Cello: Natural Harmonics — Ex. 2, Dividing the String in Thirds
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Cello: Natural Harmonics — Example 2, Dividing the String in Thirds
All the pitches in this section are played on the G string.
“Open string: The entire length of the string from nut to bridge is allowed to vibrate freely.” [0:18–0:23]
“Lightly touching the string a third of its length from the bridge forces the string to vibrate in 3 sections, each 1/3 the total string length.The sound produced is 3 times the frequency of the open string, the 3rd partial, sounding an octave and a fifth higher than the open string.” [0:23–0:28]
“Lightly touching the string two-thirds of its length from the bridge also forces the string to vibrate in 3 sections, each 1/3 the total string length.The sound produced is the same as the previous note, 3 times the frequency of the open string, the 3rd partial, sounding an octave and a fifth higher than the open string.” [0:28–0:34]
“Pressing down in this same place allows only 2/3 of the string to vibrate. Since this length is twice that of 3rd partial, it sounds an octave lower than the 3rd partial, a perfect fifth above the open string.” [0:34–0:40]