Optimizing Fingerings on Bowed Instruments

(particularly the cello)

Abstract

While papers on using dynamic programming to generate fingering options for piano and guitar music have been published, there is a paucity of such exploration for bowed instruments. This paper adapts the technique of dynamic programming in an attempt to solve the challenge of automating the process of generating fingering options for cello music. By capturing the physical constraints faced by a beginner cellist with carefully-designed transition functions, this paper demonstrates how the algorithm can generate sensible fingering options for cello passages. The novelty of this paper lies in the fact that one such possibility can be explored with the violoncello, thus broadening the application of computational science in the performing arts.