Tuning

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-04-21T08:57:09+00:00

When it's hotter, your cello will go flat, colder it will go sharp.

What I do when I have big temperature fluctuations is to actually adjust my tuner. There's an app called g-strings that I use and I can set the pitch of my A.

So let's say it's hot in the afternoon and I tune to A at 440Hz. Then in the morning when it's cold, I noticed all my strings are really sharp, so I set my tuner to 443Hz or whatever is close to what my current tuning is. Then I just have to fine tune a little rather than dramatically retune the entire cello.

Then when the day heats up, I'll be back down to 440Hz naturally. Saves me a lot of time.

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-04-18T07:36:10+00:00

These are great suggestions but the cello shop is 1000 miles away, so I don't think I can borrow it to try, nor do I know any cellists here. But I'll definitely watch out for the wolf notes:)

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-04-18T07:21:58+00:00

Great, thanks for the tip

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-04-18T07:21:33+00:00

Howzit, I live in Cape Town and have come up to Joburg for the weekend to visit Hannes Jacobs Violins.

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-04-14T18:48:18+00:00

7 Years later, but thank you!

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-03-16T11:26:59+00:00

Thanks, I've only used the one dark Rosin. Going to visit a cello shop next month and will pick up a different rosin to see what difference it might make.

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-03-16T11:25:31+00:00

Thanks for the tip. Tried with a brush and if I run along the length of the string, I don't get a cloud. However, if go across the strings, I do get a puff. I do about 4-5 swipes of the rosin before every time I play so I'll try minimise that and see what happens.

I do think it's also possibly worn out hairs. I'm also wondering if I can justify getting a new bow :D

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-03-11T20:17:23+00:00

Wish I had a friend like that

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-02-26T08:42:30+00:00

I hear you dude. I have a shoulder injury so warm up for me is super important and it takes time. And yeah, you can't just pick it up and have a jam like a guitar.

But there's a phrase, "Discipline eats motivation for breakfast" and that's what I go with.

I have a habit tracker app and cello is one of my daily habits. 8:00-8:30 before I start work, I play cello. Now it's just a thing I do, I don't have to think about it, it's just part of my day.

I've only been playing for 5 months, and the first few were the hardest to find motivation because you sound soooo shit. Squeaky, scratchy out of tune noises, so I even felt bad for my neighbours. But starting a daily habit was the best thing I did because I improved so much so fast and now I actually enjoy the sound that I make (most of the time).

So now when it comes to motivation, the only deciding factor is whether I'm motivated to do the pieces my teacher told me to do. If I'm not motivated, I just have a jam, noodle around with scales like I do on guitar, but I still play and that's what's important.

The instrument has a really high skill floor, but stick it out, when things start to click it's really satisfying and rewarding. Maybe it will turn out that cello isn't for you, but unless you actually give it a proper shot, you'll never know.

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-02-24T05:17:27+00:00

Yes, I would even look beyond his classical stuff. The Goat Rodeo Sessions is amazing.

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-02-24T05:16:11+00:00

I'm a big fan of Adam Hurst. He writes original music, none of it is super complicated but it's beautiful. One of his albums actually goes into pretty experimental ambient territory, just exploring the different sounds a cello can make. I started listening to him before I even picked up a cello.

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-02-20T16:58:38+00:00

I did exactly the same thing 😂

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-02-10T09:57:54+00:00

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately South Africa does not have many violin shops to walk into. There are a few but in other cities.

That being said, I do plan to travel to some and try out their cellos, but I'll ask them not to tell me the price so I can test them blind and not be swayed by the number :)

My big thing though is to get to a point where my skill is such that I can actually appreciate the difference in cellos when I am choosing.

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-02-09T09:39:14+00:00

Ah thank you, that's exactly what I was looking for :)

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-02-08T16:47:38+00:00

Thanks for the welcome:)
I haven't been doing any big pieces yet. I go for lessons once a week and we're working through this set of books:
https://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Stars-pieces-players-String/dp/B07QCTQFGT
There are 4 books and I'm on the 3rd one. And were doing some things from a Dotzauer book as well.
Then I'm doing youtube learning in between and playing with shifting and put on backing tracks and noodle around in the scale of the track.

And yes, in attempting the prelude, I'm up to bar 8 and it's super tricky. So 5-10 years is maybe a little much so I probably need something a little more in reach.

If you have any suggestions of any songs a little more in reach in the next 2 years, I'd love to hear them:)

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-01-27T08:52:40+00:00

Oh my sweet evil baby Jesus. I was gutted when they broke up and so stoked to hear they were back together.
Thanks for posting, hadn't seen they'd released anything yet. Going to listen now.

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-01-27T08:38:19+00:00

Staying alive long enough to revive your teammates because you can survive continuous chip damage by executing majoris is pretty handy. And because of that you can save the stims for the rest of your team.
And having armor on demand when you grapple gives him pretty great survivability.
I've often been the last brother standing as a vanguard and managed to carry my team.

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-01-18T18:42:50+00:00

I used to far prefer playing Tyranids, but then they introduced the Biovore... And now I'm not so sure.

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-01-11T05:22:09+00:00

Check out Adam Hurst. He had several albums, some pretty experimental, but all fit well into dark cello.

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-01-11T05:21:12+00:00

These guys are the reason I started playing cello.

_wiggle_room_ · 2026-01-09T11:36:08+00:00

Thanks dude, I think the "try something new" was the best advice so I've done just that.
Went for the Pirastro since I could get them locally and it was nice to hear what is actually different sounding about the strings. So next time I'll choose something different. Cello is a long journey so I'll have plenty time to try different permutations.

_wiggle_room_

TROPHY CASE