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January 14th, 2004 admin Leave a comment Go to comments

Which music instrument should I learn next?

I have been playing piano for over ten years, so I can read music very well and have a good grounding in theory. Although the piano makes beautiful music, I never really enjoyed it. You cannot bond with a piano, it’s this big wooden thing! You can’t carry it around and you have to play on other people’s instruments. I also have small hands and fingers so I sometimes have to leave top or bottom notes out because I can’t reach them. Consequently my hands ache afterwards. My mother also plays so that’s why I’m playing too.

I want to take up a second instrument. I have the theory, so I’m not a raw beginner. Which instrument do you think is a good one to take up? I am petite myself, small hands and therefore something ’small’ and fun too.

My options are: violin/viola, cello (not really “small” but I love the sound), clarinet, flute….what else? Preferably someone with knowledge of the instrument should answer, all welcome though.

Glad you show some intrest in the cello.

Cello is NOT a hard instrument for people with small hands: it is actually easier, in my opinion (I am a cellist, and have puny hands. I can barely strech an octave on the piano). You can get a smaller sized cello (most small-handed people choose a 7/8 cello) if the intervals are too large. I don’t have any problem with it.

Cello is a fabulous insurment. It has the closest range to the human voice, Spanning from C2 (2 octave below middle C) to somewhere around C7 (the highest note called for in the repotoire is a B6 in the closing measures of the Kodaly Sonata), giving it a total of 5 octaves or more. As you have said, you love the sound. The tone is very nice (after you get past the beginner stages), rich and deep. It can also emulate many other instruments, such as the winds (using harmonics), the french horn (listen to Tchaikovky’s 5th symphony), among others.

The violoncello can also play a broad range of genres. The cello is used from heavy metal (Apocalyptia, a rock quartet) to Bach, with the famous Bach cello suites, and everything inbetween. If you are concerned about a lack of repotoire, don’t fear. We have Brahms, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Shostakovich, and other famous composers that have written pieces for the cello.

The transition from piano is suprisingly easy. It is not difficult to understand how the cello works theoretically. A basic background in theory is really all you need to figure out how the fingerboard is layed out. Basic understanding of intervals and an ear for intonation is what is needed.

As I have said, cello is not a big instrument. It is small enough to play virtuoso passages, but large enough to get a nice timbre. Travel is a slight hassle (I have had friends who have had their endpins confiscated at security), as you very often need buy a seat for the cello, as baggage handlers often mistreat them.

Good luck choosing an insturment. If you had any doubts about cello, hopefully I cleared them up for you. If you do choose the violoncello, best of luck to you.

a few DIY musical instruments from Dennis Havlena