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Scratching noise

Technique and Practicing: I don't know why my bow makes a scratching noise even when I put little pressure on the string.

From Ellie Phillips
Posted June 19, 2012 at 04:03 PM

Lately, my bow has been making really loud scratching noises when I play, even when I put very little pressure on the string. I have pretty good bow technique too. I don't usually have this problem. What should I do?

From Carlo Ballara
Posted on June 19, 2012 at 04:09 PM
Try cleaning your strings. Try first with a microfiber cloth. If they are still dirty use alcohol WITH GREAT CARE!!!

When did you last have a rehair done?

Cheers Carlo

From Tom Holzman
Posted on June 19, 2012 at 05:26 PM
You can use the cork from a wine bottle to clean strings quite effectively.
From John Cadd
Posted on June 19, 2012 at 10:49 PM
Third reference this week to an Itzak Perlman video - -----Bow Grip . He mentions scratchy sounds in that .It can be caused by playing too near the bridge ( he says --and I believe him 100 % ) . That`s one possible cause .
From Trevor Jennings
Posted on June 19, 2012 at 11:18 PM
Not all scratchy sounds from a violin necessarily get through to the audience if they are more than two or three metres away from you. Remember that your left ear is a very short distance away from the violin, so you, the player, will hear everything coming out of the instrument - whether you like it or not!

In some playing situations, and not just when practicing, I put a wad of cotton wool in my left ear, cutting out most of the high-pitched noise and enabling me to hear with my right ear a sound that is probably not far off from what the audience will hear. I like to do this in orchestra as well, so that I can hear a more balanced sound from the ensemble (I play in the second violins).

In orchestral rehearsals I also have a wad of cotton wool ready for my right ear, for when the conductor talks to us.

From Vitalis Im
Posted on June 19, 2012 at 11:38 PM
I had this problem a while back.

Have you tried playing with a different bow? If the scratchiness is absent with another bow, you may have to rehair your current bow.

Frank Almond

Interview: Frank Almond

Violinist Frank Almond tells the life story of the 1715 Lipinski Strad in his new recording, "A Violin's Life."