Cello Contact Point
Hey composer!
In terms of contact point, there are basically three main regions of the instrument to take into account:
1. Sul tasto (ST) / molto sul tasto (MST): over the fingerboard
2. Ordinario (ord.): default playing position
3. Sul ponticello (SP) / molto sul ponticello (MSP): close to the bridge
Sul tasto (ST) is when you play with the bow over the fingerboard, and when you do that, most of the upper frequencies of the spectrum are filtered out, so you end up with a more “hollow” sound. The sound is a little bit less concentrated. It's more round and bassy, almost flute like, except in the upper register. You can sort of make the cello sound like a bass flute or a contrabass flute, hence the articulation marking like flautando. This is true of the other string instruments as well, but mostly on the lower strings of each instrument (i.e. C/G/D for cello and viola, G/D for violin). Molto sul tasto (MST) is an exaggerated version of sul tasto, and you can specify the placement of the bow in the score by drawing a diagram of the fingerboard from the perspective of the player (i.e. “upside-down”) and adding a line, arrow, or other symbol to show bow placement.
Ordinario is the default playing position in the middle region between the end of the fingerboard and the bridge. This is the most balanced in terms of frequency response, as you have a good balance between low and high overtones, and this is where you will hear the characteristic sound of the cello.
Lastly, sul ponticello is when you play close to the bridge. In this case, the lower frequencies are actually filtered out and the sound is more piercing and nasally. The closer you go to the bridge, the more oriented the sound will be to those higher frequencies. Molto sul ponticello (MSP) is an exaggerated version of SP.
That is basically all you have to think about in terms of contact point and how it's going to affect the actual timbre of the notes that you're writing. Of course, you can combine all kinds of different articulations, such as staccato, spiccato, tremolo, legato, and so on. Be creative with the ways in which you combine the different factors of timbre and articulation.
NOTATION
In terms of notation, there are different approaches to this. As a cellist, I tend to prefer text than visual diagrams because it’s much easier to read. You can add abbreviations of the contact points with dashed arrows (where the arrows refer to gradual change) as follows:
ST------> SP
SP------>ord.
SP<---->MSP ad lib.*
Etc.
*ad lib. or ad libitum refers to freely changing at the discretion of the performer
Hope that helped, and feel free to check out the video I made on composing for the cello 👇🏻
Happy composing!
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