Pachelbel's canon is based on a cycle of fifths - so is everything else - and I can't stand it for much the same reason. It's a really really boring piece... but anyway.. what a hilariously funny clip.

That's what he gets for playing an instrument that's used for ostinatos. You don't see women throwing their panties at Roger Waters either!

...oh wait, you do.

Which is a shame because the cello is a gorgeous instrument. I can't stand the solo violin, but a solo cello sounds wonderful.

Which is odd - The cello and violin are exceedingly similar; the only difference in them is their tonality (It's also somewhat odd that cellos are used more often for ostinato and such 'background' parts in music, but the same seems to be true of all bass instruments - The lower an instrument, the less often it gets to be the focus of a piece).

Yes. It's a completely different tone. The one is rich and luxurious, the other sounds like nails down a blackboard. Sorry, violinists - I love you in full sections, I just don't like you alone.



There's masses of solo cello stuff about, Bach and Britten's Cello suites come to mind.. Haydn wrote two cello concertos.. there really is plenty. It's the double bassists that really suffer - they're playing a ridiculously difficult instrument with bugger all interesting solo work available.

No... one is low, the other is high. I think you're just listening to the wrong violinists.

Although I do agree that solo violin can be very shallow and dull, compared to a full orchestra.

Actually, I think that honour falls with electric harp guitarists.

Veri - this is an area in which I -do- know what I'm talking about. Don't attempt to patronise me. The tone is different. It's not just a matter of pitch.

D'oh. By 'tone', you mean 'timbre' - Because of my linguistic background I always take it to mean 'pitch', which lead me to misunderstand you. Yes of course the timbre is different (It has to be) but they're close enough for comfort, IMHO, for most people. Violins and violinists are somewhat temperamental, though, so one's mileage may and usually does vary; some violins produce a much more full-bodied sound than others. And of course here we go into psychoacoustics, which is somewhat subjective and bound to personal preference.

I knew it had to be some sort of semantic problem. There's simply no way anyone can argue that the Cello and Violin sound the same..

Good clip, esp the Taco Bell part.

check this out also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S8wBNoiv90

That was great!

Violin's are like flutes. Easy to learn, but because of that everyone things they sound horrid. It is a bias misconception that happens to most upper register instruments. A well played violin is more dynamic, powerful, and cleaner then a cello can be.

Problem in modern violins: Most people cheap out and get wound wire string. To get a 'real' tone, you need gut or nylon string.

Second, a student violin is never going to sound pretty, no matter how good the player is. The keep plastic pieces, and the pathetic shaping used in them prevents them from ever producing a good sound. (To contrast this, a student cello could last a player well up into a mediocre level of playing, where as the student violin peaks at just above beginning level ability.) -This is not true of all student violins, just most.

And lastly, because so many 'violinists' do not know proper bow technique, which creates the 'aftersound' as my music teacher always called it, that makes so many people dislike the violin.

Violins do have the better sound then a cello, it is just a hell of a lot harder to convince a violin to show off its good sound.


(I played Cello for the USNA Orchestra, just so you have a frame of reference... I do not actively play now.)

I've heard plenty of extremely good violinists in high profile concerts and out. Solo, I still prefer the cello, hands down. It's a personal opinion not an objective truth.

Well the thing about Cello's solo over violin, is a Cello actually has a larger range then a violin, simply because of the length of the neck. That is why Yo-Yo Ma is easily recognized, and most Violin players are not. (Can not even thing of any...) So they tend to have fuller solos... in classical music...

But if you look at folk and country music, that is where Violins take the pie. With just a slightly different bowing technique, they come to life.

Aww, I love that song. Favorite classical song. Then again, I don't know too many....

Itzhak Perlman, Yehudi Menuhin, Isaac Stern... Hell, Vanessa Mae. There are quite a few modern violinists experimenting with jazz fusion and electronic music, as well.

Was talking about Classical... Non-classical you have Alison Kraus as probably the best... (At least in Country and Blue Grass) and Charlie Daniel is the most recognized Violin player... there are a lot of good ones out there, just not in classic music