Why Violin Pros Have Great Tone . . . and you don’t

The sound of a violin can either be one of the most beautiful things or cringe inducing things the human ear can experience. Most violinists are somewhere in-between. So what does it take? What does it take to get that beautiful, legendary violin tone? In this video, Murphy Music Academy director Tobiah Murphy explores the 3 things you need to create a great violin sound.
#violin #classicalmusic

[BenjiOrthopedic]

Those who had/have great teachers - who THEMSELVES were taught by great teachers - sound this way because we have the skill set. I dare say, the kind of teacher who trains students to be orchestra section players, and not soloists, don't focus on any of these things hardly, mainly because they don't even know them themselves. And it's not just three or four things, it's like 20 or 30 things really. A complete discussion of them all would be impossible to do in a small comment box like this and there is no way to learn them all in a single lesson or with just one piece. It's developed over a period of years, not in an instructional video. I'll just hit on a few, as these were what I had drummed into me for years. 1. The bow has to move with a plan. Being able to employ your bow not only as your paintbrush, but to develop a tonal palette using it, is - obviously - quite, quite important. Knowing the correct and incorrect ways of using the bow or even literally how you move the bow - is imperative. 2. Knowing the fingerboard and knowing the positions (learned from scales and some of the more useful etudes/caprices). Sounds corny, but a lot of people don't. Each note has to be deliberately placed under your fingers. Which brings me to... 3. Fingering. You have to know how to develop your own fingerings that work for you, but also those that are appropriate for a particular piece (i.e., you would not finger Bach in the same way you would Shostakovich.) 3a. If you want a dynamite left hand, you have to study some hard stuff, like Paganini. You'll learn the fine art of fingering if you have learned some of the Caprices. The more, the better...if not all 24, then at least 12 or 13 of them. 4. Vibrato must mirror the soul. You have to be able to modulate your vibrato 'ad hoc'. Same thing - Bach vibrato should be almost instinctive, and usually, very sparingly. It's baroque music. They barely used vibrato then. Tchaikovsky? Different vibrato. Mozart? Different vibrato. 5. (Last one, I have to draw the line somewhere, but this is the most important...) You have to know your own playing. You have to be the best assessor of your own work. And that involves one organ - your ears. Know how to listen to yourself. Be able to identify your own bad intonation, and know how to fix it. Know how to read a score, and do what's in the score (before you play a note.) Obey the composer's instructions, especially with dynamics and articulation. Don't let yourself get away with playing out of tune. Don't let yourself play sharp or flat except for expressive purposes, and even then, know when to use expressive intonation. People who play in tune tend to have a bigger sound, and have a larger tonal palette than those who didn't pay enough, or any, attention to intonation. BIG, BEAUTIFUL TONE = IN TUNE. Once you know these basic things, you work on developing them. The reason it takes a "real pro" to pull off a beautiful, convincing, existential, spellbinding performance of something like the Violin Concerto by Alban Berg is because they are real musicians who have mastered the art of tonality on their (stringed) instrument. They learned how to create that ideal sonic atmosphere - literally, one that "sells" (sells concert tickets and record albums...well, until posting recordings for free listening on Youtube came along and copyright kinda went down the drain for the most part.) Thanks for reading, if you didn't TLDR this already!

[mikedoragh]

When I was younger I played violin, and it took me 10 years to discover the biggest secret to sounding better at violin... and no-one seems to teach it. I used to think I was terrible at playing, as everyone sounded so much better than me! But then I discovered playing in the bathroom improved my sound massively! Turns out a violin always sounds worse if you are within about 50cm of it... and sounds so much better if you are further away... which just happens to be how you hear everyone else play except yourself. Playing in a room with high sound reflections like a bathroom (rather than a bedroom or lounge) allows you to hear more of that mellow smooth sound reflected back to you. You should totally try it! More than that, to prove distance is important, you can also try playing your violin like a mini cello, but at fully stretched arms length in front of you, in a normal room (not bathroom). Even though your bow control will be far inferior playing like that, you'll still hear that smoother tone! Crazy! Most violinists I know were paranoid that everyone else played better than them... turns out everyone else hears you play better than you hear yourself too. So practice in the bathroom sometimes, to get a confidence boost... and then you can work on the techniques in this video to actually get even better, but knowing you don't need to be paranoid!

[cageynerd]

I think the easiest way to create tone is the extreme exercises because 1) you need to hear it to believe it and 2) your hands need to have examples. Close to bridge with pressure and a very slow bow. Move a half centimeter away and do the same thing. Etc. Your ears will naturally figure out what sounds best on your instrument. Be mindful to listen to the overtones. Do it on each string. Afterward, play the piece you are working on -- all of the sudden, you realize there are more possibilities in your tone production in every section of your piece.

[losmoneyful]

As someone who has played the violin since I was 6, I know how to use my bow, but it feels natural to me, and thus I have to research how to teach my students to use the bow in the same way. This video was very helpful for giving me the words needed to help my students express themselves better.

[Jennifer-ymmm]

I was lucky enough to find a Russian teacher who was a former coach of soloists in Russia and member of Leningrad Philharmonic, before moving to the US (Chicago), Abram Dukor. He was a student of a student of Leopold Auer, and told me he was sick often as a child, so needed to about how to play and exactly what went into executing technique while in bed sick. He taught me tone, first. For our initial 3 months he had me play ONLY open strings. (I was 25, had played violin since I was 9, and piano since 7 so could read music.) He taught me to allow the weight of my arm-coming-from-my-BACK to cause pressure on the bow, versus using pressing via any hand or arm weight. After 3 months, he had me place only 1 finger (each finger) onto 1 string, and focus on LIFTING the finger, vs on placing the finger onto the string. Then once placing fingers on strings, he told me to do so as if peas falling from a can, and to play using my bow arm -against- left thumb (ie grasping my violin using my chin). I really wish I'd recorded our lessons. And I really miss him, he was like another parent to me. He finally turned me into a violinist, and multiple teachers I had after him told me I should practice full time for a year to start auditioning for pro orchestras. I never put in the hours, but did get jobs here and there, though I disliked "gigging". I should probably teach though, and did enjoy teaching grammar school and high school students.

[Moriandrizzt]

Just picked up a violin a few days ago and just practicing running up and down the entire bow keeping my bow square with the violin strings I've noticed that each string requires a different pressure to make a solid sound. I think some of these things become apparent naturally if you spend enough time with each aspect. It's nice to hear you speak about this and confirm my findings.

[leia.amidala]

I'm 16 and I've been playing for 10 years. I have no problems with my left hand, but I have always had trouble with getting clear and a smooth sound. This has helped an awful lot! Thanks so much, the video is easy to follow. Got yourself another subscriber

[pixiieeq]

me, a clarinet player: ah yes this will be very useful for my violin which is definitely in my possession

[kenthatfield]

I appreciate what this man is telling people. It is valuable information. And it is also a reminder for some of us that already know it and are failing to practice it.

[Iskkskskwklskllalpwpw]

There are also really small thing that give you better tone quality, Like good posture and having a good bow hold. Having a good bow hold gives you more control over the bow, and most bow techniques require a good bow hold. Ex: Wrist movement. Good posture should make you more in tune, raising your. violin/viola high makes gravity force your bow into the best point for sound quality.

[sebrighamable]

You’ve blown my mind. I learned more about bowing in these 9 minutes 51 seconds than I’ve learned in my entire fiddling life. Thanks!

[camipacheco]

After playing the violin for 10 years and having no progress in the last 4…
This is what I needed
It totally makes sense now! 🤯
Thank you! ❤

[Aerodauphin]

I had hand surgery two years ago on my left hand. My orthopedic surgeon plays cello and really did a fantastic job of transferring the extension tendon from my index finger to my thumb. Playing violin went out the window till I saw a couple your videos. This is going to be messy but I gained some inspiration to start over from scratch. Wish me luck. And thanks 🙏

[sunnsnunn]

After wanting a violin for almost 3 years, im finally going to get one this december! your video helps me so much in understanding the instrument better since im completely a beginner on the violin.🎉

[meadowlarkvoices]

I don't even play the violin, but I loved your explanation. It will help me to listen to violin players better and how to hear the quality of a player. Thanks!

[jamesnotsmith]

I've never been told to prioritize this way. I've been using pressure first then bow speed. I'll try using speed first. Thanks. Not many instructors get into the details of techniques. I look forward to watching more of your videos. Especially videos about how to do the different bow strokes.

[duskcheri]

Finally, I lessened the creaking sounds that I get everytime I play my violin. Thank you for this video :)

[xenophile]

Very well explained. All of this is exactly what I'm always telling my students! It's all easier said than done of course - getting to a point where you can precisely control your bow speed, bow placement, and bow pressure simultaneously takes years of practice. Being aware of the basic principles is a good start though.

[LaskMaestro]

I can't stress enough the use of a well balanced practice. Some teachers only use Suzuki repertoire. Students must be guided into major, minor and modal scales too. Arpeggios and useful etude studies. I love for my students to study the Wolfhart foundation Studies, Mazas, and like repertoire. So many tried and true. In retrospect my biggest lack as a student ( back in the day) was double stop playing. It haunts me to this day. My teachers barely had me study double stops. 😢 Do it and listen listen listen.

[brendaanna]

Methodical and very well explained. I'm going to recommend this video to my students to reinforce the information I give them in their lessons. Thank you!