# the history of the cello



## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I have two questions here - 

1. When was the endpin added? (Oh, I see from wikipedia that this was the 1830s.)
2. When did players stop holding it with their calves?


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Ah, the cello. It started life as a modest instrument, the lira da gamba or viola da gamba. Then it met Barry Bonds....


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I'm guessing that Q:2 is resolved by the answer to Q:1?


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

KenOC said:


> Ah, the cello. It started life as a modest instrument, the lira da gamba or viola da gamba. Then it met Barry Bonds....


The viola da gamba is 'modest' only in ensemble. En solo, it has soul-penetrating power.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

As Cello works got more technically demanding, holding the cello with one's calves became problematic. Boccherini wrote some very difficult works that require thumb position (shifting the thumb from behind the neck onto the strings). Thumb position is much easier without holding the cello between the calves. Before using an endpin, some cellists used to place the bottom of the cello on a box. So there was a gradual transition to cello between the calves, cello on a box, and finally cello with endpin.


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