A question for cellists out there!

[CTyankee]

I am watching cellists such as Ma, dePre, Hauser, play and notice that at the playing of their final note, they lift their bow but keep their finger on the string before just a moment before lifting it. Is this to keep the vibration to the very end or something I hadn't thought of?

Thank you in advance for giving me your thoughts.

[fierywoman]

1. Not just for cellists -- relative to any instrument in the "string" family ;

Yes the vibe will keep going better with the finger still at the point of the string where the note is (sometimes there's some vibrato involved to prolong the ringing ...) --taking the finger off the string, the note will continue vibrating, but not as much as with the finger down. (FWIW if you lifted the finger and then used it to stop the string vibrating, THEN the sound would suddenly stop.)

[CTyankee]

2. Thanks. It's a graceful thing, actually, almost balletic.

I am almost mesmerized by watching these musicians. It's like magic when they deliver their final note. I never noticed it in the live concerts I regularly attended but now I see them up closer and watch with rapt attention...

[fierywoman]

4. I often thought, as I was sitting in the middle of an orchestra, (I played professionally for over

30 years) that the audience had no idea how much fun it is to be in the middle of all this ... And, yes, it is balletic (look for the way they pluck the strings, for example.)

[catrose]

3. Yes

[ProfessorGAC]

5. You Are Correct

Same thing on guitar, though the design of a guitar is such that sustain is much longer than on bowed instruments.
The lack of a fret on a bowed instrument has a huge effect on its ability to sustain. On guitar, even I'm pressing the string, the point of contact is not my finger, but the metal fret in front.
Of course, this causes limitations in how notes can be manipulated but that's why guitar player's bend strings.
Cellist don't have to bend because they can subtly slide into and out of notes.
I'm sure you've heard violinists play pizzicato. The notes die very quickly because the fingertip isn't the rigid surface that metal is.
Guitarist have to create pizzicato effects by muting the string with the heel of the pick hand. I do it a lot. I really like that sound.

[CTyankee]

6. Bowing looks easy but I am noticing the intense concentration that goes into it. I watch Yo Yo Ma

being extremely precise. I know Hauser is precise but his facial expressions are often a bit ludicrous (I think he actually leers at his female audience admirers) but he's awfully good at playing! He does Ennio Morricone works often (Morricone wrote the music for Sergio Leone "spaghetti westerns.&quot

[ProfessorGAC]

9. Bowing Is HARD!

I know where all the notes are on a bowed instrument, so I could be competent.
But, my bow technique is iffy, at best, so my tone is VERY unpredictable.
Sometimes sweet, sometimes rotten, even though I'm hitting the right notes.
At the lev3l of someone lime Ma, bow control is awesome.
It's the difference between good & great.

[CTyankee]

7. how do guitar players "bend" strings?

[ProfessorGAC]

8. Picture This

I play the note on the 3rd string 5th fret. That's a C note. Now, I push the string up toward the heavier strings (or down to the lighter ones, but more commonly up).
This increases the string tension, making the pitch go up. I do it enough, for instance, until I get a D note against a G chord, getting the 5th, but "bending" into it.
Is this clear enough or do I need to explain it better?

[CTyankee]

10. No, I got it! Thanks!