Anybody know anything about cello strings?

PaulS said:
Lol, well, I stopped playing over 30 years ago, so there you go. My mom and dad told me I'd regret it, and I do.
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I can imagine that the excruciating sound of a student learning to play a violin is probably only exceeded by a student learning to play a clarinet/saxophone.
 
SoonerAviator said:
I can imagine that the excruciating sound of a student learning to play a violin is probably only exceeded by a student learning to play a clarinet/saxophone.
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The violin is much worse IMO, I don't know how people like Musechaser do it. Makes my hair stand on end thinking about it.
 
PaulS said:
The violin is much worse IMO, I don't know how people like Musechaser do it. Makes my hair stand on end thinking about it.
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The honking/squealing/squawking of an imperfect embouchure for reed instruments is pretty cringeworthy as well. At least my mother was accustomed to the sound of drumming from my father, so my noise wasn't a fresh, new hell for her, lol.
 
SoonerAviator said:
The honking/squealing/squawking of an imperfect embouchure for reed instruments is pretty cringeworthy as well. At least my mother was accustomed to the sound of drumming from my father, so my noise wasn't a fresh, new hell for her, lol.
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Yup, those squeals can be very painful, but there is just something about a bow being improperly scraped across a string that stands my hair on edge.
 
timrb said:
I'm sure you meant as much offense as possible, but then you are the resident cellist.

Tim
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I hope you were joking. I'm sure @NealRomeoGolf was being completely honest. I am thoroughly amazed at the prices that good cellos fetch. I'm also not sure if your comment "but then you are the resident cellist" was supposed to be derogatory, but the fact that we have such knowledgeable folks in all manner of things is one of the things that makes POA such a valuable resource.
 
JOhnH said:
That's all true and I finally did ask her last night. She said she will go back to the shop that worked on it to diagnose the problem.
She considered a teacher, but with Covid, she isn't quite ready for that. Besides, she was a music major and a former orchestra player, so she isn't too sure she could find a LOCAL teacher that would know too much more than her. And she certainly knows that I don't know more than her so I lay low with the advice.
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With COVID the teaching has gone online using a camera + laptop. So no possibility of getting COVID contamination from teacher or visa versa. Also increases possibility of long distance tuition.

It's always a simple matter of having a chat to feel them (teacher) out on what they know and what they don't know. And if a teacher can fix cello over the phone or not.

RR
 
Rebelrabbit said:
With COVID the teaching has gone online using a camera + laptop. So no possibility of getting COVID contamination from teacher or visa versa. Also increases possibility of long distance tuition.

It's always a simple matter of having a chat to feel them (teacher) out on what they know and what they don't know. And if a teacher can fix cello over the phone or not.

RR
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Good idea. I'll suggest that to her.
 
You are a thoughtful spouse.

Maybe a gift cert for strings or lessons?

Is there a COA Forum you could ask?

Merry Christmas!!
 
Rebelrabbit said:
With COVID the teaching has gone online using a camera + laptop.
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I was very skeptical of the efficacy of this arrangement, but my 7 year old has been doing piano lessons this way with surprisingly good results.
 
Rebelrabbit said:
With COVID the teaching has gone online using a camera + laptop. So no possibility of getting COVID contamination from teacher or visa versa. Also increases possibility of long distance tuition.

It's always a simple matter of having a chat to feel them (teacher) out on what they know and what they don't know. And if a teacher can fix cello over the phone or not.

RR
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PPC1052 said:
I was very skeptical of the efficacy of this arrangement, but my 7 year old has been doing piano lessons this way with surprisingly good results.
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For anything other than a total beginner lesson, all I can say about online teaching is that it's better than nothing...but not much. I've done a bunch of Skype and Duo teaching, and it's one of the most frustrating things in my life right now. Especially for advanced students, music is so much about critical timing, nuance, tone, articulation, timbre....NONE of which come through to a meaningful or useful extent...that I always feel like I'm stealing money from my students' parents. I've even offered to just give short little "checkup" sessions free of charge rather than regularly scheduled 45 minute or hour long lessons at my standard rate, but so far parents and students seem to think much more highly of the worth of online lessons than I do. I suspect if the OP's wife is as advanced a player as described, she may not benefit a great deal from that form of instruction, but I could be wrong. I do know some professionals who do find that kind of interaction valuable.
 
MuseChaser said:
I suspect if the OP's wife is as advanced a player as described, she may not benefit a great deal from that form of instruction, but I could be wrong. I do know some professionals who do find that kind of interaction valuable.
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I may have bragged a bit too much. Thirty five to forty five years ago she was quite accomplished. But she is just picking it up again after a very long layoff. She sounds very good to me, but she thinks she sounds terrible. She would be embarrassed to play for anyone else right now.
 
JOhnH said:
I may have bragged a bit too much. Thirty five to forty five years ago she was quite accomplished. But she is just picking it up again after a very long layoff. She sounds very good to me, but she thinks she sounds terrible. She would be embarrassed to play for anyone else right now.
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I'm no teacher, but I would advise her to start with just bow strokes for now. Long open strings working on tone and getting a smooth transition from up bows to down bows. I spent a whole summer back in high school playing nothing but open strings. Did wonders for my tone. Also helped that my new teacher was on a whole other level than the previous one. When I have a long layoff (in one now unfortunately) I get back to it with bowing first.
 
I studied with one of the first violinists of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for several years back in the 70's. She was incredible... and merciless. I played three notes for the first hour lesson until they were perfectly in tune consistently. Three notes. Three. I can still see her cringing and saying, "Barry.... do you HEAR the out of tune?!?!??!!?" as if "the out of tune" was an evil entity bent on destroying the world. She taught me a great deal. Enough that I was concertmaster of our college orchestra of music majors my freshman year.... Frances Magnes was her name. An amazing musician. Wish she was still alive so I could tell her just how much she meant to me.
 
JOhnH said:
No offense taken. But it was still surprising. She paid around $2k for it over 40 years ago. When the guy offered $5k cash, we knew it is probably worth twice that, but we have no idea how much. The thing is, she was having it fixed so she could donate it to a worthy cause. She thought it would be worth less than she paid for it, but when she found out it was worth more than she thought, she decided to pick it up again. And she is doing really well. She played in an orchestra in Atlanta back in the '70s and she is looking for an orchestra to join now, but with COVID . . .

I am amazed at how good she sounds, not that I have an ear for that sort of thing.
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I love the sound of cello. Mellow and smooth. In ensembles, it provides a base for the other instruments and/or vocalists to shine forth.
 
JOhnH said:
That's all true and I finally did ask her last night. She said she will go back to the shop that worked on it to diagnose the problem.
She considered a teacher, but with Covid, she isn't quite ready for that. Besides, she was a music major and a former orchestra player, so she isn't too sure she could find a LOCAL teacher that would know too much more than her. And she certainly knows that I don't know more than her so I lay low with the advice.
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There are instructors teaching over zoom, etc. Probably the sound is distorted and the lag precludes playing together, but it migh be worth looking into.
 
SoonerAviator said:
I can imagine that the excruciating sound of a student learning to play a violin is probably only exceeded by a student learning to play a clarinet/saxophone.
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You want excruciating? I had a computer-assigned roommate one year in college, who decided he was going to teach himself to play the bagpipes. In the dorm room.

Now, I’m among those who believe bagpipes sound bad in the hands of an expert. It’s unbelievable how bad they sound in the hands of an unsupervised beginner.

We eventually came to an understanding that involved him not touching the damned things while I or anyone in the adjacent rooms were present.
 
Sigh.

My misspent youth included precisely zero training with any instruments of any sort. My three older sisters played piano, cello, viola, French horn, and even the accordion. Mom played piano and organ - we had both in the house.

I’d dearly love to learn to pay something, but at 60 years old I suspect that ship sailed long, long ago. And, with apologies to @GaryM, I love the bagpipes and would love to play them... even thought there’s zero Scot in my lineage. I’m the only person I know of who actually has a bagpipe CD that I’ve listened to, and not as a joke. And by popular request, only when alone. ::shrug::

So for you who do play an instrument, consider yourselves lucky and thank your parents.
 
You do know that being a scottish gentleman requires both knowing how to play the bagpipes and refraining from doing so, right? Tired joke, but it had to be said.

In seriousness, if you'd like to play something do it. Learning to play the bagpipes starts with the chanter. You take the chanter and reed from a set of pipes and add a mouthpiece. It's not expensive and why not try it? I believe it's one of the harder instruments to learn to play, but you've got the time, right?
 
DaleB said:
I’d dearly love to learn to pay something, but at 60 years old I suspect that ship sailed long, long ago.
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Like learning to fly, it might be harder to learn now, but if it's something you really want to do, then do it
 
Bob Noel said:
Like learning to fly, it might be harder to learn now, but if it's something you really want to do, then do it
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I agree. It's not like riding a skate board where an extended learning curve consisting of a lot of falls onto asphalt is going to risk your life and limb. The worst that could happen is that you drive your household crazy and they might try to kill you.
 
I'm too mediocre a cellist to have a favourite type of string, but on classical guitar, there's a wide range of options, and everyone has their personal preference—I can't imagine cello is any different. She'd just need a lot of trial and error to find the right strings for her. If she's worried about the cost of strings, remind her that you spend more than that on avgas every time you go to the airport.
 
DaleB said:
Sigh.

My misspent youth included precisely zero training with any instruments of any sort. My three older sisters played piano, cello, viola, French horn, and even the accordion. Mom played piano and organ - we had both in the house.

I’d dearly love to learn to pay something, but at 60 years old I suspect that ship sailed long, long ago. And, with apologies to @GaryM, I love the bagpipes and would love to play them... even thought there’s zero Scot in my lineage. I’m the only person I know of who actually has a bagpipe CD that I’ve listened to, and not as a joke. And by popular request, only when alone. ::shrug::

So for you who do play an instrument, consider yourselves lucky and thank your parents.
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Get a banjo, it's the perfect instrument for older folks (I'm gonna be 64 shortly.) Fairly easy to get the hang of a roll or clawhammer stroke (look up the two main types of playing) and virtually all music is in tablature, which is essentially "Put this finger here ..." instructions. Very light string tension.
I came from a completely non-musical family. Dad tried to play guitar, but ...
I played violin 55 years ago, I have one that just sits. But ... the mandolin is tuned in exactly the same way, so I have one of those.
And I can still sort of read music for a few stringed instruments and keyboard, but don't make me play cold (or play Coldplay.)
 
Kenny Phillips said:
Get a banjo, it's the perfect instrument for older folks (I'm gonna be 64 shortly.) Fairly easy to get the hang of a roll or clawhammer stroke (look up the two main types of playing) and virtually all music is in tablature, which is essentially "Put this finger here ..." instructions. Very light string tension.
I came from a completely non-musical family. Dad tried to play guitar, but ...
I played violin 55 years ago, I have one that just sits. But ... the mandolin is tuned in exactly the same way, so I have one of those.
And I can still sort of read music for a few stringed instruments and keyboard, but don't make me play cold (or play Coldplay.)
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Banjo's lots of fun. If you're not playing on stage, get one with an open back rather than a metal resonator. Without a resonator, a banjo is already plenty loud; with one, you'll be receiving noise complaints from your local airport and construction sites, and your family will make sure you end up homeless this winter.
 
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