Wood, ivory, metal, and horse hair;
these are the basic substances that make up a cello and its bow. And while my
family isn’t made from wood, ivory, metal, and horse hair, the way it functions
is comparable to a cello. I have a dad (pegs), mom (fine tuners), four brothers
(strings), and two sisters (the neck and the bow). My dad is very much like the
pegs on the instrument which, with some turning, can make the strings almost
perfectly in tune. Much like when the stings slip and become out of tune, he
has a strong effect on how my brothers come out and pulls them back into place doing
what they are supposed to do when they aren’t doing what’s right. Along with
pegs, there are fine tuners which help tweak the string just a little bit, but
make a huge difference in the ending result of how they sound. My mom is like
the fine tuners in the family, because although what she does may seem small,
it is that little amount that can make a huge difference and perfect my
brothers.
Now as far as the
strings go, I see my oldest brother, Mitchell, as the C string. The C string is
the lowest one and can sometimes come off a little rough, much like my brother.
It is also the deepest sounding which is comparable to how deep and wise my
older brother can be in the advice he gives. But this string is also the
hardest to keep under your fingers because of its thickness, so you have to
work really hard to get the right sound out. This feature is a lot like
Mitchell’s stubbornness and thick-mindedness. You really have to push him to
get what you want. My next brother, Justin, is like the G string. The G string
is the second lowest and is not as deep and rough sounding as the C string but
gets the closest to it. This is comparable to how Justin is the closest brother
to Mitchell but doesn’t come across as deep or rough. D is the next string, and
the brother who fits that role is none other than Drew! The D string is the
most commonly used one, and being one of the middle strings sounds good with
either the high string or the low ones. This is very much like my brother,
Drew, because he is the middle child and is very versatile in the sense that he
can get along well with either the older brothers (Mitch and Justin) or the
younger one (Hunter). The last and youngest brother is Hunter, and he is quite
similar to the A string. The A string is the highest and can bring some of the
sweetest and most pleasing sounds when played right, and is easy to press down
on and get the sound you want out of because it is the thinnest. Hunter is also
the sweetest brother I have. He is so kind it melts your heart and although he
doesn’t always go well with Mitchell (the lowest string), they still have their
moments of beauty. Some things all the strings have in common are 1) they are
all made of the same material, 2) they all have harmonics, and 3) they all need
to be tuned at some point. These qualities are similar to my brothers because
1) they have all been raised the same and came from the same two people, 2)
they can all be harmonious although it can be hard to get out of them
sometimes, and 3) they all have times where they need to be fixed up by my
parents so they act and sound like they are supposed to.
Next are my two
sisters. The older of the two is Brooke and I see her as being the neck and fingerboard.
The neck connects the scroll, peg box, and pegs to the body of the instrument; the
fingerboard is where the cellist presses his/her fingers down on the strings to
get the notes out that they want. Brooke is like the neck because she is
sensitive and likes to be close to my dad (the pegs), and like the fingerboard
because she does not really connect with my brothers (the strings) without some
outside force (the fingers of the cellist). My youngest sister - and the baby
of the family - is McKenzie, and she is comparable to the cello bow. The bow can
be played on the strings in any way (with the hair, on the stick, slanted,
straight, short, long, smooth, staccato, etc.) and no matter what get some
sound out of them. Since McKenzie is the baby, she can get almost anything she
wants out of my brothers by playing them in some way. She has a lot of control that everybody who
knows or watches my family can see.
Lastly, there is the
part I play. I consider myself to be the bridge and the sound post. The bridge
and sound post are said to be at the heart of the cellos set up and link parts
together. They also have a profound influence on the instruments tone and
response. I feel like I link my siblings together and have a good connection
with my parents and the family as a whole. I have a decent size influence on
how my family acts, much like the bridge influencing how the cello sounds.
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