The 'Cello

The 'Cello

The 'cello is properly called the violoncello, although it is often shortened to the "cello".

It used to be made with 5 strings in the 17th and early 18th century, nowadays however it has 4. They are tuned to C below the bass clef, G, D and A. Therefore the music is written in the bass clef, except when the music is written in the higher register - then the tenor and treble clefs are used to avoid too many leger lines from being used.

The cello used to just play the bass line, and often doubled up parts with the brass section and the double bass. However, during the 18th century and at the end of the 17th century the 'cello began to appear as an instrument in its own right, having sonatas and concertos written for it.

One of the most famous concertos ever written for the cello is by the composer Elgar.

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