Adrien Zitoun - Play Cello Today: A Complete Guide to the Basics

The Chair

Because we sit while we play the cello, the chair is a very important component to proper position and posture. You will need an armless chair or stool that has a flat sitting surface and does not tilt backwards. The height of the chair will vary depending on the height of the player. Your knees should not be higher than your hips.

Sitting properly is crucial to holding the cello correctly and producing the best sound. Sit at the front edge of the chair. Your feet should be flat, facing forward and directly below your knees. Make sure that your back is straight and that you are sitting tall. Your knees should be on the sides of the cello, holding the cello in place. The cello will hit in the middle of the chest, at the sternum. Bring the cello into the body, keeping your back straight, or slightly forward toward the cello. Make sure that you do not tilt back. The pegs will slip in right behind the left side of your neck. Be sure to keep your head tall and straight. It may take a while to find the ideal posture and placement of your cello. Experiment until you are comfortable and relaxed.

After these four fingers are in position, lift the bow up vertically using your left hand, without disturbing the placed fingers. Place the tip of your right thumb where the left end of the frog meets the stick. Keep the thumb loosely bent. Your hand should be relaxed with the fingers spread comfortably. You will need to practice finding this position several times each day until it becomes easy.

The four strings on the cello are tuned to the following pitches, from bottom (low) to top (high): C, G, D, A

The majority of tuning is done with the fine tuners. Use of the pegs is reserved for larger adjustments in pitch (usually more than a whole step). Turning the fine tuners clockwise, or tightening them, raises the pitch, while turning them counterclockwise, or loosening them, lowers the pitch. Until you are more comfortable holding your bow, it might be easier to tune by plucking each string.

Tune your A string first by listening to the A tone on the audio track. You can also use the A pitch from a keyboard or tuner. Listen to the pitch, and adjust the string as necessary to match it. If your A string sounds lower than the A that you are matching, slowly turn the
A string fine tuner clockwise. This will tighten the string and make the pitch higher. If your A is higher than the A tone you are matching, loosen the string by turning the fine tuner counterclockwise. When your A string is in tune, continue with the other strings, working your way down to the C string.

If your cello is so out of tune that the fine tuners cannot reach the desired pitch, you will need to do the bulk of the tuning with the pegs, and then finish the small adjustments with the fine tuners.