His Violin flipped out of his hand

Master Violinmaker and Restorer reacts to Pavel Šporcl getting his blue violin bumped out of his hand during a concert. Watch this video to understand how to prevent potential instrument accidents as well as what to do if you do have an accident...

00:00 Introduction
01:20 How to prevent instrument accidents
04:50 The Blue Violin
05:50 What to do if an accident happens
10:00 Conclusion

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[ericalbany]

I have a diary from 1910 of a man who played bass viol at dances- he traveled about. One entry says "Was driving and the bass viol blew out of the back of my wagon and smashed". Soon after, "Spent all day gluing the bass back together". A while later, "I glued it together wrong, have to do it again"

[dalairem]

As a volunteer middle school flute tutor, I can say the most terrifying sound in the room is an instrument drop. It stops the world every time. In flute land particularly, step one following one is call the technician and book a repair (because it's a given), and step two is check to see how badly the keys have been bent while you're explaining to the technician how it happened.

Great advice for all, Olaf! Thank you! I'll be sharing this with the new kids in August.

[fragslap]

LOL! I was at a Joshua Bell concert in Louisville, KY, about 17-18 years ago and he was playing Lalo's "Symphonie Espagnol." He was trying out a new "Strad" and a few minutes into the first movement, the violin shot VERTICALLY out of his hands, did a double somersault, and came right back down IN to his hands. More amazing was that he DIDN'T miss a note!

[TnSn]

The way Olaf slapped that lady with the violin at the end was something else. 😆

[mellissadalby]

Hi Olaf!
I love my Piere Lomont Master violin!

[conradgittins]

I have a gumtree special that's likely to be a German Amati copy. I managed to send it flying a couple of metres during a rehearsal. The impact didn't sound good. Everyone was probably stumped by my lack of concern. It dislodged the neck which wasn't glued on properly anyway so I had the opportunity to reset the neck and take the wedge out from under the finger board. It's now a much better instrument.

[rossthefiddler]

I remember years ago I had my German (plywood) cello in the loungeroom on its side, as you do, & the children chasing each other around the house & then falling on top of it. It being ply meant the body was 'tough' enough, 😉 but the neck was loosened as well as cracking the (ply) back button, plus the three original pegs broke (the G peg was a replacement & obviously normally hard ebony). The kids were devastated when I told them I'd have to use their pocket to pay for it. 😊 Thankfully I could repair it then too though.
During an orchestral rehearsal (a couple of decades ago) one violinist in the 2nds front desk, put her bow down on the floor & then the conductor accidently stepped on it breaking it through the head (again, thankfully I could repair it too), but cellos on floors or instruments on chairs means they can be 'accidents waiting to happen'.

[KenIn_NH]

Really educational to watch...but oh so painful!😮😅

[harveyblankenship]

I'm not a String Musician. I love hearing Stringed Instruments (especially the Cello & Double Bass), though. Too bad my hearing was ruined as a turbine engine mechanic. I do play Saxophone & Clarinet, however, and through 4 years of High School Band and 4 years of Being a Music Major in College, I've seen many instruments get damaged just prior to a I quickly learned how to do simple repairs to my instruments - at least, lasting long enough to get through a performance.
Great advice on how to care for instruments!

[MartinPodholaMlok]

Great advices. Greetings from Czech republic. Yeah Pavel Šporcl is amazing player and I love to hear him play. Just a little note, all S in names of Špidlen and Šporcl the S at the beginning is not s because of little hook :) it is like sch in german language or sh in english :).

[nickiemcnichols]

A friend of mine, who shall remain nameless here, dropped my violin once. But, he caught it on the way down, with cat like reflexes. I surmised that his blood sugars were low, resulting in a weak grip.
Now, my violin isn’t expensive, and I don’t want an expensive one. I’ll buy an expensive bow instead, someday.
But remember, it’s a THING, and things can be replaced.

[davidbrandt]

I have two 16" violas that are set up exactly the same. One is a bit less expensive than the other. I play one one day, than the other the next to keep them in perfect playing condition. I love them both. If one should have to go to the luthier, I can still practice with the other. If you don't have a backup, you can rent a student instrument whilst your instrument is being repaired.

[liamnevilleviolist]

Hi Olaf! Great video! I really want to post something similar to what happened in this video, (something that happened during a tutoring session, but actually it was WAY more ridiculous than what happened in this situation!!!).
I hope to record it tomorrow and upload it soon! If I have time tonight then I'll do it :)
May I tag you Mr Olaf?

[rolandropnack]

We were ferrying over a river crossing when our double base met its demise - we moved too strongly so it toppled over, filled with water and sunk beneath our behinds.

[lkj]

Wow! The conductor knocked it out of his hands! How embarrassing! Orchestra's always seemed to be playing in cramped tight spaces, even when they are not hidden in pit as in opera and ballet orchestras. It must lead to a lot of accidents.

[agatafurczyk]

Oh my... This was painful to watch... 😵 But thank you for the tips! 😁
(I only did a 'bow-throw' a few times, but since one of my two bows is carbon fibre and the other is a sturdy, beginner wooden one, they both survived without damage. 🥳 😆)

[maniamuse]

I had the unfortunate pleasure for my last concert of sharing a desk with a lady who likes to use her violin and bow as weapons. I have sat next to her before and the last time she managed to hit me and my instrument multiple times during rehearsals. She just has no spatial awareness at all. Her most annoying habit is flipping her violin up to her shoulder in a fraction of a second without looking at what is around her as if she was doing a rifle drill.

This time I was prepared for it so sat well away from her at the expense of not being able to read the notes on the page (her other annoying habit is that she hogs the music stand). She did still manage to hit a couple of other players with her violin and bow during the rehearsals though.

[irenatriskova]

Wow, this must have been Pavel Šporcl, Czech soloist. I like to hear him. He has an interesting repertoir.

[williamstephens]

Last month I was stupidly balancing my double bass against my shoulder whilst fiddling with my music stand. It fell and the pegbox hit a wall really hard .
Luckily it only sustained a crack in the one side of the pegbox, which I had glued up relatively inexpensively. it's a horrible sinking feeling when you see the instrument fall away from you.

[mercoid]

His blue violin has areas of wear which reveal a natural wood/brown undertone. This, as far as I can tell, indicates that just the varnish is blue.