FRANCIS LÉGER, CELLIST

Plays a cello labeled Bartolomeo Obici, 1686.

 CELLO METHOD including PRACTICE GUIDES!

(brief excerpt)

Sound

three things work together for a great sound: weight, speed, and placement

 
Bow tightness

the proper hair tightness is determined when the bow is resting very firmly on the string and even with your “flowing” armweight coming from the shoulder, through the hand and fingers, to the bow, the wood still does not touch the hair

the distance from the hair to the bow is approximately the width of a pencil, possibly less depending on the firmness of the stick

 
Bow angle

the bow should always be perpendicular to the string for the finest sound, maximum vibrations, and most overtones

this is especially important for producing upper overtones because these give the string the nicest sound quality and are also the best ones for projecting the resulting sound

keep the bow straight, even though it will not look straight from your playing position and view from above

from the audience’s perspective, the bow will look perpendicular to each string as you play

the lower the string (ex. C string), the further out the bow should be pointed or angled

Bow motion

bowing is similar to swimming, golf, and tennis because they all require naturalness, strength, and athleticism along with smoothness, ease, circles, curves, and fluid motions

 
String thickness

each string has a different “hide” thickness

you must prepare for that particular “hide” before you play that string

for example, the A string can be thought of as a ferret’s “hide”, while the C string can be considered much thicker like an elephant’s “hide”