Image: Wikimedia Commons

cello

Musical instrument

Also known as violoncello · Cello

Instance of: type of musical instrument
Subclass of: necked box lute played with a bow
Part of: violin family
1
Sources
1.Stated in Encyclopædia Britannica
View statement on Wikidata ↗

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

The violoncello ( VY-ə-lən-CHEL-oh, Italian pronunciation: [vjolonˈtʃɛllo]), commonly abbreviated as cello ( CHEL-oh), is a medium-low pitched bowed string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 and A3. The viola's four strings are each an octave higher. Music for the cello is generally written in the bass clef; the tenor clef and treble clef are used for higher-range passages.

Overview

All data

85 statements · 24% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Hornbostel-Sachs classification: 321.322-71
Used by: cellist
Awards: Instrument of the Year(2018)
1
Sources
1.2018.instrument-des-jahres.de/Retrieved 2019-04-08
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Practiced by: cellist
Has list: list of compositions for cello
Language: Italian

On other databases

70 identifiers linking cello across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

24%

externally sourced

Source last edited October 5, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

Suggest a fact or correction

Links

Use this data

curl https://aidb.si/api/v1/entities/Q8371

API docs, limits & keys

Cite this page

AIDB. (2026). cello (Q8371). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/cello-Q8371