bowfags get in heretalk about your bowed instrument, what you've been working on or have learned recently, and/or where you're aiming to be this year
cool shit. my main bow is the cello, which i have elecrified via piezo. my other bow is an hybrid i put together with a mandolin body, sounds pretty decent, playable even. want to get a viola.
OP has been playing fiddle for around 7 months nowi'm at the point where i want to hunt down local folk and bluegrass meetups and try my hand at call and response and other spot skills to improve my playing and meet peopledon't have a teacher, but youtube is a godsendi've been learning The Maids of Mitchelstown recentlyi'm open to any suggestions for something to tackle next if anyone else on /mu/ fiddles
>>129118416i had never picked up a bowed instrument in my life before last year. they are really fun to play.how does one even get into cello? it seems like a pretty big investment to go in blind. did you start on a smaller instrument or maybe knew a cellist that let you learn on their instrument?that's interesting you set up a mando for bowing. did you have to make any special modifications, or just put violin strings on one? also, how does bowing interact with a fretboard?
>>129118587>how does one even get into cello? it seems like a pretty big investment to go in blind. did you start on a smaller instrument or maybe knew a cellist that let you learn on their instrument?i started in school, so i got 8 full years of practice and orchestra gigs and all that. then i played the cello they had at my uni. then with my first pay i bought one which i still have. useable cellos can be had for like $150, literal peanuts.>that's interesting you set up a mando for bowing. did you have to make any special modifications, or just put violin strings on one? also, how does bowing interact with a fretboard?i put cello strings in it. i think Re and Sol. its a pic rel kind of deal, the neck is also the fingerboard, the mandolin had the neck severed which is what prompted the operation. im still trying to figure out what kind of soundpost could i prop up, theres a something lacking in the sound and its def the lack of a soundpost or something that does its function.
stuck a bow in a girl once. kinda regretted it
>>129118719i was thinking that looked like a mongolian throat singer's bowed instrument, and then realized it literally is
gomp
I LOVE TUNING MY INSTRUMENTS FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK(it activates my autism)
Been playing fiddle for 9 years. Even though metal is my favourite music and I also play guitar, fiddle has a very special place in my heart. It's also better for attracting ladies. Though I would love to get classically trained.
>>129122151it's a difficult instrument, so i'm sticking with folk music at the moment since i feel it has more give to it than classical. i appreciate and enjoy classical music and the string section a lot more since picking up a bowed instrument, though, and i do want to learn the seventh Humoresque (to play a bawdy).>>129122086my shitty fiddle stays in tune remarkably well, much better than my nice guitaras long as the temperature is constant, i barely have to tune it at alland it takes seconds to twiddle the fine tuners when it needs itthat being said, i have no idea how to self-tune a violin. it seems like you just double stop and say "mm hmm, yup, that's it!"
Vocaroo yer BOWshttps://vocaroo.com/1bJO2ol5kOeS
>>129126427strings are funi might give it a try tomorrow depending on the microphone quality i have on hand, it's too late for my cat to be in estrusanyone have tips on where to begin with vibrato?
>>129128388>anyone have tips on where to begin with vibrato?what instrument?anyway first thing to know, that applies to any stringed instrument vibrato, is that you do it with a whole arm movement to create momentum and thats what moves the hand, like a wave that travels across a flexible string. so your fingertip is glued strongly to the fingerboard, pressing the string, but the rest of the finger, and wrist, specially, are rubber. its diff to explain in words but see if you can use that tip lol.
Been learning violin as an adult for the past four years. Suzuki 4 still sounds like dogshit when I listen to any of my recordings.
Bump
>>129128514vibrato for violinthere seems to be several techniques for vibrato, from moving the arm, hand, to fingerultimately the goal is just to wiggle the finger. it seems moving your entire arm is a little bit of overkill, but also easier to pull off. is there any reason to prefer one style over another?i'm having trouble rocking my hand without moving the entire instrument, and i need to work on bowing while attempting the motion because i just completely go to pieces trying to pull off the technique. i haven't tried vibrato much since i needed to focus on more basic skills, but it seems to be time to try and develop it a tiny bit because it takes a long time to pull off well.
>>129128721your recordings are probably full of room backscatter that humans just ignore subconsciously when listening liveit's as bad as hearing your own voicetook me a decade though to sound halfway goodwent to blues sessions for a while, but now I'm way behind because I dropped playing for a few yearsI had a good but soft teacher, she had to appreciate I brought some of my own discipline
klang
>>129129749>any reason to prefer one style over anotherOn the cello you need strenght, so there its useful for expressive vibrato and also for not losing intonation. Always wondered how violin players keep the instrument in place, i was told the chin does a good deal of the job.
>>129133817>i was told the chin does a good deal of the job.The collarbone with modern rests, the chin will sit on the chinrest but basically just keeps it from slipping away.If you have a short neck you can do without a shoulder rest but be sure to lose some sweat going from higher to lower positions on the fingerboard. It helps to coordinate your left thumb and shoulder during shifting.
>>129118734Kek
>>129118734Why’d you regret it?
>>129133817>>129134039one definitely does most of the holding with their rest+chinrest when doing vibrato, but watching people on youtube it seems there is still some holding going on with the hand, although it's difficult to tell how much.at the very least, the left thumb doesn't seem to move much between playing normally and doing vibrato.anyway, i can't even figure out what muscles to use to try to emulate what i see.some people liken the motion to knocking on a door. i'm trying to think of it like that, but also trying to feel it out myself.
>>129135660with modern shoulder and chin rests the thumb degrades to stabilizing the hand and feeling its positionwithout shoulder rest the thumb really does support the neck and you have to plan shifting in advance, pre-positioning your thumb then move the handbeen playing without shoulder rest and sometimes without chin rest (on the baroque violin) for more than a decade now
here's one in early Vienna classical and one in baroque setup
>>129118385>Ducks on the millpond,>Geese on the ocean>Hug them pretty gals, if i take a notionhttps://voca.ro/1cAd8NRrKzSL
whenever I try it it sounds like a dying animal. Im terrible at violin
>>129137121>Never get it up, never get it down,>Never get it up for old Miss Brown!https://voca.ro/19RvAJiOezZf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSwHQcllI-U
>>129137121>>129137178i love this old timey sounding shit, thanks anon
sheeit
>>129118385recently inherited an old-as-shit cello (need to bring it to a luthier to get it appraised and make it playable), played upright bass in high school, currently learning violin because a few years ago I snagged one of those dirt-cheap beginner kit bullshits for less than half its bargain-bin MSRP.any total-noob tips on playing in tune? my chromatic tuner has an LCD screen so unless I'm looking directly at it I can't see shit on it.
>>129142572i only picked up fiddle last year, so take my advice with a grain of salt.i've had to train my ear for the first time ever since picking up a bowed instrument because i've only played fretted instruments.i absolutely REFUSE to look at my left hand while playing.for the first half year i used a tuner heavily while playing slowly to make sure i was in tune as much as possible.over time you learn to hear what is correct and what isn't.i still use my tuner frequently, but don't rely on it as much anymore while playing.btw, i use my smartphone as a tuner. i have soundcorset, which seems to work fine and has an ok ui.playing scales is good (if boring) practice too.figure out what scale a piece you are working on is in, practice that scale for a while, and then practice it a few times before whenever playing that piece.
>>129142852>absolutely REFUSE to look at my left hand while playingI've played other instruments (mostly guitar) for so long that I can definitely tell when I'm way off the mark, but this might be something I need to adopt. I'm constantly staring at my fingers and fixating on whether they're in the right spot or not.thought about picking up those marker things to put on the neck, but measuring out where to put them is probably a pain in the ass.
OP found his instrument at what is nominally a used bookstore for $130it's straight up a student violin, and i've gotten a lot out of it, but i wish the G string sounded better>>129129886>>129135949blurry>>129136043pretty, but why'd ya change the tailpiece out on the one on the left between photos?
>>129145244>pretty, but why'd ya change the tailpiece out on the one on the left between photos?because I had a tailpiece made that was historically accurate for 1799, I've seen it in a book on a violin of the same maker>it's straight up a student violin, and i've gotten a lot out of it, but i wish the G string sounded betterthe g string is the most difficult to get right on affordable instruments, a violin really only gets a good body for lower notes after many hours of manual work more are put inmany hours are spent on refining the table and bass bar that never go into a cheaper build
anyone use alternative bow holds, like gripping the frog or choking up above the thumb grip?
how do I actually get a good sound. I just don't get why I sound so terrible
>>129149302bowing arm is lacking
>>129149302practicing, a steady hand and sheer forceangle and the location where the bow touches the string is important
>>129138718thanks bro! im certainly not going to win any awards for note clarity or precision but i have fun with giving it some tar and bowing a little rough
French bow or German bow?
Is cello tough to learn?
>>129152533post double bass first
bose
>>129136043i don't even play violin, and those look badass.
>>129155061left is Viennese master work, 1799, and the right is Bohemian/South German from the 1750s, modeled after Nicolo Amati, label inside is a fake N.Amati oneI love old violins, but gut strings are a hassle. I play my modern ones more often, like this one >>129155038>>129129886
>>129155101those are ACTUALLY from the 1700s? not just reproductions?
>>129155145Yes, three of my violins are. One dated 1785 on a fake Gagliano label, one 1661 with a fake N.Amati, one 18th century with a barely readable Giuseppe Testore label and a genuine Mathias Thir from 1799.Just saw the fake Gagliano needs repair, tail gut broke while stowed away in a case for a while.
* all four are 18th century, the "1661 Amati" probably early 18th
>>129155233that's so sick
>>129155276I love them, but I can't bear taking them somewhere for fear of breaking them through heat, humidity or cold.But most of these old violins sound very nice and no-name but quality Bohemian and German violins of that era can often be had for pretty reasonable prices.
>>129155233are you a dracula?