Genre with Cello. The cello or violoncello is a bowed string instrument of the violin family.
Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C 2, G 2, D 3 and A 3, an octave lower than the viola. Music for the cello is generally written in the bass clef, with tenor clef and treble clef used for higher-range passages.
Played by a cellist or violoncellist, it enjoys a large solo repertoire with and without accompaniment, as well as numerous concerti. The cello often plays the bass part, both in chamber music such as string quartets and the orchestra's string section, where the cello may be reinforced an octave lower by the double basses.
Figured bass music of the Baroque-era typically assumes a cello, viola da gamba or bassoon as part of the basso continuo group alongside chordal instruments such as organ, harpsichord, lute or theorbo. Cellos are found in many other ensembles such as symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles.
The name cello is derived from the ending of the Italian violoncello, which means little violone. Violone was a large-sized member of viol family or the violin family. The term violone today usually refers to the lowest-pitched instrument of the viols, a family of stringed instruments that went out of fashion around the end of the 17th century in most countries except England and, especially, France, where they survived another half-century before the