Are you frustrated preparing for auditions?

Nothing is more aggravating than not being able to play something soft enough or fast enough and it seems you just can’t get it with practice. The instrument you have played and enjoyed for a long time may seem to have lost something. What is wrong with it now? I usually see this problem presented by professional musicians before a performance or college graduates going for an audition. This situation is not as major as needing a new bridge or post. There can be some very small things out of place that we can check

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The first thing to check for is open edges. One loose corner will throw the sound off enough that it is tempting to move the bridge or post. It is hard to resist but moving anything before gluing the openings is a mistake. At a visit to the shop we can glue any edges or corners that have opened up.

The next thing to check is the straightness of the bridge. This affects the way the bow grabs the strings, the tuning of the instrument, and how much the sympathetic frequencies are ringing. Chords especially will not sound right. The bridge shown to the left is leaning forward a severe amount. It should look like it is at a 90 degree angle to the top on the side facing the tailpiece. The picture below shows the correct hand positioning to move the bridge.

If you have changed the strings, there are several points to check on the instrument to keep it sounding great. The bridge and tailgut could be very slightly off from the ideal position. Make sure the tailgut is settled in the grooves on the saddle. Check the bridge feet carefully to see if they are in the old spot. Finally make sure the strings are tight to the pegs. If one string is loose on the peg it will take forever to settle in and hold a pitch. It can also sound weak or slightly softer than the others.

There are other very tiny changes that make such a difference to the response of the instrument but should be done at the shop with an expert adjustment. If you are preparing for an audition or performance, call to set up a time to have things checked over. It doesn’t take a long time, usually 30 min to an hour is enough time to get your instrument in top form.  After all, you want your instrument to “have your back” during an audition, not fight you!

Are you frustrated with practicing?

Many players suffer needless frustration while practicing. They are not progressing in tone production, expressing emotions or phrasing. Spending more time practicing seems to not make any difference, and may even start hurting their hands, arms or back. The ability to produce a fine sound is gone or diminishing, and even the risk of injury starts to present itself. A player might start to wonder why they are suddenly struggling or unable to progress or achieve the sound they once had. 

Sound familiar to you? Any of this could be an indication that there is an issue with the instrument’s setup.

When you bring your instrument to the shop, we’ll listen for the overall balance and tone that the instrument should be producing. If there are problems, it sounds sick to us; like a singer with a cold or a blurry photograph. To a player, problems with a setup could sound sluggish, whiney, hollow or fuzzy and feel flabby, slow, or stiff like concrete.

While the instrument’s voice is set at its creation by its maker; over time, changes happen to the bridge, post, tailpiece, tailgut and neck which makes an instrument lose some tone production and playability. 

You might be surprised by how many seemingly small factors make a big impact on your instrument that have nothing to do with you as a player! 

For example, let’s take a situation where three of the four strings sound well, but either the upper or the lower fourth string sounds out of character. Sometimes we try to change strings or move the bridge to correct this problem, but that won’t work if the bridge is too wide or too narrow, or if the post is in the wrong position or wrong length. In this case, a new bridge or post is needed. By correcting the source of the problem, we can restore the instrument to a fully balanced sound.

If you are struggling or frustrated, the best thing to do is bring your instrument in to be analyzed. There can be multiple factors contributing to a single problem, and you don’t have to try and figure them out by yourself! We can ensure that your instrument is playing and sounding its absolute best. Any improvement will certainly help with your enjoyment of practicing which will advance your skills to produce the wonderful music our world needs!