VIOLIN MATTERS - THE SOUND POST

VIOLIN MATTERS                            

THE SOUND POST

“If the edges of the sound hole are uneven and there is no clear ringing tone of the adjacent strings- it should raise an alarm bell”

Introduction

'Sound post' is a cylindrical rod of usually wood which is placed inside the body of the violin . 

It is positioned inside the violin at a level adjacent to the bridge near the E string .

The Soul 

Sound post is placed between the front plate and the back plate of violin supporting the arch of the violin. 

It alters the tone of the violin and is often referred to as ‘the soul’ (ame) of the violin.

Ideal position of the sound post inside the belly of the violin is 1-3 mm behind the bridge position and 1-3 mms inner to the right foot of the bridge.

Fig 1. Position of the sound

(From Andrew Filmer with thanks)

Moving the sound post towards (1) the bridge gives a louder and harsher sound.

Moving the sound post away from the bridge (2) gives a mellow and lesser volume sound.

Moving the sound post to the left (3) or to the right (4) will increase focus on the adjacent strings.

Not only the position but also the make of sound post is important – the grains meaning the lines along the tree growth should  be at 90 degree angle to the grain of the instrument. 

The touching ends of the sound post should also be carved to the shape of the breast of the violin so that the contact is full and complete.

Sound post is generally erect, but can be slightly at an angle. 

Adjusting the sound post is just not physical, but the tone of the violin should be heard, felt and appreciated to a better one. 

Each violin is different in its temperament and only general principles of the sound can be laid.

Its position can be altered inside the violin via the sound holes with a setting tool by the luthier.

 Fig 2. Sound post setter tool

Problem

• My violin makes a clear ringing tone on the open strings of G and D. 
• But the clear ringing tone was absent on strings A and E.  
• To find out the exact nature, I took a picture of the sound holes of the violin from the front which looked apparently normal.

Fig. 3. Apparently Normal Looking Sound holes

I also palpated the body of the violin and found the edges of the right sound hole were at uneven depth. The inner edge of the right sound hole was raised compared to the left sound hole as though the sound post was keeping the front and the back plates of the violin apart.

                             

Pic. 4.  Left Sound Hole - Edges Even.

Pic. 5. Right Sound Hole- Edges Uneven and Apart

Solution

So I took this up with the luthier to readjust the sound post.

He confirmed my findings and readjusted the post to an inner position. 

The front and the back plates of the violin body were no longer under tension.

The edges of the right sound hole became more even.

The price of the pudding was that the sound returned to the A and E string – louder, clearer and what is more , the ringing tone of the open strings A and E had returned!

"There is more to it than meets the eye!"

By the way my age-old bridge had a minute crack on its back surface and we replaced this as well and the sound was far superior. 

So it is important to know that the sound depends on factors far more than just the sound post!!

So keep looking for causes to improve your tone - not only in your playing, but also in the violin!

Remember 

       “If the edges of the sound hole are uneven and there is no clear ringing tone of the adjacent    strings- it should raise an alarm bell”

VIOLIN PLAYING IN HIGHER POSITIONS EFFECTIVELY

VIOLIN PLAYING IN HIGHER POSITIONS EFFECTIVELY

SUMMARY OF VIOLIN PLAYING IN HIGHER POSITIONS EFFECTIVELY

NECK -

• Grip violin better

• Tilt the violin upwards

               

Fig 1.Violin Playing in lower position          Fig 2 Violin lifted up in higher position

LEFT ELBOW - 

• Swing to the right 

Fig 3

LEFT WRIST - 

• Swing to the right of the neck, later to the body

LEFT THUMB - 

• Slide to the back of the violin neck
• Slide to above the neck - to the body of violin

Fig 4

• The higher the position, the more straightened the thumb

Fig 5

FINGER TIPS - 

• Light placement of the fingers tips on strings
• Finger pads to be more towards the E string
• Adjacent fingers to be lifted to slide to create the next note

BOWING - 

• Bowing is done more close to the bridge

EXERCISES - 

• Sliding on each string from below to high with each finger on E,A,D,G & back
• Single string 2 octave scales by fingers 4,3,2,1 on strings E,A,D & G.

INTRODUCTION

Violin playing in the higher positions requires special care. The tones and half tones are much closer as the positions get higher up.

Following are some practical tips to make the transition from lower to higher positions easy and the intonation accurate.

NECK

Violin is generally held between the left collar bone and the left jaw of the violinist, at an angle pointing towards the ground or horizontal (Fig 1)(Pic 1).

Pic 1. Lower position.Note neck, wrist and thumb

As the violinist initiates higher positions, there are changes with respect to the left wrist, thumb and the violin needs to be supported efficiently. This can only be done by a good grip of the violin at the neck of the violinist for a good support. The violin is gently lifted up at an angle so that the upward angle of the violin  keeps the violin against the neck. This also helps shifting of the left hand (Fig 2) (Pic 2).

Pic 2. Higher Position. Note the tilted up violin

LEFT ELBOW

Left elbow is held horizontally or at a downward angle by left hand of the player in lower position (Fig 1) (Pic 3).

Pic 3. At lower position

As the positions get higher, left elbow is shifted toward the right. This allows for the hand to move upwards. 

The higher positions of the G string need more amount of left elbow to the right compared to the higher positions of the E string (Pic 4).

Pic 4.Higher position. Note elbow to right

LEFT WRIST

At lower position, the left wrist is below the neck of the violin keeping an acute angle of the first web space of the hand ( between the thumb and the left index finger).  The left wrist is in neutral position to the left forearm at a straight line  (Pic 5).

Pic 5. Low position .Position of left wrist, thumb, web space

Higher positions need shifting of the left wrist to the right of the violin neck. Later the left wrist curves around the body of the neck  (Pic 6).

LEFT THUMB

In the lower position,left thumb is normally held to the left of the neck at the level  the side of the thumb (Pic 5) .

As the higher positions are played, the thumb first shifts to the back of the neck by sliding up initially to the back of the neck widening the angle of the first web (Fig 4), (Pic 6).



Pic 6. Mid higher position. Note thumb behind and web space wider

As the position advances to higher levels, the thumb leaves the back of neck to the left side of the neck and holds the body of the violin. The angle of the first web really widens up to almost a straight line as the notes reach the highest levels (Fig 5), (Pic 7). 

Pic 7. Much higher position. Note thumb flatter and web space flat

At this stage, it must be remembered that the violin is almost entirely not supported by the left hand, and hence the upward tilt of the violin shifts the support to the neck of the violinist and the upward momentum of the violin helps prevent the violin from falling (Pic 2).

LEFT FINGERTIPS

There are some changes in the finger tip placement on the strings compared to the lower positions.

They include:

A. LIGHTER FINGER TIPS ON STRINGS:

Light placement of the finger tips on the strings is adequate unlike in lower positions. 

The distance between the strings and the finger board is more higher positions. 

It is not easy nor necessary to press the finger tips to the finger board. 

Gentle pressure of the finger tips on the strings should suffice and the tone can be tried on a trial basis to know the extent of pressure required by individual player (Pic 8).

Pic 8. Finger tip lightly presses strings

B. FINGER PADS MORE TOWARDS THE E STRING:

At the lower position finger pad  is placed right in the middle of the string at the level of note required. 

In higher position, it is easier to place the finger pad closer to the side of E string rather than in the middle so that the light pressure on the string may be maintained (Pic 9). 

Pic 9. Finger pads to touch more towards the E string side

C. CRAMPED SPACE OF THE NOTES: 

The position of full notes are much closer in the higher positions. 

Hence when the adjacent notes are to be played, the initial finger has to be removed before placing the next adjacent finger. This has to be practised  carefully to produce the notes of the required quality (Fig 10).

Pic 10.  Cramped spaces at highest position. Adjacent finger sliding into position

BOWING

The higher notes alter the string angle more making the string to lie in line with the adjacent strings.

Playing results in other strings sounding along with the intended note.

Strings are clearly separated by the upward curve of the bridge. They are not affected by playing the high notes.

Hence the bowing by the right hand needs to be shifted closer to the bridge.

EXERCISES

A. SLIDING PRACTICE:

Clearly the higher positions require adjustments in the left elbow, the left wrist, left thumb, left finger tips as well as the bowing. 

These need to be practiced initially without / later with the bow by sliding smoothly on each string individually with 4,3,2 and 1st fingers, paying careful attention to all the anatomical factors. 

This is done initially on the E string followed by the others till satisfactory fluency can be achieved on G string.

Now the bowing is added to ensure that the correct tone is obtained with the bow closer to the bridge.

Video for simple exercise can be seen at

  https://youtu.be/Q1hwqLa2gLo

B. PRACTICE 2 OCTAVE SCALES ON SINGLE STRING SEPARATELY:

Once this is done, single string scales of 2 octaves can be done by fingers 4,3,2 or 1 on each string individually on E, A , D and G strings .

Summarising violin playing in higher positions effectively

NECK -

• Grip violin better
• Tilt the violin upwards

               

FIG 1 Violin Playing in lower position      Fig 2 Violin lifted up in higher position

LEFT ELBOW - 

• Swing to the right 

LEFT WRIST - 

• Swing to the right of the neck, later to the body

LEFT THUMB - 

• Slide to the back of the violin neck
• Slide to above the neck - to the body of violin
• The higher the position, the more straightened the thumb

FINGER TIPS - 

• Light placement of the fingers tips on strings
• Finger pads to be more towards the E string
• Adjacent fingers to be lifted to slide to create the next note

BOWING - 

• Bowing is done more close to the bridge

EXERCISES - 

• Sliding on each string from below to high with each finger on E,A,D,G & back
• Single string 2 octave scales by fingers 4,3,2,1 on strings E,A,D & G.

Acknowledgement -

I thank Dr Twinkle Pravin who patiently snapped all the live pictures to make this presentation clear.

GOOD LUCK & HAPPY PLAYING !!

HOW TO AVOID SCRATCHY VIOLIN PLAYING !

HOW TO AVOID SCRATCHY VIOLIN PLAYING !

HIGHLIGHTS

• Avoid tension in bowing arm.
• Practice bow holding with relaxed wrist.
• Practice bow holding with the relaxed fingers and thumb.
• Adequate resin on the bow.
• Appropriate tension of the bow hair.
• Violin strings should be free of resin before and after performance.
• Change to good quality strings and frequently.
• Respect the 'highway' with reference to the bridge.
• Tilt your bow away from the bridge.
• Maintain enough bowing speed while on E string near the frog.
• Avoid undue bowing pressure on the stings while playing.
• Regular perfect practice keeps the violin and the violinist perfect.

1.THE PLAYER! - BOWING ARM

1- A. Tension in the bowing arm: Playing with too much tension in the bowing arm can produce
scratchy noise. One should learn to keep the arm relaxed.

1-B. Relaxation of Bowing Hand: Way to learn relaxation of the hand is to alternate the right hand
( bowing arm) to make a clenched fist and a relaxed hand rapidly and then leave the hand in a
relaxed fashion with a dropped wrist and the fingers below the wrist level.

1-C. Position of right hand: Bow should be held gently at this position holding it between the thumb
and the ring finger around the bow. Bow is held at the frog ( metal end)

2. THE BOW

2-A. Tightening of Bow: Before playing, the bow should be tightened to tense the hair. Appropriate
tension is verified by inserting the index finger between the bow in the middle of the bow and the
hair. Naturally after playing , the bow should be loosened before returning it to the violin case.

2-B. Resin: There should be enough resin on the bow. Too much resin is not good for the tone ; nor
is too little which can lose grip of the bow over the strings.

3.THE VIOLIN

3-A. Strings: Strings should be free of resin and they should be cleaned with a dry cloth (flannel)
after every use of the violin before returning it to the case. Strings should not be frayed or old.
Appropriate good quality strings matter in the tone. They generally are changed every 6 months and
before any major performance for good quality sound. Scratchy noise is more with E string ; so pay
more attention to E string while cleaning and also while playing.

3-B. Bridge: Bridge needs the be placed at the level of the sound post. The placement of the bridge creates a reasonable distance for the bowing. Bowing too near the bridge can create a harsh loud tone.
Kreisler has referred to as 'the highway'. Playing close to the bridge for loudness and harshness.
Playing away from the bridge for soft and mellow sound.

4. THE TECHIQUE

4-A. The bowing technique:  Bowing technique involves dedicated practice. 'Perfect practice makes perfect performance'. Bow should be placed across the strings with the relaxed arm without any tension. In the beginning, this can be practiced in the static mode without playing the bow, but gently keeping it across and balancing it in the middle of the bow. Too much pressure of the bowing on the strings will create
friction and harshness. Too light a pressure will not produce a good tone. This comes with repeated
practice.

4-B. Bowing is performed at right angles midway between the bridge and the end of the finger
board. Too close to the bridge as mentioned above creates a harness and loudness.

4-C. In addition to the correct pressure, the amount of bow hair on the string also matters. Scratching and whistling noises become more prominent when playing on the E string. Playing near the Frog with
too heavy a pressure will create a scratchy noise. Avoid this by tilting your bow forwards so that
less of the hair is exposed to the E ( and other) string.

4-D. Bowing Speed: Use enough bowing speed ( do not be too slow on the bowing speed)
especially on the E string. Do not be too slow near the frog on the E string . Too slow at bowing
near the frog especially on the E string will subconsciously make you increase pressure which will
in turn will create a scratchy noise.

4-E. Constant and regular practice keeps the violin in shape. A 'played in violin' prevents stiffening
of the violin and improves the tone of playing.

SUMMARY

• Avoid tension in bowing arm.

• Practice bow holding with relaxed wrist.

• Practice bow holding with the relaxed fingers and thumb.

• Adequate resin on the bow.

• Appropriate tension of the bow hair.

• Violin strings should be free of resin before and after performance.

• Change to good quality strings and frequently.

• Respect the 'highway' with reference to the bridge.

• Tilt your bow away from the bridge.

• Maintain enough bowing speed while on E string near the frog.

• Avoid undue bowing pressure on the stings while playing.

• Regular perfect practice keeps the violin and the violinist perfect.