Yo Yo Ma - Virtuoso Cellist, Collaborator, Educator

Written by Stefan Aune of Fein Violins


October 7 is cellist Yo Yo Ma's birthday (happy birthday!) - and just in case you've been living under a rock and don't recognize him from the orchestral stage or your own television, we thought it fitting to pay tribute to one of the best cellists ever in today's blog.

Yo Yo Ma is widely considered to be the preeminent cellist of our time, and he is certainly the most famous. Unlike many classical virtuoso performers, Ma has managed to transcend the insular classical world and become a household name. He has even appeared on television programs such as Arthur, Sesame Street, The Simpsons, The West Wing, The Colbert Report, and Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. My personal favorite is in the television show Seinfeld, where the character Kramer exclaims "Yo Yo Ma!" whenever he is surprised by something. It is this accessibility and name recognition, combined with his towering skills on the cello, that have made Yo Yo Ma a superstar of the classical world.

Yo Yo Ma, with some help from Elmo

A 440. Not So Standard.

Written by Stefan Aune of Fein Violins

Violins, Violas, and Cellos all have an A string, and every violinist, violist and cellist invests a great deal of  time and energy into keep that A string in tune and then tuning their other strings in relation to the A. Most orchestras and ensembles tune from the A pitch, which is usually used as the standard for tuning. Whether it is a line of beginners waiting for their orchestra teacher to tune their instruments, or a seasoned professional attempting to wrestle a stubborn string into tune before a concert, tuning is an (all too often aggravating) shared experience for musicians. Despite the importance placed on playing "in tune," you might be surprised to learn that "in tune" has meant a variety of things over the years, and only recently has there been anywhere near a consensus on what exactly an in tune "A" should sound like.

Sound is a vibration that travels in waves, and humans perceive these sound waves as a pitch that is measured in a unit called Hertz (Hz).  Hertz are used to measure the rate of vibration of a sound, and each of our musical notes (A, B, C, D, E, F, and G) corresponds to a certain Hz measurement. However, there hasn't always been a general consensus on what each musical note should measure in Hz. When Bach played an "A" on his organ, that note's Hz measurement was different from the "A" that we tune the violins to in our shop. The development of pitch standardization has been the result of technological and scientific advancements as well as "pitch inflation," the gradual rise in pitch levels that results from instrumentalists attempting to achieve brighter and brighter tones.

10 Things You Can Do Today to Make Your Violin, Viola, or Cello Sound Better

Written by Andy Fein, luthier at Fein Violins

Every string player wants to sound better. Here are 10 things you can do today (not tomorrow, not next week) to make you and your instrument sound better.

1) Practice. Hah! Bet you didn't think that was one of the 10 things. But it is. Practice the hard parts, practice with quiet concentration, put the time in and you'll get multiple dividends out.

The Soundpost

Written by: Andy Fein, Luthier at Fein Violins

The soundpost is the dowel of wood that you see inside the treble (E or A) side of your violin, viola or cello. For a small piece of Spruce that's about 6mm thick (about 7mm on a viola, about 10mm on a cello) it makes a tremendous difference on how your instrument plays and sounds. In French, the soundpost is called "l'âme", the "soul" of the instrument. I completely agree.

Bach's Walks

Written by: Andy Fein,  luthier at Fein Violins
Amy Tobin, and Angela Newgren

What is the craziest thing you have done to hear a concert? Perhaps you have hopped in your car and driven hours just to get to the venue.  Maybe you camped out in front of the ticket booth the night before the tickets went on sale. Or, for those raised on a strict diet of internet access, you might have been at the website, all info filled in, ready to hit the 'order now' button at precisely the moment the clock changes.

No matter what extremes you have gone to, I'm willing to bet that Bach has you beat. The famous composer, organist and music legend once walked 300 miles (!) all in the name of music.

Along with music, walking was one of Bach's hobbies. From the time he was young,

Pablo Casals & Bach

Written by Andy Fein, owner and luthier at Fein Violins,
and Angela Newgren:

Yesterday, I heard cellist Alisa Weilerstein talk about Pablo Casals discovering an old book of the Bach Cello suites in a rare book store in Barcelona. At the time, he was only thirteen. The year was 1890.

Casals knew he had something special. Already an accomplished cellist, Casals lived with, studied and played the suites almost every day for 12 years. At age 25, he was ready to perform them.