What nuances?

Then there's its immediacy of response. There are multiple aspects of this. Clarity -- specifically, how clear fast note-to-note transitions are -- is a function of responsiveness. There's dynamic range, and how easily and quickly you can transition between different levels of intensity. There's how easy it is to get different kinds of articulations.

A player has outgrown their violin when they are playing repertoire whose technical demands outstrip the violin's capabilities. A player has also outgrown their violin when they are capable of a level of nuance that the instrument cannot respond to.

My past teachers encouraged me to upgrade at the point when my apparently-correct execution of a technique wasn't producing the expected response -- and they couldn't do it either on my violin, or found it difficult to do so.

There is a point where the box of 8 crayons just doesn't do it anymore. The artist has the skill and the desire to be able to use more colors.

The bow matters too because after all the violin just looks pretty without the bow to bring out the sound.

What happens if you listen to a good violinist playing violins in a range from VSO to Strad?

Flo, no, unfortunately I don’t own any headphones.

I’ll see if I can find Nathan’s blog.

If the student is producing a “blech” sound when playing in high positions on the G string, check for the following:

Is the left hand playing with enough strength? The greater height of the string over the fingerboard in high positions requires more effort.

Is the student bowing close enough to the bridge? Higher positions require more proximity to the bridge for a clear sound.

Is the student bowing with sufficient arm weight?

How old is the G string?

Hope this is helpful.

Jon, I think you may be right. My notes do not sound like my teachers notes at all. Close maybe, but not quite. Of course, she probably has 50-60 years of practice on me. And the violins are different too.

Although my skills may never be that good, I would enjoy some ensemble or orchestra playing. But, I’ll be just as happy playing some waltzes, and fiddling. I just don’t want to sound lousy, whatever I manage to play.

I just went to the public library and checked out “What To Listen For In Music”. By Aaron Copeland. It can’t hurt.

A good violinist can play well on a bad violin, and it will sound better than if it were played poorly, but it will never sound nearly as good compared to same violinist playing a good violin. A bad violin is physically limited in its performance capabilities. Lydia touched on several of those factors.

Consider an analogy: a skilled race car driver will be able to take any street car around a track faster than an average driver in the same car because the race car driver is more skilled. But regardless of who is driving, a street car will always be slower than a race car.

What is true is that a poor violinist can make a good violin sound like a bad one. :-)

The good violin had a bit of distinctiveness about it. It sounded different from other instruments I've played on. The bad violin kind of sounded like every other violin out there. At first, I didn't like the distinctive kind of nasal sound of my 'good' violin, but when playing on runs where the notes change, the 'nasal' quality of my violin gave a nice texture to the sound. It also sounded better in the lower strings. When playing without vibrato, I always preferred the sound of my good violin over my bad violin. It kind of sounded more complex and there was a violin-like quality to it. My other violin sounded more like a trumpet.

In general, I prefer violins with corners over the rounded violins.

My ambition is to be ausreichend in orchestra and play Bach at home.
As to violins, Raymond, that's easy. My Gewa has no bass. I plan to buy one more violin.

I like the race car analogy and find it apt. A high performance machine will only respond properly to a masterful touch. Violin and player are an inseparable pair. But I don’t go to race tracks, and I’m content to drive a Toyota….