12 Article I: The Concept of Positions

The exercises and examples thus far did not go beyond this note on each string:

The range of pitches on each string was as follows:

on the C-string

on the G-string

on the D-string

on the A-string

The range of the cello, as well as of the individual strings, is much larger. However, the fingers have to play higher^[1] on the string than they have done up until now, meaning that the hand must change its location on the fingerboard.

These changes of location are called positions, and there are two types:

1. “Neck position,” where the thumb touches the neck of the cello, as before, and
2. “thumb position,” where the thumb touches the string as an independent finger.

For now, we will focus on the first type, where the basic rule is that the thumb always maintains a place on the neck of the cello opposite the first and second fingers.

If we take the first finger from the lowest possible position (by the nut) on the A-string and keep moving up by a half step with the thumb opposing the finger, we get seven positions:

The first location is designated “half position”

The second location is designated “first position”

The third location is designated “1 ½ position”

The fourth location is designated “second position”

The fifth location is designated “third position”

The sixth location is designated “3 ½ position”

The seventh location is designated “fourth position”

By the time you get to the seventh location, where the first finger touches an E on the A-string, the thumb has reached the limit of the neck position. If the first finger were to move further, for example to an F, the thumb could not move with it, as this would deviate from the rule that always determines the position of the thumb in relation to the first and second finger. We will discuss these deviations later.

The seven locations on the four strings, and their corresponding fingered pitches, are as follows:

*A-Saite = A-string; D-Saite = D-string; G-Saite = G-string; C-Saite = C-string

** In half position, pitches can be respelled enharmonically. This position is regarded as a “low first position.” “First position” can also be regarded as “high first position.”
*** In 1 ½ position, pitches can be respelled enharmonically; it can be regarded as a “low section position.”
**** 3 ½ position is considered a “high third position,” or, if enharmonically respelled, a “low fourth position.”

In exercises in the various positions, we begin with fourth position. It is the easiest to find, as the thumb has a specific place at the lower end of the neck of the cello. The player needs to take into account from now on that the higher the position, the smaller the distance between the individual fingers. In very high positions, the spaces between the fingers become so small that one finger has to be placed on the other—one finger has to give way to the other in order to play the intervals perfectly in tune. In fourth position, the fingers sit freely alongside each other, but touch each other’s sides.