Deryn Cullen Cello, Elementary Technique, Getting Started on the Cello

Supporting Your Cello

I specifically chose the word “supporting” rather than “holding” in the title of this section, and you may be wondering why. The simple reason is that holding things often implies grasping or clutching, neither of which promote pain free, well balanced technique. Most people playing the cello for the first few times notice an overwhelming tendency to hold it by squeezing their knees against it and using one or both of their hands to steady it. By creating an accurate mental image and understanding of how to interact with your cello from the earliest possible stage, you have a much better chance of laying a solid foundation for great cello technique.

Now that you’ve explored your ideal sitting posture and the concept of balancing on your seat, you’re ready to bring your cello into the equation. Your first task is to pull out and fasten the spike, and you’ll want to know precisely how long it ought to be. The answer is annoying, but get used to it because you’ll be hearing it a lot in response to pertinent questions about playing the cello: It depends. You see, it’s not only your height that will influence the length of your spike; it’s the length of your legs, your torso, your arms and your seat. Then there is the terribly inexact science of personal preference, which will take a while to discover. As a rough guide: when you are sitting with your cello, the C tuning peg (the lower right-hand peg) should be level with or just behind your left ear. If you feel as if the cello is pushing you backwards and it seems to hobble around just above your knees rather than rest between them, the spike is too long. Conversely if the angle of the instrument is too vertical, the spike is too short. You will find yourself experimenting with different lengths for a while in the early stages. When you have found a length that works for you, use a permanent marker to make a small mark on the spike. This will avoid wasting time lengthening and shortening it before you can settle into your practice sessions.

As I have already pointed out, your cello should rest against you, supported by your posture as opposed to gripped and held in place. By placing your feet roughly in line with your hips and turning your toes out, you will find that your knees can fall further apart without creating any tension in your thighs. This also creates more surface area for the lower half of the cello to rest against and ensures that the instrument won’t move about as soon as any weight is applied to it from the bow or left hand. It helps to think of creating a nest with your legs for the cello to lie in – well supported but not squeezed or gripped. The left hand side of the cello should be slightly higher so that the A string is turned inwards towards the bow or plucking hand. The lower ends of the C-bouts (the c-shaped curves forming the cello’s narrow “waist”) should be just above or at the top of your knees. Placing your left foot slightly in front of your left foot will help to achieve the subtle angle necessary for comfortable bow technique. The upper end of the cello body should rest very lightly against your sternum; the bulk of the instrument’s weight being supported by your knees. An excellent and very simple way to test whether your cello’s weight is correctly distributed is to lean slightly backwards away from the instrument. If it follows you and stays against your chest, you haven’t quite created that nest it needs between your knees. If the cello stays where it is and feels secure, you’ve got it! Now check the mobility in your hips: you should be able to turn your upper body around by a few degrees to either side from the hips. Make sure you’re not just twisting your shoulders and upper back – it needs to be your entire torso.

To help you make your cello part of your body space as you sit with it as opposed to an external and rather awkward object, put both arms around it and give it a hug – even if it makes you feel a little silly. You need to bond with the instrument physically, mentally and emotionally. The latter two happen with time and practice, but won’t happen without the former.

© D C Cello Studio

Deryn Cullen Cello, Elementary Technique, Getting Started on the Cello

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

You may well be tempted to skip past this section and get straight down to the business of holding and playing your cello. After all, everyone knows how to sit don’t they? It’s one of the very first things we learn to do with our bodies, which means that we’ve had plenty of practice! But we’ve had just as much time to apply all the bad physical habits we pick up along the way, such as slouching, arching the back and forgetting our centre of gravity. Even those whose activities include the likes of martial arts or ballet – both of which focus heavily on posture and balance – can easily forget all of those valuable lessons when sitting in class or at a computer. So it is certainly worth following guidelines and actively observing our seated posture before picking up the cello.

First, we should discuss the height of your chair. A chair that is either too high or too low can cause a great deal of tension throughout the body which will only increase when you attempt to hold and play your cello. The ideal height enables an angle slightly larger than 90 degrees between the abdomen and thigh. The seat of your chair should be flat and firm. Some cellists prefer a seat with a slight forward incline (with the front of the seat lower than the back). This type of seat is also endorsed by many physiotherapists and practitioners of Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais Method because it encourages the upper body to lean forward towards the cello. However it takes getting used to and is not a recommendation I would make for beginners. To be avoided at all costs is the bucket seat, commonly found in schools and public halls and enemy number one of the human posture. Likewise any seat with a backward incline or excessively soft cushion should not be used. For anyone 5 foot or taller, an adjustable piano or keyboard bench is ideal. For those shorter than this, a child’s chair with a flat seat will do, so long as the angle between the abdomen and thigh is correct.

Balance is crucial. Many of my students look baffled when I tell them this – how difficult can it be to balance on a chair? Well, not at all difficult, but unfortunately it’s just as easy to sit with poor balance and unless we can tell the difference, we’re more inclined towards the latter. To begin with, it is best to sit towards the front of the seat, and to sit on the bones of your buttocks. Feet should always be flat on the floor, and should always be in a position that allows you to stand up without having to move them. Considering that you’ll need space between your knees for the cello to rest comfortably, you’ll need to place your feet a small distance apart from each other. Turning them outwards will allow your knees to fall further apart from each other than your feet, which in turn creates plenty of surface area from above the knees down to the calves for the cello to rest against. A good cello posture always implies motion, as if you were about to get up from your chair and walk in fluid motions. To enhance this it helps to incline your upper body slightly forward from your hips. Feel your weight going straight into your seat through the bones in your buttocks and don’t try to hold your upper body in any particular position. Swing your arms backwards and forwards to ensure that they move freely and easily. Now test the mobility in your hips by turning your entire upper body to the left then to the right. If you’re feeling the urge to do the Time Warp, leave the room and take a cold shower.

Finally, your neck should be tension-free and your head should be on top of your body, not in front of it. Remember this when you have your cello in hand and feel tempted to peer at your bow or left hand. It is easy to forget just how heavy the head is. When it’s hanging in front of the body it will create unwanted tension in the neck and back. A well aligned body, with the head balanced at the top of the spinal cord, allowance for the natural curvature of the spine and no “blockage” in any of the joints will feel light and will perform inordinately better than a misaligned body.
© D C Cello Studio