Introduction to Folk Cello

Is there anything more mellow than the sound of a cello? Of all the bowed instruments, the cello’s range is closest to the human voice. And oh, how beautifully it sings!

The cello has been around for at least 500 years and had an important role in early Scottish and Irish folk music, though the once common practice of using a bowed cello to accompany old fiddle tunes has faded over time. Thankfully the cello is currently experiencing a modern comeback, scoring starring roles in everything from Elenor Rigby to the Game of Thrones.  Let’s keep that trend going by bringing more cello into our local folk music circles!

This versatile instrument can take on many roles, from melody to harmony to bass line, and all in the same song if you’d like, and the deeply layered and rich sound of the cello grounds and fills out any musical mix from kazoo to banjo!  With a little creativity, it also pitches in with percussion and sound effects – everything from trains, trucks, and planes to birds, bugs, wind, and spaceships… the cello can talk and laugh and sing.

Learn the basics of this superhero stringed instrument, covering the basics such as tuning, basic left and right hand techniques, making sounds (ranging from farts to pleasant ones), finding the right key to play well with others, bass clef basics, and exploring fun sounds for folk and Americana music such as easy scales and arpeggios, pizzicato, chops & rhythms, double stops, harmonics, trains, birds, whales, spaceships, and flies in the kitchen.