Estimated reading time 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Do you want to be able to play your cello or double bass in tune? Do you need help learning the necessary skills for accurate string intonation? The following post will give you bowing, fingering, and ear training tips that will help you master your instrument’s intonation. Keep reading to learn how to play your cello in tune.
This article uses musical terms. For definitions, see the Glossary at the end of the post.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission from purchases made through the links. I’ll only recommend products I use, use in lessons, or ones my students or colleagues have recommended.
How to Play Your Cello in Tune: What Factors Affect Cello and Double Bass Intonation?
When working on cello or double bass intonation, you need to practice without vibrato.
Johan Sundberg found that players tuned close to just intonation when they played without vibrato. Sunberg states:
Under vibrato-free conditions, subjects tended to tune [harmonic] dyads in the vicinity of the just version, as we saw. However, if melodic intervals are tuned to the same recipe, the results sound horribly out of tune. (The Science of Musical Sounds 102)
Notice that the tuning strategy that works for harmonies doesn’t work for melodies.
This is because harmony and melody tune differently. Ross Duffin talks about expressive intonation, which is an inherently melodic tuning:
If modern string players are taught anything about varying tuning from ET [equal temperament], they are taught that ‘leading tones should lead.’ This approach is often attributed to the great cellist Pablo Casals (1876-1973), who advocated what he called “expressive intonation.”
What that means in practical terms is that in a common cadential progression involving a leading note, say G# to A, the G# should be higher than its ET position so that it leads more effectively to the resolution on A.
Conversely, when a Bb leads down to A, the Bb should be lower to enhance that linear progression and the inexorable pull toward the resolution.
[That makes] sense in the context of a single melodic line. But most music making has a harmonic element as well … (How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony 19)
Therefore, you’d use expressive intonation in solo situations, but you must tune up the harmonies correctly when you play in an ensemble.
You should practice tuning harmonies at slow tempos (holding it for four to eight beats at an andante tempo or slower) when working with your string ensemble.
Doing these two things allows you to hear the beating between the ensemble player’s notes, which in turn helps you to tune up the harmonies. Shackford states:
As with fifths, long-held thirds and tenths show a narrower spread than those used in passing. (Some Aspects of Perception 1:198).
In addition to beating, you should also listen to the buzz and fusion between the notes in your ensemble.
How to Play Your Cello in Tune: What Else Will Help My Cello and Double Bass Intonation Skills?
- In How to Play Your $@*% Viola in Tune we talked about how fingering and bowing can affect your intonation.
- This is just as true for cello and double bass as it is for violin and viola.
George Bornoff, Founder of the Bornoff Foundation for the Advancement of String Education, advocated finger patterns that help players execute the notes correctly.
- Basically, Bornoff’s method books state that you’ll need to space your fingers out for a whole-tone and close the gap for a semitone.
- However, realize that the gaps will become bigger the lower you go on the fingerboard.
- Using this finger strategy will get you approximately in tune, but you’ll need to listen carefully to fine tune your pitch.
You’ll also need to watch your bow speed and pressure. The more pressure you apply, the faster the bow will need to move over the strings.
How to Play Your Cello in Tune: Do I Need Special Ear Training?
- Ear training will boost your intonation skills.
- You’ll need to work on melodic intonation separately from harmonic intonation.
- This strategy will work for any string player, whether violin, viola, cello or double bass.
Melodic Intonation
- Ternstrom and Sunberg’s intonation research study found that when you stay between +/-15 cents of the note’s center pitch, you’ll sound in tune.
- Thus, you can use a tuner (such as the Korg CA-2 Chromatic Tuner) to help you establish good melodic intonation skills.
- Simply play a note while the Korg tuner is on, and if your pitch stays between the hollow triangles (which mark the +/-15 cent limit) on the Korg’s display, your melodies will be in tune.
Watch the video below to see the Korg Tuner in action.
Mobile users: for best results viewing the video, rotate your screen 90o to the right.
Video: Korg CA-2 Chromatic Tuner
Hamonic Intonation
Click on the links to work with soundtracks that boost harmonic intonation.
- Singing Exercises with Harmony
- Ear Training Exercises for Harmonizing
- Singing Major and Minor Harmonies
- How to Harmonize in Minor Keys
- Singing 7th Chords
The sing-along soundtracks in these posts were designed to help with vocal intonation. However, if you play along with the soundtracks, it’ll be just as effective for improving your string intonation skills.
Final Thoughts
Takeaway points:
- Practice with your string ensemble without using vibrato. This will allow you to hear beating, which will help your intonation.
- Practice harmonies at an Andante tempo or slower. This will also make it easier to hear the beating between the notes in your ensemble.
- Listen for the buzz, beating, and fusion between the notes.
Have fun playing!
Related Posts
- How to Play Your $@&% Oboe in Tune
- How to Play Your $@#% Trumpet in Tune
- Intonation and Supplemented Equal Temperament
© 2026 Geoffrey Keith
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