| Author |
Subject |
drcello
Registered User
(1/21/01 7:22:00 am)
Reply | Edit |
cello
sizes 4/4, 3/4, 1/2 etc...
I need some help. Is there a chart
that give the relationship between the height of the cello student
and the size cello that would be appropriate for that
student?
I know cellists only 5 feet tall who play full-sized
cellos, but suppose the cellist is 4'6": would that mandate a 3/4
size? Or if he/she is only 4' tall, would that mandate a 1/2
size.
What is your experience with this? Thanks!
Marshall C. St.
John
drcello@vei.net
http://www.celloheaven.com
|
Dorie
Straus 
Moderator
(1/21/01 7:41:40 am)
Reply |
Re:
cello sizes 4/4, 3/4, 1/2 etc...
Can't help you with this, just
complicate matters. Those fractional Japanese instruments are almost
a size smaller than others available to rent and buy. My daughter's
rented 1/2 size Suzuki fits her perfectly (she's a small 8 year old)
but a 1/2 size German cello is way too big.
Perhaps Ellen
can straighten this out.
|
Ellen
G 
Registered User
(1/21/01 8:50:11 am)
Reply |
Re:
cello sizes 4/4, 3/4, 1/2 etc...
Dorie is right about the Suzuki v.
European cellos. A 1/4 Suzuki is comparable in size to a 1/8
European, and on down the line.
As for actual sizes of
cellos, I don't know if it was always the case or whether "quality
control" on cellos has changed over the years but we lined up a
series of 3/4 and 7/8 cellos to check size when this question came
up before -- sort of like a growth chart when you're measuring your
kids -- and rather than one line on the wall for 3/4, another line
for 7/8, there was a series of lines. And this was a mix of carved
cellos from Europe and China.
In some cases there was not
much difference between a large 3/4 and a small 7/8. And at the
Cello Congress when my daughter was looking for 7/8, some people had
what they called a "short 4/4". I don't think there is anything
about this thing called "cello" that is -- what's the word I'm
looking for? Everything has a range in size and/or quality, or can
be viewed with subjectivity. Do you wear the same size
shoes/sneakers in every maker you try? I don't.
So since the
original question was a ratio of size of cellist to size of
instrument, I'm afraid once again I've meandered all around the
point. There are printed guidelines somewhere, but I sorta wonder
how valuable they are. As an aside, two of the 7/8s were funny
because one had a really tall scroll. Reminded me of some lady in
the movies with an old bee hive hairdo. The body of the cello was
the same as the one next to it, but it looked tall. You see one
cello, you never question it. You see a bunch of 'em, you start to
notice things.
About all you can do is check the
measurements of what they are growing out of so you don't select an
instrument too close in size to it. It should be a matter of seating
the cellist and making sure that their body parts and cello's body
parts line up properly. You know where your knee should rest
approximately, and that the C peg should be near the left ear. When
the endpin is adjusted so you get the knee position right, you see
where the scroll falls. If it's over their head, you have a problem.
If the scroll is in the right place but the knee is wrong, you have
a problem. I think fitting when seated works better than measuring
hands and arms. In the scheme of things, it does seem ridiculous
that I would play the same size cello as a 6'2" guy with big hands.
And as my fourth finger is a hair flat on extensions, I wonder if I
should be in a 7/8.
Edited by: Ellen
G at: 1/21/01 8:50:11
am
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