Editing Cello (section)

===Tailpiece and endpin===
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&nbsp;Hz A note or tuning the cello to a piano.

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]] {{circa}} 1845 to give the instrument greater stability".<ref name="hist">{{cite book|last=Stowell|first=Robin|title=The Cambridge Companion to the Cello|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TvlhQgAACAAJ|date=June 28, 1999|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-62101-4}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/stringed-instrument |title=Stringed instrument |newspaper=Encyclopedia Britannica |author=Eric Halfpenny |author2=Theodore C Grame |access-date=October 4, 2016}}</ref>) 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.