Whether you’re pricing student, intermediate or professional violins, the general rule is, you get what you pay for.
If your child is just starting out as a student cellist, you’ve most likely rented him or her a cello. Or if your child joined the school orchestra, he or she is using a student cello provided by the school. And if you were reasonably sure that your child is committed to playing, you might have purchased a student cello from a local violin shop. Whichever the scenario, unless the school has provided all that your child needs, you’ll find yourself needing to purchase a basic set of cello accessories.
You may find online stores and shops with special “cello chairs” that they claim is “essential to good cello playing”. You’ll find cello stands and cello bow cases, but those pieces of equipment are not required for beginning student cellists.
The accessories that are important are typically not very expensive. Items such as cello strings, cello rosin, humidifiers, metronomes and tuners are accessories worth investing in in order to provide your child with best learning experience possible.
The proper cello strings are vital for a beginning student. You will find strings made of steel, gut and synthetic core, but most cellists prefer steel strings. Whether you shop online or at a local violin shop, it is best to take the time to discuss which strings are appropriate for your child’s instrument with an expert at the store.
Another vital accessory is cello rosin. A “cake” of rosin is kept in your student’s case and applied to the cello bow before playing to ensure that the bow produces enough friction to produce a lovely, dark cello sound as it is pulled across the strings with varying pressure. Again, an expert at an online violin store or a local violinmaker at a shop can properly advise which kind of rosin is best for cello players.
Two more valuable cello accessories to that are not vital but good to have about is a digital metronome and a digital tuner. The metronome will help your student play in time and the tuner will help your child tune his own instrument as well as play scales in tune if it is utilized properly. Purchasing a digital tuner and metronome can put you back $40.00 or more, but you do not want to go cheap on these particular products. Like most cello accessories, you’ll want to buy high quality products that will last. There are also apps available now for smart phones that perform these tasks reasonably well.
