A man walked into the violin shop... Why soloists don't lend out their violins

Love the way you tell stories! I'm not a violinist, but the way you tell your stories are both fun and informative.

If you have a carbon fiber instrument you can play both!

I thought you were going to find a listing online that said “violin for sale.. played by Olaf” to increase the value

At first I assumed that was going to be some kind of scam... Like saying that you broke it or something.

But why? Playing in different ways is having some kind of physical effect on it? I could maybe imagine that - but for the effect to be reversible...seems super-unlikely. So what is changing in the violin itself? I'd like to see a double-blind experiment on this - have someone play their instrument - then take it away where they can't see or hear what you're doing - and play it to either "tighten it up" or "loosen it" and see whether it's owner can say which of those things you did. Repeat enough times so it's not just luck. But understanding what PHYSICALLY is happening seems like that would be very important to all concerned. Personally, I'm skeptical...I think this is placebo effect.

- I wish you had shown how you make "tight" playing sound and how you make "open" playing.
- You said there was a difference but didn't show the actions that make the difference.
- You seemed to suggest that somehow the resonance of the violin's wood changed because the sound made by a player. Is that thought to be true?
- The best I could guess is that bowing with the horse hairs flat on the strings make for a harsh, loud "tight" sound.
- It seemed to me tipping the bow over so only a few horse hair stands were lightly stroking the stings made of a softer, lighter, "open" sound.
- Perhaps more pressure of the bow onto the strings makes for a "tight" sounding violin.

Talent for storytelling you have, hmmm.

Very interesting. I don't play the violin, just like to learn more 😊👍

Guitarist here. A few years ago I was helping out a friend at his guitar store when a customer who had bought a resonator-guitar a few days ago came in to complain about the guitar. Most of his rambling was the classic buyers remorse stuff: bad sound (not a National but decent), bad intonation (biscuit bridges will never be perfect but this one was ok), hard to play (no way, the setup was really good) and much more.
So instead of getting my self into a fruitless discussion I just let him show me the guitar. Took it and pulled of a few blues licks and went into the old Big Bill Broonzy "Hey Hey" ...
Man - there's nothing wrong with the guitar when I play it.
He took the guitar - guess I'll have to practice some more - and left the store.

Years ago there was a Canadian show called the Tommy Hunter show. On that show was a Classical Violinist named Al Churny. During most of the show he played a lot of Country Fiddle music. But once every show he would play a classical piece. He always used a second violin for the Classical part.

A soloist wouldn't lend out their instrument for the same reason that a professional mechanic wouldn't lend out their tools. It's even more critical with something like a violin made out of a natural material like wood. Wood is a composite material that responds to pressure humidity and stress. Wood adapts to stress by deforming. I've seen 15cm straight wood beams become permanently curved under sustained loads. A wood panel that's only a few mm in thickness could easily change shape if stressed by vibrations.
But a better explanation is unidirectional intimate relationship between a soloist and their instrument. An instrument is an extension of themself.

Olaf you are a hoot! Love your videos!

number 1 the luthier will tell u if u have a problem 2 get to see up close the fingering 3 get to hear the full potential of your instrument before you get better ! and las but not least the spirit will stay to guide you when you play after him!

ok so I no longer feel like the only one that do that lol

Prachtig, groetjes uit Boxtel!

I like your videos and I don't know the first thing about violins but what I do know is I like their sound.
Thank you.

You are as crazy as I am. Hello Brother

When I wash clothes I put my violin on the washing machine for the full cycle. It sounds better afterward. Only on cold water wash though♡

Is this why an open string can produce a wolf note if the string hasn't 'woken up' first. It's very annoying when playing chords.

With no shoulder rest as well!!!

So my violin is very temperamental only like 5 people can play well, when everyone tries it doesn’t want play well for them

Stupid question but why do you have so many violins hanging on the wall? Duh I know you're a violin shop but there's like 40 violins there. Specifically where are those violins going to end up? Sales, rental, repair? Are they just hanging there aging like wine? How quickly do you sell 40 violins?

So you think ebony parts are better for a Violin and Cello than rosewood. Why is ebony better

When I was learning guitar I was this guy. I was never sure if it was me or the instrument.

Love the hair. Make it permanent. In High school we would refer to classical music as" long hair " this was before the Beatles and the aftermath. I960's

I would do that. I have my Oma’s violin and it is a better instrument than my skills. I love to hear someone play it who can pull all the beautiful sound out of it.

A guy walks in who looks exactly like you, and you're biggest question is why he wants you to play his violin? Can't believe you didn't realize that guy's your long lost brother!

Hi i want buy vintage Zeta violin have ? Thanks

Oh, that’s interesting! Now I know what my conductor meant when she said she can imagine my violin developing in a great way with my playing style
(I bought a new violin recently (made in 2013, but never really played much before I got it) and asked her for her opinion)

Olaf, would you be so kind also to play my violin, i would be thankful. Thank you. Oh, yes, and, when are you coming to europe again, so that i can meet you. hehe

I used to play the violin as a teenager, and preferred to play baroque. I had a pretty nice instrument. Some years later after I'd gone to university for a non music major my sister needed a violin of her own for her music major so I gave her my old one. She said it took her a year to get it to sound nicely for her and now if I ever play it it sounds like a completely different instrument.

My assumption was that he came back for the tuning, which he did not do, and that's why he didn;t sound as good.

Interesting!!! Thank you!

This was a very helpful video on many levels. When I was young, I was told a violin is like a fine wine. It gets better with age But, only if you play it. I have an old instrument that I had repaired and now it sounds dimmed. I am not sure why. You give me hope that I can open up the sound once again or, at least , that I have not ruined it permanently by trying to repair it.

Wonderful!

Something I’ve been wondering about, If a reputable company produces $1,000 violins, are they all going to sound like $1,000 violins or could some end up sounding like a $1,000,000 Stradivarius?

My father has been in and out of brass bands for most of his life and he told a similar story of a man who wasn't a particularly great player and always blamed the instrument. Dad would borrow an instrument from whatever band he was in at the time (brass was expensive all those years back, you used whatever you had access to) and on returning it, this other guy would sneak in and retrieve it for his own use, thinking it was somehow the holy grail of instruments. Nope, not at all, dad just new how to play them better.

I don't think Dad is quite aware of just how well he picks up the positive or negative qualities of an instrument, because when he tries something new he's always got something to say about it.

There's a trick using a speaker with the paper cut out of it. A piece of brazing rod (about 8 inches long is soldered onto the center of the speaker. An alligator clip is soldered onto the end of the rod. Hang the tuned violin carefully by the pegs with a leather shoe string. Then hang the speaker with the rod and clip at exactly the violins bridge height. Carefully hook the clip to the bridge. Both need to be hanging but not leaning on one another. Hook the speaker up to a good tuner with a mono switch. Play a recording with a fine soloist. The violin is an almost perfect acoustic resonance chamber. It will sound amazing. This is good for helping a "green violin ' to season. Or as a tool for the best sound post location and micro tension. . Play for awhile the let the wood rest for a few hours. Repeat, rest again and again for the woods internal rosin caps to set at the tonal frequency.

I like the idea that violins have memory

Intro piece?

Acoustic Radiation was proven now to be a real thing. Violin inherits the sound of its players.

Olaf how many minutes do you practice a day?

A man walked up to a violin stand, asked the man running the stand. Bam bam bam, got any grapes?

If I lived even remotely near you I would totally drop in and ask you to play my violin. Haha!

very good

Just been scrolling down the comments and have learnt even more, such as the need to play without the mute from time to time. I worry about the neighbours in the flat below so I'm always muted up! But my BAE needs to fully express herself from time to time*. TwoSet taught me to whisper 'Saranghae' into the F hole as well. This is Korean for 'I love you'...
*And before anyone asks why I don't play mute free when they go out, the lady sadly is housebound!

Oooo, was just going to say, I'm flying over to Oz, so you can play my violin!
But all this was new to me. Fascinating. Learn SO much from your channel, Olaf. Thank you.
P.S. My tutor (still...) teaches remotely which precludes this...