Why The Cello is SO Rock & Roll!!!

Spencer 286 writes:

For those not familiar with The 286 we are a little different from most indie rock bands. Not only are we twice the size of a normal band, our line up includes 2 cellos and a violin, which play a massive role in our sound. With this in mind I thought I'd write about how cool I think the cello is for this week's blog!

There's something really special about the cello's sound. It can switch from playing real earthy notes in its lower reaches, and then switch to playing some incredible notes at the other end of its scale that are reminiscent of a weeping whale. Have I ever heard a whale weeping? No. But I'm if I did hear one, it would sound just like a cello. Work with me on this one... The cello is rhythmic, melodic and harmonic - and it's great to play!!

When picking out something to learn to play at primary school, my instrument of choice had to be the cello. Whilst others kids in my class followed like sheep and plumped for the violin (you know the type I'm referring to - the same kids that tried out the recorder the year before only to get bored with playing that after just a few weeks...), I fancied trying something different.

Between 10-12 years old I sawed away trying to get a tune out of the old thing. Admittedly I wasn't a great one for practicing, preferring to run through the scores of my favourite Beatles tracks as opposed to the exercises in my cello book, but I had great fun all the same. I guess that's where my link between the cello and rock started and, looking back, I now realise that many of my favourite songs feature the cello. In fact I'd go as far as saying that the cello is a bonafide rock instrument. Unconvinced? Well here are five reasons to convert you...

1. Tuned for Rock & Roll!
Cellos are tuned to fifths, rather fourths like a guitar. For non musicians I'm getting a bit technical here, but because of this, the cello is perfectly tuned to play your standard 12 bar riff. Essentially anyone who can pick up a bow, play two strings together whilst adding a finger on the thinnest of the two strings can pick up rock & roll riffs quicker on a cello than you can say Marc Bolan...

2. A Fifth of Beethoven.
The first rock riff was definitely created by Beethoven - and it was played on a bunch of cellos! Anyone who has heard the opening notes to The Beet's Fifth Symphony will understand what I mean here!

3. By All Means, Stand Me Up!
There's something very rock & roll about standing up whilst playing the cello. Playing an upright cello is far more cooler that playing a guitar sitting down. Period.

4. It's Only Rock & Roll...If You Do It Right!
There's a story that one of the cellists with 70s rock band ELO, Mike Edwards, had a famous party piece where, during each gig, he would fill his cello with explosives and blow it into pieces during a solo. Now THAT'S rock & roll! When famed drummer (and supposed epitome of all things rock & roll) Keith Moon did the same thing with his drum set, he managed to permanently damage the hearing of Who band mate Pete Townsend. That's not rock & roll - it's just plain stupid. Edwards used to also play his cello with a grapefruit. Fortunately Moon stayed well away from all things fruit based...

5. Respect From Rock.
Some of the best rock musicians reckon the cellos is pretty cool. Jack Bruce, Cream legend and collaborator with Eric Clapton, once said that Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the greatest bass lines ever, whilst other acts (Muse and Sting to name a couple) have recently recorded albums featuring fully orchestrated versions of their songs. If it's good enough for them, then it's good enough for me...and The 286!

So there you have it - the cello is definitely a rock instrument. Case dismissed!!! If you can think of any other reasons then, by all means, drop them by as comments, join the debate :)