Good intonation is much more noticeable for string instruments because we use fretless instruments which must be tuned every time we play. Fortunately, there is a technique which uses the open strings to ensure we are consistently in tune. When combined with good ear training, this technique will ensure good intonation. “Can one learn this technique?” you ask. Certainly, and it can be practiced easily using basic scales and by knowing the cello string names. This article will discuss how the cello’s resonance is derived from the open strings, and how to use resonance to improve intonation in your scale practice.
Tuning Your Cello
To make our cello as resonant as possible we will use natural tuning. Start with a reference pitch of 440 Hz to tune the A string. The cello’s standard tuning uses a perfect fifth between the strings, which means they will produce a beatless and consonant harmony if perfectly tuned. There are two other perfect intervals which will be used later, but as you tune you only need to listen for a perfect (e.g. beatless) fifth between the strings.
Ring Tones
This technique uses resonance, an acoustical property by which one pitch “amplifies sound waves whose frequency matches one of its own natural frequencies.” For example, when you play the open C string, it creates an overtone of the C one octave above. You can see this by pressing down the fourth finger on G string, then playing the open C string (let’s call the open string “C” and the fourth finger “c” according to Helmholtz notation).
If your c is perfectly in tune, the G string will begin to vibrate even though you aren’t playing it! The resonance also works the other way around: if your fourth finger c is perfectly tuned then your open C will vibrate even without being played.
The first step to good intonation is finding the notes which resonate with our open strings, or as my friend Claudia calls them, “ring tones.”
Finding Overtones
To find other ring tones we need to know the overtones of each string.
Start with the octave above each open string. This is easy because it has the same name as the open cello string name. The octave is another perfect interval, so we can tune these ring tones easily with our open strings to produce beatless octaves.
- The second overtone is a perfect fifth above the first overtone. For open C string this will be g, or fourth finger on D string.
When these pitches are resonant, the cello’s open strings with the same name will vibrate. Using this property, we can make sure the resonant notes are always in tune with our open strings, but what about the notes between them?
Practicing Scales With Resonance
Imagine you are adding a “Major scale staircase” to the outside of a building which is two “octaves” tall. This scale needs steps connecting the open C string, first octave (c), second perfect fifth (g) and perfect fourth, and a landing at the top of the second octave (c’). Since the resonant notes have to be perfectly in tune with the open strings, you know exactly where they will be placed. In order to make the other steps (or notes) perfect, you must measure them relative to the resonant notes and open strings.
Our first resonant note is the first finger D, which should make the open D string vibrate, as well as the open A string. This is because the note D’s first overtone is d, and its second overtone is a. Continuing along the major scale, we take a whole step to E, half step to F, and then we can play our open G.
The G string will have two resonant notes, the first of which is A, meaning when you play first finger on G string, the open A string should vibrate if it is in tune. A whole stop from A to B, and then a half step to our first octave, fourth finger c. Reminder: when you play the first octave perfectly in tune, the open C will vibrate. Continuing this pattern, we will connect resonant g (fourth finger on D string) with E and F. Finally, we connect open A string with resonant c’.
Improve Your Cello Technique By Reviewing These Steps
This technique using the cello string names and their overtones will help you to practice basic scales with good intonation. Remember to place the notes of the scale in the correct position relative to open strings and their overtones, and your intonation will be resonant and flawless.
William Crider