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1. Cellists are good natured, tranquil and easy going people, but when they play they should be alert and in control ! 2. Check that you have the right sized chair and you must use some device to stop the tail-pin from sliding away as you lean on it ! On the right is a picture of a piano-stool that I can adjust to an ideal height, which for me is a little lower than a normal chair.
When you sit, your legs should be parallel to the floor and your feet should be practically anchored to the ground for maximum stability. On the photo on the far left you can see the square angle as the upper leg meets the lower leg at the knee. 3. Sit almost on the edge of your chair ( towards the front ) and do not allow yourself to “take a nap” leaning comfortably backwards ( with the Cello on top of you ! ). The two pictures above to the left : One is right ( extreme left ) , and the other one wrong ! The one where I am sitting towards the back of the stool is wrong. 4. Try this simple experiment to check if you are sitting properly and with a
good balance : holding your Cello by the neck with the left hand, stand up
quickly without moving your feet (pretend that you are a soldier and that a
General has just stepped into the room). If you have to move your feet or do
clumsy acrobatics just to stand up or worse to avoid an undignified fall in
front of your General, it means that you are probably sitting with your bottom
too close 5. Another tip to be alert during the “military inspection” is to keep your feet parallel and not in a “Charlie Chaplin or duck” position as in the photo on the right !
6. Do not position your Cello too high (with the scroll quite a long way from
your head) or too low (with the neck of the instrument leaning against your
shoulder): in both cases your left hand would be in big trouble reaching the
fingerboard easily. On the left : The first photo has the neck too high, and the
2nd has it too low, and the 3rd is just right ! 7. Hold the lower two points of the C ( the points on each side of the back plate which stand out from the shape of the ribs ) with the inside of your knees. Make sure that the upper part of the back of the Cello (where the neck starts) is just above your breast. If your knees “work” well and hold the instrument gently but firmly, your breast won’t get in real contact with the Cello and so it won’t be squashed ( quite an important point for ladies ! ) 8. You will notice that, holding the Cello as I have just described, there will be quite a good distance between your shoulder and the fingerboard, allowing a lot of freedom for the left hand. ( see the right most photo in the group of 3 pictures above to the left ) 9. You will also find that, having the Cello “ held and imprisoned by the knees” you will be able to move your upper body back and forward without problems. 10. This is extremely important, because your upper body shouldn’t have any impediment in finding the right position, which should be slightly slanted towards the Cello.
12. Both elbows should stay quite high, as if they were suspended in the air, and roughly at the same height. On the left is a photo illustrating this ( and notice the left elbow which is quite high. ) Pretend you are an eagle dominating the situation from above.
Anyway, after all these detailed tips I can tell you that there is a quick, sweet and loving way to find the right position for your Cello : Just give him a hug ! ( see the black and white photo on the right )
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to the back of the chair : come forward !
11.
So : your upper body is now slightly slanted forward. On the smaller photo on
the right I am leaning towards the cello. And what about the shoulders ? Your
shoulders need to be straight and on just one line ( not one higher then the
other ). They like being relaxed ( feel the bones in your shoulders very close
to you ), not strained forward or backward. Keep your head straight as well.