Wednesday, the new Netflix original series that spins off the original The Addams Family series and focuses on the Addams’ daughter, showcases several talents of Wednesday, the daughter of Gomez and Morticia Addams. One of these talents is the uncanny ability to play the cello.
In one memorable scene from the first episode, Wednesday, portrayed by Jenna Ortega, plays a cover of ‘Paint It, Black’ by The Rolling Stones.
Later, Wednesday performs a version of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Don’t Stop’ with her school’s band and then does a solo performance of the third movement of ‘Winter’ from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
While Ortega’s performance sounds amazing, was it really her playing the cello?
Related: Best Cello Pieces of All Time
Did Jenna Ortega play the cello as Wednesday Addams?
While Ortega was shown playing the cello in the show, the actual soundtrack music was not her.
In an exclusive interview with Wired for their “Autocomplete Interview” series, Jenna admitted that while she hadn’t played cello before, she started taking lessons about two months before filming. She said she likely could not play well now, but she would like to continue pursuing it in the future.
When asked if she could sing during the interview, Ortega admitted that she could not sing very well but mentioned that she would like to be a music composer.
Earlier in the interview, Ortega said that she likes performing her own stunts for films and shows, even stunt cars at 100 mph, so it’s no surprise that she was willing to learn cello for this Netflix series.
In addition to learning cello, Ortega also took fencing, German, dancing, archery, and canoeing lessons just for the TV series.
@popcultureemily lol she is amazing! #wednesday #wednesdayaddams #addamsfamily #jennaortega #TimBurton #timburtonwednesday #jennaortegawednesday #jennaortegawednesdayaddams #jennaortegawednesdayedit #jennaortegawednesdayinterview #jennaortegaedits #wednesdaynetflix #netflix #theaddamsfamily #tylergalpin #popculture #popculturenews #goth #movietok #filmtok #fур #pourtoi #wednesdayaddamsdance ♬ Wednesday Addams (End Titles) – Danny Elfman
A convincing performance
While two months is not enough time to learn the cello for a TV show soundtrack, Ortega’s dedication to learning the cello helped her put on a convincing performance that only people who play string instruments would really be able to dissect.
Her bow movements matched the songs fairly well. However, keen observers noted that during certain parts of ‘Paint It, Black’, Ortega should have been using pizzicato (plucking the strings) or Col Legno (tapping the strings with the back of the bow), advanced bowing techniques that usually take years to master.
Social media posts
Leading up to the release of the series, Ortega posted clips of her at cello practice. In one of Ortega’s first practice sessions, she posted a performance of her performing the Prelude to the first Bach Cello Suite on TikTok.
@popcultureemily props to jenna for learning the cello for her wednesday role! #wednesday #wednesdayaddams #addamsfamily #jennaortega #TimBurton #timburtonwednesday #jennaortegawednesday #jennaortegawednesdayaddams #jennaortegawednesdayedit #jennaortegawednesdayinterview #jennaortegaedits #wednesdaynetflix #netflix #theaddamsfamily #tylergalpin #popculture #cello #popculturenews #goth #movietok #filmtok #ур #pourtoi #wednesdayaddamsdance ♬ original sound – Emily | Pop Culture
For someone who had only been playing cello for a few weeks, we were impressed.
She also posted a photo of her playing cello in practice on Twitter.
Cello practice for Wednesday pic.twitter.com/RTksviNccT
— Jenna Ortega (@jennaortega) February 1, 2022
A second season of Wednesday has not been confirmed yet, but we hope to see more of Jenna Ortega playing cello.
More Articles From the Orchestra Central Network:
- 10 Most Famous Cello Players of All Time
- 15 Hardest & Easiest Musical Instruments to Learn
- Renowned Cellist Kicked off a Flight Despite Having a Business Class Ticket for His Cello
Featured Image Source: Alamy
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