I'm a professional violinist and for the longest time I didn't find any difference between the rosin I used, and the grip it provided on the string, until I started using Evah Pirazzi rosin. 🥰
What did you do to keep the rosin off the front of your Cello? I think the front of my Cello needs to polished to remove the rosin. What do you recommend? Lastly, I got a fun chuckle from the puff of rosin smoke when describing adding too much Rosin. Thank you!
As always. appreciate the honesty. Got new rosin after using old one for 4 years. Made tremendous difference. However now too much dust on strings. Have to work this out.
I usually get Hindersine rosin, because my teacher at the time recommended that brand and they're around $10.00 after tax. The rosin I got with my cello kit was usually junk, the first one was cracked and I just tossed it. I didn't know that there was a difference between light and dark rosin, I just thought it was up to the manufacturer. Thanks, I learned a lot.
When I was a child, I played the violin and LOVED the smell of rosin. I quit violin after 5 years, but for my 26th birthday I bought a cello. I bought rosin. It didn't have any smell. It was traumatic.
This is a little unorthodox, but I don't play every day and I don't rosin much. But when I do, I use a cotton swab and wet the rosin slightly with alcohol and it just melts into the hair of the bow. I have been doing this for about five years. Works good, lasts a long time.
I go by tone for applying....Sometimes it slips after hours of playing. I also notice a build up of Rosin on cello strings and my fiddle also. To me the rosin build up on strings seems to dull the tone like holding the ring of a bell with your fingers. So the same with caked up strings. I scrape it off with thumb nail and the ring is free. The string is free to vibrate...yet the bow is prepared with rosin and we then have a match for a nice tone. This goes for my fiddle too. I cringe if I touch the horse hair of bow as this may transfer oils from fingers to hair and creates a whistle sound in time. It's all about tone!!! To much or to little rosin hinders tone. It's a kind of a feel kind of thing and hearing your tone. Hey, your videos are nicely done. Thanx for tips! Oh! Rotate your Rosin flat...don't make grooves. I use a very soft towel to wipe the dust off the wood every time after I play. Do NOT wipe wood with rosined towels.There are polishes for our cellos which also brighten up tone. Blue Dave.
@@adultcello pirastro rosins are indeed quite good. Cheap good option also include hidersine. But be sure to use Cello rosin for Cello, not violin rosin. Don;t laugh, a lot of beginners (including myself) would see rosins all the same and just grab whatever on hand to use. They are DIFFERENT :D
@@mallinmall1327 That's true! Funny enough, I think the packaging for Oliv by Pirastro sometimes says violin/viola, but in that particular case I actually love it for cello as well. It is a darker rosin, anyhow..
Very interesting and helpful video, as other commented, Question tied the story you mentioned at the beginning: How do you remove the rosin off the cello and avoid polishing it in? Thank you for creating this great resource to adult cello learners, very much appreciated!
Hi! For removing rosin off of the body of the cello, the most important thing is to make sure that your cleaning cloth is actually clean itself. That was my mistake. I was cleaning the strings first, and then cleaning the body of the cello with the same cloth that now had rosin on it. The solution I came up with (and that I've seen others do) is to have two cloths; one for cleaning the body and another (sturdier) one for cleaning the strings. Thanks so much for your comment!
So I assume it's not a problem if I switch the rosin type and there are two types of rosin on the bow momentarily, as the new one will eventually displace the old one. Is that true? Because I use a cheap light rosin from the rental and I would like to try a darker specific cello rosin, as the old one is for violin/viola/cello.
I use two separate cleaning cloths. One with tougher fabric for the strings and fingerboard, and a much smoother, delicate one for the body of the cello. And wash them/switch them out frequently to make sure I'm always using a clean cloth!
I've been playing for about eight months now and I still struggle with having confidence in whether or not I'm applying too much or not enough rosin. Question, how frequently are you supposed to wipe the rosin off of the strings? Also, I've never had an issue with the rosin 'dusting' everywhere when I play. In fact, there hardly is ever any rosin anywhere except for some that eventually builds up on the strings. It is possible that I may have a cheap rosin, so that probably doesn't help either.
Hi! In terms of removing rosin from the strings, I think doing so every couple of practice sessions or so with a sturdy cloth would be a good idea. As far as rosin dust goes, if you feel like your current rosin is providing you with good grip on the strings when you play, then that's the main thing to think about. You could always go ahead and try a new cake of good stuff if you're curious. As far as experimenting with equipment, changing rosin brands is one of the cheaper things you can try and it actually can make a pretty big difference in sound and playability. Hope that helps!
Probably too late, but I just ran across this video. Very helpful, but I"ve always rosined in both directions. Is there any benefit to that? Or is it wrong?
Hi! Honestly, I think applying rosin in both directions is totally fine, too. The main thing I aim for is to apply an even amount from frog to tip. Hope that helps!
Hi! It's a custom cello case by Acoustic Remedy; they're a company that mainly does humidity controlled guitar cases, but I contacted them and they were willing to make one for my cello.
Hi! Usually violin rosin is lighter (in color and in stickiness). Cello rosin needs to be stickier since the strings are longer, thicker, and higher in string tension. They require more energy to set into motion.
Hi! For me personally I just apply way more rosin than I normally would, maybe somewhere between 5-10 normal applications worth. You can check your progress as you go, seeing if the hair is easily gripping the string; if it's not, add a little more rosin and try it again. For rosining fresh hair, I personally would err on the side of putting a bit too much on, because not enough rosin will make drawing a full sound extremely difficult. Hope that helps!
I haven't ever felt the need to do that with the rosins I use....but if we're talking about the inexpensive rosin cakes that come with a rental outfit, for example, I could see that being necessary as the rosin may have hardened up so much that you need to break through the outer shell.
