A cello with no samples: bow, string and wood | Built from Physics 3

Try SynthMaker free on iPhone and Mac (public beta): https://testflight.apple.com/join/BKE... No samples: in SynthMaker on Mac we build a cello from its physics, one idea at a time, hearing each one. A cello string with nothing touching it is silent; a bow arm decides how fast, how hard and how far from the bridge to bow, and the friction between hair and string is worked out sample by sample (stick and slip: Helmholtz's sawtooth). Too light a bow skates, too heavy crunches. Every stroke comes in its own way, bow changes turn without a click, slurs keep one bow. Then the left hand: a vibrato that waits, widens and wanders (and leaves open strings alone), and shifts that slide on an S-curve, slower when played louder. Then the measured body of a real cello, the touch, and a small room. It ends with a slow melody played the way a cellist would play it. This episode is also a lesson inside the app (Help › Lessons on Mac): the app builds it live while you watch. Your cello is saved in the library as My Physics Cello; Cello (gut, intimate), Cello (bright), Cello (passionate) and Cello (concert hall) are there too. Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:19 A silent string 0:35 The bow 0:58 Stick and slip 1:18 Weight and speed 1:37 Every stroke its own 1:58 Bow changes and slurs 2:17 The left hand 2:50 Shifts 3:03 The body 3:31 Touch 3:52 A room 3:59 Played 5:05 That's it Talk to us SynthMaker is a small, one-person project, and your feedback shapes it. • In the app: open Community (gear › Community on iPhone, the Community button on Mac). "Ask the developer" puts your question straight to me, with answers public for everyone, and there's a live chat with other SynthMaker users. Reading needs no account; to post, join with Sign in with Apple. • Discord, to share what you make and chat:   / discord   • Patreon, if you'd like to support the project:   / synthmaker   • X: https://x.com/SynthMakerApp • Subscribe for more Built from Physics episodes, Drums episodes, Generative episodes, Sound labs and Build-alongs:    / @synthmaker   More videos • Build-along 1: one sine wave to a squelchy acid bass:    • One sine wave to a squelchy acid bass: bui...   • Sound lab 2: two sine waves make an 80s electric piano:    • Two sine waves make an 80s electric piano:...   • Built from Physics 2: a grand piano with no samples:    • A grand piano with no samples: hammer, str...   • Built from Physics 1: pluck a guitar string out of noise:    • Pluck a real guitar string out of noise | ...   SynthMaker runs on iOS 26 and macOS 26 (the AI features need 27). Further reading: Helmholtz, "On the Sensations of Tone" (1863); Schelleng, "The bowed string and the player" (JASA, 1973); Woodhouse, "Bowed string simulation using a thermal friction model" (Acta Acustica, 2003); Askenfelt, "Measurement of the bowing parameters in violin playing" (JASA, 1989); Geringer & Allen, "An analysis of vibrato among high school and university violin and cello students" (JRME, 2004). Narrated by an AI voice (ElevenLabs). Everything you hear from the synth is SynthMaker itself. SynthMaker is developed with the help of AI coding tools. #cello #physicalmodeling #sounddesign #synth #strings