The cello has been delighting music lovers for hundreds of years now, thanks to its lively and vibrant sounds and warm tones that match the human voice pitch. The Cello is used in both classical and popular music.
The history of the cello is linked with other stringed instruments like the harp and lyre that were extensively used by ancient civilizations to make music. The cello came to the limelight for the first time in northern Italy in 1550. It is a member of the violin family and was initially called bass violin. In Italy, it was called viola da braccio. Andrea Amati was the first person who got exposure for making the cello. While Amati was not the inventor of the cello, he rose to popularity for building cellos for Charles IX King of France. Paintings from the 12th and 13th centuries depict the violin, indicating that it existed in the music of that era. However, the cello was developed in the 15th century. The reason for the cello’s late entrance into music was, in part, due to the trend of the sound ideal in Western European music. Back then, vocal music had supremacy over the whole music field. That meant the singers of that time would practically decide the ideals. Extensive performance practices during the fifteenth century led singers to realize they needed a tone with high pitch and nasal. In other words, there was a demand for a sound that associates closely with today’s Eastern music. The need for this tone led to the creation of what is known today as the cello.