The Singing Cello

Okay . . . I can't quite make it sing yet, but I certainly try!

Today I finally have my cello strung correctly with the bridge in the correct position and each string tuned. Today I began a few scales and arpeggios, and I picked out a few songs.

I put a new string on yesterday and began, rather fearfully, to bring it up to pitch. The instrument is so long that each time you tighten one string, it pulls the others out of tune until you are very close on all strings. That's when fine tuning can begin.

Today I was just a tone away from being in tune when . . . SNAP! I winced as I imagined another broken string, and with my luck it would be the A string again. A close look told me that the A string was fine. One of the other strings, maybe. The C string (lowest) was flopping around the underside of the neck, as was the G string (next lowest). Neither was broken, but their neighbor, the D string, was oddly slack as well. The only string to have any tension left was A . . . Ah . . . the bridge was the culprit! It had been positioned too low on the instrument and, when I tried to tighten the A string (the highest and also the one with the most tension on it) it pulled on the bridge and snapped it out of position all together. Fortunately it didn't break!

A quick bit of research on the internet refreshed my knowledge of cello bridge placement and I was back in business. This correctly placed bridge fixed some other problems I had noticed but wasn't sure how to diagnose. And now, after again slowly bringing the strings up to tension, my cello is ready to sing. Admittedly, I am still about a 1/4 tone below the proper pitch, but my strings are new and I'm still a little fearfull of breaking another one, so I'll take it slow and finish bringing it up the rest of the way tomorrow!