How to stop your violin or viola from squeaking

Our viewer Genesis asks:

“I’ve been playing the viola for about 7 months. I’ve seen many of your videos and was wondering if you can make a video about how to prevent from squeaking when playing?”

This is a problem that many beginners struggle with. Read below or watch the video to find out how to stop this.

The solution

The main cause of squeaking is a combination of too much pressure and too little speed. The problem can be solved in two ways: use the same pressure and more speed while playing OR use the same speed but less pressure.

Frequent problems

Sometimes you’re not aware you are playing the violin with too much pressure and too little speed. Here are two things you can focus on:

1. Squeaking happens at bow change. This happens when you accelerate while bowing and slowly stop at the end of a bow. Instead of this, you should speed up right away. Keep the pressure and speed constant while bowing up and down.
2. To avoid the squeaking, some people try to play with very little pressure all the time. Instead of the squeaking, you’ll get whistle tones. Just wiping the strings with your bow solves the issue of squeaking, but doesn’t create a beautiful sound. To get to the intense sound, you should try dosing the pressure so you’re just playing at the edge of squeaking.

PS: Do you want to see YOUR question answered in a Violin Lounge TV episode? Post a comment below!

Love,

Zlata