Violin vs cello: which is right for your child?

The violin and the cello are built the same way and played with the same kind of bow. The violin is small, sits under the chin, and plays high. The cello is large, stands on the floor between the knees, and plays low. Neither is easier. The better choice is the one whose sound your child loves.

The differences at a glance

	Violin	Cello
Size, full size	About two feet long	About four feet tall
How it is held	Under the chin, on the left shoulder	Between the knees, resting on a metal spike
The player	Stands or sits	Sits
Strings, low to high	G, D, A, and E	C, G, D, and A
Sound	High and bright	Low and warm
Reads	Treble clef	Bass clef
Job in an orchestra	The tune, most of the time	The bass line, and tunes too
How many in an orchestra	Two large groups	One smaller group
To carry	Fits on a lap or in a backpack case	Needs its own seat in the car

What is hard about the violin

The hold. The violin rests on the collarbone, and the left arm twists under it. This position is not natural, and it can take months to feel easy.

The left hand. There are no frets. The notes are close together, and a finger that is a hair off sounds out of tune.

The first sounds. A beginner’s bow scratches. The sound is high, and it sits close to the player’s ear.

What is hard about the cello

The size. A cello has to be carried to lessons, to school, and up the stairs.

The reach. The notes are farther apart, so the left hand stretches and shifts more.

The bass clef. Cello music is written in the bass clef, which some children meet later than the treble clef. Read treble clef and bass clef.

What is easy about each

• Violin. It is light. It comes in tiny sizes for small children. Teachers and group classes are easy to find.
• Cello. The player sits, and the arms hang in a more natural way. Some parents find a beginner’s low notes easier to live with than a beginner’s high ones.

Sizes for children

Both instruments come in small sizes, so a child can start young. A teacher or a string shop fits the size.

• Violin sizes run from one-sixteenth up to full size. Try the violin size finder.
• Cello sizes run from one-tenth up to full size. The child is fitted sitting down.

Many families rent, because a growing child moves up through several sizes.

Starting age

Teachers trained to work with young children take violin and cello beginners from about four. Many children start later, in a school string program at eight or nine, and do well.

Read the violin for a 3 or 4 year old and Suzuki cello for kids.

Daily life

• Travel. A violin goes on the school bus. A cello may need a ride.
• Practice space. A cellist needs a chair of the right height and room for the bow arm.
• Cost. This page gives no prices. Ask a string shop for the rental rate of each.
• Orchestra seats. An orchestra needs many violins. Cellists are fewer, and a school orchestra is often glad to get one.

How to help your child choose

1. Listen first. Play “The Swan” for the cello, and “Spring” from The Four Seasons for the violin. Ask which sound your child wants to make.
2. See them played. Watch a video of a child playing each one.
3. Try both. A string shop or a teacher will let a child hold each instrument and draw the bow across a string.
4. Ask the teacher. A teacher can check hand size, arm length, and posture.
5. Let the child decide. A child who chose the instrument has a reason to practice.

Can a child switch later?

Yes. The bow hold, the reading, and the ear all carry over. Some violinists move to the viola, which sits between the two in size and sound. Read the viola for kids.

Pieces to hear

“The Swan,” by Saint-Saëns. The cello glides over two pianos. See what to hear.

Cello Suite No. 1, Prelude, by Bach. One cello alone, with no other instrument.

“Spring,” from The Four Seasons, by Vivaldi. The solo violin chirps like a bird. See The Four Seasons guide.

Scheherazade, by Rimsky-Korsakov. A solo violin tells the story.

Things to do together

High or low? Play a violin piece and a cello piece. Stand on tiptoe for the violin, and crouch for the cello.

Count the strings. Both have four. Name them from low to high. Read how many strings on a violin, cello, harp, and guitar.

Air bow. Hold a pencil like a bow. Play an air violin under the chin, and then an air cello between the knees.

Find them on stage. Watch a video of an orchestra. Find the violins on the left and the cellos on the right.

Print and play

Print the orchestra seating chart and color the violins and the cellos. Read the violin for kids, the cello for kids, string instruments for kids, and cello vs double bass.