The cello ( CHEL-oh), or violoncello ( VY-ə-lən-CHEL-oh, Italian pronunciation: [vjolonˈtʃɛllo]), is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 and A3. The viola's four strings are each an octave higher. Music for the cello is generally written in the bass clef, with tenor clef, and treble clef used for higher-range passages.
Cello close-up
Cello close-up with a bow.
A baroque cello strung with gut strings. Note the absence of fine-tuning pins on the tailpiece.
Josephine van Lier plays a violoncello piccolo, a five-string variant of the Baroque cello, during a recording session of Bach's 6th Cello Suite.
In music, a bow is a tensioned stick which has hair coated in rosin affixed to it. It is moved across some part of a musical instrument to cause vibration, which the instrument emits as sound. The vast majority of bows are used with string instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, and bass, although some bows are used with musical saws and other bowed idiophones.
Frog of a modern violin bow (K. Gerhard Penzel)
Tip of a modern violin bow (K. Gerhard Penzel)
Turning the screw on a modern violin bow causes the frog (heel) to move, which adjusts the tension on the hair.
