# Violin or cello?



## Illuminandi

I’m so conflicted right now. I don’t know if I want to learn violin or cello. Sound and playing wise I love the cello’s deeper voice and the powerful vibrations it emits from the sound board. You don’t just hear the music, you can feel it. Although, that doesn’t mean I dislike the sound of a violin. It has it’s own high points and in it’s own respect I find it beautiful, but I simply prefer the beauty of the cello and it’s deep resonance more. Although, one thing the violin has over the cello is practicality. The violin is smaller and so more portable, which might be a key point since I’m going to college next year, and I won’t be able to bring a car on campus freshman year. So I’m not sure if I’d want to bring a cello on bus trips to wherever I do lessons. That’d be cumbersome. Also, the violin can be played standing up or sitting down or even while walking around. The cello can only be played sitting down. And of course, the violin is cheaper because it’s smaller. And the violin’s repetoire of music is sizably larger than the cello’s.

It’s such a hard decision.


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## SuperTonic

Full disclosure, I am a cellist so I am biased. It sounds to me that you are a cellist at heart. I will concede that the size issue is a concern, but I don't know know any cellist that regrets their their choice of instrument just for that reason. It may be an inconvenience, but it is one that every cellist I know puts up with gladly.
And its actually not true that the cello can only be played sitting down. I used to play in a strolling strings ensemble, and the cellists always played standing up. It's not the most comfortable way to play the instrument and it is somewhat limiting in terms of technique, but it can be done. However, personally, I consider the fact that there is no expectation for cellists to perform standing up to be a plus. I'd much rather be sitting down than on my feet during a solo performance.


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## Earthling

It sounds to me like the only cons you have against the cello is certain practical issues. You seem to love the cello more however and give reasons for liking the sound of the cello more, whereas the violin not so much ("It has it’s own high points and in it’s own respect I find it beautiful..."). I think you already know which instrument you want to play-- go for it!

SuperTonic has a good point too-- if you love the cello, the love for the instrument will outweigh its inconveniences.


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## joen_cph

I´d like to throw in the assumption also that, if you look into it, the solo cello repertoire is probably more extensive and varied than that of the solo violin, thus making the possibility of solo recital concerts more feasible.
I don´t know where you are from, but at least a few decades ago it was possible to buy much cheaper musical instruments in Eastern Europe compared to the West. It might no longer be the case, or worth the travel costs; also, a musician might strongly disagree thinking that such a level of ambition is too low, I´m not one myself - but it could be an option to get a "first" instrument there and try it, or examine the market and buy a really good cello there. Just a suggestion, musicians will have to be consulted.


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## Earthling

joen_cph said:


> I´d like to throw in the assumption also that, if you look into it, the solo cello repertoire is probably more extensive and varied than that of the solo violin, thus making the possibility of solo recital concerts more feasible.


--like Bach's Cello Suites!


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## joen_cph

Found an interesting discussion about cello buying; no doubt there are others like this elsewhere:

http://cellofun.yuku.com/topic/10142/t/did--buy--buy--best-cello---afford.html

Apparently _Chinese_ celli have entered the low-budget market.


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## ahansen_cello

joen_cph said:


> I´d like to throw in the assumption also that, if you look into it, the solo cello repertoire is probably more extensive and varied than that of the solo violin, thus making the possibility of solo recital concerts more feasible.


I am a cellist, and my wife is a violinist, and the truth is that there is a vastly unfair ratio of violin solo music to cello solo music. There are really only the standard solo works for cello, and a few less known works, but the violin repertoire is grotesquely large. If you value having many different pieces to play and never wanting to worry about running out, play the violin. However, if you value the beauty of the sound of the cello enough, then playing all there is to play will be alright, since you couldn't not play the cello.

Keep in mind, too, that cellists that have gone through basically all there is to play, like Yo Yo Ma, now to contemporary works, or different projects to keep themselves doing new things. But then again, most of us are satisfied with the standards.


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## Head_case

> I'm so conflicted right now. I don't know if I want to learn violin or cello.


Learn to play a hi-fi. That way you can do both 



> Sound and playing wise I love the cello's deeper voice and the powerful vibrations it emits from the sound board. You don't just hear the music, you can feel it.


I know what you mean...hearing your guts hum is a very unique form of music - unique to instruments like the cello.

Like Joen says - as far as I knew, I thought there was more solo literature for the cello than the solo violin. There are plenty of violin sonatas (inc. dunk! dunk! dunk! thud! piano!) although solo works?

Perhaps you could compromise and try the viola 

Personally, I like the cello. There's nothing more sexy than carrying a huge trunk of a cello case that looks like it could fit a dead body or two whilst you're lugging it around with you. That is the epitome of cool.

Alternatively, you could learn to play the flute. I love the deep woody resonances of its range as well as its elegant trills. It covers three octaves, so its range is pretty versatile...


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## jurianbai

Or a contra bass, this way your skill will enable you to jam with heavy metal or jazz band, when you tired of classical....


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## Nix

I play the cello- and I've tried my hand at other instruments. I've found that the cello is the easiest of them all to learn, so thats another pro. However you said money was an issue, and I will warn you that the sound of the cello is very dependent on the cello itself. Of course if you have absolutely prefect technique you'll be able to play a low quality cello and make it sound nice, but if you really want that wonderful sound you hear on recordings, you'll need to invest in a good cello- it's also a lot easier to play a good cello (picks up notes better, makes double stops so much easier).


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## Jaime77

I played cello before. Lovely. Maybe learn violin for now as it is practical. You get to improve string technique and maybe play in an ensemble and then switch to cello after uni. Is not a big deal perhaps. The cello will wait for you  It should be easier after the violin. From a purely physical point of view, the violin is awkward in a way the cello isn't. No arms in the air and at a funny angle! Do violin for now unless you don't like the violin at all, but it doesn't sound like that. 

J


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## joen_cph

> I´d like to throw in the assumption also that, if you look into it, the solo cello repertoire is probably more extensive and varied than that of the solo violin, thus making the possibility of solo recital concerts more feasible.


 My field of experience is mainly the recorded repertoire, but as regards a possible _canon_ in this field, I think "a recorded violin canon" of the most well-known and frequent ones would include
the J S Bach set of 6 works, the Paganini 24 Capricci, the 6 Reger sonatas, the 6 Ysaye sonatas and the Bartok sonata, plus perhaps the Berio Sequenza. There are of course many other solo works that exist in recordings, especially from the 20th century, such as works by Schulhoff, Nielsen, Hindemith, to mention a few.

Turning to cello works, there is probably the canon of the Bach set of 6, the 3 Reger suites, the 3 Bloch Suites, the Hindemith sonata, the Kodaly Sonata, the 3 Britten Suites, perhaps Gubaidulina 10 Preludes. But there are so many other recorded works and sonatas, for instance by Crumb, Ligeti, Nørgård (3), Boris Tischenko, Wainberg etc. that I think they outnumber the violin solo recorded works. Must however admit that such a judgment is also based on the fact that I would definitely choose the cello works rather than the violin works, if asked. My collection for instance probably comprises about 25 solo violin works (the Paganini counting as one, though) and 50 solo cello works.

Wikipedia has initiated a quite comprehensive "list of solo cello works" and they have begun a _ditto_ for solo violin.


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## jhansen_violin

Oh my, I am going to have to double my husbands reply (ahansen_cello). Violin definitely has more solo repertoire than the cello. Violin repertoire in general is incredibly extensive. To name just a few of the pieces that have yet to be mentioned, there are the 2 Hindemith Sonatas, Kreisler Recitative and Scherzo, Paganini Nel Cor Piu Non Mi Sento, Milstein Paganiniana, Ernst/Schubert Erlkonig, Ernst Last Rose of Summer, Prokofiev Sonata...The list just keeps going and going. That is before we even begin to look into contemporary works. 

The fact of the matter is that violin has had many more great virtuosos throughout time. It was considered a great solo instrument long before the cello earned its well deserved respect from musicians and composers alike. So if you are looking for repertoire depth, than violin is the way to go. You'll never play all there is!

Additionally, the reason you will hear less recordings dedicated to unaccompanied violin works, is because there are just too many pieces in the rep to record them all. Standard concerti is a big focus in the recording industry. Cellists will be more likely to record outside the realm of standard works since they have so little repertoire historically. 

However, although I am a violinist , I wouldn't fault you for choosing the cello. It is a wonderful instrument with a beautiful tone. You really should choose the one you enjoy listening to the most. It will make learning it much easier because you will be more motivated to do so.


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## joen_cph

> The list just keeps going and going. That is before we even begin to look into contemporary works.


 It is always interesting to hear from someone with specialized knowledge in a field. Perhaps you could mention some works that you would consider substantial contributions to the solo violin repertoire, except from those listed, for us who keep looking for lesser known music ?

PS: Would like to mention that both Prokofiev and Ysaye also wrote sonatas for solo cello, though ... ;-).


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## jhansen_violin

Well, I wouldn't say these are lesser known works, but it starts getting hard to tell what is well known to everyone or well known to violinists. These pieces are well known in the violin world, but are really incredible unaccompanied works. Most people don't play them because of their extreme difficulty:

Wieniawski God Save the Queen
Paganini God Save the King (check out Frank Peter Zimmerman on youtube)
Paganini Duet for one violin (very cool piece)

I believe these are lesser known Contemporary pieces:

Schnittke A Paganini for Solo Violin
Shchedrin Balalaika -(quotes some unaccompanied Bach in this. Vengerov has a nice recording)

My personal favorite unaccompanied works are Milstein Paganiniana, Ernst Last Rose of Summer, and Paganini God Save the King (aside from Ysaye and Bach). If you haven't heard these, you should! It's best if you can watch someone play them, since they are so technically challenging. It's pretty neat to see. Hahn has both the Milstein and the Ernst on youtube.


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## linsey

I agree with some of the people here that you sound like you want to be a cellist more. Impracticalities are an issue for anyone playing a larger instrument but I think in your case it's pretty bad considering you may not go to your lessons because of the inconvenience.. I can see how lugging a cello onto a bus would be terrible to do every time you had a lesson, and I would be concerned about the safety of the instrument on those trips too with the conditions often found on public buses. If I were you I would decide one thing first.. Will that trip discourage or prevent you from going to your lessons? If so then don't choose cello. You could risk losing some of your gusto for learning the instrument, which is something you don't want to lose since you love it so much. If not then definitely do it. Be absolutely sure of your decision and be realistic about it.

There is, however, a compromise available to you. I'll admit right now I'm biased, but you should consider the viola. I think you like the convenience of the violin but your heart lies with the richer lower toned instruments. I think of the Viola as basically a small cello. Many people like to call it a large violin but it is not. It has the same strings as cello (a,d,g,c) only a few octaves higher. It has that deep resonance that your looking for, not quite as much as cello, but MUCH more than the violin. I would recommend doing that until you can stop taking the bus. Because it still has all the convenience you want, and later when you do want to do cello (because picking something else right now doesn't mean giving up cello) it will be easier to switch to, plus you'll still having the experience of playing a higher instrument as well. I honestly think that if you choose violin you'll end up switching to cello anyways, so why not pick an instrument you may grow to love too because of those richer qualities? either way I don't think you should do violin.. I just don't think you'll love it judging from what you described.

Because viola and cello share the same strings, many cello pieces get transposed to viola easily. Such as Bach's first cello suite (one of my current undertakings). It doesn't have the same repertoire as violin, but that doesn't mean you won't have plenty to play, and you'll probably be able to find a lot of cello pieces you like right now transposed for it.

Try listening to this.. Henri Viuextemps capricio for viola. It's a very famous piece and it demonstrates the viola's capabilities well.






While you're at it try listening to Bach's Cello suite no.1 transposed for viola to see what I mean about how cello pieces can transfer over well. (the video is a little quiet)


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## PicklePepperPiper

Look, you're a cellist. There's no disputing this.

And as for available repertiore, sure, violin has loads more. But I think such conversation is pointless because the fact of the matter is that you won't learn every piece on cello, not in your lifetime. There is PLENTY to keep you busy, and if you're just looking for 'standard' pieces, look harder. Also, this is contested wherever I go, but Studies are pieces too!

I want to once again impress my message: there is enough music for cello that if you were to learn a piece a day, you still wouldn't get through it all by the time you died. And I'm of the opinion that even learning one piece a week is rushing through the repertiore.

My advice? Take cello. Love cello. Relish the attention for having a big case for cello. Appreciate the practical hardships for taking care of cello. Realise that it is worth it for cello. Play the pieces you love, without worrying about repertiore 'running out'. It won't happen.

You're a cellist, don't settle for anything else because of convenience's sake.
-PPP


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## World Violist

Don't worry about size; play cello. I would have played cello had I been given an option in the matter (but now I like playing viola enough to keep to it; interestingly enough, sounding like a cello anyway) for the same reasons as you, but size was a factor--I wasn't allowed to put a cello on a school bus. All this talk about repertoire is pretty ridiculous, also. There is plenty of amazing cello repertoire out there. That having been said, just play cello. It's one of the best Western instruments out there.


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## Aparente

Illuminandi, unless you are one in a thousand (note, I didn't say one in a million), the repertoire limitations are not going to affect you. Starting a string instrument at your age, you are unlikely to run out of great pieces to play on the cello.

I love the viola idea. You can even play it in your lap upright, cello-style, if you like. But I'm going to suggest that you take a step back and look at the big picture. Once you get to college, if you are not busier than you've ever been in your life, then you're not doing college right. It is very possible that you are not going to have the regular practice time available that you would need. I don't want to see you getting more frustration than gratification.

Is there another instrument you could enjoy during those intense college years? Something that will give you more immediate gratification, with less of a time investment? Music can be a wonderful de-stressor for you during college, so I do think you should run with your idea -- but modify it slightly, and look forward to taking up a string instrument when things slow down for you a little.


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## PetrB

Why be restricted to 'just the melody' or second soprano when you can pretty much 'have it all' with the 'Cello?


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## neoshredder

2 and a half year old thread bumped randomly. lol


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## Flamme

As a listener i can only say that cello remidns me a bit on Huge violin lol I know they have differences ofcourse if nothing bigger resonant box and stronger and deeper sound at cello...I love them both and string instruments in general...


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## Ingélou

I agree with Jaime 77 - for now, the violin, because it is more practical & you'll be learning about music. The cello can be your true love waiting for you... Good luck, whatever you decide.


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## D'Addario

I have to agree with most people in the forum...cello seems like the right choice for you! I'm a violinist and I was always drawn to higher pitched sounds. I say, practical/schmactical. Go with the sound you LOVE.


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