cello is easier then violin

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pnorris Registered User (9/28/00 6:44:23 pm) Reply	cello is easier then violin Or so says my daughter's new music teacher. This was at a informational meeting at the school(elementary. My daughter wants to play clarinet anyway. He didn't even bring a cello to show. There weren't many kids who were interested in strings, most were interested in the trumpet and the flute. I just couldn't get over that statement.
Len Thompson Registered User (9/28/00 6:48:10 pm) Reply	Re: cello is easier then violin Is her new teacher a cellist?
Paul Tseng ICS Staff Administrator (9/28/00 7:18:48 pm) Reply	Re: cello is easier then violin It really depends.... In some ways the cello IS easier...it's not easy to have your neck in a position that holds the violin...I think. The cello is a more natural fit. It's easier on the ear. I've taught cello students AND violin students and believe me, the scratches and squeaks on a cello are so much more bearable! We cellists get to use 5 fingers on the left hand instead of just 4. But in other ways, the cello is definitely more difficult. Compare the lengths of the fingerboards. And don't let any violinst whine to you about how they have to squish their fingers together in the upper registers. Any cellist whoe's played and Popper or Prokofiev has ddealt with the same issue. About the statement... I guess the music teacher in question was trying to make an over simplified statement which can't truly be made. He probably wants to keep the music program in an area that he is comfortable with. We should ask some of our cellist/violinist members here.... Eva, Corinna? what do y'all think? Paul Tseng, Cello Chat Administrator Today's Quote My Website MP3! The San Diego Cello Society
Lissey Registered User (10/1/00 2:20:07 pm) Reply	Re: cello is easier then violin The violinists don't need finger extensions to play double stops! And they don't have to suffer through thumb position. Of course, violin has it's own difficulties but I'm sure you can't just say outright that cello is easier!
RemRem Registered User (10/1/00 2:45:36 pm) Reply	Re: cello is easier then violin I don't know but who cares for violins? There's nothing better than cello...
karen83 Registered User (10/1/00 7:30:36 pm) Reply	Re: cello is easier then violin Yes, we can use 5 fingers. But do you usually use your pinky when in thumb position? I think I've done it in maybe one popper excerise I've played, and I was uneasy about it. You really can't get into a debate about difficulties in instruments. It can get pretty ugly. And unless you've played both you don't have any real evidence to back yourself up.
matthias24 Registered User (10/1/00 8:59:24 pm) Reply	Re: cello is easier then violin RemRem- Where did you get those other emoticons from? What are the keystrokes? ~ Aaron ~
HighCellocity Registered User (10/2/00 12:06:38 am) Reply	Re: Cello Is easier than Violin Is there a chance they just need more cellists and are pitching it as easier to encourage students? Matt
CordulaR Registered User (10/2/00 1:51:18 am) Reply	Re: cello is easier then violin there is a lot to say for that statement. But he clearly forgot the carrying around part...... ;D Cordula
Andrew Victor Registered User (10/2/00 10:40:11 am) Reply	Re: cello is easier then violin I consider myself an expert (local anyway) on this question with over 60 years on the violin and only 10 fewer on the cello. The cello is easier to play--except when it's not. (For example, in the Beethoven triple concerto, the piano part is probably a walk in the park, the violin part is not untypical of orchestral music (and probably on a par with the same composer's violin concerto), the cello part (musically no more difficult) seems to me a terror!) The ability to roam the entire fingerboard on a cello seems somewhat rarer than on a violin (professionals excepted). An awful lot of cello playing can be accomplished without fully utilizing the entire range of the instrument, whereas to cover a similar range of classical music on the violin (at least first violin parts) requires much more range. The fingerboards of both instruments seem the same length to a player (about a mile long). Bowing can be overworked on a cello, making that seem more an effort, but with the right bow and the right technique it should not. Actually many off-string strokes that are quite difficult on the violin are easier on cello because the body position is helping rather than hindering; you are always handling the bow from above. (Which, by the way is why the "Russian bow hold" has become so universally popular on violin - because it puts more of the arm above the bow and bow hand.) Although it's not a total help, the right arm position for cello is more stable and this helps reduce bow shakes in stage fright situations, although it does not always completely eliminate them. Left hand finger pressure, and damage to the side of the thumb (especially when learning thumb positions) can be painful --but violinists fingers also suffer pain from those tight skinny strings. If a cellist will follow Victor Sazer's advice and approach the strings with the fingers from the right side, a lot of pain can be avoided and the minimum needed pressure can be easily found. The arm positions (both left and right) are more natural for the cello than for the violin (or viola) and as a result, a pleasant vibrato can be developed quickly and used well throughout life much more easily than on an instrument held under the "chin." The cello is harder to carry around fit in cars and carry up stairs, down hallways and through doors. I notice people wanting lighter and lighter cases as they age, and finally resorting to cello bags, even for some very fine instruments; not for price at all but for portability. I'd say your daughter's new music teacher is correct - in general. Andy
Tracie Price Registered User (10/2/00 11:27:55 am) Reply	Interesting Hey Andy, I've found that bowing on the violin is actually easier for me- especially things like ricochet, precisely because of the reasons you stated- the difference in the angle. I've also found that violin strings don't hurt like cello strings do because of the lower string height and perhaps the fact that my violin has Dominant strings on it, and not steel ones. I've often had to play the same licks on both the violin and the cello when teaching orchestra, and almost always it has been easier for me on the violin because there just isn't the distance to cover that there is on the cello, and because you can often reach or extend for things rather than shifting for them. I'm not at all discounting your post, I'm wondering something-- I learned the cello first, then the violin. You learned the violin first. Do you think that perhaps whichever instrument was learned 2nd is the easier one for people? I don't have your impressive 60 year background on my first string instrument (!), but did spend 3-4 hours a day playing the violin while teaching. For me, not only was it more practical to haul a violin to my classes, but it gave me time to learn the instrument better. I haven't had violin lessons though. What do you think? What about others out there who play more than one string instrument? (actually, my first instrument was the piano) -Tracie
RemRem Registered User (10/4/00 10:01:17 am) Reply	Smileys Here's the link. All the pages on the left side are full with those cuties: smilecwm.tripod.com/net/index.htm
Andrew Victor Registered User (10/4/00 12:49:33 pm) Reply	Re: Interesting Interesting indeed! Tracie, now I have two conflicting data points and I therefore about half the confidence in my original opinion. True, gravity does not help ricochet bowing on cello as much as on violin - in fact it can help the bow "fall over the bridge." And for playing music of the same physical difficulty, the violin is easier because it is smaller and does not involve a significantly different left hand position up higher. But I still think that the cello is easier to bring to a performance standard for orchestra or chamber music than the chin instruments - and even to a decent (grange, back-to-school night, or church) solo standard. Thanks, Andy
Tracie Price Registered User (10/4/00 3:25:16 pm) Reply	Re: Interesting Yes, one thing I also forgot to write was that of course violin music (in chamber or orchestra) is usually more difficult than cello music is (ie- many more notes!). And a bad violinist is usually more painful to listen to than a bad cellist... You're right about the cello being easier to bring to a performance standard.