a lot to the human voice. There are a number of sonatas and concertos written for cellos. Cellos are also used in when doing music recordings by bands such as Apocalyptica but are generally unpopular.

Cellos are made of wood although in rare cases carbon fiber and sometimes aluminum can be used. A top that’s been spruced is present in traditional cellos, using maple on the side and back of the instrument. Cellos are also made using other forms of wood such as willow or polar, used for the back and sides. Cellos that are less expensive get backs and tops made of laminated wood. The back and top are traditionally carved by hand. Less expensive cellos are machine produced and the sides and ribs are constructed by heating the wood then bending it around forms. Its middle is narrow formed, formed with two C bouts but the body has a wide top. The back and top have decorative inlays on the borders for most cellos called purfling; it looks attractive but isn’t just there for decoration. The purfling stops cracks from forming if cellos are dropped. If purfling isn’t done cracks will spread all over the cellos body. Traditionally bows are made of Brazil wood or pernambuco but pernambuco is used for higher quality bows. Some of the bows in this recent time are usually made of carbon fiber. Cellos have bows that measure 73 cm in length, 1.5 cm in width and 3 cm in height. Cellos have a frog that has a rounded corner like that of a viola. The bow is roughly 10 grams heavier than a viola bow. Horse hair is traditionally used in making of bows though nowadays synthetic hair. The musician tightens the bow by the use of a screw to pull the frog.

Cellos have string cores made out of gut, synthetic material or metal. The strings that are used now a day are wound with metallic materials like titanium, aluminum and chromium. Cellos have two important internal features: a bass bar glued to the underside of the instrument and a round sound post made from wood and is wedged between the top and bottom plates. The cellos bass bar supports the top side of the instrument and distributes the bass. The sound post and the bass bar transfer the strings vibrations to the top front of the instrument.