It’s there and you don’t even know it. It’s buried under layers of guitars, drums, keyboards, snare snaps and kick drum pops. More than likely, it’s on over half the albums you own and it could even be on your favorite song, whether you know it or not. It’s under appreciated and overlooked. It’s barely on tour with your favorite artist. Instead, it’s found in concert halls playing to the sophisticated ears in big cities. It’s the cello and it’s your new best friend.

Though mainly used as a classical instrument, the cello is slowly crossing the line and working its way into mainstream music and slowly working its way onto stages outside of the classical setting. From punk rock acts like Cursive to dance and techno music like Frou Frou, the cello is becoming the rock stars’ new guitar solo. It’s filling in where the bass leaves off and adding dimension where the keyboard stops.

Even though it’s expanding into all areas of music, the cello is best at home with the acoustic guitar, a combination that makes a listener open up their ears and pay attention to what is being thrown at them. From the likes of Damien Rice, the Irish singer-songwriter who used the cello to fill out his 2003 release “O,” to San Francisco troubadour Matt Nathanson, who employed the cello for more than three years on tour before going out full band, the cello is out there.

Cellist Matt Fish, who toured with Nathanson and single-handedly turned on a new generation of music lovers to the instrument, was raised in a musical household. The son of a Lutheran pastor father and choir direction mother, music was part of Fish’s life since he was born. He picked up the cello in fourth grade and has yet to put it down. He was never a fan of classical music growing up, instead relying on rock ‘n’ roll and playing in rock bands with his cello in high school before earning his degree in music from Indiana University.

“You can’t ignore the cello in an acoustic setting,” Fish said. “It’s just pure gold.”

Fish and Nathanson toured night after night for more than three years and played to college kids and in clubs in major cities, making new fans in each town every night.

“I would get people in every town who would say ‘the cello is my favorite instrument,’” Fish said. “I’d also get people who once played the cello, but put it down for one reason or another and then after seeing me play, would tell me that they are picking it back up again, and that always makes me feel good.”

Fish goes on to say that it’s been a goal of his since high school to try to get more people turned on to the cello.

“Maybe it’s a reflection of the players,” Fish said. “There are so many classically trained cello players out there, but it seems as if they are afraid to break out of the mold.”

Some of the best releases in the past five years showcase the cello on key songs, yet sometimes, it’s impossible to hear, let alone detect the instrument. Wilco’s “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” is one such example. On “Reservations,” the closing track to the 2002 masterpiece, a lone cello player mimics Jeff Tweedy’s calming vocals, yet with everything else going on in the song (Wilco is known for adding effect upon effect until the listener is drowning in them), it’s almost impossible to hear.

“Producers and engineers don’t normally deal with the cello in the rock setting, so they don’t know how to feature it,” Fish said. “It gets buried on records and mixed down.”

Jimmy Eat World’s sophomore release “Clarity” which is a staple to punk rockers and emo kids alike, employs the cello on two of the most important tracks. The album’s opener “Table for Glasses” uses the cello in a subtle sense, adding a bit here and there, but it never really takes off. “Just Watch the Fireworks” on the other hand, features the cello as practically a main instrument and the power of the song is unable to be recreated during a live show due to the lack of the instrument. The song builds to a crescendo of lyrics, drums and guitar, only to taper off for several seconds before returning to blow away the listener with a soothing addition that only a classical instrument could add.

“What’s cool about the cello is that it can mimic the human voice,” Fish said. “It reaches people emotionally and that’s the heart of the music and why people listen.”

So while rock relies heavily on blaring guitars and running bass lines to complete a song, nothing can add depth and dimension like a cello. Next time you listen to your favorite album, listen a little bit closer and try to hear everything that you are missing.