Violinist's worst nightmare or a perfect practice room?

March 8, 2013 at 09:53 PM · That would be terrible to practice in. We do use the reflections off the wall to judge things like intonation and sonority.

March 8, 2013 at 10:37 PM · I heard a story (perhaps someone here can authenticate it?) of a professional string quartet that was invited to try out an anechoic chamber. After a minute or so of playing they collapsed with laughter when it became obvious that it was impossible.

March 9, 2013 at 12:53 AM · i cant imagine that it would be something more "scary" than playing outside in an open space with absolutely nothing for the sound to reflect off of. but i guess the outdoor noises will keep you sane unlike this room...

March 9, 2013 at 02:18 AM · Very unnatural, and would make an average living room seem like an acoustical dream to practice in by comparison.

I had a close enough experience in a public performance. I was engaged to play Vivaldi's "Autumn" once. We had our one rehearsal (don't ask me why - I don't know) in a reverberant church, but our performance was in a university - but not in an auditorium or even a lucture hall. It was in a large meeting room, with a low ceiling and heavy carpeting. Then when people filled up the space and we started to play, it was not simply very dry; I felt like every overtone of my violin was being sucked into some ball of cotton with each note I played. It was horrible!

March 9, 2013 at 03:54 AM · It would be the best place to 'play' John Cage's 4'33". :)

March 9, 2013 at 07:04 AM · About ten years ago I took part in a study being done by a luthier of my acquaintance which involved playing several violins in an anechoic chamber then, after she made some alterations to the set-up of the violins playing them in the chamber again. It was a strange experience, I had no feeling of being able to make dynamic differences; forte and piano sounded the same. The violin maker said that I actually played the instruments louder than any of the other violinists who took part, but I felt as though I was making almost no sound.

March 9, 2013 at 10:29 AM · nate you're so wrong. 433 is about hearing the life around. you can't do that in silence.

March 10, 2013 at 01:42 AM · I was taught to practice in a room that is somewhat dead acoustically because there is no artificial enhancement of your sound, so you are forced to make the best tone you can. Is there nothing to that?

March 10, 2013 at 02:31 AM · Upscale violin dealers are familiar with acoustics-- it's not uncommon for their studio to be carefully arranged with reflective surfaces to enhance the finer qualities of their violins.

On the other hand, some more resonant fiddles can get by with drier room acoustics, while more heavily built instruments need a little help from a cathedral.

March 10, 2013 at 12:13 PM · I like the acoustics of my living room for purposes of practicing and even chamber music reading. The sound is clear, not harsh, and almost, but not quite dead. There's the tiniest bloom that's more noticeable by comparison to a more dead room. It's better to progress to a more live space in a performance rather than the opposite as in my story above.

Tomorrow I'm running a dress rehearsal in my living room for a couple of friends for my recital. My recital on Friday will be in a large meeting room with relatively live acoustics, at least when not filled up. And next Sunday my 2nd performance will be in a real hall with reverberant acoustics. That's a good progression for this situation.

And on that note, I think I'll stop posting till after 3/18.

March 10, 2013 at 11:07 PM · In my opinion 4'33 is simply a musical plagiarism of The Emperor's New Clothes.

March 11, 2013 at 10:44 AM · Playing in a room with lots of echo can be nice, but one shouldn't get used to it. I think the best thing one can do is to alternate and play in different conditions.

It is possible to get a good tone, even in an acoustically dead room. Of course the difficulty depends on the instrument itself, but it's all about knowing your instrument and feeling the surroundings. It would take me about 20-40 minutes to get used to an acoustically dead room and play decently... Then again, I play the viola, violins tend to need more support (echo).