Getting to Know Your Cello
Learn all the different parts of your cello and how to care for them.
Get to know your Cello
Congratulation, you have bought your first cello! Know it's time to learn the different parts of your cello and how to care for them and clean them. There are 11 major parts of the cello; take a look at the diagram on this page. There is the fingerboard, which is placed on the neck, which is where you place your fingers on top the strings to play all of the different notes. When leaning the cello on your body, you will come into contact with the upper bout, opposite of it is the lower bout which is what goes in between your legs. In between the two bouts, is the C bout. Next to the C bouts are the F holes. Within the right F hole, you should find your sound post. At the bottom of the cello is the endpin, which come out by twisting a nut undone and can be locked into place by twisting the nut tight. The body of the cello is designed to be a self-amplifier.
Tuning
At the top of the cello, there's the scroll, the peg box, and pegs. The peg box contains the four pegs that are used to make major adjustments to our four strings: C, the lowest, thickest string and position on the far left, G, D, and A, the highest, thinnest string positioned on the far right. When using the pegs to turn, I have found in my tuning journey, that it is best to do it while standing. Grasp the peg you are going to be using to tune tightly with a good grip. Turn the peg to the position you need to produce the tune you need from your string and push the peg into the hole with all of your strength. Be careful when removing your hand after pushing in the peg as it might slip. If it slips try again. A peg is bound to slip every once in a while.
You can also tune by using the fine tuners on the black tail piece towards the bottom of the cello. When using the fine tuners, turn the screw towards the higher string to make the pitch higher, and turn the screw towards the lower string to make the pitch lower. The fine tuners only makes small changes in pitch. If you need a small change in pitch, use the fine tuners, but if you need a big change, use the pegs. Tip: Try to keep your fine tuners as unscrewed as possible without it falling out and use the pegs as much as possible. Fine tuners can weight down on your strings and dampen your strings.
The Bow
There are five big parts of the bow. At the base of the bow is the nut. You twist it to tighten and loosen the bow hair. ALWAYS "turn down the bow" after practicing to make sure the hair doesn't get damaged. Next is the frog, which is what tightens and loosens the bow hair. Next is the hair, which is made from horse hair. Never touch the hair with your fingers. Oils from your fingers can attach themselves to the hair and ruining it. This can create a bad sound. The only things that should touch the hair is rosin or the cello strings. Another part of the bow is the stick. It's typically made form wood or carbon fiber. At the end of the bow is the tip.
Care
After practicing, take one side of a microfiber cloth and wipe off any rosin residue from the body off the cello and the fingerboard. Use the other side to wipe off the residue from the strings. Keeping the rosin on the strings will dampen the sound of the strings. Make sure to wipe of any rosin dust off the stick of the bow as well. If there is a lot of rosin dust on the strings, you can use an alcohol swab, but only do this in moderation.