Cello or Violin? I picked Cello, and Here's Why You Should, Too

About 13 years ago I was about to turn 25 years old and had become obsessed with classical music for a little over a year.

I wanted to understand the magic behind it all, and so I was consuming articles and books that delved into the composers and the pieces themselves.

The only problem was that I had no musical background, so every time I read about quarter notes and whole notes, something being in the key of G Major and then modulating, etc, I had no idea what was going on.

I felt like I was standing outside of a private club, peering in through a fogged up window and trying to overhear all the wonderful conversation through the glass about this new passion of mine.

Solution? Learn an instrument.

Diving into the world of music making was going to be my invitation into that exclusive club of musicians and musical connoisseurs.

I knew that I wanted to learn a stringed instrument, and one piece - actually one specific performance - was finding its way onto my YouTube playlist multiple times a day.

Brahms Double Concerto with Rostropovich on the cello and Oistrakh on the violin. Their playing, specifically the playing of Rostropovich, made me feel like “I HAVE to do this!”

It was starting to dawn on me that music has its own special way of communicating emotions.

In college I had majored in creative writing. I loved literature and yet somehow music, even without the use of words, seemed a more eloquent and poignant medium of human expression.

I ended up choosing the cello for my own personal reasons of taste, particularly its low end range and the deeper resonance it creates, but a couple of days ago while on a walk with my wife, we started talking about what would have happened if I had picked violin instead of cello all those years ago.

And that got me to thinking…

So here are three reasons why you should pick starting the cello over the violin if you are an adult learner:

Reason number one is ergonomics. Lets take a look at a comparison…

With the cello, I feel like I’m simply adding the instrument to my natural sitting posture with legs apart.

When I get into playing position, my right hand is at the height and orientation of someone cutting into steak at the dinner table or typing on my laptop, and my left arm could almost be hanging onto one of those straps in a subway car.

Essentially, I’m not asking my body to hold any positions that I haven’t done before in my daily life.

With the violin however, I can immediately tell that simply learning to hold the instrument between my chin and my shoulder puts a strain on my neck and jaw and would be something I would have to work very hard on to reduce tension.

The situation doesn’t improve when I add the left arm; wrapping my arm around the neck and getting into a playing position is definitely unlike anything I’ve ever done before in my life, and I worry that without extreme caution, I could easily develop nerve impingements in my elbow and shoulder if I learned to play with any physical tension.

Unfortunately, I’ve personally found that physical tension is one of the major battles for adult learners, so I worry that on the violin it would be even worse than what I’ve encountered on the cello.

I’m not trying to say that you can’t learn the violin as an adult, but just that with the cello there will be way, way less awkward contortion of your body.

Reason number 2: the sound you make as a beginner.

I remember someone telling me that Piatigorsky referred to the cello as a one-note instrument because it takes years just to make a single note sound truly beautiful.

As a beginner, you will probably start your journey on a lower level instrument with a less than ideal capacity for tonal beauty.

The sound of a beginner on a beginner level violin….maybe it’s because of the thinner strings and the higher pitch, but I just find there’s something about it that is particularly grating on the ears.

In my experience, even an extremely inexpensive cello like the $270 cellos I reviewed recently don’t create the same nails-on-a-chalkboard experience that you get with a cheap violin.

Let’s face it, the quicker we can start creating beautiful sounds on our new instrument of choice, the more likely we are to feel the motivation we need to continue our journey toward greatness.

And finally, the number 3 reason to pick cello over violin as an adult is repertoire.

So, let me be clear about what I’m saying because if I’m being honest I am completely envious of violinists and the vast array of incredible repertoire they have. The Bach Chaconne, the Ysaye solo sonatas, the Beethoven Violin Concerto, the list is long!

If the solo violin repertoire is comparable to a Las Vegas casino buffet, the cello’s repertoire sometimes seems more like a nice continental breakfast.

But right now I’m talking about the repertoire you can plan on playing sooner rather than later, and in that sense the cello is a total winner!

There is a ton of chamber music that you can find in which the cello “plays an important supportive role,” but essentially the violin or piano or both are doing all the heavy lifting.

This affords adult learners an incredible opportunity - to surround themselves with better players and still be able to contribute in a meaningful way.

I was extremely fortunate to be able to create this situation a number of times early on in my journey and not only do you get to experience the satisfaction of great music making, but more importantly the nuance and refinement of those superior players will start to rub off on you.

Without thinking about it, you will raise your own level in an effort to match the level of those around you.

I can’t put into words how much fulfillment I felt in those moments and during those concerts.

It feels like you’re sneaking in through the back door to some of the great chamber music that has been written.

For starters, I would look at the early quartets of Joseph Haydn, and the Piano Trios of Haydn and Mozart.

Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about. Below are the violin and cello parts for the first movement from an early quartet by Joseph Haydn (Quartet No. 11 in D minor, Op. 9, No. 4).

So let’s take a look…

Okay, so with the cello part I see a lot of repeated notes and just a little bit of syncopated rhythm…clearly not a piece for an absolute beginner but nothing approaching virtuosic. Now let’s take a look now at the violin part.

This is what I’m talking about….I mean, you don’t have to be a musicologist to see the difference, the first violin part is sooo much more active and there’s also just like 3-4 times more notes to play

…and it’s melodic material, which means it’s way more noticeable if you mess up versus fumbling a couple notes or even omitting a note here and there in the cello part.

This scenario is a very common one in the chamber music repertoire of this time period (the classical era) and a real treat for an adult learner who can find the right players to play with.

Personally, what I would do is organize a “sight-reading” party and tell the others what we’re playing, then practice like hell so that I was fully prepared to play my best while the others were simply sight reading for fun.

So there you have it, I hope I’ve made a good enough argument to lure you to the wonderful world of cello!

If you have any questions about getting started on the cello, feel free to email me at billy@adultcello.com.