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"
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!
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.
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.
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.
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 performance...... 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!
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'.
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.
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.
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 :).
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.
You, probably, already noticed, he didn't actually Drop his violin. It was Knocked out of his hand, by the conductor's baton. 😣😣 😁✌🖖 Oh, OK, you did notice.
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.
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. 🥳 😆)
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?
It ended up just being a short: ua-cam.com/users/shorts4fUjk4lNU8Y Still quite funny to me. I still wonder what causes SUCH a slip and "please-catch-before-going-to-the ground!" situation. I personally have very sweaty hands... but even *I* have not slipped up in this way. I'm actually VERY curious as to why this happens.
When I drop something my instinct is to move my foot out of the way fast. What were these violinists doing about shoulder rests when their instruments slithered off?
wow, what do you know, I was watching this video, when this happened, I had an accident and knoked my instrument againt the PC screen , last night I reached to pick up my instrument and it fell and slid across the sidewalk...
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.
seriously, try microfiber cloth. Use a a bit of fingernail pressure if you have caked on rosin, but better to do after every session so you don't get to that point.
I have functional tics and one of my biggest fears is that I’ll tic while I’m playing. Once I was playing and a friend grabbed and pulled my arm.. I fell and my BRAND NEW VIOLA hit a table and got a chip to its varnish. I cried.
Yes, I could see (I have a large monitor) he manage to get his foot out, in time, so the back of the instrument hit his foot. Thankfully, I have been fortunate enough, to save many a breakable and irreplaceable item, that way. Knock on wood. P.S.: Don't try that with knives or chisels. 😁✌🖖
Olaf, the sound was somewhat muffled when you spoke. Was that UA-cam punishing me for using an adblocker or did something bad happen to your microphone?
The Czech violinist checked everything. He checked the bridge; he checked the fingerboard; he checked the scroll; he checked the upper and lower plates. He checked everything. Why? Because he is a Czech.
Czech Republic mentioned, yay! I had the opportunity to hear this instrument from very close up and for very extended period of time, and I have to say that it would be good riddance, if the fall was more successful. Beautiful violin, not that good of a sound in it, however. My violin teacher had a run of the mill Špidlen, and the sound was luscious, warm and beautiful. My colleagues in conservatory has great sounding Špidlen violins as well. This blue one? That ain't it chief. Šporcl actually can play very well, and if he had a better sounding instrument, it would be better overall.
Now I have a mental image of violinists everywhere practicing "hacky sac" with violins "just in case". 😜 But seriously our instrument IS an extension of our being, hurting it, hurts our souls.
I made a cello once. Expertly crafted it from bits and pieces of thin ply, I exchanged it with my daughters school instrument, in the nylon gig bag she carted to and from lessons. As luck would have it on April fools day, I was required to lift some furniture, stepping backwards I trod on the bag, the crack was gloriously loud. "Oh it's broken anyway now" I said, stamping and crushing over and over. Wife and daughter went white as the driven snow...But you know what? It was always stored more carefully thereafter.
Stairs + musical instruments JUST DON'T MIX! Stairs are lethal at the best of times, then you have the added distraction of carrying an instrument while descending/ascending them and often you have both hands full so you can't hang onto the banister. And then there's spiral staircases - it only takes one minor lapse of concentration and you're gone. People who expect musicians to use stairs while carrying their instruments are absolute arseholes.
Die beiden Geiger... sie verwenden beide keine Schulterstütze. Auch für Profis gibt eine Schulterstütze Sicherheit. Viele moderne und klassische Stücke sind nicht mehr wie Barock-Kompositionen welche ein Spiel ohne Schulterstütze erlaubten. Meine Meinung mit gesundem Menschenverstand.
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"
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!
I’ve always known that Joshua is a magician.
Wow! Almost sounds planned... Maybe he can join Cirque de Soleil
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.
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.
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.
Hi Olaf!
I love my Piere Lomont Master violin!
The way Olaf slapped that lady with the violin at the end was something else. 😆
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 performance...... 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!
Bring it to Olaf..
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'.
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.
Really educational to watch...but oh so painful!😮😅
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.
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 :).
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.
love the intro olaf!
You, probably, already noticed, he didn't actually Drop his violin.
It was Knocked out of his hand, by the conductor's baton. 😣😣 😁✌🖖
Oh, OK, you did notice.
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.
Yes who knew those spasms were such an effective martial art.
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.
What, you don’t know about blue wood? It comes from the Smurf Forest!😂
Haha...
Yes Jan Spielen made it specially for Pavel
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. 🥳 😆)
Wow, this must have been Pavel Šporcl, Czech soloist. I like to hear him. He has an interesting repertoir.
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?
It ended up just being a short: ua-cam.com/users/shorts4fUjk4lNU8Y
Still quite funny to me. I still wonder what causes SUCH a slip and "please-catch-before-going-to-the ground!" situation. I personally have very sweaty hands... but even *I* have not slipped up in this way. I'm actually VERY curious as to why this happens.
Thank you for this info
When I drop something my instinct is to move my foot out of the way fast. What were these violinists doing about shoulder rests when their instruments slithered off?
wow, what do you know, I was watching this video, when this happened, I had an accident and knoked my instrument againt the PC screen , last night I reached to pick up my instrument and it fell and slid across the sidewalk...
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.
I think care is also needed when you put a violin into or take it out of its case - you don't want that lid to close half way through the operation!
I hit the like button but didn't like the ending. And neither did you. Thanks for caring. For the love of stringed instruments . . .
what do you think of using fine steel wool to clean strings, is it a good idea?
Use an angle grinder. It works faster.
seriously, try microfiber cloth. Use a a bit of fingernail pressure if you have caked on rosin, but better to do after every session so you don't get to that point.
@@Sonny_McMacsson lmao ik a violin restorer who actually uses steel wool lmao
I’ve heard from a couple of pros, you can use an alcohol pad, but DO NOT get any drips on the wood.
Well, there goes, at least, 2 weeks of the busker's income. Ouch!
There was something about this video that made me think it was an ai clone of olaf. Was the audio wave truncated or something?
I have functional tics and one of my biggest fears is that I’ll tic while I’m playing.
Once I was playing and a friend grabbed and pulled my arm.. I fell and my BRAND NEW VIOLA hit a table and got a chip to its varnish. I cried.
Use Celotape :)
Yes, I could see (I have a large monitor) he manage to get
his foot out, in time, so the back of the instrument hit his foot.
Thankfully, I have been fortunate enough, to save many a breakable
and irreplaceable item, that way. Knock on wood.
P.S.: Don't try that with knives or chisels. 😁✌🖖
Olaf, the sound was somewhat muffled when you spoke. Was that UA-cam punishing me for using an adblocker or did something bad happen to your microphone?
The Czech violinist checked everything. He checked the bridge; he checked the fingerboard; he checked the scroll; he checked the upper and lower plates. He checked everything. Why? Because he is a Czech.
😮
Haha... I'll pop that one into my bag of dad jokes...
Get out your backup instrument 😮
Czech Republic mentioned, yay! I had the opportunity to hear this instrument from very close up and for very extended period of time, and I have to say that it would be good riddance, if the fall was more successful. Beautiful violin, not that good of a sound in it, however.
My violin teacher had a run of the mill Špidlen, and the sound was luscious, warm and beautiful. My colleagues in conservatory has great sounding Špidlen violins as well. This blue one? That ain't it chief. Šporcl actually can play very well, and if he had a better sounding instrument, it would be better overall.
Well the poor guy didn't so much as drop it as have it knocked out of his hand by an overzealous Conductor. 😳
Now I have a mental image of violinists everywhere practicing "hacky sac" with violins "just in case". 😜 But seriously our instrument IS an extension of our being, hurting it, hurts our souls.
I made a cello once. Expertly crafted it from bits and pieces of thin ply, I exchanged it with my daughters school instrument, in the nylon gig bag she carted to and from lessons. As luck would have it on April fools day, I was required to lift some furniture, stepping backwards I trod on the bag, the crack was gloriously loud. "Oh it's broken anyway now" I said, stamping and crushing over and over. Wife and daughter went white as the driven snow...But you know what? It was always stored more carefully thereafter.
You took years off their life dude. That's overkill for a joke. I doubt they laughed at all
@@17thstellation The family motto is, if you're going to do a thing do it right....I would always keep a defibrillator handy though.
Stairs + musical instruments JUST DON'T MIX! Stairs are lethal at the best of times, then you have the added distraction of carrying an instrument while descending/ascending them and often you have both hands full so you can't hang onto the banister. And then there's spiral staircases - it only takes one minor lapse of concentration and you're gone. People who expect musicians to use stairs while carrying their instruments are absolute arseholes.
Two Violins knocked out of the Violinist's hands by the Conductors! 😲
The violin drop was........painful to the eyes. Jezus , Mary, and Joseph.
Poop happens... buy a new one unless you had a 2 year warranty!
Keep it away from Eddy
😂omg!
Painful!!!!
Die beiden Geiger... sie verwenden beide keine Schulterstütze. Auch für Profis gibt eine Schulterstütze Sicherheit. Viele moderne und klassische Stücke sind nicht mehr wie Barock-Kompositionen welche ein Spiel ohne Schulterstütze erlaubten. Meine Meinung mit gesundem Menschenverstand.
The shoulder rest does affect the sound slightly.