title: Juan Guaidó

text: When interviewed by BBC Mundo, risk consultant Dimitris Pantoulas, and head of the Datanálisis consultant firm Luis Vicente León agreed that Guaidó's reputation was damaged due to the incident, with León stating "the opposition seems to have exhausted the routes." In an analysis for the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Patricio Zamorano wrote that the event "shows that Guaidó is politically immature and inept," that such scandals had "led to a significant withering of his support" and that Guaidó was willing to resort to violence in order to remove Maduro from power.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: In response to calls from Mexico, Uruguay, and CARICOM for negotiations, Guaidó said that the National Assembly would not participate in dialogue with Maduro, on the grounds that negotiations have already been attempted, "within and outside of Venezuela, in private and in public, alone and with international companions." Guaidó said that the result of all previous negotiations was more repression, with Maduro taking advantage of the process to strengthen his position. Offering as examples Leopoldo López, the detention of Juan Requesens, Julio Borges (in exile) and others, he said that if Maduro really wanted dialogue, he would release political prisoners. He asked Uruguay and Mexico to join him. Guaidó characterized Uruguay as failing to defend democracy, saying that Uruguay's stance was surprising given Venezuela has 300,000 starving people at risk of dying.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: After Maduro wrote to Pope Francis, asking for assistance with negotiations, Guaidó refused the Vatican's offer to mediate, calling the attempt a "false dialogue," and saying that by mediating, the Vatican would assist those who "refused to see the Venezuelan reality." Guaidó said that Maduro did not respect conditions of 2016 negotiations, and suggested the Pope should encourage Maduro to allow an orderly transition of power. "Corriere della Sera" cited a 7 February 2019 reply from Pope Francis addressed to "Mr. Maduro," in which Pope Francis also stated that what had been agreed in earlier negotiations (open a channel for humanitarian aid, hold free elections, free political prisoners, and re-establish the constitutionally-elected National Assembly) had not been followed, and that he would not back "any kind of dialogue" but only constructive dialogue "when all conflicting parties put the common good above any other interest."


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Following the failed uprising, representatives of Guaidó and Maduro began mediation, with the assistance of the Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution. Jorge Rodríguez and Héctor Rodríguez Castro served as representatives for Maduro while and Stalin González were representatives for Guaidó. Guaidó confirmed that there was an envoy in Norway, but said that the opposition would not take part in false negotiations. After the second meeting in Norway, no deal was reached.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: On 9 July 2019 negotiations started in Barbados with representatives of Nicolás Maduro and Juan Guaidó. Several theories arose from the negotiations, including potential elections agreed upon between the government and the opposition, having Héctor Rodríguez as the main government candidate. On 15 September, Guaidó announced that the opposition concluded the dialogue after the absence of the government in the negotiations for forty days as a protest to the recent sanctions by the United States.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: In February 2020, the coordinator of the Lima Group, Hugo de Zela, announced that three of its member countries – Argentina, Canada and Peru – were attempting to negotiate with the Cuban government to find a solution to the crisis. Although no details of the negotiation were leaked, it was confirmed by officials in Buenos Aires.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: In late March 2020, the United States relaxed its position and proposed a transitional government that would exclude both Maduro and Guaidó from the presidency. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that sanctions did not apply to humanitarian aid during the coronavirus pandemic health emergency and that the United States would lift all sanctions if Maduro agreed to organize elections that did not include himself in a period of six to twelve months. The deal would enforce a power-sharing scenario between the different government factions, and the US would remove all sanctions should it be agreed to. Elections would have to be held within the year, and all foreign militaries would have to leave the country. The US were still seeking Maduro's arrest at the time of the announcement. Other aspects of the US deal would include releasing all political prisoners and setting up a five-person council to lead the country; two members each chosen by Maduro and Guaidó would sit on the council, with the last member selected by the four. The EU also agreed to remove sanctions if the deal went ahead.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Guaidó accepted the proposal, while Venezuela's foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza, rejected it and declared that only parliamentary elections would take place that year.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Reuters reported that during the COVID-19 pandemic, allies of both Nicolás Maduro and Juan Guaidó had secretly begun exploratory talks, according to sources on both sides. Guaidó and U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams have denied that negotiations have taken place.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: After the announcement of regional elections in 2021, Guaidó announced a "national salvation agreement" and proposed the negotiation with Maduro with a schedule for free and fair elections, with international support and observers, in exchange for lifting international sanctions.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: On 5 August 2021, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that Mexico would host negotiations talks between Maduro and the opposition, including Guaidó, who stated that he will push for guarantees for what he called free and fair elections.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Guaidó has said there is room for long-term Chávez/Maduro allies such as Russia and China in Venezuela, adding that legal security under a new plan for the country would benefit all businesses, including theirs. He has approached China to establish diplomatic ties, stating "China’s support will be very important in boosting our country’s economy and future development." According to "Euronews", he says he has been "working to convince China and Russia that it was in their economic interest to withdraw support from Maduro." Bloomberg published a 14 April editorial from Guaidó, "Why China should switch sides in Venezuela," in which Guaidó appealed to China and stated that it is in China's interest to support a peaceful transition, rule of law, and economic reconstruction in Venezuela. "The moment has come for Beijing to add its voice to this chorus. China’s influence in our region has grown tremendously over the past few years. It’s in its own interest to help bring about the climate of peace, stability and well-being to which we all aspire. If it does so, it will find a willing, open and more reliable partner in Caracas."


title: Juan Guaidó

text: According to CNN, following a long history of Fidel Castro's interest in the country, "Venezuelan oil is the lifeblood of Cuban economy, under a barter system where Cuba receives billions of dollars of crude in exchange for Cuban doctors, teachers, sports trainers, and military and intelligence advisers." Guaidó has vowed that Cuban influence in Venezuela will end. Referring to Cubans as "brothers," he said that Cuban individuals are welcome to stay in the country, but not in decision-making positions, and not in the armed forces. On 12 March 2019, the National Assembly voted to cut Venezuela's oil supply to Cuba, which would save about US$2.6 million daily, according to Guaidó, who asked other nations to help implement the measure.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Guaidó seeks to restore relations with Israel; Chávez had severed relations with Israel more than ten years prior, favoring support for Palestine during Operation Cast Lead.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Guaidó has supported Venezuela's sovereignty claim of Guayana Esequiba throughout his political career.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: In June 2019, the United Nations reported that 4 million Venezuelans had left the country, many without a valid passport. Associated Press has reported that getting an extension is an expensive and lengthy ordeal for many Venezuelans. The National Assembly decided accordingly to release a decree, signed by Guaidó, to extend Venezuelan passports' lifespan. The decision was accepted by the United States and Canada, which recognized the validity of the Venezuelan passports for five years beyond the printed expiration date.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: In September 2019, Guaidó announced the designation as terrorist organizations of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), National Liberation Army (ELN), Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS/ISIL), ordering all state security forces to protect "our sovereignty and territorial integrity" against the threat posed by these groups.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Following an American airstrike that killed Iranian Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani in January 2020, Guaidó said that Soleimani "led a criminal and terrorist structure in Iran that for years caused pain to his people and destabilized the Middle East, just as Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis did with Hezbollah." Guaidó also accused Nicolás Maduro of allowing him and his Quds Forces to incorporate their sanctioned banks and their companies in Venezuela.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: As of July 2019, the National Assembly had approved Juan Guaidó's appointment has named 37 ambassadors and foreign representatives to international organizations and nations abroad.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: On 9 April, the OAS voted 18 to 9, with six abstentions, to accept Guaidó's envoy, Gustavo Tarre Briceño, as the ambassador from Venezuela until new elections can be held. The permanent council approved a text stating that "Nicolas Maduro's presidential authority lacks legitimacy and his designations for government posts, therefore, lack the necessary legitimacy." Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Dominica, Grenada, Mexico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela voted against the change. Maduro's administration responded calling Tarre a "loud-mouth political usurper" and the decision a "criminal and rampant violation of international law and the OAS Charter," saying they do not intend to respect decisions made by Tarre. The nomination was accepted 20 days before the deadline on Venezuela leaving the organization, after they triggered the process in 2017. According to "The Washington Post", this acceptance undermined Maduro's presence internationally and marked a step in the official recognition of Guaidó's government. An effort by some OAS member states to remove Guaidó's OAS envoy in October 2022 failed, obtaining a majority but falling short of the two-thirds supermajority required.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: In January 2020, Guaidó announced that he would appoint diplomatic representatives to Bolivia, El Salvador, and Uruguay.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: The European Union (EU) announced on January 6, 2021, that it could no longer legally recognize Guaidó as interim president after he lost his position as head of parliament, without recognizing Maduro as the legitimate president. It also threatened new sanctions against the Maduro administration.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: In January 2022, opposition parties voted to extend Guaidó's term as interim president for another year and to create a committee of opposition lawmakers to take over his management of foreign affairs, as well as to authorize the appointment of ambassadors in opposition allied countries. After the vote, Guaidó's role consisted in "defending democracy" and managing Venezuela’s overseas assets, including oil refiner Citgo and $1 billion in gold lodged in the Bank of England. Guaidó required to keep the committee informed of how he had spent funds under his control.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: In September 2022, Colombian President Gustavo Petro described Guaidó as a "non-existent" president with no control over the country and announced that his government would recognize only the Maduro government. Guaidó criticized Petro's reversal of recognition from the policy of prior Colombian President Iván Duque, saying that Maduro "sheltered world terrorism in Venezuela".


title: Juan Guaidó

text: In an interview with Christiane Amanpour, Guaidó did not rule out accepting support from the US armed forces, but said that pressure was being applied in every other way possible to avoid armed conflict.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: According to Giancarlo Fiorella, writing in "Foreign Affairs", "calls for intervention" are coming from "some members of the Venezuelan opposition and from residents of the country desperate for a solution—any solution—to their years-long plight"; he adds that talk of foreign intervention "has become commonplace" in Venezuela, and that "the push for a military intervention in Venezuela is most intense not among hawks in Washington but inside the country itself." In every demonstration summoned by Guaidó, there are numerous signs demanding the approval of Article 187(11) of the Constitution, which allows the National Assembly to authorize the deployment of foreign missions in Venezuela. A March poll showed 87.5% support for foreign intervention. Guaidó has said he will call for intervention "when the time comes," but in media interviews, he has not stated he supports removing Maduro by force. He has said that the decision "cannot be taken lightly," and has appeared to "temper hopes ... [of] a magical solution to the country's problems," according to Fiorella.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Guaidó defied the restriction imposed by the Maduro administration on him leaving Venezuela, and attended Richard Branson's February 2019 Venezuela Live Aid concert in Cúcuta, Colombia, whose purpose was to raise funds and awareness for humanitarian aid to Venezuela. In a move that tested Maduro's authority, Guaidó was met by Colombian president Iván Duque, and welcomed by a crowd chanting, "Juan arrived!" Amid continuing tension, and having failed to get humanitarian aid into Venezuela, Guaidó and US vice president Pence attended a 25 February meeting of the Lima Group in Bogotá. From there, he embarked on a regional tour to meet with the presidents of Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Ecuador, and discuss ways to rebuild Venezuela and defeat Maduro.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Guaidó's trip was approved by Venezuela's National Assembly, as required by the Constitution of Venezuela. Because he left the country under a travel restriction placed upon him by the Maduro administration, he faced the possibility of being imprisoned upon his return to Venezuela. Maduro said that Guaidó was welcome to return to Venezuela, but would have to face justice in the courts for breaching his travel ban. Guaidó announced that he planned to return to Venezuela despite the threats of imprisonment, and said Maduro's "regime" was "weak, lacking support in Venezuela and international recognition."


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Guaidó returned to Caracas from Panama via a commercial flight; "The Washington Post" described his "triumphant return" to "wild cheers from supporters" at Venezuela's main airport at Maiquetía, Vargas state on 4 March. He proceeded from the airport to an anti-government demonstration—organized in advance on social media—in Las Mercedes, Caracas, where he addressed a crowd of thousands, offered a tribute to people who had lost their lives in the border clashes beginning on 23 February, and said that immigration officials had "greeted him at the airport with the words 'welcome, president'." He added: "It is evident that after the threats, somebody did not follow orders. Many did not follow orders. The chain of command [in the government security forces] is broken," according to BBC.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Following Guaidó's Latin American tour in February 2019, Elvis Amoroso, comptroller for the Maduro administration, alleged in March that Guaidó had not explained how he paid for the trip, and stated there were inconsistencies between his level of spending and income. Amoroso said that Guaidó's 90 trips abroad had cost $94,000, and that Guaidó had not explained the source of the funds. Based on these alleged financial discrepancies, Amoroso said Guaidó would be barred from running for public office for the maximum time allowed by law—fifteen years. Leopoldo López and Henrique Capriles had been prohibited from holding office by the Maduro administration on similar pretexts.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Guaidó responded that "The only body that can appoint a comptroller is the legitimate parliament." The comptroller general is not a judicial body; according to constitutional lawyer José Vicente Haro, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled in 2011, after Leopoldo López was barred from holding office, that an administrative body cannot disallow a public servant from running. Constitutional law expert Juan Manuel Raffalli stated that Article 65 of Venezuela's Constitution provides that such determinations may only be made by criminal courts, after judgment of criminal activity. The decision would also breach Guaidó's parliamentary immunity.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: In June 2019, the "PanAm Post" reported that Guaidó's representatives in Colombia had allegedly used money allocated to pay for defecting soldiers' accommodations for personal purchases, such as "parties and nightclubs." The representatives, Rossana Barrera and Kevin Rojas, are accused of embezzling up to $60,000; both deny the allegations and have not been charged.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Guaidó's presidential office dismissed Barrera and Rojas from their positions and requested the cooperation of the Colombian government, multilateral agencies and other organizations to clarify the events with an impartial investigation. The Venezuelan embassy in Colombia issued a statement informing that Guaidó and the appointed ambassador, Humberto Calderón, agreed to carry out an audit. Venezuelan political parties, including Popular Will, Justice First, Democratic Action and A New Era, supported the start of the investigation of the events. Colombian Foreign Minister, Carlos Holmes Trujillo, condemned the reported act of corruption and urged the authorities to advance the investigations to determine if any wrongdoings occurred. According to NPR's Philip Reeves, Guaidó's envoy in Colombia "began looking into this two months ago after being tipped off by Colombian intelligence," leading to "speculation that Guaidó may actually have known about this for a while." Guaidó has declared that the preliminary investigations started two months before the publication of the article.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Guaidó was a member of the social-democratic Popular Will, now independent, and although his peers characterize Guaidó as a centrist, Maduro places him on the right of the political spectrum. Regarding politics in the United States, Guaidó stated that he was unfamiliar with the subject but has commented: "What they refer to as socialist in the United States is what we’d call a Social Democrat here."


title: Juan Guaidó

text: While announcing Plan País at the Central University of Venezuela on 31 January, Guaidó said special forces had come to his home and asked for Fabiana, his wife. He then gave a general warning, saying that he would hold anyone who threatened his 20-month-old daughter personally accountable for such actions. Journalists in the place confirmed that FAES officials surrounded his mother-in-law's house in the Baruta municipality and reported that neighbors tried to prevent the security forces from entering.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Maduro said Guaidó was a "clown," asking whether he would call elections or continue his "virtual mandate" until he was imprisoned by order of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice. During a speech given at the start of the judicial year, Maduro said that he was considering sending his assistant to kill Guaidó, adding seconds later that the remark was a joke.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: In a discussion before the Constituent National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, the body's president, asked how far Guaidó was willing to go, saying that unlike the military, Guaidó had never experienced "the whistle of a bullet" nearby, and did not know "how it feels to have a bullet hit three centimetres from your head." Guaidó responded that "lamentably, the Venezuelan people have had to listen to a lot of whistling in these years," but that "we're not going anywhere" and "we're not afraid."


title: Juan Guaidó

text: After Guaidó called for protests on 23 January 2019 against Maduro and in favor of "a interim government," the minister for Prison Services, Iris Varela, threatened Guaidó, saying that she had picked out a prison cell for Guaidó and asked him to be quick in naming his cabinet so she could prepare prison cells for them as well. In April 2019, Varela called Guaidó "garbage" on Twitter, saying that he assumes the direction of "a criminal gang that grotesquely steals money from the Venezuelan people with the gringos." She also said that warm cell and many years in jail were waiting to pay "for his crimes."


title: Juan Guaidó

text: On 10 February, Guaidó said that his grandmother-in-law was threatened by colectivos. Guaidó told Euronews: "I am not worried about this costing my life or my freedom. If I give my life to serve the people. We know the risks we face. Our biggest fear is that what’s happening in Venezuela becomes normal."


title: Juan Guaidó

text: The Lima Group has stated that Guaidó and his family face "serious and credible threats" in Venezuela. Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo said that "any violent actions against Guaidó, his wife, or family" would be met by all "legal and political mechanisms."


title: Juan Guaidó

text: In an interview with the Mexican GQ magazine, Guaidó said that he has been persecuted and has received direct death threats from the Maduro government.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: On 29 February 2020, colectivos shot at Guaidó and his supporters in Barquisimeto, Lara state, during a demonstration, leaving five injured.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: During the March 2019 Venezuelan blackouts, Tarek William Saab called for an investigation of Guaidó, alleging that he had "sabotaged" the electric sector; Guaidó said that Venezuela's largest-ever power outage was "the product of the inefficiency, the incapability, the corruption of a regime that doesn't care about the lives of Venezuelans."


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Roberto Marrero, Guaidó's chief of staff, was arrested by SEBIN during a raid on his home in the early morning hours of 21 March. His attorney said he was to be charged with treason, usurpation of functions, and conspiracy. The US had repeatedly warned Maduro not to go after Guaidó; "Haaretz" reported that the arrest of Guaidó's number-two person was a test of the US. A risk consultant for London's IHS Markit, Diego Moya-Ocampos, said to "Bloomberg" that "the regime is testing the international community and its repeated warnings against laying a hand on Maduro's rival [Guaidó] ... if they can’t touch him, they'll go after those close to him." Nicholas Watson of Teneo Intelligence told "The Wall Street Journal" that "Marrero's arrest looks like a desperate attempt to break Guaidó's momentum .. The weakness in the regime's position is visible in the fact that arresting Guaidó himself would be seen as a step too far." Guaidó called it a "vile and vulgar kidnapping," adding "Either Nicolas Maduro doesn't dare to arrest me, or he's not the one giving orders." According to "The Wall Street Journal", Guaidó said he had received calls from security force officials disclaiming any involvement in the arrest; he replied that they need say no more, per the 2019 Venezuelan Amnesty Law; he said the "incident was indicative of divides within the Maduro regime."


title: Juan Guaidó

text: On 1 April 2019, TSJ supreme justice Maikel Moreno (a political ally of Maduro) asked that the Constituent National Assembly (ANC) controlled by Chavismo remove Guaidó's parliamentary immunity as president of the National Assembly; that is, he asked that they "strip [him] of immunity from prosecution," which moves the Maduro administration a step closer towards arresting and prosecuting Guaidó. Maduro officials say that "Guaidó is under investigation for inciting violence against the government and receiving illicit funds." Moreno said the request is based upon Guaidó having attended the Venezuela Aid Live concert on 23 February, after the Maduro administration prohibited him from leaving the country; the trip was approved by the National Assembly. Supporters of Guaidó disagree that the Maduro-backed institutions have the authority to ban Guaidó from leaving the country, and consider acts of the ANC "null and void." The Venezuelan Constitution provides that only the National Assembly can bring the president to trial by approving the legal proceeding in a "merit hearing"; Venezuela's constitution requires "authorization in advance from the National Assembly." Constitutional lawyer Juan Manuel Raffalli said there is no breach to prosecute unless the National Assembly first approves one; he said the proceedings were intended to distract attention from the protests and collapse of public services, referencing the 2019 Venezuelan blackouts.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Bypassing the National Assembly, Moreno sent Guaidó's file to the president of the ANC, Diosdado Cabello—described by BBC Mundo as "one of the most belligerent Chávez leaders against the opposition"—for the decision to be made by that body.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: On 2 April, in a speech before the ANC, member María León proposed creating popular tribunals for trying "traitors," which the "Miami Herald" compared to those used during the Cuban revolution; she argued that "for me stripping him of his immunity is very little. What do you do with traitors?" ANC members "responded with shouts of "al paredón" ("put him up against a wall"), referring to a firing squad. Votes were not counted, rather voting was by a show of hands. In record time (less than 30 hours from the TSJ proceedings), the ANC voted to remove Guaidó's immunity from prosecution. Following the decision, Guaidó promised to continue fighting "Maduro's 'cowardly, miserable and murderous' regime." He said, "What if the regime intends to kidnap us? Well, of course, we know that they only have brute force left ... But we are left with audacity, intelligence, soul, strength of heart, hope and confidence in this country, in ourselves."


title: Juan Guaidó

text: On 5 September, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez released a purported months-old recording in which Guaido's envoy to United Kingdom, Vanessa Neumann, and a Guaido's advisor, Manuel Avendaño, discuss that Guaidó should "drop the topic" on Venezuela's claim for Guayana Esequiba (Esequibo), a disputed territory between Guyana and Venezuela. Attorney general Tarek William Saab, announced that Guaidó would be prosecuted for "high treason" for the alleged negotiations to hand over the Esequibo. Since April, Norway mediated talks between Guaido and Maduro's commissions, but Maduro paused the discussion due to new US sanctions. In September, Maduro announced that his administration would not resume the talks due to the Esequibo investigation. Avendaño immediately sought refuge in Chilean embassy in Caracas. During a rally in Anzoátegui, Guaidó dismissed the accusations as a distraction, and reaffirmed that the Esequibo belongs to Venezuela.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Masked men carrying rifles broke and into the Popular Will office in the eve of the return of rallies in November, demanding the party members to handover their phones. The group identified as part of the special police forces (FAES), according to a legislator. Guaidó referred to the raid as an act of government intimidation.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: On 21 January 2020, after the disrupted 2020 Venezuelan National Assembly Delegated Committee election, Guaidó's campaign headquarters were raided by police intelligence forces SEBIN.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: On 4 June 2020, the Venezuelan Foreign minister Jorge Arreaza accused Juan Guaidó of hiding in the French Embassy in Caracas, demanding for him to be handed over to the "Venezuelan justice." However, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman of France, Agnes von der Muhll denied the claims on 5 June that Guaido had taken refuge in any of the French diplomatic sites in Caracas. On 7 June Guaidó proved the accusations false, as he appeared in the street through videos, wearing a mask and gloves.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: After the Parliamentary Committee of Electoral Candidacies, in charge of appointing a new National Electoral Council of Venezuela (CNE), announced that it would suspend its meetings because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), loyal to Nicolás Maduro, declared in June that the National Assembly had not named rectors for the CNE. The opposition to Maduro administration denounced it as attempt to obstruct the procedure for the elections. The TSJ decided on 12 June 2020 to name the electoral board that would oversee the parliamentary elections. Indira Alfonzo was declared as the new chief of the CNE through Facebook. Members of the National Assembly argue that the TSJ is not authorized to choose the board, according to the Venezuelan constitution. On 13 June 2020, Juan Guaidó said the opposition would not recognize a "false" electoral body named by the Supreme Court, while his allies pledged to extend the term of the current legislature.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Guaidó is married to journalist Fabiana Rosales since 2013. They have two daughters, Miranda and Mérida Antonieta.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: On 27 March 2021, Guaidó announced he had tested positive for COVID-19, that he was experiencing "mild symptoms" and that he had gone into voluntary isolation. On 5 April 2021, Guaidó announced on social media that he had recovered from the disease.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Prior to becoming the leader of the National Assembly, Guaidó was an unfamiliar figure to both the Venezuelan and international communities, with the BBC reporting that he was a compromise candidate selected as leader by opposition parties. Venezuelan lawyer and columnist , who was active with Guaidó in the early days of the student protests against Hugo Chávez, described Guaidó as one of the "conciliators" of the student movement, saying that Guaidó had been a force for conciliation in the defeat of Chávez's 2007 constitutional referendum and the 2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election in which the PSUV was defeated by the MUD, and that he was named acting president at a time when Venezuela needed conciliation.


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Argentine writer and journalist Andrés Oppenheimer said that Guaidó is "the most courageous and inspiring political figure that has emerged in Latin America in years." Diego Moya-Ocampos, a Venezuela expert at risk analysts IHS Markit, described Guaidó as charismatic, saying that he had "unified a divided opposition." According to a Bloomberg article, he is known for "building unity among fellow legislators." Michael Shifter said that he "has tried to reach out to the military, tried to unify the opposition and tried to reach Chavista folks as well." "The Wall Street Journal" quoted Father Alfredo Infante, a Jesuit priest in La Vega, who said that people in the barrios "feel connected to Guaidó in a way they haven't with other opposition leaders. He comes from a poor background, and looks like he belongs in the barrio."


title: Juan Guaidó

text: In April 2019, Guaidó was named to "Time" magazine's list of 100 most influential people in the world for that year. Former Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos wrote the profile for "Time", which described Guaidó as "young, energetic, articulate, determined" and in possession of "the mother of all virtues: courage." Santos said that "by being in the right place at the right time, [Guaidó] was able to finally unite the opposition and become a beacon of hope for a country that is yearning for a rapid and peaceful change."


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Writing in "The Nation", George Ciccariello-Maher called Guaidó a "second-string politician" who "simply declared himself acting president" in a brazen power grab. Ronal Rodríguez, an expert at the University of Rosario's Venezuelan Observatory in Colombia, said that Guaidó is seen as "third-rate" and "uncharismatic."


title: Juan Guaidó

text: Following the failed uprising on 30 April 2019, recognition and support for Guaidó declined while attendance at his demonstrations subsided. After plans to remove Maduro from power failed in May 2020, Guaidó saw his support decrease further. With Maduro retaining control of the country's security forces, Datanálisis surveys in October 2021 showed Guaidó's support within Venezuela had dropped to 16%, partly due to accusations of corruption against some of his representatives outside of the country.


title: First World

text: The concept of First World originated during the Cold War and comprised countries that were under the influence of the United States and the rest of NATO and opposed the Soviet Union and/or communism during the Cold War. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the definition has instead largely shifted to any country with little political risk and a well-functioning democracy, rule of law, capitalist economy, economic stability, and high standard of living. Various ways in which modern First World countries are usually determined include GDP, GNP, literacy rates, life expectancy, and the Human Development Index. In common usage, "first world" typically refers to "the highly developed industrialized nations often considered the westernized countries of the world".


title: First World

text: After World War II, the world split into two large geopolitical blocs, separating into spheres of communism and capitalism. This led to the Cold War, during which the term "First World" was often used because of its political, social, and economic relevance. The term itself was first introduced in the late 1940s by the United Nations. Today, the terms are slightly outdated and have no official definition. However, the "First World" is generally thought of as the capitalist, industrial, wealthy, and developed countries. This definition includes Australia & New Zealand, the developed countries of Asia (South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan), and the wealthy countries of North America and Europe, particularly Western Europe. In contemporary society, the First World is viewed as countries that have the most advanced economies, the greatest influence, the highest standards of living, and the greatest technology. After the Cold War, these countries of the First World included member states of NATO, U.S.-aligned states, neutral countries that were developed and industrialized, and the former British Colonies that were considered developed. It can be defined succinctly as Europe, plus the richer countries of the former British Empire (USA, Canada, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand), Israel, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.


title: First World

text: Since the end of the Cold War, the original definition of the term "First World" is no longer necessarily applicable. There are varying definitions of the First World; however, they follow the same idea. John D. Daniels, past president of the Academy of International Business, defines the First World to be consisting of "high-income industrial countries". Scholar and Professor George J. Bryjak defines the First World to be the "modern, industrial, capitalist countries of North America and Europe". L. Robert Kohls, former director of training for the U.S. Information Agency and the Meridian International Center in Washington, D.C., uses First World and "fully developed" as synonyms.


title: First World

text: Varying definitions of the term First World and the uncertainty of the term in today's world leads to different indicators of First World status. In 1945, the United Nations used the terms first, second, third, and fourth worlds to define the relative wealth of nations (although popular use of the term fourth world did not come about until later). There are some references towards culture in the definition. They were defined in terms of Gross National Product (GNP), measured in U.S. dollars, along with other socio-political factors. The first world included the large industrialized, democratic (free elections, etc.) nations. The second world included modern, wealthy, industrialized nations, but they were all under communist control. Most of the rest of the world was deemed part of the third world, while the fourth world was considered to be those nations whose people were living on less than US$100 annually. If we use the term to mean high-income industrialized economies, then the World Bank classifies countries according to their GNI or gross national income per capita. The World Bank separates countries into four categories: high-income, upper-middle-income, lower-middle-income, and low-income economies. The First World is considered to be countries with high-income economies. The high-income economies are equated to mean developed and industrialized countries.


title: First World

text: The terms "First World", "Second World", and "Third World" were originally used to divide the world's nations into three categories. The model did not emerge to its endstate all at once. The complete overthrow of the pre–World War II status quo, known as the Cold War, left two superpowers (the United States and the Soviet Union) vying for ultimate global supremacy. They created two camps, known as blocs. These blocs formed the basis of the concepts of the First and Second Worlds.


title: First World

text: Early in the Cold War era, NATO and the Warsaw Pact were created by the United States and the Soviet Union, respectively. They were also referred to as the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The circumstances of these two blocs were so different that they were essentially two worlds, however, they were not numbered first and second. The onset of the Cold War is marked by Winston Churchill's famous "Iron Curtain" speech. In this speech, Churchill describes the division of the West and East to be so solid that it could be called an iron curtain.


title: First World

text: In 1952, the French demographer Alfred Sauvy coined the term Third World in reference to the three estates in pre-revolutionary France. The first two estates being the nobility and clergy and everybody else comprising the third estate. He compared the capitalist world (i.e., First World) to the nobility and the communist world (i.e., Second World) to the clergy. Just as the third estate comprised everybody else, Sauvy called the Third World all the countries that were not in this Cold War division, i.e., the unaligned and uninvolved states in the "East-West Conflict". With the coining of the term Third World directly, the first two groups came to be known as the "First World" and "Second World" respectively. Here the three-world system emerged.


title: First World

text: However, Shuswap Chief George Manuel believes the Three World Model to be outdated. In his 1974 book "The Fourth World: An Indian Reality", he describes the emergence of the Fourth World while coining the term. The fourth world refers to "nations", e.g., cultural entities and ethnic groups, of indigenous people who do not compose states in the traditional sense. Rather, they live within or across state boundaries (see First Nations). One example is the Native Americans of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.


title: First World

text: With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Eastern Bloc ceased to exist and with it, the perfect applicability of the term Second World. The definitions of the First World, Second World, and Third World changed slightly, yet generally describe the same concepts.


title: First World

text: During the Cold War era, the relationships between the First World, Second World and the Third World were very rigid. The First World and Second World were at constant odds with one another via the tensions between their two cores, the United States and the Soviet Union, respectively. The Cold War, as its name suggests, was a primarily ideological struggle between the First and Second Worlds, or more specifically, the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Multiple doctrines and plans dominated Cold War dynamics including the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan (from the U.S.) and the Molotov Plan (from the Soviet Union). The extent of the tension between the two worlds was evident in Berlin -- which was then split into East and West. To stop citizens in East Berlin from having too much exposure to the capitalist West, the Soviet Union put up the Berlin Wall within the actual city.


title: First World

text: The relationship between the First World and the Third World is characterized by the very definition of the Third World. Because countries of the Third World were noncommittal and non-aligned with both the First World and the Second World, they were targets for recruitment. In the quest for expanding their sphere of influence, the United States (core of the First World) tried to establish pro-U.S. regimes in the Third World. In addition, because the Soviet Union (core of the Second World) also wanted to expand, the Third World often became a site for conflict. Some examples include Vietnam and Korea. Success lay with the First World if at the end of the war, the country became capitalistic and democratic, and with the Second World, if the country became communist. While Vietnam as a whole was eventually communized, only the northern half of Korea remained communist. The Domino Theory largely governed United States policy regarding the Third World and their rivalry with the Second World. In light of the Domino Theory, the U.S. saw winning the proxy wars in the Third World as a measure of the "credibility of U.S. commitments all over the world".


title: First World

text: The movement of people and information largely characterizes the inter-world relationships in the present day. A majority of breakthroughs and innovation originate in Western Europe and the U.S. and later their effects permeate globally. As judged by the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, most of the Top 30 Innovations of the Last 30 Years were from former First World countries (e.g., the U.S. and countries in Western Europe).


title: First World

text: The disparity between knowledge in the First World as compared to the Third World is evident in healthcare and medical advancements. Deaths from water-related illnesses have largely been eliminated in "wealthier nations", while they are still a "major concern in the developing world". Widely treatable diseases in the developed countries of the First World, malaria and tuberculosis needlessly claim many lives in the developing countries of the Third World. Each year 900,000 people die from malaria and combating the disease accounts for 40% of health spending in many African countries.


title: First World

text: The International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced that the first Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) would be available in the summer of 2010. These include non-Latin domains such as Chinese, Arabic, and Russian. This is one way that the flow of information between the First and Third Worlds may become more even.


title: First World

text: The movement of information and technology from the First World to various Third World countries has created a general "aspir(ation) to First World living standards". The Third World has lower living standards as compared to the First World. Information about the comparatively higher living standards of the First World comes through television, commercial advertisements and foreign visitors to their countries. This exposure causes two changes: a) living standards in some Third World countries rise and b) this exposure creates hopes and many from Third World countries emigrate—both legally and illegally—to these First World countries in hopes of attaining that living standard and prosperity. In fact, this emigration is the "main contributor to the increasing populations of U.S. and Europe". While these emigrations have greatly contributed to globalization, they have also precipitated trends like brain drain and problems with repatriation. They have also created immigration and governmental burden problems for the countries (i.e., First World) that people emigrate to.


title: First World

text: Some have argued that the most important human population problem for the world is not the high rate of population increase in certain Third World countries per se, but rather the "increase in total human impact". The per-capita footprint—the resources consumed and the waste created by each person—varies globally. The highest per-person impact occurs in the First World and the lowest in the Third World: each inhabitant of the United States, Western Europe and Japan consumes 32 times as many resources and puts out 32 times as much waste as each person in the Third World. However, China leads the world in total emissions, but its large population skews its per-capita statistic lower than those of more developed nations.


title: First World

text: As large consumers of fossil fuels, First World countries drew attention to environmental pollution. The Kyoto Protocol is a treaty that is based on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was finalized in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio. It proposed to place the burden of protecting the climate on the United States and other First World countries. Countries that were considered to be developing, such as China and India, were not required to approve the treaty because they were more concerned that restricting emissions would further restrain their development.


title: First World

text: Until the recent past, little attention was paid to the interests of Third World countries. This is because most international relations scholars have come from the industrialized, First World nations. As more countries have continued to become more developed, the interests of the world have slowly started to shift. However, First World nations still have many more universities, professors, journals, and conferences, which has made it very difficult for Third World countries to gain legitimacy and respect with their new ideas and methods of looking at the world.


title: First World

text: During the Cold War, the modernization theory and development theory developed in Europe as a result of their economic, political, social, and cultural response to the management of former colonial territories. European scholars and practitioners of international politics hoped to theorize ideas and then create policies based on those ideas that would cause newly independent colonies to change into politically developed sovereign nation-states. However, most of the theorists were from the United States, and they were not interested in Third World countries achieving development by any model. They wanted those countries to develop through liberal processes of politics, economics, and socialization; that is to say, they wanted them to follow the liberal capitalist example of a so-called "First World state". Therefore, the modernization and development tradition consciously originated as a (mostly U.S.) alternative to the Marxist and neo-Marxist strategies promoted by the "Second World states" like the Soviet Union. It was used to explain how developing Third World states would naturally "evolve" into developed First World States, and it was partially grounded in liberal economic theory and a form of Talcott Parsons' sociological theory.


title: First World

text: The United Nations's ESCWA has written that globalization "is a widely-used term that can be defined in a number of different ways". Joyce Osland from San Jose State University wrote: "Globalization has become an increasingly controversial topic, and the growing number of protests around the world has focused more attention on the basic assumptions of globalization and its effects." "Globalization is not new, though. For thousands of years, people—and, later, corporations—have been buying from and selling to each other in lands at great distances, such as through the famed Silk Road across Central Asia that connected China and Europe during the Middle Ages. Likewise, for centuries, people and corporations have invested in enterprises in other countries. In fact, many of the features of the current wave of globalization are similar to those prevailing before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914."


title: First World

text: The most prominent example of globalization in the first world is the European Union (EU). The European Union is an agreement in which countries voluntarily decide to build common governmental institutions to which they delegate some individual national sovereignty so that decisions can be made democratically on a higher level of common interest for Europe as a whole. The result is a union of 27 Member States covering with roughly 450 million people. In total, the European Union produces almost a third of the world's gross national product and the member states speak more than 23 languages. All of the European Union countries are joined together by a hope to promote and extend peace, democracy, cooperativeness, stability, prosperity, and the rule of law. In a 2007 speech, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European Commissioner for External Relations, said, "The future of the EU is linked to globalization...the EU has a crucial role to play in making globalization work properly...". In a 2014 speech at the European Parliament, the Italian PM Matteo Renzi stated, "We are the ones who can bring civilization to globalization".


title: First World

text: Just as the concept of the First World came about as a result of World War II, so did the European Union. In 1951 the beginnings of the EU were founded with the creation of European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). From the beginning of its inception, countries in the EU were judged by many standards, including economic ones. This is where the relation between globalization, the EU, and First World countries arises. Especially during the 1990s when the EU focused on economic policies such as the creation and circulation of the Euro, the creation of the European Monetary Institute, and the opening of the European Central Bank.


title: First World

text: In 1993, at the Copenhagen European Council, the European Union took a decisive step towards expanding the EU, what they called the Fifth Enlargement, agreeing that "the associated countries in Central and Eastern Europe that so desire shall become members of the European Union". Thus, enlargement was no longer a question of if, but when and how. The European Council stated that accession could occur when the prospective country is able to assume the obligations of membership, that is that all the economic and political conditions required are attained. Furthermore, it defined the membership criteria, which are regarded as the Copenhagen criteria, as follows:


title: First World

text: It is clear that all these criteria are characteristics of developed countries. Therefore, there is a direct link between globalization, developed nations, and the European Union.


title: First World

text: A majority of multinational corporations find their origins in First World countries. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, multinational corporations proliferated as more countries focused on global trade. The series of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and later the World Trade Organization (WTO) essentially ended the protectionist measures that were dissuading global trade. The eradication of these protectionist measures, while creating avenues for economic interconnection, mostly benefited developed countries, who by using their power at GATT summits, forced developing and underdeveloped countries to open their economies to Western goods.


title: First World

text: As the world starts to globalize, it is accompanied by criticism of the current forms of globalization, which are feared to be overly corporate-led. As corporations become larger and multinational, their influence and interests go further accordingly. Being able to influence and own most media companies, it is hard to be able to publicly debate the notions and ideals that corporations pursue. Some choices that corporations take to make profits can affect people all over the world. Sometimes fatally.


title: First World

text: The third industrial revolution is spreading from the developed world to some, but not all, parts of the developing world. To participate in this new global economy, developing countries must be seen as attractive offshore production bases for multinational corporations. To be such bases, developing countries must provide relatively well-educated workforces, good infrastructure (electricity, telecommunications, transportation), political stability, and a willingness to play by market rules.


title: First World

text: If these conditions are in place, multinational corporations will transfer via their offshore subsidiaries or to their offshore suppliers, the specific production technologies and market linkages necessary to participate in the global economy. By themselves, developing countries, even if well-educated, cannot produce at the quality levels demanded in high-value-added industries and cannot market what they produce even in low-value-added industries such as textiles or shoes. Put bluntly, multinational companies possess a variety of factors that developing countries must have if they are to participate in the global economy.


title: First World

text: Outsourcing, according to Grossman and Helpman, refers to the process of "subcontracting an ever expanding set of activities, ranging from product design to assembly, from research and development to marketing, distribution and after-sales service". Many companies have moved to outsourcing services in which they no longer specifically need or have the capability of handling themselves. This is due to considerations of what the companies can have more control over. Whatever companies tend to not have much control over or need to have control over will outsource activities to firms that they consider "less competing". According to SourcingMag.com, the process of outsourcing can take the following four phases.


title: First World

text: Outsourcing is among some of the many reasons for increased competition within developing countries. Aside from being a reason for competition, many First World countries see outsourcing, in particular offshore outsourcing, as an opportunity for increased income. As a consequence, the skill level of production in foreign countries handling the outsourced services increases within the economy; and the skill level within the domestic developing countries can decrease. It is because of competition (including outsourcing) that Robert Feenstra and Gordon Hanson predict that there will be a rise of 15–33 percent in inequality amongst these countries.


title: Cello

text: The cello ( ; plural "celli" or "cellos") or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C, G, D and A. The viola's four strings are each an octave higher. Music for the cello is generally written in the bass clef, with tenor clef, and treble clef used for higher-range passages.


title: Cello

text: Played by a "cellist" or "violoncellist", it enjoys a large solo repertoire with and without accompaniment, as well as numerous concerti. As a solo instrument, the cello uses its whole range, from bass to soprano, and in chamber music such as string quartets and the orchestra's string section, it often plays the bass part, where it may be reinforced an octave lower by the double basses. Figured bass music of the Baroque-era typically assumes a cello, viola da gamba or bassoon as part of the basso continuo group alongside chordal instruments such as organ, harpsichord, lute or theorbo. Cellos are found in many other ensembles, from modern Chinese orchestras to cello rock bands.


title: Cello

text: The name "cello" is derived from the ending of the Italian "violoncello", which means "little violone". Violone ("big viola") was a large-sized member of viol (viola da gamba) family or the violin (viola da braccio) family. The term "violone" today usually refers to the lowest-pitched instrument of the viols, a family of stringed instruments that went out of fashion around the end of the 17th century in most countries except England and, especially, France, where they survived another half-century before the louder violin family came into greater favour in that country as well. In modern symphony orchestras, it is the second largest stringed instrument (the double bass is the largest). Thus, the name "violoncello" contained both the augmentative ""-one"" ("big") and the diminutive ""-cello"" ("little"). By the turn of the 20th century, it had become common to shorten the name to 'cello, with the apostrophe indicating the missing stem. It is now customary to use "cello" without apostrophe as the full designation. "Viol" is derived from the root "viola", which was derived from Medieval Latin , meaning stringed instrument.


title: Cello

text: Cellos are tuned in fifths, starting with C (two octaves below middle C), followed by G, D, and then A. It is tuned in the exact same intervals and strings as the viola, but an octave lower. Similar to the double bass, the cello has an endpin that rests on the floor to support the instrument's weight. The cello is most closely associated with European classical music. The instrument is a part of the standard orchestra, as part of the string section, and is the bass voice of the string quartet (although many composers give it a melodic role as well), as well as being part of many other chamber groups.


title: Cello

text: Among the most well-known Baroque works for the cello are Johann Sebastian Bach's six unaccompanied Suites. Other significant works include Sonatas and Concertos by Antonio Vivaldi, and solo sonatas by Francesco Geminiani and Giovanni Bononcini. Domenico Gabrielli was one of the first composers to treat the cello as a solo instrument. As a basso continuo instrument basso continuo the cello may have been used in works by Francesca Caccini (1587–1641), Barbara Strozzi (1619–1677) with pieces such as "Il primo libro di madrigali, per 2–5 voci e basso continuo, op. 1" and Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre (1665–1729) who wrote six sonatas for violin and basso continuo. The earliest known manual for learning the cello, Francesco Supriani's Principij da imparare a suonare il violoncello e con 12 Toccate a solo (before 1753), dates from this era. As the title of the work suggests, it contains 12 toccatas for solo cello, which along with Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites, are some of the first works of that type.


title: Cello

text: From the Classical era, the two concertos by Joseph Haydn in C major and D major stand out, as do the five sonatas for cello and pianoforte of Ludwig van Beethoven, which span the important three periods of his compositional evolution. Other outstanding examples include the three Concerti by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Capricci by dall'Abaco, and Sonatas by Flackton, Boismortier, and Luigi Boccherini. A "Divertimento for Piano, Clarinet, Viola and Cello" is among the surviving works by Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1739–1807). Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart supposedly wrote a Cello Concerto in F major, K. 206a in 1775, but this has since been lost. His Sinfonia Concertante in A major, K. 320e includes a solo part for cello, along with the violin and viola, although this work is incomplete and only exists in fragments, therefore it's given an Anhang number (Anh. 104).


title: Cello

text: Well-known works of the Romantic era include the Robert Schumann Concerto, the Antonín Dvořák Concerto, the first Camille Saint-Saëns Concerto, as well as the two sonatas and the Double Concerto by Johannes Brahms. A review of compositions for cello in the Romantic era must include the German composer Fanny Mendelssohn (1805–1847) who wrote Fantasia in G Minor for cello and piano and a Capriccio in A-flat for cello.


title: Cello

text: Compositions from the late-19th and early 20th century include three cello sonatas (including the Cello Sonata in C Minor written in 1880) by Dame Ethel Smyth (1858–1944), Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Claude Debussy's Sonata for Cello and Piano, and unaccompanied cello sonatas by Zoltán Kodály and Paul Hindemith. Pieces including cello were written by American Music Center founder Marion Bauer (1882–1955) (two trio sonatas for flute, cello, and piano) and Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901–1953) (Diaphonic suite No. 2 for bassoon and cello).


title: Cello

text: The cello's versatility made it popular with many composers in this era, such as Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, Benjamin Britten, György Ligeti, Witold Lutoslawski and Henri Dutilleux. Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz (1909–1969) was writing for cello in the mid 20th century with Concerto No. 1 for Cello and Orchestra (1951), Concerto No. 2 for Cello and Orchestra (1963) and in 1964 composed her Quartet for four cellos.


title: Cello

text: In the 2010s, the instrument is found in popular music, but was more commonly used in 1970s pop and disco music. Today it is sometimes featured in pop and rock recordings, examples of which are noted later in this article. The cello has also appeared in major hip-hop and R & B performances, such as singers Rihanna and Ne-Yo's 2007 performance at the American Music Awards. The instrument has also been modified for Indian classical music by Nancy Lesh and Saskia Rao-de Haas.


title: Cello

text: The violin family, including cello-sized instruments, emerged c. 1500 as a family of instruments distinct from the viola da gamba family. The earliest depictions of the violin family, from northern Italy c. 1530, show three sizes of instruments, roughly corresponding to what we now call violins, violas, and cellos. Contrary to a popular misconception, the cello did not evolve from the viola da gamba, but existed alongside it for about two and a half centuries. The violin family is also known as the viola da braccio (meaning viola for the arm) family, a reference to the primary way the members of the family are held. This is to distinguish it from the viola da gamba (meaning viola for the leg) family, in which all the members are all held with the legs. The likely predecessors of the violin family include the lira da braccio and the rebec. The earliest surviving cellos are made by Andrea Amati, the first known member of the celebrated Amati family of luthiers.


title: Cello

text: The direct ancestor to the violoncello was the bass violin. Monteverdi referred to the instrument as "basso de viola da braccio" in "Orfeo" (1607). Although the first bass violin, possibly invented as early as 1538, was most likely inspired by the viol, it was created to be used in consort with the violin. The bass violin was actually often referred to as a ""violone"", or "large viola", as were the viols of the same period. Instruments that share features with both the bass violin and the "viola da gamba" appear in Italian art of the early 16th century.


title: Cello

text: The invention of wire-wound strings (fine wire around a thin gut core), around 1660 in Bologna, allowed for a finer bass sound than was possible with purely gut strings on such a short body. Bolognese makers exploited this new technology to create the cello, a somewhat smaller instrument suitable for solo repertoire due to both the timbre of the instrument and the fact that the smaller size made it easier to play virtuosic passages. This instrument had disadvantages as well, however. The cello's light sound was not as suitable for church and ensemble playing, so it had to be doubled by organ, theorbo, or violone.


title: Cello

text: Around 1700, Italian players popularized the cello in northern Europe, although the bass violin (basse de violon) continued to be used for another two decades in France. Many existing bass violins were literally cut down in size to convert them into cellos according to the smaller pattern developed by Stradivarius, who also made a number of old pattern large cellos (the 'Servais'). The sizes, names, and tunings of the cello varied widely by geography and time. The size was not standardized until around 1750.


title: Cello

text: Despite similarities to the viola da gamba, the cello is actually part of the viola da braccio family, meaning "viol of the arm", which includes, among others, the violin and viola. Though paintings like Bruegel's "The Rustic Wedding", and Jambe de Fer in his "Epitome Musical" suggest that the bass violin had alternate playing positions, these were short-lived and the more practical and ergonomic "a gamba" position eventually replaced them entirely.


title: Cello

text: Baroque-era cellos differed from the modern instrument in several ways. The neck has a different form and angle, which matches the baroque bass-bar and stringing. In addition, the fingerboard is usually shorter than that of the modern cello, as the highest notes are not called for in baroque music. Modern cellos have an endpin at the bottom to support the instrument (and transmit some of the sound through the floor), while Baroque cellos are held only by the calves of the player. Modern bows curve in and are held at the frog; Baroque bows curve out and are held closer to the bow's point of balance. Modern strings normally have a metal core, although some use a synthetic core; Baroque strings are made of gut, with the G and C strings wire-wound. Modern cellos often have fine tuners connecting the strings to the tailpiece, which makes it much easier to tune the instrument, but such pins are rendered ineffective by the flexibility of the gut strings used on Baroque cellos. Overall, the modern instrument has much higher string tension than the Baroque cello, resulting in a louder, more projecting tone, with fewer overtones.


title: Cello

text: Few educational works specifically devoted to the cello existed before the 18th century and those that do exist contain little value to the performer beyond simple accounts of instrumental technique. One of the earliest cello manuals is Michel Corrette's "Méthode, thèorique et pratique pour apprendre en peu de temps le violoncelle dans sa perfection" (Paris, 1741).


title: Cello

text: Cellos are part of the standard symphony orchestra, which usually includes eight to twelve cellists. The cello section, in standard orchestral seating, is located on stage left (the audience's right) in the front, opposite the first violin section. However, some orchestras and conductors prefer switching the positioning of the viola and cello sections. The "principal" cellist is the section leader, determining bowings for the section in conjunction with other string principals, playing solos, and leading entrances (when the section begins to play its part). Principal players always sit closest to the audience.


title: Cello

text: The cellos are a critical part of orchestral music; all symphonic works involve the cello section, and many pieces require cello soli or solos. Much of the time, cellos provide part of the low-register harmony for the orchestra. Often, the cello section plays the melody for a brief period, before returning to the harmony role. There are also cello concertos, which are orchestral pieces that feature a solo cellist accompanied by an entire orchestra.


title: Cello

text: There are numerous cello concertos – where a solo cello is accompanied by an orchestra – notably 25 by Vivaldi, 12 by Boccherini, at least three by Haydn, three by C. P. E. Bach, two by Saint-Saëns, two by Dvořák, and one each by Robert Schumann, Lalo, and Elgar. There were also some composers who, while not otherwise cellists, did write cello-specific repertoire, such as Nikolaus Kraft who wrote six cello concertos. Beethoven's Triple Concerto for Cello, Violin and Piano and Brahms' Double Concerto for Cello and Violin are also part of the concertante repertoire although in both cases the cello shares solo duties with at least one other instrument. Moreover, several composers wrote large-scale pieces for cello and orchestra, which are concertos in all but name. Some familiar "concertos" are Richard Strauss' tone poem "Don Quixote", Tchaikovsky's "Variations on a Rococo Theme", Bloch's "Schelomo" and Bruch's "Kol Nidrei".


title: Cello

text: In the 20th century, the cello repertoire grew immensely. This was partly due to the influence of virtuoso cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who inspired, commissioned, and premiered dozens of new works. Among these, Prokofiev's "Symphony-Concerto", Britten's "Cello Symphony", the concertos of Shostakovich and Lutosławski as well as Dutilleux's "Tout un monde lointain..." have already become part of the standard repertoire. Other major composers who wrote concertante works for him include Messiaen, Jolivet, Berio, and Penderecki. In addition, Arnold, Barber, Glass, Hindemith, Honegger, Ligeti, Myaskovsky, Penderecki, Rodrigo, Villa-Lobos and Walton also wrote major concertos for other cellists, notably for Gaspar Cassadó, Aldo Parisot, Gregor Piatigorsky, Siegfried Palm and Julian Lloyd Webber.


title: Cello

text: There are also many sonatas for cello and piano. Those written by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Brahms, Grieg, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Fauré, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Poulenc, Carter, and Britten are particularly well known.


title: Cello

text: Other important pieces for cello and piano include Schumann's five "Stücke im Volkston" and transcriptions like Schubert's "Arpeggione Sonata" (originally for arpeggione and piano), César Franck's Cello Sonata (originally a violin sonata, transcribed by Jules Delsart with the composer's approval), Stravinsky's "Suite italienne" (transcribed by the composer – with Gregor Piatigorsky – from his ballet "Pulcinella") and Bartók's first rhapsody (also transcribed by the composer, originally for violin and piano).


title: Cello

text: There are pieces for cello solo, Johann Sebastian Bach's six Suites for Cello (which are among the best-known solo cello pieces), Kodály's Sonata for Solo Cello and Britten's three Cello Suites. Other notable examples include Hindemith's and Ysaÿe's Sonatas for Solo Cello, Dutilleux's "Trois Strophes sur le Nom de Sacher", Berio's "Les Mots Sont Allés", Cassadó's Suite for Solo Cello, Ligeti's Solo Sonata, Carter's two "Figment"s and Xenakis' "Nomos Alpha" and "Kottos".


title: Cello

text: The cello is a member of the traditional string quartet as well as string quintets, sextet or trios and other mixed ensembles.


title: Cello

text: There are also pieces written for two, three, four, or more cellos; this type of ensemble is also called a "cello choir" and its sound is familiar from the introduction to Rossini's William Tell Overture as well as Zaccharia's prayer scene in Verdi's Nabucco. Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture also starts with a cello ensemble, with four cellos playing the top lines and two violas playing the bass lines. As a self-sufficient ensemble, its most famous repertoire is Heitor Villa-Lobos' first of his Bachianas Brasileiras for cello ensemble (the fifth is for soprano and 8 cellos). Other examples are Offenbach's cello duets, quartet, and sextet, Pärt's Fratres for eight cellos and Boulez' "Messagesquisse" for seven cellos, or even Villa-Lobos' rarely played "Fantasia Concertante" (1958) for 32 cellos. The 12 cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (or "the Twelve" as they have since taken to being called) specialize in this repertoire and have commissioned many works, including arrangements of well-known popular songs.


title: Cello

text: The cello is less common in popular music than in classical music. Several bands feature a cello in their standard line-up, including Hoppy Jones of the Ink Spots and Joe Kwon of the Avett Brothers. The more common use in pop and rock is to bring the instrument in for a particular song. In the 1960s, artists such as the Beatles and Cher used the cello in popular music, in songs such as The Beatles' "Yesterday", "Eleanor Rigby" and "Strawberry Fields Forever", and Cher's "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)". "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys includes the cello in its instrumental ensemble, which includes a number of instruments unusual for this sort of music. Bass guitarist Jack Bruce, who had originally studied music on a performance scholarship for cello, played a prominent cello part in "As You Said" on Cream's "Wheels of Fire" studio album (1968).


title: Cello

text: In the 1970s, the Electric Light Orchestra enjoyed great commercial success taking inspiration from so-called "Beatlesque" arrangements, adding the cello (and violin) to the standard rock combo line-up and in 1978 the UK based rock band, Colosseum II, collaborated with cellist Julian Lloyd Webber on the recording "Variations". Most notably, Pink Floyd included a cello solo in their 1970 epic instrumental "Atom Heart Mother". Bass guitarist Mike Rutherford of Genesis was originally a cellist and included some cello parts in their "Foxtrot" album.


title: Cello

text: Established non-traditional cello groups include Apocalyptica, a group of Finnish cellists best known for their versions of Metallica songs, Rasputina, a group of cellists committed to an intricate cello style intermingled with Gothic music, the Massive Violins, an ensemble of seven singing cellists known for their arrangements of rock, pop and classical hits, Von Cello, a cello fronted rock power trio, Break of Reality who mix elements of classical music with the more modern rock and metal genre, Cello Fury, a cello rock band that performs original rock/classical crossover music, and Jelloslave, a Minneapolis-based Cello duo with two percussionists. These groups are examples of a style that has become known as cello rock. The crossover string quartet bond also includes a cellist. Silenzium and Cellissimo Quartet are Russian (Novosibirsk) groups playing rock and metal and having more and more popularity in Siberia. Cold Fairyland from Shanghai, China is using a cello along a Pipa as the main solo instrument to create East meets West progressive (folk) rock.


title: Cello

text: More recent bands using the cello are Clean Bandit, Aerosmith, The Auteurs, Nirvana, Oasis, Ra Ra Riot, Smashing Pumpkins, James, Talk Talk, Phillip Phillips, OneRepublic, Electric Light Orchestra and the baroque rock band Arcade Fire. An Atlanta-based trio, King Richard's Sunday Best, also uses a cellist in their lineup. So-called "chamber pop" artists like Kronos Quartet, The Vitamin String Quartet and Margot and the Nuclear So and So's have also recently made cello common in modern alternative rock. Heavy metal band System of a Down has also made use of the cello's rich sound. The indie rock band The Stiletto Formal are known for using a cello as a major staple of their sound, similarly, the indie rock band Canada employs two cello players in their lineup. The orch-rock group, The Polyphonic Spree, which has pioneered the use of stringed and symphonic instruments, employs the cello in very creative ways for many of their "psychedelic-esque" melodies. The first wave screamo band "I Would Set Myself On Fire For You" featured a cello as well as a viola to create a more folk-oriented sound. The band, Panic! at the Disco uses a cello in their song, "Build God, Then We'll Talk". The lead vocalist of the band, Brendon Urie, also did the recording of the cello solo. The Lumineers added cellist Nela Pekarek to the band in 2010. She plays cello, sings harmony, and duets.


title: Cello

text: In jazz, bassists Oscar Pettiford and Harry Babasin were among the first to use the cello as a solo instrument; both tuned their instruments in fourths, an octave above the double bass. Fred Katz (who was not a bassist) was one of the first notable jazz cellists to use the instrument's standard tuning and arco technique. Contemporary jazz cellists include Abdul Wadud, Diedre Murray, Ron Carter, Dave Holland, David Darling, Lucio Amanti, Akua Dixon, Ernst Reijseger, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Tom Cora and Erik Friedlander. Modern musical theatre pieces like Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years, Duncan Sheik's Spring Awakening, Adam Guettel's Floyd Collins, and Ricky Ian Gordon's My Life with Albertine use small string ensembles (including solo cellos) to a prominent extent.


title: Cello

text: In Indian Classical music Saskia Rao-de Haas is a well-established soloist as well as playing duets with her sitarist husband Pt. Shubhendra Rao. Other cellists performing Indian classical music are Nancy Lesh (Dhrupad) and Anup Biswas. Both Rao and Lesh play the cello sitting cross-legged on the floor.


title: Cello

text: The cello can also be used in bluegrass and folk music, with notable players including Ben Sollee of the Sparrow Quartet and the "Cajun cellist" Sean Grissom, as well as Vyvienne Long who, in addition to her own projects, has played for those of Damien Rice. Cellists such as Natalie Haas, Abby Newton, and Liz Davis Maxfield have contributed significantly to the use of cello playing in Celtic folk music, often with the cello featured as a primary melodic instrument and employing the skills and techniques of traditional fiddle playing. Lindsay Mac is becoming well known for playing the cello like a guitar, with her cover of The Beatles' "Blackbird".


title: Cello

text: The cello is typically made from carved wood, although other materials such as carbon fiber or aluminum may be used. A traditional cello has a spruce top, with maple for the back, sides, and neck. Other woods, such as poplar or willow, are sometimes used for the back and sides. Less expensive cellos frequently have tops and backs made of laminated wood. Laminated cellos are widely used in elementary and secondary school orchestras and youth orchestras, because they are much more durable than carved wood cellos (i.e., they are less likely to crack if bumped or dropped) and they are much less expensive.


title: Cello

text: The top and back are traditionally hand-carved, though less expensive cellos are often machine-produced. The sides, or ribs, are made by heating the wood and bending it around forms. The cello body has a wide top bout, narrow middle formed by two C-bouts, and wide bottom bout, with the bridge and F holes just below the middle. The top and back of the cello have a decorative border inlay known as purfling. While purfling is attractive, it is also functional: if the instrument is struck, the purfling can prevent cracking of the wood. A crack may form at the rim of the instrument but spreads no further. Without purfling, cracks can spread up or down the top or back. Playing, traveling and the weather all affect the cello and can increase a crack if purfling is not in place. Less expensive instruments typically have painted purfling.


title: Cello

text: The fingerboard and pegs on a cello are generally made from ebony, as it is strong and does not wear out easily.


title: Cello

text: In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) as well as German luthier G.A. Pfretzschner produced an unknown number of aluminum cellos (in addition to aluminum double basses and violins). Cello manufacturer Luis & Clark constructs cellos from carbon fibre. Carbon fibre instruments are particularly suitable for outdoor playing because of the strength of the material and its resistance to humidity and temperature fluctuations. Luis & Clark has produced over 1000 cellos, some of which are owned by cellists such as Yo-Yo Ma and Josephine van Lier.


title: Cello

text: Above the main body is the carved neck. The neck has a curved cross-section on its underside, which is where the player's thumb runs along the neck during playing. The neck leads to a pegbox and the scroll, which are all normally carved out of a single piece of wood, usually maple. The fingerboard is glued to the neck and extends over the body of the instrument. The fingerboard is given a curved shape, matching the curve on the bridge. Both the fingerboard and bridge need to be curved so that the performer can bow individual strings. If the cello were to have a flat fingerboard and bridge, as with a typical guitar, the performer would only be able to bow the leftmost and rightmost two strings or bow all the strings. The performer would not be able to play the inner two strings alone.


title: Cello

text: The nut is a raised piece of wood, fitted where the fingerboard meets the pegbox, in which the strings rest in shallow slots or grooves to keep them the correct distance apart. The pegbox houses four tapered tuning pegs, one for each string. The pegs are used to tune the cello by either tightening or loosening the string. The pegs are called "friction pegs", because they maintain their position by friction. The scroll is a traditional ornamental part of the cello and a feature of all other members of the violin family. Ebony is usually used for the tuning pegs, fingerboard, and nut, but other hardwoods, such as boxwood or rosewood, can be used. Black fittings on low-cost instruments are often made from inexpensive wood that has been blackened or "ebonized" to look like ebony, which is much harder and more expensive. Ebonized parts such as tuning pegs may crack or split, and the black surface of the fingerboard will eventually wear down to reveal the lighter wood underneath.


title: Cello

text: Historically, cello strings had cores made out of catgut, which, despite its name, is made from sheep or goat intestines. Most modern strings used in the 2010s are wound with metallic materials like aluminum, titanium and chromium. Cellists may mix different types of strings on their instruments. The pitches of the open strings are C, G, D, and A (black note heads in the playing range figure above), unless alternative tuning (scordatura) is specified by the composer. Some composers (e.g. Ottorino Respighi in the final movement of ‘’The Pines of Rome’’) ask that the low C be tuned down to a B-flat so that the performer can play a different low note on the lowest open string.


title: Cello

text: The tailpiece and endpin are found in the lower part of the cello. The tailpiece is the part of the cello to which the "ball ends" of the strings are attached by passing them through holes. The tailpiece is attached to the bottom of the cello. The tailpiece is traditionally made of ebony or another hardwood, but can also be made of plastic or steel on lower-cost instruments. It attaches the strings to the lower end of the cello and can have one or more fine tuners. The fine tuners are used to make smaller adjustments to the pitch of the string. The fine tuners can increase the tension of each string (raising the pitch) or decrease the tension of the string (lowering the pitch). When the performer is putting on a new string, the fine tuner for that string is normally reset to a middle position, and then the peg is turned to bring the string up to pitch. The fine turners are used for subtle, minor adjustments to pitch, such as tuning a cello to the oboe's 440 Hz A note or tuning the cello to a piano.


title: Cello

text: The endpin or spike is made of wood, metal, or rigid carbon fiber and supports the cello in playing position. The endpin can be retracted into the hollow body of the instrument when the cello is being transported in its case. This makes the cello easier to move about. When the performer wishes to play the cello, the endpin is pulled out to lengthen it. The endpin is locked into the player's preferred length with a screw mechanism. The adjustable nature of endpins enables performers of different ages and body sizes to adjust the endpin length to suit them. In the Baroque period, the cello was held between the calves, as there was no endpin at that time. The endpin was "introduced by Adrien Servais 1845 to give the instrument greater stability". Modern endpins are retractable and adjustable; older ones were removed when not in use. (The word "endpin" sometimes also refers to the button of wood located at this place in all instruments in the violin family, but this is usually called "tailpin".) The sharp tip of the cello's endpin is sometimes capped with a rubber tip that protects the tip from dulling and prevents the cello from slipping on the floor. Many cellists use a rubber pad with a metal cup to keep the tip from slipping on the floor. A number of accessories exist to keep the endpin from slipping; these include ropes that attach to the chair leg and other devices.


title: Cello

text: The bridge holds the strings above the cello and transfers their vibrations to the top of the instrument and the soundpost inside (see below). The bridge is not glued but rather held in place by the tension of the strings. The bridge is usually positioned by the cross point of the "f-hole" (i.e., where the horizontal line occurs in the "f"). The f-holes, named for their shape, are located on either side of the bridge and allow air to move in and out of the instrument as part of the sound-production process. They probably actually stand for an old-style medial S, for words related to Sound. The f-holes also act as access points to the interior of the cello for repairs or maintenance. Sometimes a small length of rubber hose containing a water-soaked sponge, called a Dampit, is inserted through the f-holes and serves as a humidifier. This keeps the wood components of the cello from drying out.


title: Cello

text: Internally, the cello has two important features: a bass bar, which is glued to the underside of the top of the instrument, and a round wooden sound post, a solid wooden cylinder which is wedged between the top and bottom plates. The bass bar, found under the bass foot of the bridge, serves to support the cello's top and distribute the vibrations from the strings to the body of the instrument. The soundpost, found under the treble side of the bridge, connects the back and front of the cello. Like the bridge, the soundpost is not glued but is kept in place by the tensions of the bridge and strings. Together, the bass bar and sound post transfer the strings' vibrations to the top (front) of the instrument (and to a lesser extent the back), acting as a diaphragm to produce the instrument's sound.


title: Cello

text: Cellos are constructed and repaired using hide glue, which is strong but reversible, allowing for disassembly when needed. Tops may be glued on with diluted glue since some repairs call for the removal of the top. Theoretically, hide glue is weaker than the body's wood, so as the top or back shrinks side-to-side, the glue holding it lets go and the plate does not crack. Cellists repairing cracks in their cello do not use regular wood glue, because it cannot be steamed open when a repair has to be made by a luthier.


title: Cello

text: Traditionally, bows are made from pernambuco or brazilwood. Both come from the same species of tree ("Caesalpinia echinata"), but Pernambuco, used for higher-quality bows, is the heartwood of the tree and is darker in color than brazilwood (which is sometimes stained to compensate). Pernambuco is a heavy, resinous wood with great elasticity, which makes it an ideal wood for instrument bows. Horsehair is stretched out between the two ends of the bow. The taut horsehair is drawn over the strings, while being held roughly parallel to the bridge and perpendicular to the strings, to produce sound. A small knob is twisted to increase or decrease the tension of the horsehair. The tension on the bow is released when the instrument is not being used. The amount of tension a cellist puts on the bow hair depends on the preferences of the player, the style of music being played, and for students, the preferences of their teacher.


title: Cello

text: Bows are also made from other materials, such as carbon fibre—stronger than wood—and fiberglass (often used to make inexpensive, lower-quality student bows). An average cello bow is long (shorter than a violin or viola bow) high (from the frog to the stick) and wide. The frog of a cello bow typically has a rounded corner like that of a viola bow, but is wider. A cello bow is roughly heavier than a viola bow, which in turn is roughly heavier than a violin bow.


title: Cello

text: Bow hair is traditionally horsehair, though synthetic hair, in varying colors, is also used. Prior to playing, the musician tightens the bow by turning a screw to pull the frog (the part of the bow under the hand) back and increase the tension of the hair. Rosin is applied by the player to make the hair sticky. Bows need to be re-haired periodically. Baroque style (1600–1750) cello bows were much thicker and were formed with a larger outward arch when compared to modern cello bows. The inward arch of a modern cello bow produces greater tension, which in turn gives off a louder sound.


title: Cello

text: The cello bow has also been used to play electric guitars. Jimmy Page pioneered its application on tracks such as "Dazed and Confused". The post-rock Icelandic band Sigur Rós's lead singer often plays guitar using a cello bow.


title: Cello

text: In 1989, the German cellist Michael Bach began developing a curved bow, encouraged by John Cage, Dieter Schnebel, Mstislav Rostropovich and Luigi Colani: and since then many pieces have been composed especially for it. This curved bow ("BACH.Bow") is a convex curved bow which, unlike the ordinary bow, renders possible polyphonic playing on the various strings of the instrument. The solo repertoire for violin and cello by J. S. Bach the BACH.Bow is particularly suited to it: and it was developed with this in mind, polyphonic playing being required, as well as monophonic.


title: Cello

text: When a string is bowed or plucked, it vibrates and moves the air around it, producing sound waves. Because the string is quite thin, not much air is moved by the string itself, and consequently, if the string was not mounted on a hollow body, the sound would be weak. In acoustic stringed instruments such as the cello, this lack of volume is solved by mounting the vibrating string on a larger hollow wooden body. The vibrations are transmitted to the larger body, which can move more air and produce a louder sound. Different designs of the instrument produce variations in the instrument's vibrational patterns and thus change the character of the sound produced. A string's fundamental pitch can be adjusted by changing its stiffness, which depends on tension and length. Tightening a string stiffens it by increasing both the outward forces along its length and the net forces it experiences during a distortion. A cello can be tuned by adjusting the tension of its strings, by turning the tuning pegs mounted on its pegbox and tension adjusters (fine tuners) on the tailpiece.


title: Cello

text: A string's length also affects its fundamental pitch. Shortening a string stiffens it by increasing its curvature during a distortion and subjecting it to larger net forces. Shortening the string also reduces its mass, but does not alter the mass per unit length, and it is the latter ratio rather than the total mass which governs the frequency. The string vibrates in a standing wave whose speed of propagation is given by , where "T" is the tension and "m" is the mass per unit length; there is a node at either end of the vibrating length, and thus the vibrating length "l" is half a wavelength. Since the frequency of any wave is equal to the speed divided by the wavelength, we have frequency = . (Some writers, including Muncaster (cited below) use the Greek letter "μ" in place of "m".) Thus shortening a string increases the frequency, and thus the pitch. Because of this effect, you can raise and change the pitch of a string by pressing it against the fingerboard in the cello's neck and effectively shortening it. Likewise strings with less mass per unit length, if under the same tension, will have a higher frequency and thus higher pitch than more massive strings. This is a prime reason why the different strings on all string instruments have different fundamental pitches, with the lightest strings having the highest pitches.


title: Cello

text: A played note of E or F-sharp has a frequency that is often very close to the natural resonating frequency of the body of the instrument, and if the problem is not addressed this can set the body into near resonance. This may cause an unpleasant sudden amplification of this pitch, and additionally a loud beating sound results from the interference produced between these nearby frequencies; this is known as the “wolf tone” because it is an unpleasant growling sound. The wood resonance appears to be split into two frequencies by the driving force of the sounding string. These two periodic resonances beat with each other. This wolf tone must be eliminated or significantly reduced for the cello to play the nearby notes with a pleasant tone. This can be accomplished by modifying the cello front plate, attaching a wolf eliminator (a metal cylinder or a rubber cylinder encased in metal), or moving the soundpost.


title: Cello

text: When a string is bowed or plucked to produce a note, the fundamental note is accompanied by higher frequency overtones. Each sound has a particular recipe of frequencies that combine to make the total sound.


title: Cello

text: Playing the cello is done while seated with the instrument supported on the floor by the endpin. The right hand bows (or sometimes plucks) the strings to sound the notes. The left-hand fingertips stop the strings along their length, determining the pitch of each fingered note. Stopping the string closer to the bridge results in a higher-pitched sound because the vibrating string length has been shortened. On the contrary, a string stopped closer to the tuning pegs produces a lower sound. In the "neck" positions (which use just less than half of the fingerboard, nearest the top of the instrument), the thumb rests on the back of the neck; in "thumb position" (a general name for notes on the remainder of the fingerboard) the thumb usually rests alongside the fingers on the string. Then, the side of the thumb is used to play notes. The fingers are normally held curved with each knuckle bent, with the fingertips in contact with the string. If a finger is required on two (or more) strings at once to play perfect fifths (in double stops or chords), it is used flat. The contact point can move slightly away from the nail to the finger's pad in slower or more expressive playing, allowing a fuller vibrato.


title: Cello

text: Vibrato is a small oscillation in the pitch of a note, usually considered an expressive technique. The closer towards the bridge the note is, the smaller the oscillation needed to create the effect. Harmonics played on the cello fall into two classes; natural and artificial. Natural harmonics are produced by lightly touching (but not depressing) the string at certain places and then bowing (or, rarely, plucking) the string. For example, the halfway point of the string will produce a harmonic that is one octave above the unfingered (open) string. Natural harmonics only produce notes that are part of the harmonic series on a particular string. Artificial harmonics (also called false harmonics or stopped harmonics), in which the player depresses the string fully with one finger while touching the same string lightly with another finger, can produce any note above middle C.


title: Cello

text: Glissando (Italian for "sliding") is an effect achieved by sliding the finger up or down the fingerboard without releasing the string. This causes the pitch to rise and fall smoothly, without separate, discernible steps.


title: Cello

text: In cello playing, the bow is much like the breath of a wind instrument player. Arguably, it is a major factor in the expressiveness of the playing. The right hand holds the bow and controls the duration and character of the notes. In general, the bow is drawn across the strings roughly halfway between the end of the fingerboard and the bridge, in a direction perpendicular to the strings; however, the player may wish to move the bow's point of contact higher or lower depending on the desired sound. The bow is held and manipulated with all five fingers of the right hand, with the thumb opposite the fingers and closer to the cellist's body. Tone production and volume of sound depend on a combination of several factors. The four most important ones are "weight" applied to the string, the "angle" of the bow on the string, bow "speed", and the "point of contact" of the bow hair with the string (sometimes abbreviated WASP).


title: Cello

text: Double stops involve the playing of two notes simultaneously. Two strings are fingered at once, and the bow is drawn to sound them both. Often, in pizzicato playing, the string is plucked directly with the fingers or thumb of the right hand. However, the strings may be plucked with a finger of the left hand in certain advanced pieces, either so that the cellist can play bowed notes on another string along with pizzicato notes or because the speed of the piece would not allow the player sufficient time to pluck with the right hand. In musical notation, pizzicato is often abbreviated as "pizz." The position of the hand in pizzicato is commonly slightly over the fingerboard and away from the bridge.


title: Cello

text: A player using the col legno technique strikes or rubs the strings with the wood of the bow rather than the hair. In spiccato playing, the bow still moves in a horizontal motion on the string but is allowed to bounce, generating a lighter, somewhat more percussive sound. In staccato, the player moves the bow a small distance and stops it on the string, making a short sound, the rest of the written duration being taken up by silence.


title: Cello

text: Legato is a technique in which notes are smoothly connected without breaks. It is indicated by a slur (curved line) above or below – depending on their position on the staff – the notes of the passage that is to be played legato.