Stringing along the limit: improvising on the cello
Whenever I tried improvising on the cello, I found it clunky and unintuitive regardless of the genre, despite being an accomplished player. I always presumed that this is a ‘me’ problem and not the instrument. However, since starting to learn viola da gamba, improvising has come much more naturally.
Researcher: Mikolaj Piszczorowicz
On a cello, even a simple scale can feel poorly optimised in terms of the fingering pattern, causing you to jump to the next position every few notes, whereas an instrument like the viola da gamba allows you to play any scale without shifting, even up to two octaves.
This realisation is the foundation of my MMus research project. I aim to investigate and analyse the challenges and possibilities of using the cello as a tool to improvise. I will compare how the instrument that one plays influences the musical choices and practice patterns that we develop.
Can some characteristics, which at first may seem like an obstacle, turn into a unique tool of expression? I plan to create a practical method of understanding the ‘map’ of the fingerboard and how to navigate it in a way that suits the nature of the instrument.
Image: generated by Mikolaj Piszczorowicz using ChatGPT