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We want to thank everyone who sent their questions to the experts. Unfortunately, they could only respond to a limited number of submissions, and we are not accepting additional inquiries. 1. I am an adult who plays for pleasure with a goal of being accepted into one of the Boston area's better amateur orchestras. I am in the market for a new violin. I have been to a number of fine string instrument shops in Boston and other cities and have found that few people are able to articulate clear standards for judging an instrument. I understand that it is subjective, but I am wondering what I should look for in an instrument in terms of tone. There must be some objective guidelines that can help me in selecting an instrument. Answer: When evaluating the tone of an instrument, I find it most helpful to differentiate between matters of fact and matters of opinion. Matters of fact include whether the instrument is balanced dynamically (Is each string as loud as the next?) and whether the instrument is balanced tonally (Does each string have the same tone color or timbre as the next, or does the tone color from the lowest to the highest string change in a smooth transition?). Dynamic imbalances can often be addressed with a soundpost adjustment. Tone color imbalances can often be addressed either with a soundpost adjustment or by changing some or all of the strings. Remember that the tone of strings that have stretched out and lost their resiliency will suffer both in volume and in tone color. Matters of opinion include whether or not the prospective purchaser likes the tone of an instrument that is well balanced both dynamically and tonally from string to string. My advice here would be to compare the sound of any instrument to the ideal sound in your head and listen for deviations from your ideal. Is the sound of the instrument in question too bright, too dark, too smooth, too complex, too (fill in the blank)? Listen also for how much variation in volume and tone an instrument is capable of producing. Can you make it softer, louder, brighter, darker, smoother, more complex, or (fill in the blank)? Take care, of course, when violin shopping to remember that you will want your next instrument to sound different from your existing violin -- otherwise, why spend the money? Finally, make sure that you are trying the instrument with a bow that works well with it. Whether you are visiting a shop to try instruments or are having them shipped to you, it is generally quite possible that the person helping you can find a bow that will help you make a good decision. -- Dick Mattson
2. I've played violin for four years and I've always played by ear. Do you have any advice to help me learn how to read music? Answer: Reading music while playing the violin is much like reading aloud from words printed on paper. Both are systems of notation that show much, but not all, of what will end up coming out of either your violin or your mouth. How you express what you see is very much up to you. I group what I see into concepts with which I am familiar -- e.g., words I recognize, groups of notes with the same rhythm pattern, groups of words that often occur together, notes that can be played all in the same position, etc. Then I spend most of my time reading either words or music looking ahead for changes from what is currently happening. In music reading, this would include new rhythms, shifts, bowing pattern changes, dynamic changes, tempo changes, etc. The key is to look ahead and to plan ahead. One of my students asked me one day how far ahead he should be looking. My answer was that it depended a great deal on how many changes from the existing norm of the same position, the same rhythm, the same bowing pattern, etc. were coming up. The fewer changes, the farther ahead one can comfortably look. The more changes you spot, well ... perhaps the more practicing you might need on that particular place in the music in order to become totally familiar with it. Tourist: "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" Cab driver: "Practice!" As there is a lot of truth to be found in humor, I suggest what all musicians who are adept at reading music have done. Practice, practice, and more practice -- especially under the supervision of a teacher who can help monitor your progress in developing your music-reading skills. Best wishes. I guarantee you will totally enjoy the fabulous wealth of the violin repertoire. -- Dick Mattson
3. All my life I have heard that Strads and Amatis are the benchmark in terms of "being the best." All the great players seem to have at least one of those makes in their possession. Are there modern instruments that are the equal (or even better) than the ones those old masters made in Cremona? Answer: Stradivari and Amati and all of the other old Cremonese masters were once living makers -- making new violins. The tradition of making fine instruments has continued to this day. There are, indeed, excellent new instruments being made today. Will their makers become the old masters of the future? Some of them most certainly will. There are a lot of factors that contribute to the value of a violin. They include the country of origin, the fame of the maker, condition, an individual maker vs. a team effort in a workshop setting, age, current weight of opinion of authenticity, scarcity, and current desirability in the marketplace. We didn't mention sound because it is expected that an instrument made by a good maker, of good materials, to a good pattern, and that remains in good condition, either due to lack of necessity of repair or to well-done restoration when needed, will sound good to somebody's ears. You can't put an absolute value on somebody's opinion of tone, provided the instrument is set up and adjusted well. Therefore, a violin that expert appraisers agree is old, rare, Italian, made by a currently popular maker, and in excellent condition will be deemed to have a higher fair market value than a new, not-so-rare because the maker is alive and still working, excellent condition violin. This point is made constantly by the expert appraisers who appear on another PBS series, ANTIQUES ROAD SHOW. Rather than thinking of it as "hype," we would say that, in all fields that involve antiques and similar items that are new, monetary value is determined by scarcity and desirability. Finally, a significant number of players have always been and continue to be well served by their new instruments, just as there are players who love their old instruments. Whether old or new, a musician's favorite instrument is the one that enables that person to best express his/her own voice. -- Dick Mattson and Oliver Radke
4. In THE ART OF VIOLIN, there is a segment where violinmakers are discussed, and the point is made that "all" the great violinists played either a Strad or a Guarneri. Short of having Hilary Hahn come to your home to demonstrate the difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary instrument, how can the nonplayer see in a tangible way what makes a $2 million-plus Strad worth the money? Could this simply be hype? Are there any great players playing instruments made in the 20th century? Who? Answer: See response to previous question.
5. It would seem that restoring an instrument would add modern touches that would change the instrument's qualities. Depending upon how much restoration is required, one might end up with a completely new instrument. When attempting to restore a violin like a Stradivarius, is there an amount of damage beyond which the instrument simply cannot be restored? Answer: Making any alteration to an instrument may indeed result in tonal changes. Maintaining the authenticity of certain parts of a violin maintains the authenticity of the instrument itself. Those parts include the scroll and pegbox, the top, the back, the varnish, and, to a lesser extent, the ribs. For example, a Strad with a replacement scroll is still a Strad -- it is just valued accordingly. An Amati with a replacement top is a "composite" -- and again, its value is adjusted downward accordingly. As far as varnish is concerned, wear is to be expected, and, as a result, there is a world of difference between conservation and maintenance by means of polishing and/or judicious touch-up, and large-scale revarnishing. A revarnished Guarneri is still a Guarneri, but it loses a considerable portion of its value. So in the famous words of all appraisers everywhere: "Please, don't do this at home." As to the amount of damage that precludes restoration, a good rule of thumb that many restoration people use is that an instrument is generally thought to be beyond the point of restoration when the cost of the restoration exceeds 50% of the postrestoration value of the instrument. An instrument of exceedingly high historical value will always disprove such a rule, but it does work quite well, especially for modern violins. In closing, we're reminded of the old joke about the proud owner of George Washington's famous hatchet who, when asked about authenticity and condition, replied: "Why yes, it's real! But of course, it's had four new heads and seven new handles since George owned it." -- Dick Mattson and Oliver Radke
6. How many years did you study violin making, in a school setting, and how many years did you apprentice? What qualifications does one need to enter a violin-making school? Answer: I studied for three and a half years in the violin-making school in Mittenwald, Germany. It is, as far as I know, the oldest and only state-run violin-making school in the world. But there are other schools too, and one can also learn this craft in any master's workshop. Application to the state school in Mittenwald requires a high school degree and a technical draft of a violin scroll. Then, if you are selected for the admission test, you will have to go to the school and do some jigsaw work, do another draft, and finally, play your instrument. To graduate, students must take a final exam that is equal to the "Gesellenprüfung" (Journeyman's Degree). Then you have to work in a master's workshop for at least three more years before you can apply to take your own master's exam. There is no subject-specific master school, so you have to be lucky to learn enough during your Journeyman years. The Master's Degree is a very old German requirement, dating back to medieval times, and was supposed to govern the different craft trades. Today, it only oversees the education of apprentices, and it guarantees the customer who goes to a master's workshop that the violinmakers are highly skilled. But any good craftsman will admit that he or she is constantly learning and perfecting his or her skills, and when working with your hands, it is only half of the skill to know how to do something. The rest is continuous practice, every day, in order to become the very best. It is similar to playing an instrument: you need talent, knowledge, and lots of practice. -- Oliver Radke
7. I am curious about the bass bar. Is it ever cut in such a way as to "pre-stress" the top plate -- that is, to counteract the downward force of the left foot of the bridge, as the soundpost can be thought of doing for the other side of the face? Answer: Yes. The bass bar, as an essential part of the top, not only connects the upper and lower parts of the top plate, but also helps the top withstand the pressure applied to it by the bridge. So it is a reasonable idea to give the top a little extra support by bending it slightly over the bass bar. When this is done, we say that the bass bar has "spring." In a violin, this spring is usually very little and comes from bringing together the top of the instrument and the ends of the bass bar, which, before gluing, are about 1 mm apart. But even if it is very little, it divides the violinmakers' community into the believers -- this "spring" has an overall positive effect -- and nonbelievers. Whatever one believes does not matter. What is important is how the instrument sounds and that, whichever way the bass bar is fit into the instrument, it is done very precisely. Also, the distribution of the "spring" over the length of the bass bar is an important factor. Done wrongly, it can distort the arching. -- Oliver Radke
8. I have a 1824 violin made by Simon Kriner. The finish on it is not in prime condition. What would you recommend doing? Answer: Over the course of time, varnish can wear thin, flake off, crackle, become dirty with a buildup of skin oils, or become impregnated with rosin that has not been wiped off on a daily basis. Normal wear is acceptable and can either be left alone or camouflaged with professional polishing. Missing varnish can be replaced with a judicious touch-up by an experienced restorer. Don't be tempted to use varnish to do such a repair yourself, since matching the color will be all but impossible. Crackled varnish is also acceptable and can either be left alone or camouflaged to some extent with professional polishing. Dirt and rosin buildup can best be prevented by wiping the instrument off after each use with a clean, dry, soft, lint-free cloth. Once such buildup occurs, even to a minor degree, any of several violin cleaners and polishes may possibly remove it. Just be certain to test each new cleaner and/or polish on a small, out-of-the-way spot on the instrument to make sure that it will not dissolve and remove the varnish. (Remember that a stripped violin loses a substantial portion of its value.) If heavy oil and dirt have built up, it is best to have the instrument cleaned by an experienced restorer. If rosin has worked its way deep into the varnish, it may be too late to remove it completely. Two solvents that will dissolve rosin come to mind. One is alcohol, which also dissolves varnish quite readily. So never, ever use alcohol on the varnish at home. The other is xylene, a very volatile petroleum distillate that is quite dangerous to use in a concentrated form due both to its toxic fumes and to the fact that it is a proven carcinogen. Don't even think of using commercially available general household chemicals and solvents on your violin. The damage you might do could be extremely costly -- both to reverse and to the resultant value of the instrument. So, without seeing the instrument, the best advice we can give is to take it to your local restoration professional for an evaluation. -- Dick Mattson and Oliver Radke
9. Why are frets not used on violins? Answer: Bowed instruments actually belong to two distinct families -- the fretted viols (e.g., viola da gamba) and the unfretted violins. Violins came out of the folk tradition, which has always been vocally oriented. Vocal folk traditions very often value both vibrato and glissando very highly. Vibrato on the violin is the variation of pitch caused by rapid shortening and lengthening of the string and produced by the shaking of the left hand and arm when pressing down on the strings; it is used to make the sound more expressive and "human." Glissando is the use of expressive vocally inspired slides between notes and is done for the same reason. Since both of these vocal effects would be quite difficult to perform on a fretted instrument, I believe that violins are unfretted so that they can sound as "human" as possible. -- Dick Mattson
10. How prodigious do you think the works of Ruggerio Ricci are? Also, what are your views on the 1764 Guarneri del Gesu and the famous custom-made copy of the violin Ricci played? Answer: While Ruggerio Ricci is a major violinist of the 20th century, an opinion on the relative merits of his performances (works) is essentially out of the scope of the types of questions that Oliver and I, as makers and restorers of violins and bows, anticipated answering. I believe Itzhak Perlman already addressed Ricci's place among the violin masters of the 20th century in the program. I noticed that he was very diplomatic and didn't say anything about how relatively prodigious anybody's contribution was, unless, however, the person had died young. The second question puts us in the position of appraising an old violin with which we are not intimately familiar and passing judgment on the merits of a contemporary one that could well have been made jointly by our friends Joseph Curtin and Gregg Alf. While this is closer to our actual expertise, appraisals and recommendations of specific makers are also things that we would rather avoid making in this type of forum. -- Dick Mattson
11. I have an Otto Hoyer bow that needs some work. Besides needing to be rehaired, it seems somewhat flimsy (it's easy to press the wood against the strings) and has lost its curve somewhat. Is this something that can be corrected? How do I find an expert to fix the bow locally? Answer: Excess flexibility in a bow can manifest itself either as too much lateral flex or too much vertical flex, which, as you report, can cause the stick to hit the strings. Some players like the tonal response of flexible bows, which can allow their instruments to produce a sweet sound. Care has to be taken with the bow technique, however, so that the sound is pulled from the instrument and the relatively limited strength of the bow is not overpowered. Other players are simply more aggressive and would do better with a stronger stick that often can produce a more brilliant sound and will take more down force from the player's arm. I don't know of any way to correct a stick that has too much lateral flex for a given player's technical demands. It is sometimes possible, however, to give a stick that is too weak vertically a bit more strength by removing some of the bend (or camber) from the lower half of the stick. Be forewarned, however, that, as all adjustments to a bow's actual curvature are done by means of heating and bending the stick, there is always a very real danger that a bow that is being straightened or recambered will break while it is being bent to the desired shape, no matter how well the stick was heated and how experienced the repairperson. You mention that your bow seems to have lost a bit of camber. This situation would most likely make the bow a bit stronger rather than the other way around. So -- without seeing the bow, of course -- I think that adding camber might not solve your problem. It may well be that this bow that once worked well for you and now seems too flexible has always been this flexible. It is very likely that your needs as a player have changed and, as a result, you would be best served by another, stronger bow. If you do decide to look for another bow, I would recommend that you not try to have your current bow recambered. In the event that it did break during the process, you would no longer be able to compare it against other bows. In order to find the best person locally for rehairs and another opinion on the advisability of pursuing further work on your bow, I suggest that you contact either (1) string teachers at a nearby college or university; (2) string players in a nearby orchestra; or (3) string players through the nearest local of the American Federation of Musicians (musicians' union) and ask them where they get their bow work done. -- Dick Mattson
12. What is the most common height of the violin strings above the fingerboard? Also, what is the ideal height of the bridge from the soundboard to the center top (belly)? Answer: The E string is usually 3.5 mm (.1 inch) above the end of the fingerboard, and the G string is usually 5 mm (.2 inches) above the end of the fingerboard. The ideal height of the top of the bridge above the top (belly) is harder to specify precisely because of variations in the arching, but it is most often about 32-33 mm (1.3 inches). -- Oliver Radke
13. I occasionally see a device on the violin string between the bridge and the tailpiece. It appears to be some type of damper. What is it? Answer: The device you occasionally see may be either a permanently attached mute or a wolf eliminator. Mutes are moveable devices usually made of some combination of wood, plastic, rubber, and/or metal. Often stored conveniently on one of the strings, between the bridge and tailpiece, they are placed in contact with or clamped onto the bridge when a muted sound is desired by the composer. The added mass sitting on the bridge damps the vibrations coming from the strings, which both reduces the volume of sound and changes the tone to a less brilliant timbre or color. The Italian word for mute is "sordino." Music is very often marked "con sordino" when the mute is to be used (moved from its rest position and placed on the bridge), while "senza sordino" means to remove the mute. Wolf eliminators are devices used to lessen the strength of, move the pitch of, or, hopefully, eliminate the interference pattern of vibrations on one pitch caused when the instrument seems to vibrate as two pieces rather than as a whole. Much more common on cellos than on violins and violas, the wolf can best be described as a quick, repetitive, and very annoying rearticulation of the wolf-tone pitch, sounding remarkably similar to the bleat of a sheep or goat. A very common style of wolf eliminator is a short rubber tube surrounded by a brass tube equipped with a set-screw. Both tubes are slotted to allow installation without having to remove the string. Regardless of the pitch of the wolf, this style of wolf eliminator is usually located on either of the lower two strings, somewhere between the bridge and tailpiece. Exact placement is best determined by experimentation. -- Dick Mattson and Oliver Radke
14. I have a very old and rare violin, and my question is: How do I sell it so that I get the true worth of the instrument? Answer: If the violin is of considerable, documented value, you are best advised to entrust its sale to a reputable dealer whom you feel you can trust. In my experience, very few potential purchasers feel comfortable making large purchases from people who are not able to guarantee authenticity and provide the long-term promise of maintenance and restoration if needed. In other words, the more valuable an instrument is, the less likely a private party will be able to sell it by her- or himself. Dealers, of course, need to be paid for their efforts to sell an instrument on your behalf. Reputable ones will make it very clear to you before beginning to show an instrument how much money you will receive from the sale and when you will receive payment after the sale. Furthermore, they will most certainly offer you the right of refusal of their offer. So if you do not currently have a favorite dealer who has the clientele interested in purchasing your instrument, you can learn a lot that will help you make a wise decision by making a few visits or phone calls. Good luck. -- Dick Mattson
15. I have a violin with a label inside that reads, "Giovanni Paolo Maggini in Brescia 1687." What can you tell me about it? Answer: Without having the instrument inspected by an expert appraiser, I, unfortunately, can't tell you much about your specific instrument. I do know, however, that authentic Magginis are extremely rare and a surprisingly large number of affordable copies, complete with Maggini-style double purfling and label, indicative of the origin of the pattern, were sold about 100 years ago or so. Since the early part of the 20th century, violins made on either a Stradivari or Guarneri pattern have for all practical purposes totally supplanted the formerly coexisting Maggini-pattern violins in popularity. And a unexpectedly large number of the less expensive ones travel through the world bearing Strad- and Guarneri-style pattern attribution labels. My suggestion is that you have the instrument itself inspected by an appraiser capable of providing a respected opinion of its origin, assessing its condition, and giving you an appraisal of its value. -- Dick Mattson
16. I am a 10-year-old boy and I've been playing the violin for three years. My violin teacher told me that my violin buzzes constantly when I play the E string. My mother has sent my violin for repair many times, but it does not help at all. My parents won't buy me another 3/4-size violin and only want to invest in a full-size one when I am ready for it. Please tell me what I can do to remove the buzz. I really enjoy playing the violin and this problem is disturbing my violin practice. Answer: A buzz that happens when you play on the E string could be caused by a lot of things. Since I don't know what your repairperson has already checked out, I'll list as many as I can think of. String buzzes can be caused by loose windings on any of the strings, strings contacting each other in the pegbox, a badly shaped nut that doesn't let the string sit in the groove all the way to the edge of the nut, those little tubes found floating around at the tailpiece end on some strings (a lot of people forget to take them off when they're not going to use them to protect the bridge), those little tubes even when they are in use in the bridge notches because they are sticking out too far into the vibrating length of the string, or the balls found at the tailpiece end of many brands of strings. Accessory buzzes can be caused by loose decorations on fancy pegs, a loose tailpiece fret (that saddle-like bar item that holds the strings up as they come off of the tailpiece), loose fine tuners, loose fine tuner screws, little bits of metal inside the chinrest hardware, a chinrest that is hitting the tailpiece especially when you press down on it with your chin, or a shoulder rest that is coming in contact with the back of the violin when you play. Body buzzes can be caused by a loose fingerboard, loose purfling, open seams, open joints in the middle of the top or back, loose linings, loose cleats, extra chunks of glue inside the instrument, a loose bass bar, or just plain junk, like wood shavings from a previous repair still floating around loose inside the instrument. Other buzzes can be caused by shirt buttons, jewelry, metal music stands, something having come loose inside the frog of an inexpensive fiberglass bow, incompatibility of the instrument and the bow resulting in a lot of surface noise when you bow, or just something else vibrating away happily somewhere in the room. So, where to start and what to do? Get somebody like your teacher, who can also hear the buzz, to help you. You play a note so that it buzzes constantly. The other person should then firmly touch everything in order on the list, as is possible. Hopefully, at some point, the buzzing will stop. Try playing the buzz with a different bow, too, just as an experiment. When you find the thing that buzzes when your friend doesn't touch it and stops when they do, write down precisely what happened. Then ask your parents to make sure they take you with them when they go to the repair shop. Once you get there, show the repairperson exactly what causes the buzz and how you get it to stop. Otherwise, the repairperson will have to keep on guessing what the problem might be and you'll have to wait until you grow into a full-size instrument. When you're trying to ignore a buzz it can seem like a long, long time to wait. Good luck buzz hunting! -- Dick Mattson
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