r/violinist

Hello everybody. After going to my luthier to adjust the sound of my fiddle (too weak, not enough projection/Volume), my luthier made a new - pretty high - brigde. The sound was indeed a bit louder (but harsher and nasal in my opinion), but after a year playing on it I ended up having tendinitis and difficulties playing fast repertoire. The luthier is actually a really good one, but unfortunately he is not able to listen to critic or customer wishes, he just do his thing. This adjustment of his really damaged my health.

Then I got pissed about it and carved a new bridge myself (from a Despiau blank Nr. 9, A-quality, hardened), with a lower action and a flatter curve (I took the Paganini bridge a a reference for the curve and strings spacing. It has a little more spacing than normal, but I've found that - to my surprise - this helps with intonation of thirds). The violin is now A LOT easier to play, faster response, easier on the fingers and a more beautiful sound in my opinion (it is not so crazy "nasal" anymore") - but of course because of the lower action it has lost again a bit of volume.

Is there a way in which I could gain a little more power? maybe with a shorter chinrest? I was also thinking about carving a new bridge myself with alternative materials that maybe couls conduct sound faster (I was thinking about ebony, altough it will be a pain to carve) - let me know your opinions

I saw a dream about violins, where I was told to buy a violin to myself for about 2000 euros. I started to look through Shein and Temu webpages, but I didn't find there what I was looking for. Then I checked out the Thomann webpage, and there were sort of violins I was looking for. Then I looked at book catalogue with violins. There was even better. But voice kept telling me to buy a violin. How seriously should I take that dream? I am not a violinist, and I don't own a violin. In fact, I can't play the violin at all! I am 43 years old already. And if there was any string instrument that I really would like to learn to play, it is cello. So what do you think?

Just after community orchestra rehearsal, and that violin teacher I mention earlier, always play out of tune, sometimes even produce glass scratching sound, is that normal??

I have seen a regular doctor, and we understand what I need to do to help my conditions. However, I am left with deficiencies in connective tissue causing instability most notably in my cervical spine and all down my left arm and hand (my conditions were quickly onset, and rapidly emphasized the damage I had done to my neck and arm from 14 years of violin—now according to my body its like ive played 40 years of violin it seems). I am certainly going to need a new chin rest and shoulder rest setup.

It is possible for degradation to continue, but it is much less likely now that I am beginning to treat my conditions, and because I am being cautious about returning to the violin as to not cause further mindless injury.

I dropped out of my violin performance degree bachelor’s program because I can no longer play violin in a way that is conducive to a professional career. At the time I could not attend classes due to other symptoms as well.

My fingers wobble causing unpredictable intonation, there is a deficit in fine-movement proprioception of my left hand/wrist now, and my bow arm also experiences unpredictable micro-shakes/stutters when going to complete the actions of a bow arm. The last performance I was in, I also was twitching in dystonic type movements such as my neck pulling to the side while blinking, or my thighs briefly contracting on their own. These were not drastic movements, they were small. Small, though I was petrified trying to keep it together as to not distract the audience from the soloist I was sitting behind.

So:

Every single joint i need for violin is very unstable.

Instability = inconsistency and unreliability

I need to be able to practice a scale without my finger changing micro-intonation whenever it pleases. I cannot build a habit if my body doesn’t have control over these small variables.

The medical path forward to tackle instability and weakness is physical therapy to build muscle.

I am concerned that utilizing muscles, while it may bring stability in my joints, will also add significant tension into my playing the violin. The majority of my violin work had been focusing on softening my muscles while only utilizing specific ones I needed. Utilizing gravity and momentum. In the hand particularly, when I try and play while utilizing the muscles needed for, say, my 3rd finger to ensure stability and individual finger independence and swift quiet movement, it creates an added tension which clamps the sound/more prone to injury/creates slower and tight and inefficient shifting, and a whole host of other various negative side effects as you know.

Who do you think I can talk to or work with, to find a solution to this? I imagine it will be multi-faceted. I am needing to find a solution that both helps my wellbeing in life as a human, and also as a violinist.

I am looking for stability/predictability primarily in my neck, left shoulder, left arm, left wrist, and every single small joint in my left hand. My right side needs it as well, but my left has the most intense symptoms. I need to get there without requiring extra muscle use while playing violin.

Im not sure if its possible to get my body back to how it used to be, but I am learning so much and treating mh conditions and am ready to begin moving towards a solution. It seems like I am in uncharted territory not just for me, but for a lot of medical professionals and musicians as well. I am not sure though, maybe I just feel alone because Im not aware of other musicians going through the same thing, and I haven’t found a solution yet.

Thank you for reading.

Without violin, I am lost.

Or is it more practice?

I’m on a roll

For questions this week.

I’m getting a hand-me-down 3/4 violin prepared for my daughter. It’s in good shape but it’s been sitting a while.

It’s a Karl Knilling violin. There is no year marked in it but I can narrow down the age based on the fact that it belonged to my nephew who played it about 16-20 years ago and it says it was made in Germany so it can’t be older than 1990.

The strings are at least 16 years old, and the fine tuners that were on the tailpiece were all dirty and stiff, plus they were a bad design and were marring the finish under the tailpiece. So I bought a whitner-style Fiddlerman tailpiece for it and Fiddlerman strings.

Well, it turns out Karl Knilling pegs have unusually tiny holes in them, and the Fiddlerman strings are too fat.

My options:

- I have precision tools that are entirely capable of boring out the holes *assuming* that there isn’t anything more technical in a peg hole than just, well, a hole in a stick.

- I could buy all new pegs and pay a luthier to fit new pegs to the violin. I’m not sure this is my best go-to solution for a violin my daughter will probably outgrow in a year, but it’s an ok backup plan in case I try option 1 and fail.

- I can find much thinner strings that will fit the pegs.

-

The E string was a bit of a tight fit but worked. The A string was very difficult to install. The D string was incompatible but I’m stubborn and managed to cram it in there after shaving off a little of of the outer layer of windings. The G string was an entirely lost cause - it’s just bigger than the hole no matter what. So currently the violin only has 3 strings on it.

So… is there a very thin string set or at least a single G string I should be trying?

Is there any reason why I should NOT attempt to widen the holes a little, given that needing to replace the pegs at the luthier would be an option if it doesn’t work?

I might cross post this to violinmaking.

Hello, I am an agent sent to convert violinists to violists, here are the reasons you should swap.

• You are more unique
• You get to correct people when they say you play violin
• Violists are rarer then violinists

This is a sponsored post by the Violists

I just had a chat with a violin teacher that in my community orchestra, I asked why a lot of those players - which is around grade 2 - 4, never tune their own violin, and ask him to tune it for them, and he said, its normal, student before ABRSM grade 6 is not allow to tune their own violin, I said i tune my own violin since grade 1, with app, and he said you cant use app to tune your own violin, the tune is depends, not absolute, you have to use ear, and student dont have good ear, whoever use app to tune their own violin in orchestra will be laugh by everyone.
Then i asked the final question, "So student just keep on practicing at home even their violin is out of tune?"
He said "Yes."
I don't know, am I crazy?? I mean, not allow to tune your own violin before grade 6? Even with app??? ( i know that teacher very dislike using app to help any kind of music abilities, and he only believe in tuning fork).