Why is it hard to play the cello?

PITCH. This is probably the first thing most people think of, and for good reason. It is very difficult to play the cello in tune. If you imagine a guitar or a mandolin, you can see in your mind's eye those thin, extremely helpful metal frets that run across the fingerboard perpendicular to the strings.

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This is probably the first thing most people think of, and for good reason.

It is very difficult to play the cello in tune.

If you imagine a guitar or a mandolin, you can see in your mind’s eye those thin, extremely helpful metal frets that run across the fingerboard perpendicular to the strings. These frets tell the player where to find each note physically. Now take a look at the cello’s fingerboard: barren as the Russian steppes in the dead of winter. As cellists we have to use a type of three-dimensional muscle memory to remember where each note is located. We break the fingerboard into hand positions (1st, 2nd, etc), then memorize the exact arm angle and hand shape needed so that our left hand rests in each position with the fingers hovering over the correct notes, ready to play. What further complicates matters is that just as the frets on a guitar get closer together the higher you go up the neck, such is the case with the cello, which means that every hand position requires a different memorized hand shape. There are a number of physical guideposts we cellists use to orient ourselves in various positions on the fingerboard, but in general even those guideposts merely act as a memory aid and 3D memorization is still required. The real ass kicker comes when you realize that - unlike a piano - a cello requires a player to use more than one pitch for the same note name. Let me explain. On a piano, a C natural is a C natural is a C natural. You press the button and out comes a C, same exact pitch every time. This is because the piano employs a tuning system called equal temperament in which all 12 semitones within a scale are exactly the same distance apart (100 cents). On a cello, however, we have the freedom to “temper” our notes so that they are as in tune and resonant as possible, and that means that if I have to tune an E natural against my open A string, it will be different (higher in pitch) than if I have to tune the same E natural against my open G string. This issue is admittedly more of an advanced player’s problem, but it highlights one of my favorite aspects of learning the cello: the better you get, the more complicated the difficulties become, and thus you can spend your whole life learning an instrument without ever finding yourself at the end of the cul-de-sac. The good news is that touch isn’t the only sense we deploy when we play the cello. We also use hearing, and in my personal experience, I find that whenever I break through the ceiling and find myself at a new level of cello playing, it is because my ears have opened up in a new way and are able to hear issues that previously went by undetected. In order to fix a problem on the cello, you have to be able to hear the problem. Your ears will be able to tell you when a problem has occurred, and only your ears will be able to tell you if the solution you try has solved the problem, whether it’s a matter of pitch or of bow technique.

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Is violin or cello easier?

Is it easier to learn violin or cello? The cello might be slightly easier to learn, due to its repertoire and more natural holding position. However, both instruments have similar difficulties in technique and sound production, and neither have frets.

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Appearance and Style

Size

The cello is much larger than the violin, even though it’s not the biggest of the family. A typical full-size violin, what we call a 4/4 violin, is about 40 cm or 16 inches. An average full-size cello is about 120 cm or 47.5 inches. That’s three times the height, so the cello is the larger of the two by a substantial amount. That difference in size means the violin is easier to carry and handle. If you take a cello and add the case, a cellist needs to carry a weight of 7 kg (15.4 lbs) or more, while violinists only have to carry something a bit heavier than a handbag. Of course, there are smaller sizes, depending on one’s growth but still, the cello is heavier and takes up more space, so it’s harder to move around (e.g. on public transport or on a bicycle journey).

Parts

The violin and cello have the same parts – all but one: at the exact opposite end of the scroll, the cello has the endpin. That is there to support it while you play because the instrument is played by default in a sitting position, with it between the legs. These days, endpins are retractable, though older endpins were wooden and could not be removed. Every other part of the cello is similar to the violin, the only difference being that cellos are larger in size.

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