Last night, at a concert, I was very troubled by the power of the sound system and the "breaking" of the sound of one of the most beautiful instruments around.
A violin or fiddle...no matter what you call this gorgeous instrument, has a voice that is delicate. The bow touches the strings and transforms the energy in a palette of sound colors. These are deliberately and very carefully chosen by the master violinist or fiddler. The bow makes the sound and that can be an incredibly rich experience. Without the bow and the mastery of the bow a violin does not sing.
A violin sings though. And it is this singing quality that may best be described in poetry by masters of the language. As I realize I find myself short of words to describe it. It is the finesse that makes a fiddler a fiddler, a jazz violinist a jazz violinist and a classical and baroque violinist just who they are. Artists of the instruments and of the music they play.
When the instrument gets amplified it is this aspect that needs to be treated with the utmost respect. I have learned that one of the difficulties may be (or is) the continued sound coming from the bow. This versus the strumming of a guitar for instance. Interesting. I am not a sound technician. I think though that in this day and age - as more often violins are amplified - this is to be one of the more routine issues to deal with. Another area that affects the amplification is of course the acoustics of the room (hall).
I remember my "fight" with amplifying my violin in the band. I could not hear myself and thus I would play "hard". I pressed my bow deep into the string for that was what I knew to do. It caused me to force the sound and made me ultimately unhappy. I would crank up my personal sound level and the band would vilify me! I understood. The sound in itself was nasty (like curdled milk). The violin would burst over any acceptable level and destroy the overall sound of the band.
I believe that for my purposes I have mostly fixed the problem. I am close to my own personal monitor and hear myself really well. I have good equipment and I do not need to get out of mid range. I believe I can use my bow expressively again and can get much closer to what I can do without amplification.
Over-amplifying a violin is hurtful. An over-amplified violin can scream. At such a moment the sound "breaks"; sound clashes against sound. And the best players find their music, their art - killed. Notes, articulation, expression...not heard but blurred. Last night I heard some of the best fiddlers around. They were over-amplified and (not:"or" ) there was too much treble in the system. Their instruments screamed. I could see their mastery, but not hear it. I was glad to see them and yet the amplification made me cry inside.
In my profession as a violinist in Florida, I come across all kinds of stuff that might be fun or interesting to discuss. Classically trained in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, now I teach both violin and fiddle. I teach the O'Connor method and other methods as the need arises. I do not teach Suzuki. I am specialized in Baroque violin and am a member of the Alachua Consort. I love exploring what's out there. Thus I also play in a Greek band, EMBROS, on electric 5-string.
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