I agree! As a violist myself, there are so many things the others can do that I can't. But the same goes the other way around. I can do many things that they can't. And there is just something missing in an orchestra without violas.
I love the way they argue about the best instrument. It's so obvious how much they love what they're doing. And I agree with the cellist - a cello is like a human being.
From a very early age, I gravitated towards the cello, because of the warm sounds and it's a pretty cool instrument and it closely resembles the human voice at times. I tried to learn the violin, but I have fat fingers and I was also discouraged by a very snobby teacher who criticized my instrument very early in life. He told me never to come back until I have a real instrument. I was given a very cheap violin by a friend and I spent some money getting it fixed up, I replaced the sound post, got a new bridge, and new stings and he refused to teach me. I eventually gave the instrument away and it's probably playing in some symphony in Toronto. Today I have 3 cellos (2 acoustic and 1 electric).
The best overall instrument of every instrument type will be whatever instruments that have a Contra-Alto/Bass fundamental pitch from Double E-flat to G Bass, that's EEb/Eb-1 to G1. If it has a dark tone playing it's fundamental pitch, it's Contra-Alto. If it has a deep tone playing its fundamental pitch, it's Bass. That's the only difference between Contra-Alto and Bass is the timbre/tone since they are the same pitch. Contra-Alto/Bass instruments can go really really low and really really high which is why they're the best. They all have atleast a 5 octave range. In that regard, the best valved brass instrument is the F Horn pitched in FF Contra-Alto. The best non valved brass instrument is the Trombone in FF Bass, although the F Horn can still go higher. The best single reed woodwind instrument is the Clarinet in EEb Contra-Alto. The best double reed woodwind instrument is the Bassoon in G Bass. The best non reed woodwind instrument is the Flute in G Contra-Alto. The best string instrument is the Cello in G Bass. These instruments have the most versatility, the richest sound and add the most color vs the other instruments in their class. If you combine them all together in an ensemble full of Contra-Alto/Bass instruments only you will hear a gift from God himself as they can cover almost the entire harmonic series.
I play bass guitar, and I love it, but I would love to learn to play double bass as well; with a bow and fingers. I would say my favorite is the double bass, those low notes are so deep, smooth, and moving. All of the instruments have their place; there is no "best", but for me nothing beats bass.
The Cello truely is the best of them. If you take 20 Cellos, you have a viable orchestra which can play quite "normal sounding" music. That is not the case with 20 of the other competitors.
I'm a "jack of all trades" type wanting to do a bit of everything, always looking for the best compromise. All things considered, VIOLA seems like the best choice. After playing for a while, still glad I chose viola. (Cello is best, but the viola is like a miniature cello, more convenient to own and carry.)
Viola and double bass. I prefer not to stand out. But between viola and double bass; I choose viola as it is smaller. If I am going for the double bass, then I'll go with bass guitar just for the mobility/portability. Both double bass and electric guitar uses E-A-D-G if I am not mistaken. And both instruments uses bass clef on sheet music.
I personally think for classical and everyday use I think the cello is the best but for what is play (country/fiddle) I think the violin is better because you can get those nice e-string notes
A 5 string cello with a high E string can reach very high notes like the violin, and is more comfortable to play...and with a low F can reach more notes of the doble bass. And you can have a 6 string cello. For those who likes the violin form, with a 5 string viola one can have the high E string
As somebody who can't play music AT ALL, I have to say violin and piano are my favourite instruments. I easily get emotional listening to violin or piano music. That's the magic of music, I guess - it can pierce your soul
Hi Mari. You are correct. It’s totally silly. But that’s the point! We were all together after a recording session, and thought ‘what would happen if we all try and ‘fight’ to prove our instrument is the best’. It wasn’t rehearsed. We just turned on the camera and let the musicians talk; and this is what came out! Of course you can’t have an orchestra without all the instruments. But it’s interesting to know why each player thinks their particular instrument is worthy of the title ‘best string instrument’. Don’t you think?
I am far and I mean far from an expert but I would think as a stand alone instrument the Cello is best. I have read that the Viola has a richer sound than the Violin. But that is just what I read. But as others said each instrument is important in an orchestra.
Enough with the negative Viola comments that people pretend are jokes. I love the sound and that’s why I play it. I also sing Alto which would be a similar place in the music. I could not bear to practice those high frequency sounds of the violin nor play a lot of melody, which is boring to me and another reason I like singing alto. The cello is nice and deep but I don’t want to live that deep. It’s just not my thing you know. I definitely would not want to carry around the large cello and the large base and pay for those large strings! and the instruments cost more and I guess the bows cost more than mine. Even in the orchestra when I hear the violins play it doesn’t sound like real music to me, so I guess those high pitch sounds are just not my style
I dont understand, arent they the same instrument and just exist (instead of just one existing) because they can't have the range of something like piano and need multiple instruments to cover that range?
The same instrument? Not at all. They all have radically different techniques, tones and colours. They are all string instruments yes, but that’s the only thing that connects them. Similar to a Tuba vs Trumpet. Both brass, but they are chalk and cheese….
The base thing is nice, but you won't carry it on your bike needs a pickup truck. The base imitates my voice tremor that I felt it speaking to me. So I think like guitars, let's make an electrical viola that you can play distortion
Ik gisteren avond op 't.v. de contrabas bespeeld geworden, door een Engelsman die ook in de jury aanwezig is bij het uitvoerende belicht worden naar dirigenten naar het concert podium, de contra bas het instrument kan zwaarder en dieper worden bespeeld dan mijn Cello, ontroerend geluid, maar dat kost dan ook een geluid uit de buidel met geld.
En dat geluid wat het snaren instrument bespeeld wordt dat is de meerwaarde de prijs en de vooruitgang door het bespeelde snarenspel door en van geluid de muzieknoten filteren door de houten kast van het grote en zwaardere worden instrument.
Viola as alto I think is valid and I would say violin is similar to a mezzo soprano role, cello has a wider range than any singular singing role though, same with double bass, bass is probably more like contrabass or an octavist imo 🧐 if I had to assign cello a singing equivalent I’d probably say contra tenor or baritenor 🏍
The ranges shown are pretty accurate although the Cello is not limited to Tenor it also straddles the Bass register and is famed for its lower bass notes.
The piano is stringed but plays as percussion. The piano is as much percussion as it is stringed. The piano is both string and percussion at the same time because it is a combination of the two. There is no "It's actually percussion" or "It's actually stringed". Because to say either would take away from the other.
The violin is the smallest, followed by the viola, which is only slightly bigger and looks similar. The cello is significantly larger than the first two and the bass is the largest. ... To play a cello, the player sits with the instrument between their legs. For bass, they stand or use a stool.
Thanks Kevin. Sorry you feel like that, but that’s how we wanted to video to be. I’d advise listening to something like Britten’s The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra to hear more playing…
I was hoping I would know the difference of the same piece of music* sounds in this violin family. *any kind of music is fine, though modern pop music is preferred
