Jon Paul Vibrant Review

I've had a Jon Paul "Vibrant" violin bow for over a year now, and I have to say I like it...mostly. This bow is made of a unique red carbon fiber composite with aluminum strands woven through. Under stage lighting, the aluminum sparkles. The blend of these materials results in a very strong durable stick that can take quite the beating and is impervious to weather conditions. The Vibrant is not for everybody in every situation, but I find it to be a good addition to my arsenal of bows.

Craftsmanship wise, the Vibrant matches what one would expect from a bow in its price range. The fit and finish is mostly good, and the stick is very well shaped. I found no craftsmanship issues that negatively affect the playing of this bow. It is worth noting that the entire stick is formed in one piece, so there are no invisible joints to crack, as there are on some bows of this price range. The frog (which is just a mass-produced one) was mated well to the stick, and the nut turns easily and smoothly. The grip and winding are of fine quality for a bow in this price range.

No one pays me to tell me what to write. This post is all facts and my personal opinions. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please contact me if you have questions.

One disappointment I have about the quality of the Vibrant is that it uses a plastic tip plate. CodaBow uses a metal tip plate on their budget-friendly Prodigy model. I feel like a metal tip plate would take the Vibrant from merely durable to practically bullet proof. If it was ever dropped, the metal would hold up much better than the plastic.

I usually look for the frog mortise to be squared out, but I don't blame Jon Paul for not messing with this one. The carbon/aluminum material would be hard on tools and take a lot of time to carve out. I'll accept that the ends are rounded. Otherwise, the tightening action is slick and smooth. While not readily apparent in the picture, it appears to have taken some grinding to shape the stick exactly to the frog. It looks dull on the bottom, but none of that is visible with the frog on.

As with most Jon Paul bows, the tip is put together with a nice wooden plug--a nice thing for a technician to see!

A nicely shaped head

The most striking attribute of this bow is its power. It lacks nothing in this department. While the tone is kind of one-dimensional, boy can it get loud. I use this bow primarily for outdoor gigs, where I need the sound to be heard in open air over noise on a cheap violin. I find the feel of the Vibrant to be a bit stiff and harsh. If it encounters a bump over a string, you'll definitely feel it.

This bow has a particularly nice abalone underslide

Since the Vibrant is so strong, navigating three and four note chords without crushing the violin takes a deft hand. It also feels very heavy, so after playing the Bach Chaconne, my arm is tired. An attempt to draw out beautiful long tones reveals the Vibrant's tendency toward squawkiness. This may not be the case on every instrument, but this bow is much better at powering sound out rather than letting the instrument ring. In playing fast, arpeggiated chords, I felt that the Vibrant did not like to bounce. I can get ricochet strokes out of it, but its weight and strength hold it back in the bounce department.

With such a strong stick, I could almost fend off an angry animal with the Vibrant, then turn around to use it at a gig! If you need power and durability in a bow that's not a huge liability, then the Jon Paul Vibrant is the ticket.






Here's the bottom line:

Thumbs up for the power, durability, quality of the stick, and price.
Thumbs down for the one-dimensional tone, tendency toward squawkiness, and lack of metal tip plate.

The Best of Musicians Changing Light Bulbs

If you decide to hire musicians to change your lightbulbs, you'd better know what you're in for! Here are some things you might see when musicians undertake this simple task.

Q: How many sopranos does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Just one. She holds the bulb and the world revolves around her.

Q: How many second violinists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: They don't go that high.

Q: How many drummers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Uhh...Hey man, it like uhhhh dark in here, or somethin'.

Q: How many French horn players does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Just one, but you also need a trombonist to keep him from sticking his hand in the socket.

Q: How many clarinetists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Just one, but she will go through the entire box of bulbs before she finds one she likes.

Q: How many trumpet players does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Ten. One to hold the bulb, and nine more to drink until the room spins.

Q: How many violists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Five. One to hold the bulb, and four more to turn the ladder.

Q: How many conductors does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Nobody was looking.

Q: How many bass players does it take to change a light bulb?
A: The pianist does that with his left hand.

Q: How many flautists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Ten. One to do it, and nine more to tell her to buy a sterling silver bulb.

How Your Bow Tip Can Fail You

As you play your stringed instrument, you might not be thinking about how fragile your equipment is. My advice is to not think about this in performances. In every bow lies an area that can fail in many ways. If this area does fail, you can have an interruption in your performance, a big repair bill, or a new garden stake. I'm talking about the tip of your bow, where the stick gets thin, and the hair is held by a tiny chunk of wood.

You might notice that on my post Five Funny Fiddle Fails, that 3 of the failures were bow related. Given how bows are put together, its a wonder that any given orchestra concert doesn't feature at least one major bow fail. Your bow is a peculiar mix of the fragile and robust. It is strong in the right ways to withstand several pounds of tension on the hair, not to mention the beating that players inevitably dish out on the delicate stick. It can, however break for no obvious reason. Let's look at some ways that one little area of your bow can let you down.

Hair popping out of the tip is probably the most common and dramatic fail. it usually makes a nice little popping sound with hair flying all over. After all, if you fail, you might as well fail big, right? Here are the big three ways the tip can fail: the plug can come out, the hair bundle can come loose, or the tip plate can break.

A plug can fail if it is cut improperly or from inferior wood. The front of the plug should press the hair against the front of the mortise, and not be able to turn out. See the cut away view of the tip below: there is no room for the plug to turn counter-clockwise out of the mortise. It is like a car along the curb with other cars too close on the front and back. No matter how hard you turn, you will never get out without scraping your bumper. An improperly cut plug may have room to turn, and soft wood can simply crumble, thus leaving the plug able to turn out of the mortise.

Cut away view of the tip

Another path to disaster is the knots coming loose. The bow hair is held in bundles at both ends. The hair can start to fall out one at a time, then as there are fewer hairs, the knot gets looser, and things really break loose. There are many different ways of making bundles, but some are just accidents waiting to happen. I use strong thread and super glue. This one used some rosin and a flame along with a loose knot--not the strongest. There isn't much you can do if the hairs start to fall out like this. If this does start happening, don't pull them out, since it will make the problem worse. Just get it rehaired.

One of the most common issues with the bow tip is the tip plate--the white plastic or bone (sometimes metal) that covers the face of the tip. This plate gives valuable strength to the wood and takes some of the stress of holding the hair in. These can detach from the tip or they can crack. If it does crack, it should be evaluated by a professional to see if replacement is necessary. Very often, problems start with small cracks right beside where the hair comes out. Such cracks can be glued in place, and the bow will still work. In any case, it needs to be strong and stable, or else you risk the hair popping out or damaging the tip of the bow. A drop in a hard floor can also do a number on this piece.

Cracked tip plate: Note the small crack on the top right corner of the hair.

Another dramatic (and sometimes tragic) fail, is the head breaking off. This can happen if the bow has been dropped, and some micro cracks formed in the head. Extreme dryness is a double whammy for the head. When the wood dries out, it gets weaker. In addition dryness makes the hair contract, and if it is not loosened accordingly, it can pull the head off. As a last resort, you should cut the hair off. If the bow is above playing tension, and it will not get any looser, it's time to sacrifice the hair for the welfare of the bow.

Sometimes, there isn't much you can do about your bow failing. Even a bow rehaired by a really good technician can fail. If it does the shop should make it right for you, but no one is going to be quite perfect.

For musicians, the best thing we can do is to avoid abusing the delicate tip. This includes not dropping the bow, and not tapping or hitting anything with the tip. Those physical shocks can damage the tip plate, or jar things loose no matter how well it is put together. These shocks can also weaken the wood of the stick and increase its chances of breaking in the future. It is well to also avoid extremes of temperature and humidity. Wood expands and contracts with climate variations, and that movement can push things apart.

Bows are not that high maintenance, and taking care of one is not exactly rocket science. I hope that by shining light on these types of failures, I have inspired you to better respect the fragility of bows, and that you will better understand the mechanics and structure of your bow.

12 Great Instrument Jokes for Winter

If you've seen my previous post Best Musician Jokes you know that instrument jokes can get pretty rough. With home heating and fireplace burning season coming around, I thought a few jokes themed around firewood, chainsaws, and burning instruments might either warm your heart or just get you steamed. If you're offended, please come back at me with your own!

Q: What's the difference between a violin and a chainsaw?

A: Only one gets sharper as it goes on.

Q: What's the difference between a baritone sax and a chainsaw?

A: Vibrato--unless you hold the chainsaw really still. Then there's no difference

Q: What's the difference between a trombone and a chainsaw?

A: You can improvise on a chainsaw.

Q: What's the difference between a horn section and a chainsaw?

A: The chainsaw might start when you need it to.

Q: What's the difference between a tuba and a chainsaw?

A: One makes toxic fumes, and should only be used outside. The other is used to cut wood.

Q: What's the difference between a viola and a chainsaw?

A: You can tune a chainsaw.

Q: What's the difference between a piccolo and a chainsaw?

A: One will always cause permanent hearing damage. You can buy a quiet electric chainsaw.

Q: What are burning oboes good for?
A: Lighting bassoons on fire.

Q: What do you call a big stack of clarinets?

A: Kindling.

Q: Why is a viola better than a violin?

A: The viola burns longer.

Q: What's the difference between store bought fireplace logs and guitars?
A: Not much. They're both expensive ways to heat your home.

Q: What's the cheapest way to heat your home?
A: Hire a conductor. They blow plenty of hot air.

Well, there you have it. Stay warm!

Jon Paul Bandera Review

Finding a new bow can be a hairy process, but I'll stick to the facts. I'd give more advice and tips, but I have a frog in my throat.

Ahem...

Back in July of 2017, the salesmen from Jon Paul bows came to the shop where I work. It was great to see these wonderful young men again. I always enjoy talking about bows with them, because they are enthusiastic about their product, and rightly so. Nerd sessions with them are great. When I asked them what was new, the guys were excited to show me their new Bandera bow, and I was equally excited to try it. This all wood stick is made from a unique Asian wood that makes a great step up from Brazil wood. It's not pernambuco, but it comes close. I've played my new Bandera extensively, making it my primary bow for a few months. For a bow that retails for well under $350, it's pretty great. In the words of my old teacher, it's "ridiculously good for the price."

So, what's up with this bow?

First of all, the fit and finish, like most Jon Paul bows is quite good. Crisp corners and smooth surfaces abound. The nut turns easily. The stick is also very well shaped and varnished. Looking at the slide underneath the frog, the margins aren't quite even. There is also a little ridge where the ferrule hits the frog. These little issues don't affect the playability of the bow. Jon Paul is probably using inexpensive mass-produced frogs (which have these issues) and mating them to the bows--that's expected for a bow of this price.










The grip is made of a peculiar kind of rubber. It feels OK, but I can't wait to wear mine out and replace it with leather. It's not a deal breaker, though.

One thing that I noticed was that the mortise in which the frog slides is properly squared out. The mortise I speak of is seen near the bottom end of the stick in the picture. These mortises are often cut using a rotary tool, and poor quality bows leave that mortise rounded at the ends. I'm glad to see that extra step taken, since it is an indicator of a better quality bow overall.

The tip is also nicely assembled--a great thing for the future rehairer. Since I rehair bows, I appreciate it!



























You might be asking how this bow plays. It plays quite well. The stick is rather firm and lively. The Bandera is different from my H.R. Pfretzschner, which is soft and feels big and luxurious. The Bandera is quite nimble and negotiates many different strokes well. It also plays the chords of Bach's Chaccone very nicely. I have put my Bandera through its paces, playing three and four note chords in many different dynamics. Even though the Bandera is not as graceful as a great Hill or Peccatte (which would set you back about 40 times what this one costs), the lively stick can provide a student a gateway into more advanced strokes such as spiccato and ricochet.

With the Bandera's firm and responsive stick, I can sustain beautiful lines very nicely. With the right touch, it draws beautiful tones very evenly and cleanly. It holds the player accountable for maintaining a delicate, relaxed touch!

The only thing I don't like is that it doesn't match my violin as well as other bows. My instrument responds very easily, and it likes a softer bow like my Pfretzschner. Even with the mismatch, I can feel the quality of the bow. Many students would be well served by the Bandera, which makes a great step up from the cheaper carbon and Brazil wood bows that come with many student outfits. Would I take this bow out for a solo gig on a major stage? Probably not. I use the Bandera as a workhorse bow to take the load off of my Pfretzschner when I can. For an advancing student, however, the Bandera will keep up and do everything that aspiring player will need.

If you're looking to upgrade your bow, the Jon Paul Bandera is well worth checking out!

I was not paid or compensated for this review, nor was I asked to do it. This post is all facts and my unbiased opinions. Please contact me if you have questions.

Warchal String Reviews

Many violinists struggle to find the perfect strings for themselves and their instruments. Making good sound, however, is the player's responsibility, and no string can turn a bad violinist into a good one. Further, no string can turn a bad instrument into a Stradavarius. Even for a good player with a good instrument, bad strings can create all kinds of frustrations. Notes that stick out or don't speak, wolf tones, and double stops that just will not tune can all be related to strings that aren't doing their job.

All players should understand the place of the string in producing sound. It is, after all, the string that produces the vibrations that get amplified by the instrument. If the string produces unbalanced and distorted overtones, or if it responds with a squeak or scratch, the instrument amplifies these problems, and there's nothing the player can do about it.

Keep in mind, in many instances, the above mentioned problems can be traced to the player, but this is not a pedagogical article. If you are having a specific problem, take it to a teacher or other professional player. Sometimes, an instrument's biggest problem is the person playing it!

Warchal strings have proven themselves worthy of consideration by all players. There is no Warchal string I absolutely hate. Some players might not like them, but no product in the world is universally liked. If you disagree with my findings on Warchal strings, that is OK. You have your likings, and I probably disagree with you!

Enough beginning fluff, let's look at some strings!

Nefrit:
Warchal's Nefrit strings are designed for students and lower-priced instruments. They are the least expensive of Warchal's strings. They have characteristics of much more expensive strings in their sound, feel, and response. The set is unique in that the D and G are synthetic core, but the A is steel. Steel A strings have more brightness than synthetic A's, and smooth out the difference between the high end and the low end of the instrument. On many instruments, the A string can sound dull, and a steel A solves that problem. Warchal knows how to make a steel A pleasantly bright and lively without any harshness.

Nefrits have a pleasant sound with good projection, and sound more like professional strings than typical student strings. They are only a couple of dollars more than many other popular student strings, but they sound more expensive. This set is also suitable for electric violins.

Ametyst:
The Ametyst set is a step up from Nefrit, and along with the Karneol set forms the middle of Warchal's line.

These are synthetic core strings, which means that they need time to stretch out and gain stability. That being said, they do this more quickly than many other synthetic strings. Even right from installation, these strings did not have nearly the metallic sound that I expect from brand new synthetic strings.

In playing, I notice that these strings are low tension, but low tension does not mean low power and slow response. These strings respond crisply and cleanly at the lightest of bow strokes, but they don't "crack" under bow pressure. These strings have a wonderfully bright and clear sound, but they can be nasal sounding on some instruments. Because of their low tension, they are buttery smooth under the fingers. My left hand does not have to work hard to play with these strings.

Karneol:
Much like Ametyst, but mellower and better on bright instruments. On the flip side, they can sound muddy on a dark sounding instrument.

Amber:
Upon taking these strings out of the packages, I was impressed with the craftsmanship of them. The metal windings were clean and smooth, and the silk wrappings at the ends were (like all Warchal products) impeccable. These are good looking strings. The gold spiral on the bottom end adds an elegant touch.

These are among Warchal's flagship strings. Amber strings are possibly the best gut substitute I've found. They have a crisp response, and don't over drive the violin. Their sound is extremely pure with some texture. I have used them on my violin for a couple of years now, and I've been impressed with their longevity. In my experience, when these strings get old, the just go a bit dull and their projection isn't as good. With many other strings, the intonation goes wacky, and they sound very bad--not the case with Warchal Ambers.

Brilliant:
The Brilliant set is Warchal's set for those power hungry players. These are powerful strings with huge projection. As good as these strings look on paper, Warchal missed the mark. I was wondering why they had response issues, then I cut them open. The G has a synthetic core, a thick steel wrapping, and a very thin foil-like silver wrapping on the outside. This is more of a cable than a string--it's so thick. The D is thicker than the G, which brings its own set of issues. Read my previous article, Some Thoughts on Violin Strings, for more information on thickness of strings. Double stops were all but impossible to tune between the Brilliant D and G.

The hydronalium D doesn't respond very well, especially to light bow pressure. It seems to whistle like an E string. Frankly, I expect better from Warhal.

I don't have any experience with the Brilliant Vintage. Maybe they're better.

Even though this review is for violin strings, it's worth noting that I've seen Warchal Brilliant cello strings perform extraordinarily well on certain instruments.

Russian Style A:
This is a great A string, especially for instruments where the upper reaches of the A string are dead. It does not sound metallic like a typical steel string, but it has plenty of power, a pleasant tone, lots of tonal colors, and great response. Despite its thin appearance, the Russian Style A feels very nice under the fingers, and does not sound thin.

Avant Garde A:
This string combines the technology of the Russian style A and the Amber E. It is a steel core string, and it has a helical twist over its entire length. Even when stretched out, you can still feel the twist. In playing, I can see the benefits of the twist. It has a fast response like a steel string, but it has a deep sound. I don't like this string, because the intimation and overtones aren't as precise and true as on the Russian A. I also notice a buzz on certain notes where the twist puts the string too close to the fingerboard. I don't think this string is worth the price.

How to Spot Violin Scams

You can hardly turn on the TV news without hearing about some kind of new scam. The advice is usually to just to hang up when a scammer calls, never give personal information in response to unsolicited communication, never wire money, etc.

Usually the scammer comes to the victim, but i have seen several instances of people literally walking right into a scam, and not knowing it. Welcome to the world of violin dealing.

Before you read further, read the disclaimer below.

DISCLAIMER: I am not mentioning any specific shops or people, and I don't intend to make you believe that all violin dealers are rip off artists. Most people in the trade are fair, honest people who will not try to rip you off or decieve you. Further, this post may not cover all the possible ways you can get duped in a violin deal, as scam artists are always innovating. Sometimes, a bad deal can be an honest mistake, which any good shop will always work to make right.

Online sales sites (for example, Ebay) constitute a great world for scam artists. All you see of the instrument is usually some pictures, and what the seller has to say about it. Sellers sometimes inflate an instrument's credentials, or just plain lie about what it is or where it has been. At this point it is hard to prove what the seller is saying. You simply don't know. If the price is low enough, you might decide to make the wager, and you might come out OK.

A popular Ebay trick consists of a seller colluding with someone else (or using a second account) to place a highly inflated bid on the instrument, only to have it fall through. The seller may tell you that the high bidder had an emergency and couldn't come up with the money. That seller will then let it go to you for a lower price and make you think you got a good deal. If you find yourself on the receiving end of this kind of "miracle," just back away and hold on to your money.

As easy as it is for scammers to do their dirty work online, they can still operate between the four walls of a shop. A salesman can tell you stories about an instrument and sound believable. They will accompany the story with bringing this "special" instrument from deep in the bowels of the shop. There is usually no price tag, and they may just make up a number and a story to match.

Even buying a brand new instrument can be frought with problems. Here there is really no history or provenance that goes into the price, and you will know who built it and when. In fact, you're probably buying it from the maker. It is up to the maker to decide what to charge. I have seen where people have paid way too much for problematic instruments. If the seller will let you take in on trial, bring it to an independent luthier or professional violinist, and ask their opinion on what its worth, and what they think of the sound and construction. Watch out for instruments that are carved down too thin. This makes them sound dark and resonant when new (thus inflating the price), but brings many structural problems down the line. Also, watch for labels that try to make the maker's name or place sound foreign or exotic. That is usually just a trick.

Sometimes, shops misidentify instruments, but some will attempt to deceive. Some shops have been known to insert fake labels into instruments in order to give them provenance that they don't have. It may be impossible to prove that label authentic or not. If the instrument seems old, take the label with a grain of salt, and don't drop a whole lot of money unless you're sure what the instrument is actually worth.

Whether it's an unsolicited phone call, or a violin deal, if you're suspicious, walk away with your money!

Cheap Violins are NOT a Good Deal!

In the violin shop, I see so many people who have purchased a very cheap violin for themselves or their children. I can't even keep track of how many of these instruments I've seen. People think they got a great deal in buying a violin (with a case and bow) for 50 bucks. These "great deals" start to turn sour when the instrument will not stay in tune, the bow doesn't tighten, or something flat out breaks.

One of the biggest issues with cheap violin outfits is the bow. The bows that come in these packages are trouble waiting to happen, They usually have minimal camber (the inward curve the stick), and therefore don't have the strength to make a string vibrate. The hair is the cheapest available, and the craftsmanship is usually substandard. At minimum, a rehair will be necessary to make such a bow playable.

Cheap violins use the cheapest accessories and fittings known to the industry. The biggest problem lies in the pegs and scroll. Cheap pegs made of maple or another common hardwood never hold the string tension on account of their softness. The scroll and pegbox are usually also comprised of some other substandard wood. The pegs are tapered in matching holes, and when they are pushed in, cheap wood just compresses and you don't get the presure necessary to hold the string.

The tailpiece and its fine tuners commonly vex the buyers of cheap violins. The fine tuning mechanism is comprised of a pivoting arm which holds the string, and a screw that moves the arm. Sometimes, the arm comes out of alignment, and the screw no longer hits it. If you notice that the screw is stiff, and turning it doesn't do anything, the arm probably has slipped out from under the screw. High quality tailpieces don't usually have this issue.

Another big problem with cheap violins is the bridge. Sometimes, the bridge isn't even set up. The manufacturer leaves this step up to a novice player who probably doesn't know how to handle a violin yet. Worse still, the bridge feet may not fit the top of the instrument at all, which hinders sound, and might break something if it is bad enough. Yet another problem I see with bridges on cheap violins is that there are no proper string grooves. Many of these instruments have the strings unevenly spaced across the top of the bridge, which results in major playability issues. I still haven't mentioned that cheap bridges are made out of the worst wood, and will definitely warp or break at some point.

The strings that come with most cheap outfits can do no justice to any instrument. They will sound metallic and squeaky, and they will probably break. I bought a cheap outfit for myself (if it gets damaged at an outdoor gig, it's not a big deal) and all the strings broke within a year. I replaced them with strings that I burned up on my concert instrument, and they sound better than the originals!

Before you buy a cheap violin, consider the extra cost associated with getting it fixed to make it playable. You will be well served to spend a little more upfront and not have to deal with the hassle and cost later. It can be frustrating for a new violinist to deal with an instrument that plays horribly and doesn't hold pitch at all. As a violin technician and an experienced player, I can deal with pretty much anything one of these cheap violins can throw at me, but someone with no experience will have a lot of trouble.

On the bright side, the case is usually servicable.

When purchasing a violin, it is well to go to a specialized string shop. There are many different shops around the United States, so most people will have one within a reasonable distance. It is great to talk to someone face to face who has knowledge of the field. If you must buy online, buy from a reputable violin retailer such as Shar Music. Chances are, the lowest price you find on Amazon or Ebay is simply not a good deal.

Acoustics in the Practice Room: Is Deader Better?

For students, practicing is maybe the biggest and most challenging part of life. With all of the directions students are pulled, it is important to make every moment, every day, and every week count. To some extent, one practice space is as good as another; however, changing things up can be extremely beneficial to musicianship and morale. It pays to think about what a space allows you to hear, and what it might mask.

Many musicians think that a reverberant room makes them sound better. This is true to some extent, but it points to a bigger question of how room acoustics impact practicing. Most people I know think a "lively" equals "friendly," and "dead" equals "unfriendly." Generalizations like this one are dangerous, because they totally neglect the intimate relationship between the instrument, the player, and the room.

How do various kinds of rooms affect our practice? That is the question we should ask. Different rooms and acoustics allow players to hear different facets of their playing, and practicing in all types of spaces gives the most complete picture of sound, articulation, phrasing, and intonation.

There are many different classes of practicing spaces that should be used in combination to full advantage. Specific types of spaces I will mention are small rooms, large live rooms, large dead rooms, concert halls, and outdoors.

The worst type of room for practicing is the typical college practice room. Often, these rooms are small drywall boxes with acoustic treatment on one wall, and carpet on the floor. They are neither live nor dead, and their size does not allow the sound to spread out. Lots of hearing damage happens in these rooms, because the sound level is so high. On top of all this, these rooms give the musician absolutely no idea how the sound will disperse in a bigger space.

Many musicians think that practicing in a reverberant space is bad because it makes them sound artificially good. Quite the opposite is true when practicing certain passages with lots of arpeggios. How can this be? Since the notes blend together somewhat, you can hear each note stacking up to make a chord, which reveals intonation problems. I remember a attending a masterclass several years ago with a brass quintet. One of the members pointed out how reverberant the space was, and told the student group that intonation was especially important with notes hanging around for a long time. The student quintet was not particularly in tune, so the sour notes and chords rang in the room for all to hear. A large gymnasium is a great live space for practice. There is plenty of reverb to keep notes hanging around. You can also put a recorder far away in order to hear how articulate and clean you sound actually is. Very often, passages can sound sloppy at a distance even though it sounds fine up close.

A good place to practice is a large rehearsal room. This kind of space is usually heavily treated with acoustic material, so the sound is pretty dead. The large space enables the sound to disperse, and not destroy your hearing as quickly. There is no "beautification" of tone from reverb, so you will get a real picture of your sound, especially if you record yourself from a good distance. Large rooms are my preferred place for practicing, but they are often hard to get, and colleges are often weird about one individual reserving a lot of time in the large rehearsal spaces.

A concert hall is probably where musicians spend the least time, but practicing in performance spaces is essential. The sound and feeling of playing in a performance space is nothing like the sound and feeling of any other space. It can feel foreign and throw off the best prepared performances. It doesn't take much time to get the feeling of a space, but if you are giving a performance, take advantage of any time in the room you have available. If you are playing in a chamber group, take as much time as you can to find good seating positions. You will be surprised at how hard it can be to hear other people on stage, and moving just a bit can make all the difference. Recital halls at colleges can be fickle, because architects design fancy looking but acoustically poor spaces, and because budgets often impose "value engineering" (read "cheapening") of the materials and construction.

The last type of space is outdoors. By reading this paragraph, you agree that I am not liable for any damage that might result from playing your instrument outside. Practicing outside allows the musician to hear only what the instrument is doing. There is no interference or help from a room, and the sound has virtually infinite space to disperse. You hear exactly what you are doing and what you are not doing. There is no accumulation of sound that artificially helps phrasing. Shapes tend to disappear, so they will need to be exaggerated, and tone will seem emptier since there is no feedback from a room. If you are adventurous, throw a recorder up on a stand a few feet away. You will get the most brutally honest picture of your playing.

I am not putting any practicing space above any other, except that small closets are bad. Alas, these small closets often have one qualification that other spaces don't--they're available. Always give a thought to how the space is affecting what you hear. Deader is not always better! No two spaces give you the same picture of your playing, so move around and take advantage of it.

4 Ways Smartphones Harm Musicians

Smartphones are killing classical music. OK, these little deices can't do anything on their own, but the way we use them poses serious dangers to the future of classical music. This list will not include the well-known phenomenon of phones ringing in concerts. I am concentrating on how people, musicians in specific, are changing because of these devices.

I don't like the patterns of behavior these devices promote, and hopefully reading this article will help you combat them. I am not asking you to just get rid of your phone, but a few changes in how we musicians interact with electronics can help us improve our practice and performance.

1. They shorten our attention spans

This is the scariest one of them all. It affects musicians. It affects audiences. A piece of classical music requires attention from performers and audience members alike. We all need to stay with it to get it. The piece can take a whole hour or more, so it takes commitment. Smart devices take us away from those long blocks of undivided attention. Without attention, classical music means nothing.

The Internet is designed to bombard us with many little individual baits vying for our attention. Have you ever been watching a YouTube video you thought was the greatest, then a suggestion comes up, and you just have to click on it? You mean you couldn't devote five minutes of attention to the video you were watching? How would you ever listen to a Mahler Symphony, let alone play one?

These devices even get into our practice time. It is always so tempting to check something on your device when you have a lull in your practicing action, but minutes can pass very quickly like this, and suddenly you've wasted a lot of time. With your device around, it's probably beckoning and distracting you whether or not it's in your hand.

How do we help this situation? Set aside practice time where your phone and other devices are nowhere near. Tell yourself it can wait a couple of hours until you get back. Nothing will blow up. If you have a Galaxy Note 7, your phone might just blow up, but that's beside the point. Structuring your time is also essential to maintaining attention through a practicing session. The other thing we need to do is practice giving longer blocks of undivided attention. Reading a book, going to a concert, and practicing your instrument can all be good exercises for this.

2. They are addictive and burn out our brains' reward systems

Every time you get an email from a friend, a notification you might have been waiting for, or even when you pick up your device, you get a hit of pleasure hormones like serotonin and dopamine. These are the same chemicals released when drug addicts get a fix of their preferred drugs. Saying technology is a drug is not far from the truth.

Even WebMD has a page on smartphone addiction. Given the high percentages of people who pick up their phones not even knowing why they are picking up their phone, we are going to see problems in the future. There is even a name for feelings of anxiety associated with not having your phone: Nomophobia. I see people freak out when they don't have their phone, and I really wonder if it is full blown withdrawal.

Addictions tend to push out everything else out. If we're all addicted to our phones, where does music go?

Addictions start with the brain receiving pleasurable sensations, like alcohol, nicotine, other drugs, and checking a phone. When you do any of these things once, you get some of the pleasurable feeling, and it feels good, but the next time, that pleasure isn't enough. Your tolerance to the sensations builds up, and eventually no amount of pleasure will satisfy you. Your brain will compensate by cutting the number of dopamine receptors in the brain. That means more dopamine is needed to produce the same high. This not only makes you want to be with your phone more and more, but it also takes away from other good things in life.

There are many things in life that rightfully make us happy, and trigger the reward systems in our brains. Figuring out a solution to a tough problem, spending time with friends, eating good food, doing good work, going out and enjoying nature, and good practice sessions all bring joy and dignity to our lives, as well as some dopamine to our brains. With any addiction, your reward pathways need more and more stimulation to create good feelings--stronger drugs, more alcohol, more phone checking. These artificial things light up our reward pathways to the max and then some, making the truly good things in life suddenly seem just blah.

This one may be hard to get out of. The road out may not be pleasant, but it can be traveled. If you are tempted to pick up your phone, just for once, don't pick it up, then observe how nothing bad happened. You can also go for a set time without your phone. Put it in another room for an hour, and do something healthy like practicing your instrument or reading a book. Keep increasing the time you can go without your phone. You can force your brain to adjust to its new normal.

3. They make us accessible all the time

Being accessible all the time is a good thing, right? Not really. Sometimes we need to get away, even if it is uncomfortable being unreachable. Being connected all the time gives us no time for ourselves and those closest to us. When we are practicing alone, the outside world shouldn't matter, and being alone should be a welcome contrast to the hustle and bustle of life. Getting rid of the phones also enhances music making with others. Imagine a string quartet rehearsal where everyone just plays with their phones. The quartet members are together but lonely. Loneliness is unheard of in a lively quartet rehearsal.

No matter how extroverted you are, you will eventually need some alone time. Before phones, it was hard to reach people and be reached. We were connected to the environment and people right around us, and that is how we are meant to live.

Being connected is not a bad thing, but being connected continuously is. Do I want to be accessible when I practice my violin, take a walk in the woods, or bike around my neighborhood? Absolutely not. I want to be present in the moment and in what I'm doing. All the problems I have to deal with will be right there when I get back to civilization. At home, it is important to peel yourself away from the outside so you can spend a healthy balance of time with family, friends, and your instrument. Getting away from the electronics regularly is also a good way to stave off their addictive effects.

4. They keep us up at night

Just one more video. Just one more level of this stupid game. Just one more check of Facebook. After a few of these, it's five hours before you have to wake up to get to work. Sometimes, you might have a good reason that you need to be up taking care of something, but chances are you can put down your phone at a set time each night, and nothing bad will happen.

In addition to the time you spend on your phone not sleeping, you are bombarding your eyes with the bluish light from the screen. Blue light triggers the awakening part of our brain and keeps us from getting to sleep even when we do pry ourselves away from the phone and go to bed. The blue light also blocks production of the sleep hormone melatonin. The effect can be compared to caffeine.

Lack of sleep has been linked to weight gain, depression, and a whole lot of other things that are best avoided. These things will mess up your ability to make music and interact with others. Depression causes loss of interest in things that you liked before, and making music is not immune. It doesn't take a doctor to tell you that not sleeping = feeling bad = poor productivity.


This article isn't intended to scare you or make you get rid of your phone. My hope is that you will examine how you interact with electronics, and weigh their pros and cons in your life.

Five Funny Fiddle Fails

Performances don't always go right. Things have been going wrong in performances for hundreds of years, and I am certain that there are more fails to come. With a string instrument, there are many things to go wrong, and wrong they go! Let's get failing!

1. Instruments are under a lot of tension. A viola can have 60 pounds or more stretched across it. Strings breaking is pretty common, but this more spectacular fail of the tail gut is (fortunately) rare. The tail gut--the piece of rope-like material that holds the tailpiece to the instrument--bears the totality of the string tension 24/7/365. When this critical piece breaks, it makes for a funny fail. This guy just shrugs it off!



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2. Few string players really think about how they are trusting their entire performances, even careers, to the tiny pieces of wood that hold the hair in their bows. Bow tip blowout is a perennial mode of failure for string players. When it happens in front of people, it can be awkward, but the reactions are priceless. This woman took the "forge ahead no matter what" approach. I love the expression on her face after her bow blew out! In the description of this video, she said that "I uploaded this video to give people a laugh, not to try to convince the world that I'm an excellent violinist." I think she handled the failure with class, and that proves a lot about her musicianship in addition to providing a chuckle.

Click the "Watch this video on YouTube" link to see the video, as the owner of this video disabled playback outside of YouTube.

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3. Here is another bow tip blowout. This one happened to a little girl who doesn't have much violin experience. It looks like a pretty low end bow in the video, and I'm surprised it blew out. The cheap bows are usually put together with some kind of goop that is hard to get out when it comes time for a rehair. I've done my share of those--not fun. The look in this girl's eyes is priceless!

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4. People drop things, and if you play a string instrument, chances are you've dropped your bow at some point. This is a very dramatic example of bow dropping. That one hit the floor hard, and you can even see the cloud of white dust fly off the hair. Given the fragility of bows, I hope this one is OK!



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5. Even the gratest seasoned professionals aren't immune to fails! Leonidas Kavakos, one of the best violinists living today, had his violin fail him in a performance of Mozart's Violin Concerto in G Major. When he made his entry with the main theme, he found out quickly that the friction holding his strings in tune had given way yielding a funny result.

It is only the audio here, but it's still funny.




There you have it. Some funny fiddle fails that I hope made you laugh!

Six Shocking Composer Deaths

Jean Baptiste Lully (died 1687)
Probably the only musician whose death resulted from an occupational injury. He died due to a conducting injury, and no, he didn't stab himself with a baton. Back in the 17th century, conductors beat out time on the ground with a giant stick. One day, Lully hit his toe instead of the ground, and the wound got to be gangrenous. Lully didn't want to have his toe amputated, and he died of blood poisoning two months later.





Mieczysław Karłowicz (died 1909)

This is one of the saddest early deaths on this list. Mieczysław Karłowicz died from being caught in an avalanche while skiing in the Tatra moutains. He was only 32. Since Karłowicz died so young, he didn't have a chance to write much music. If he had lived longer, maybe he would have made a break to major fame, and more people would know his great music. We should be glad he lived to write his Violin Concerto!




Jean-Marie Leclair (died 1764)
Just because you're famous doesn't mean you're immune from a violent death. The French Baroque composer and violinist, Jean-Marie Leclair was found stabbed to death in his home. It is strongly suspected that his disgruntled ex-wife had something to do with it, but to this day, no one knows who did it. Leclair brought the violin to prominence in France by writing music that was difficult, interesting, and original. Even today, Leclair's violin music is considered highly chellenging.






Alban Berg (died 1935)

Like Jean Baptiste Lully, Berg died of blood poisoning. The cause was, however, not occupational. Berg received an insect bite on his back which became infected, and eventually killed him. Berg combined the new 12-tone technique with the old romantic lyricism. Despite his breaking out of traditional tonality, Berg's music shows the romantic influence of Gustav Mahler, Richard Wagner, and his first teacher, Arnold Schoenberg. Alban Berg and Anton Webern met as students studying with Schoenberg. The teacher and pupils would maintain a tight relationship through their careers.





Anton Webern (died 1945)
Webern died from a soldier's bullet in WWII. After stepping outside in Mittersill, Austria to smoke a cigar, an Allied soldier shot him upon seeing the flame. The soldier who shot Webern suffered greatly from remorse, and died from alcoholism 10 years later. Webern was known for his concise musical expression. Some of his works come in under a minute, and his complete works recording is a 6-CD set. I would be interested to see what else he would have written had his life not been snuffed out when he lit up.






Ernest Chausson (died 1899)
Maybe it was an accident. Maybe it was suicide. Ernest Chausson died from crashing his bicycle into a brick wall at high speed. He was originally trained in law at the demand of his father, but Chausson's heart was in music. Even though he was a composer to the core, he only leaves us 39 opus numbers. Quality definitely came over quantity. As I would with any other composer who died relatively young, I wonder what Chausson's compositional future would have brought.

What is an instrument?

By Ainslie - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32009009

In a previous post, I asked whether a violin has to be made of wood. This post expands on that idea. What can instruments be made of? As I thought about this, I came to the conclusion that materials and techniques don't matter. If music can be made on it, it's an instrument.

Every mainstream instrument we know today was once a crude experiment. Looking at beautiful, elegant, and precise instruments of today, it is hard to imagine that they came from ideas and experiments that I might do in my workshop. Through hundreds of years, the designs and dimensions of these contraptions became standardized, and makers of these things have found ways to show off their skills.

What comes to my mind now is a spike fiddle I built for a college class. It uses materials I found in my basement for the structure, and the strings are made of nylon picture hanging line from a local hardware store. It actually plays. I took things that were never intended to make music, and I can now make music on them. I could have written a paper using information cobbled together from the internet and gotten a fine grade, but it was only through creating this instrument that I found satisfaction.

With enough crafting, music can be made on anything. The Landfill Harmonic in Cateura, Paraguay demonstrates how the oddest materials (like wooden spoons, forks, and oil cans) can be transformed into instruments. Unlike me with my spike fiddle project, these people didn't have the benefit of straight pieces of wood, and other precise materials and tools.

When environmental engineer Favio Chavez saw the children in Cateura, and how few opportunities they had outside of landfill scavenging and drugs, he decided to teach them music. Because of a lack of actual instruments, Chavez enlisted the help of a carpenter to build more. Learning music lifted the children out of the vicious cycle of drugs and violence, and into the world of drums and violins. Suddenly, the kids from an unknown slum gained respect for their creativity.

In addition to respect, the children have a chance at getting an education, and the money the orchestra makes from playing around the world has greatly helped the community. Every human being has the innate creative instinct and capability, and the children of Cateura demonstrate how creativity can effect real improvement in the status of a community. People could have donated a certain amount of money for this community, which could have built some houses and fed people for a time, but that would be a one-time help. Inspiring true creativity has helped this community to make a sustained improvement in their status.

Favio Chavez found the best way to help a community. A shot of money could have helped, but creativity is the only thing that truly improves a community's way of life. Perhaps future humanitarian efforts could emphasize creativity and enterprise, for it is through making things of value that people improve their socioeconomic status, as well as fulfilling their humanity.

If music can be made on it, it's an instrument. This original statement of mine is true, but music is more than mechanical vibrations from mechanical devices. Music is opportunity. It is about creativity, knowledge, and fulfillment. When I built my spike fiddle, it was the creation of the instrument that gave me satisfaction over and above just parroting stuff from the internet. For the kids in the Landfill Harmonic, instruments meant opportunity, which they seized.

Music has been improving the lives of people and communities for thousands of years. No matter how rough the materials are, people can express creativity through making and playing instruments, and creativity will be instrumental (pun intended) in solving the problems humanity faces.