Pernambuco vs. Carbon Fiber Bows
Pernambuco vs. Carbon Fiber Bows
What is the relationship between the bow and our instruments? Why do different bows make the instrument sound different? How do I choose the best bow in my price range? Should I try a carbon fiber bow as well as a Pernambuco bow?
Massimo Lucchi described the relationship between the bow and the violin this way: the bow produces the vibrations, the violin acts as an amplifier and transmits the vibrations. Coming from a bow making family, Massimo emphasizes the importance of the bow. Interestingly, professional players often converge with Massimo’s perspective over time, choosing an instrument and then a bow to develop the tone, dynamic range, and depth of the instrument.
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Evaluating if your child can, should, or wants to continue with strings??
Developmental Differences and Why Your Kid Is Doing Fine
Parenting a young musician is as much of a commitment as being one. As the school year wraps up, many parents are evaluating if their child can, should, or wants to continue with strings. These questions may be further convoluted by doubt in a child’s abilities or motivation. Why won’t my kid practice? Why do other kids sound better? Should we throw in the towel? To shed light on such matters, it helps to look at where music education fits in to general childhood development. I’ll spoil the end before I get there; your kid is doing fine. We’ll get to those individual questions in future editions of this column.
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LucchiMeter
History of the LucchiMeter
“I often happened to be working on two sticks that, when first examined, appeared to share the same characteristics, but ended up as bows with completely different qualities. This was the eternal dilemma – how to choose the most suitable wood.
They say that the famous violin makers of the past made great progress by noting that the speed with which wood propagated sound was a fundamental element in checking the quality of the sound.
For me, the only possible solution in those days was to travel all over Brazil with a friend and his son who lived there, or to go with Massimo to Germany…
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What should be the best approach while buying a string instrument?
How do I choose my instrument?
Check out our 4-part video series on how to choose an instrument! Kathy, a professional violist and owner of Vermont Violins, will walk you through the steps required to buy an instrument as well as some tips along the way to ensure you find the perfect match.
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When Should I Get My Instruments Checked?
Should I Have My Instrument Checked Up By a Luthier?
Have you ever: picked up your violin and thought: "you know, I used to really love this violin....I wonder why?" Chances are, the violin is out of adjustment.
As weather changes and humidity levels rise and fall, instruments start to change. Wood expands and contracts and as it does, the set ups, once perfect, not longer perfectly match the instrument and the tonal quality suffers.
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Bow Rehair
When do I need to rehair my bow and why?
In general, we recommend a bow rehair every six months to a year, ideally at the beginning of the winter and summer. Rehairing maintains the physical condition of the bow and enhances playability. Bowhair is extremely responsive to humidity conditions. In fact, historically, bow hair was used on ships to monitor changes in the air’s relative humidity. The hair stretches in warm, moist weather and contracts in cold, dry weather. When we rehair a bow, it is difficult to find a length of hair that works for both extremes in our climate – we can have 80% relative humidity in the summer and 10% relative humidity in the winter. The hair can shrink as much as an inch going from summer to winter. For some bows, in particular “soft” bows, the sticks flex more when the hair length changes between seasons.
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Practice Tips For Violin Students
7 Tips to Get Your Child to Practice
You’ve just picked up your child’s new instrument, everyone is smiling, your child promises to practice, everything is great! Two weeks later, the instrument is collecting dust, and the word practice brings tears and tantrums. What went wrong???
Keep it simple & small:
Take 1-2 measures, or a line, and have them play it carefully 5 times. Reward, then move on to another small piece and repeat.
Routine – same time and place each…
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Audition Tips For Musicians
Kathy's Audition Tips
Many events and organizations require auditions for would-be attenders. Our local orchestras, All-State and All-New Englands require auditions as do many summer camps…and of course music colleges and advanced programs for our high school seniors. Some teachers ask for auditions to admit students into their studios.
Auditions can be scary! But there are a lot of things you can do to prepare yourself for the best experience. You can learn a lot about yourself and your playing by performing an audition. It can and should be a good experience.
Remember: not all auditions are “screeners”. There is no failing these auditions: your seat in an orchestra, for example, might be allocated according to the audition (not whether you get a seat) and it is an opportunity for the Music Director to get a sense of your capacities as he makes musical decisions about repertoire and seating. You want to get an appropriate seat: being placed beyond your capacities, or below, can be a bummer.
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Importance Of Sound Post
Why does the sound post matter?
If you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes.
That can work if you’re hiking, but when you have three concerts on the weekend, the constant changes in temperature and humidity can drive you, and your instrument, crazy! Is it time to “adjust” the sound post?
The sound post plays an important role transferring the vibrations from the top plate to the back plate. The sound post is fit to both the back and top plates, and is precisely placed in a position relative to the bridge and the bass bar. Because the top plates and back plates are curved, the sound post will fit properly, with all points touching, in only a small area. To get the optimal sound, the sound post will have to fit properly, and be the proper length so the post puts enough pressure on the top and back plates to stay upright and support the softer spruce top.
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What Is Better? Rent / Purchase A Violin
Should You Rent Vs Purchase Your Violin?
Should You Rent Or Purchase Your Violin? Whether you choose to rent or to purchase a violin, viola, cello or bass for your student, our program provides the flexibility you need to support your student’s playing.
When to rent:
You are not sure how long the student will play. A good idea for students (all ages) who have never played before or who took a long break from playing. Reasons students quit vary widely, but include: pain (often previous injuries particularly in the neck, hands, or back), lack of...
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