violin service

[Dave Nereson]

----- Original Message -----
From: Carl Teplitski <koko99@mb.sympatico.ca>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2002 3:23 AM
Subject: violin service



>    Hi again,  Yes, you can put too much rosin, but it's not that big a
> deal -- it'll just wear off.  I kind of rub it on in a back and forth
motion from one end to the other, then take a couple full-length swipes to
even
it out.  Then lightly tap the middle of the stick on your other hand to
shake
 loose any excess.  Occasionally wipe off the strings and the bowstick of
caked rosin.  Usually just a soft clean cloth will do (flannel, old
T-shirt, cloth diaper).  I used to use alcohol but have read NOT to do this
'cause
it will mar the finish of the bow, but I think you can use a tiny bit on the
strings if they're really caked-up with rosin.  Don't use any alcohol on
the body of the violin, however -- only violin polish.  The brand name isn't
so important, but DO use only violin, NOT cello , or bass rosin.  Bass
rosin, especially, is gooier.
     Scratchy tone is probably from: uneven bow speed (little "micro starts
and stops" during stroke),  bow speed too slow,  bow not parallel to the
bridge,  full surface of
bow hair not contacting strings,  bow wandering up and down the string
(lengthwise) while bowing,  uneven pressure on bow,  finger not pressing
string down hard enough (poor termination), bowing too close to bridge,
and lastly, but unlikely, too much rosin or maybe strings need replacing
(not
sure how to determine this except "bad tone" even when someone "good"
play it.  Tone comes with practice and is a combination of even pressure and
even speed of the bow, staying parallel
to the bridge.   They do make hefty "practice mutes" of rubber, wood, and
even steel, that fit onto the top of the bridge and mute the sound quite a
bit,
but I find it's also harder to hear if you're in tune or not when using
these (at least for me).
     If the string windings tend to separate at the nut or bridge (or even
if they don't), loosen the string and rub a pencil in the groove (just like
graphite or Dag on a piano bridge) -- string slides across bridge easier
when tuning.
     There's also an optimum height of the strings above the end of the
 fingerboard (determined by bridge height -- this would be the equilvalent
of downbearing, I guess, except the height above fingerboard determines how
 easy it is to play and also affects intonation).  For cellos, it's about
1/4"; but for violins, I'm sure it's a lot less.  Also the curvature of
the top of the bridge should match the curvature of the fingerboard -- best
left to a violin shop unless you have a real thorough book that describes
the
 procedure of shaping the bridge.  The bridge feet should also mate to the
violin top -- after removing strings (always risky 'cause soundpost could
fall out of place), one puts fine sandpaper (with the grit facing up) on
top of the violin, and, holding the bridge perfectly vertical (no rocking
front and back), slide it forward and back on the sandpaper to make the
bottom of
 the feet conform to the violin top.  This is usually done when installing
a new bridge and otherwise unecessary unless you notice gaps.
      ALL string players (well, brass and woodwind, too) sound bad when
first starting out -- that's why they recommend starting kids as early as
 possible.  It's just practice, practice, practice.
    Discount String Center (division of The Woodwind and The Brasswind)
[discountstrings.com] sells inexpensive string instruments ("school"
 quality), but is a good catalog to have for accessories, and ordering
strings from them is cheaper than buying at music stores -- ask a local
teacher for brand name recommendations.
>> Thanks for the replies, Tom  -- appreciate it.   --Dave Nereson