Violoncellos - Sizes

Sizes

Standard-sized cellos are referred to as "full-size" or "4/4" but are also made in smaller (fractional) sizes (e.g. 7/8, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/10, 1/16). The smaller cellos are identical to standard cellos in construction, range, and usage, but are simply scaled-down for the benefit of children and shorter adults. Adult players with a short span (the distance between the tips of the first and fourth fingers when fully spread apart) may prefer a 7/8 or smaller cello since the hand-stretches in the lower positions are less demanding. Note that a "half-size" cello is half the volume of a full-size, not half the length (i.e. a 'half-length' cello would have (½)3 the volume and correspond to 1/8-size). A 1/10-size cello (designed for small children) is about twice as thick and slightly longer than a 4/4 violin (and, as such, could be played by an adult violinist). However, there are two key disadvantages with smaller instruments: it is difficult to produce a low note from a short string without reducing its tension to a point where the sound quality is degraded, and the reduced volume of the body and area of vibrating wood tend to reduce the overall quality and volume of the sound.

Although rare, cellos in sizes larger than 4/4 do exist and cellists with unusually large hands may require such a non-standard instrument. Cellos made before approximately 1700 tended to be considerably larger than those made and commonly-played today. Around 1680, changes in string-making technology made it possible to play lower-pitched notes on shorter strings. The cellos of Stradivari, for example, can be clearly divided into two models: the style made before 1702, characterized by larger instruments (of which only three exist in their original size and configuration), and the style made during and after 1702, when Stradivari, presumably in response to the "new" strings, began making smaller cellos. This later model is the design most commonly used by modern luthiers.