Air leaking sound? Breathing sound?
Hello,
I have been reading quite a lot on violins lately eversince I became fully infatuated with Paganini, and Wieniawski Etude-Caprices(played by professionals of course, I am nowhere near the level to play them yet).
Whenever I play, the position of my chin changes because I have limited range of motion in my left arm/shoulder due to some surgeries. Due to this, my ear is angled differently on each string that I play on. Especially in the lower strings, I tilt the violin such that the bass bar is closest to my ear and the soundpost is furthest away from my face, so my ear is very well angled to the f hole on the bass bar side.
So, when I play on the G and D strings, I can hear more details of the sound that I am making, and I hear this "air leaking" sound from the violin. Of course, it is nowhere as intense as the note that I am playing. The best description that I can tell you what this sounds like is when some one is inhaling and/or exhaling slowly through their mouth.
It also sounds similar to what I can hear from inhaling/exhaling through my nose aggressively. I can guarantee that I do not breathe aggressively through my nose while playing.
When I used Hill rosin, I got the "grainy" sound which I didn't like at all. This sound is very different from the "grainy" sound.
Now the "air leaking" or "breathing" sound, I am almost suspicious if the ribs aren't properly glued and I am wondering if there are some seams along the ribs. I don't really know how to describe it because it is very quiet, and it almost feels and sounds like if the violin is breathing. I can almost tell that the air is going in and out of the violin.
Would this be a sign of seam? I did the tapping check, I am suspicious a little bit on one part of the violin, but I am uncertain. I will be seeing a luthier soon about this but I'm uncertain how to even describe it to her.
My other suspicion is that, is this actually my breathing sound or is it the violin?
Replies (19)
I see, my violin is currently going under a good set up now:
-New bridge and better fitted,
-new soundpost and adjustments
-Wittner tailpiece(the luthier agreed that my pegs are not smooth at all, and I decided to keep the finetuners for all strings for the time being)
and possibly
-reshaping nut
-replaning fingerboard
for the time being, I have been playing with a violin I borrowed from my luthier for several minutes now. I am realizing how much easier it is to play on a well setup violin.
Also, I agree with the fact that the noise isn't noticeable at distance. I guess it's just the natural sound coming from the bow and the strings?
Usually when I notice a raspy sound coming from my strings I stop and swipe the rosin buildup off my strings and violin, apply a little more to the bow, and continue playing again. It's a little thing that bothers me, but the sound is lost once you step back a few feet anyhow.
"Air leaking sound"?
Been eatin' much chili lately?
From the discussion that I had with the luthier this morning, she suggested possible small vibrations formed by improperly fitted bridge and soundpost. I am looking forward to and hoping that everything would have improved by the time when my violin is back in my hands.
I must complement the setup she has done on the violin I borrowed from her. I didn't realize how badly my violin was set up until I realized how easy it is to play higher positions on the lent violin. I cannot make fair comparison in sound because this one has Dominant strings(I'm not most fond of them), possibly relatively new and I'm dealing with the edgy-ness.
Also Mr. Burgess, it is too hot for chili.
I'm curious, Steven, you say your violin was initially set up so terribly--where did you happen to acquire the instrument? Most self-respecting shops will make sure the bridge actually fits to the violin...
I bought the violin from local luthier in Ottawa. Originally the bridge that was fitted had no grooves for the string and the generally all strings were very high. I had the problems with the D string from the start. I think if I'm not mistaken from comparison, the bridge seemed to be shaped for a fiddle or almost untouched from blank one.
I swapped out the bridge with one fitted for my old violin, it was not a proper fit, it was slightly lower, the feet weren't touching very evenly. I used that bridge for about a month, it still was easier to play and sounded better than the original bridge.
I had a bow re-haired and bridge refitted on my old violin from the same luthier. I cannot say that I can compliment his work on them. The wedge in the frog on the bow wasn't even in all the way when I got the bow back. I lost a lot of hair within weeks. The bridge did not seem anything like the ones that have been shaped by other people. I thought it was just his style.
I feel that I made a mistake from buying the violin from him without exploring other options. I didn't explore the city for other luthiers before I bought the violin. I must admit that I was not most careful because it was my first step-up violin(the old violin was most definitely NOT set up properly, it was bought in Korea in 1995, from a discount store in a mall).
I met the new luthier I've been going to when I started looking for a new bow. I realized how much attention she paid to the violins she had out for display and decided to start going to her.
There are many more luthiers and shops in Montreal and Toronto than Ottawa. Even though Ottawa the is the capital of Canada, it feels more like a small town.
Leaking air is a hissing sound, or random noise at higher frequency.
A bow works by sticking to the string, and then the string quickly slips, and then sticks again. During the slipping phase, the bow hair is still contacting the string, and will generate some high-frequency noise. That is most likely what you hear.
I just got my violin back today,
what I notice definitely is that my strings are very worn in comparison to Dominants that were on the violin I was borrowing.
I am finding great improvement in lower strings with my violin, but I'm going to "break-in" the bridge and soundpost because I am observing the strings goes out of tune every hour or so, requiring more tension.
I am not noticing the high pitch hissing sound currently, but I am hearing something like a wolfnote developed on A string on B. It's not quite wolfnote but I am noticing that string winding is worn off where my finger touches to make B on A string. This was there before the touch-up but within the pegbox, now it's on the fingerboard.
Everytime I adjust the tension to be back in tune, this "wolfnote" type noise goes away, so I don't think this is due to a setup just yet.
I'll be waiting for the strings and violin to stabilize before I make a judgement.
That is the soul of deceased previous owner trapped between the F-holes. If I were you, I would drop that violin and run away as fast as I can!
I don't know why you would have all that work done to your violin without having new strings fitted, especially since you said you could already feel the windings coming undone.
I have three sets of Warchal strings sitting around currently. I've been trying to keep at least the strings consistent throughout the experience because I wanted to see how the changes are.
I think the "wolfnote" on the A string is actually due to the string going because It goes away if I dig my finger right into the fingerboard to make the note.
The breathing and hissing noise is probably from a ghost. Playing the violin often wakes up sleepy ghosts and they make heavy breathing and hissing sounds to try and stop you playing. (Especially if it's Beethoven's Ghost Trio).
I've heard those hissing sounds on professional recordings, although it seems to happen more often with a cello than a violin. It sounds like a rapid inhalation through the nose. I too would love to know what's causing it; it seems to happen fairly frequently.
Breathing noises result from poor or inadequate training on breathing technique. But the problem seems to be that string players are usually taught to make their breathing as noticeable as possible while singers are taught the exact opposite.
Wasn't Pablo Casals the master of grunting while performing?
There are recordings (notably the Brahms concerto) where Kreisler has a grunt or two.
I suppose breathing noises not to mention less desirable sounds all go to prove that the performance was made by a human being.
Some quartet leaders sniff on the up beat in an effort to get everyone together - can be quite effective.
Well, My A string gave out, I took the opportunity to swap the set with Warchal Ametyst.
It certainly is brighter and louder than well used set of Infeld Red.
Wolfnote on G string at C is gone, "wolfnote-ish" sound on A string on B is gone.
G and D sound Much Much better, E string I liked Infeld Red better. A is so-and-so.
the "air-leaking" sound is gone, but I am noticing that the bow stick sometimes gets presses against the string and the stick makes the scratchy sound. Surprisingly this happens with my "good" bow, but not on my "practice" bow. I am somehow finding my practice bow much easier and pleasant to play with, at least on humid days.
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July 8, 2015 at 02:54 PM · The air moving inand out of a violin does not make this kind of sound! It's most likely the sound of the bow crossing the strings.
This noise is not heard at a distance.