Winter, cold dry air, and sound quality!

January 3, 2009 at 03:07 PM ·

The level of moisture in the air will absolutely change the sound of a violin. The moisture content in the wood will track changes in the air, with a slight delay. Lower moisture content will:

Make the wood lighter. (one way of determining moisture content is by weighing)

Make the wood stiffer.

Reduce the overall dimensions slightly.

Stiffness and weight are two of the things which makers manipulate to alter the sound when making a violin.

Why does the indoor air become dry when it's cold outside? Cold air has the capapcity to hold less moisture than warm air. Let's say the outdoor air at 20 degrees F is holding all the moisture it possibly can, which is expressed as 100% relative humidity. When this air is brought indoors and heated to 70 F, it is now capable of holding more moisture, and the relative humidity will be 15% if no additional moisture is added. It's this "relative humidity" (how much moisture the air has compared to the maximum it can hold at a given temperature) which determines the moisture content of the wood (and your bow hair).

January 3, 2009 at 02:50 PM ·

It is the lack of humidity thats giving you the problems. I have a gauge in my case,any thing less then %50 humidity and my violin gets fussy. Invest in a dampit, use a small humidifier in your practice area or boil a pot of water and place it in the room if you dont have a humidifier.

If your violin case dosent have a humidity gauge, they can be bought fairly cheap at your music shop or online.

January 3, 2009 at 03:09 PM ·

If you get a hygrometer (humidity gauge), I'd recommend one of the electronic ones, because they tend to be no more than 7-10% off. The dial type are more likely to be all over the place, or not work at all.

That 7-10 percent number comes from actual testing. Ignore the manufacturers claims. They're pretty much meaningless, even if they're  "lab grade" and "certified".

January 3, 2009 at 03:28 PM ·

Your description sound exactly like what happened with my violin as well.

I created a topic about it not too long ago describing the exact symptoms you talked about. The brittle, metallic sound was really bothering me. I have since been playing better and changed strings which has helped a bit in the sound it produces, but a luthier noted that in my topic I went full circle in describing the characteristics of the violin. At first I went on to say it was a great sounding violin but then through-out the rest of the post, all I did was complain about the sound. Although there are many factors that come together such as technique, rosin, bow, and the overall sound of the violin itself, I should have realized that the great sound I heard was when it was played in the violin shop, where the humidity was constantly set at appropriate levels. The case I have did not have a hydrometer or humidifier and as soon as I brought it home I didn't realized that the drastic change in humidity could affect how it sounded. I live in Pennsylvania, and right now humidity levels are pretty low and it's pretty cold - and so is my room.

It scares me because my sister, who has been playing a lot longer, finally developed a crack on the upper right portion on the top of her violin. She has never used a humidifier. I first noticed it when while playing it, all of a sudden her violin's beautiful deep and rich sound pretty much turned into this annoying raspy buzziness. It even affected how well the bow was tracking on the strings. I felt bad for her and soon afterwards we took it to get it fixed. Either way, it's definately something to avoid!

I recently ordered a humidifying system that should hopefully help keep my violin in good condition. It's for the case though. Would it be better to invest in a dampit? Has anyone who uses a dampit noticed anything about the sound of their violin vs. using only a case humidifier?

J.

January 3, 2009 at 03:47 PM ·

Dampits don't have enough volume, and don't release moisture quickly enough to do anything at all.

Invest in real humidifiers for you practicing space at a minimum.  I keep my entire apartment at 50%--which is no small feat for its size.

January 3, 2009 at 04:50 PM ·

Hi Joseph

It's a common practice here in the dry winter areas of Canada to adjust the sound post when winter arrives. As david says, the wood shrinks when it dries, which makes the soundpost tighter than it is in summer. The violins become harsh and brittle sounding. Moving the soundpost in towards the center a bit relieves the excess tension. This helps restore the tone. When spring arrives, and humidity, the tone becomes slugish. Then it's time to move it back. Sound post position is a moving target, and not so much an absolute when you go this route. This adjustment is not a huge amount, btw, a fraction of a millimeter is all it takes mostly.

Of coarse, the best thing to do is keep the humidity constant. And you don't want to become addicted to soundpost adjustments, and go every month to you're violin fixer. But it is an option.

Mischa Elman , as the legend goes, would visit a luthier every week or so to adjust the sound post. That's probably a bit too often. ;)

January 4, 2009 at 02:39 AM ·

Thanks everyone for your input.

David: Thanks, and I believe what I'm immediately hearing, and feeling, as I play is the relative lack of moisture on the bow hair, and the different behavior of the rosin with the drier hair. Really feels and sounds strange.

We have been having very unusual weather for the Seattle area. Record cold, and snow, and a lot less humidity.

Darren: Thanks, you wrote:  Mischa Elman , as the legend goes, would visit a luthier every week or so to adjust the sound post" .

Elman was a great player, but in watching "The Art of Violin",  it sounds like he could have been a bit of a pain in the butt too. I believe it was Elman that someone related " was known for constantly telling his accompanist he was not playing in time!"  To misquote it he said something like " Joseph, you may be playing in time, but your not playing in my time!". He must have been a character. 

Thanks everyone!

Joseph

March 13, 2009 at 09:13 AM ·

I live near Vancouver, BC, where the weather is usually almost identical to the weather in Redmond.

I had to humidify my room to get my office printer to stop jamming from the static buildup. Likewise, my violin's going nuts. This weather is whacky.

March 20, 2009 at 05:52 PM ·

I have a very good solution to managing humidity for my violins.  I keep them in a small display case, a curio cabinet, with a humidity gauge, a temperature guage, and a small tray of water.  I have a sponge in the tray of water.  The humidity stays around 50% which is ideal, particularily in the dry climate where I reside.  If anyone wishes a picture of my setup, just reply to this message. -Duane