Uploaded July 2021 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago
One of the most common questions I've received is, "How do I make my violin sound more professional?" The answer is within the concept of Tone. In this video, I discuss what tone is, and how to improve your tone on a violin (or fiddle). This is a video many have asked for, so I tried to go into some depth while also trying to keep to the point with some exercises to help as much as possible. Hopefully there are some useful things in here!
This is an advanced violin concept, so if you are a beginner, I think it's probably best to just keep this kind of stuff in mind but focus more on learning to play with a straight bow and practice left hand intonation...But if you have those basic essentials down and are ready to dive into developing a more mature sound for your playing, hopefully this video might help give you some ideas about what professionals are doing to get a big, solid sound. It's difficult stuff -- I'm still learning, too!
Navigation Timestamps:
00:00 - Definition of tone
00:14 - What tone is NOT
01:06 - The bow controls tone
01:31 - The four elements that control your tone
02:15 - Arm weight
03:00 - Arm weight exercise
04:52 - Bow speed
05:30 - Why I think "play with a full bow" is bad advice
06:18 - Bow speed and control exercise examples
08:20 - Bow placement / contact point
09:02 - Moving between contact points means you use a crooked bow
09:27 - Practice playing at different contact points on different strings with different sections of the bow (g-string example)
10:28 - How much bow hair touches the string affects tone
11:27 - Combining arm weight, bow speed, and bow placement / contact point to improve violin tone
12:19 - Practice switching between contact points as while sustaining a note
12:45 - Getting harmonics to sound better
13:35 - Upgrading equipment to improve tone
17:16 - Acoustic violin tone quality vs. using a pick-up / amplified violin tone quality (especially if using a bridge pick-up)
18:16 - Things to keep in mind if playing amplified
18:40 - Different definitions of the word "tone" in music / sound
20:56 - Ending thoughts - happy tone practicing! :D
Intonation Video link: youtube.com/watch?v=8LFHGTsrO4M
I hope this video helps a little, or at least gives you some ideas and things to think about!
Thank you for watching, and I hope you have a good rest of the week -- please stay safe and healthy! =)
~ Katy
------------
A big "Thank you!" goes to my supporters on Patreon:
patreon.com/KatyAdelson
Music store website:
goldenaspenmusic.com
Artist portfolio website:
katyadelson.com
Download/stream my "Tune Collection" album:
fanlink.to/TuneCollection
Download/stream my "Ghost Ship" single:
fanlink.to/GhostShip
Hashtags:
#Tone #MusicLesson #Violin #Fiddle #KatyAdelson #Music
Software and equipment used:
Full list of all my basic violin equipment:
katyadelson.com/about/violin-equipment-and-recommendations
Violin gear:
Violin: 1899 Ernst Kreusler “Copy of Antonius Stradivarius” violin from Germany
Bow: CodaBow Luma
Strings: Evah Pirazzi Violin Strings (with a ball E) - are still my favorite strings atm.
Rosin: Salchow Rosin
Shoulder Rest: Bonmusica Shoulder Rest
Software used (for Macintosh):
Final Cut Pro for video editing
PicMonkey.com for the ending cards
Camera:
Canon 70D + 18-135 mm kit lens
One of the most common questions I've received is, "How do I make my violin sound more professional?" The answer is within the concept of Tone. In this video, I discuss what tone is, and how to improve your tone on a violin (or fiddle). This is a video many have asked for, so I tried to go into some depth while also trying to keep to the point with some exercises to help as much as possible. Hopefully there are some useful things in here!
This is an advanced violin concept, so if you are a beginner, I think it's probably best to just keep this kind of stuff in mind but focus more on learning to play with a straight bow and practice left hand intonation...But if you have those basic essentials down and are ready to dive into developing a more mature sound for your playing, hopefully this video might help give you some ideas about what professionals are doing to get a big, solid sound. It's difficult stuff -- I'm still learning, too!
Navigation Timestamps:
00:00 - Definition of tone
00:14 - What tone is NOT
01:06 - The bow controls tone
01:31 - The four elements that control your tone
02:15 - Arm weight
03:00 - Arm weight exercise
04:52 - Bow speed
05:30 - Why I think "play with a full bow" is bad advice
06:18 - Bow speed and control exercise examples
08:20 - Bow placement / contact point
09:02 - Moving between contact points means you use a crooked bow
09:27 - Practice playing at different contact points on different strings with different sections of the bow (g-string example)
10:28 - How much bow hair touches the string affects tone
11:27 - Combining arm weight, bow speed, and bow placement / contact point to improve violin tone
12:19 - Practice switching between contact points as while sustaining a note
12:45 - Getting harmonics to sound better
13:35 - Upgrading equipment to improve tone
17:16 - Acoustic violin tone quality vs. using a pick-up / amplified violin tone quality (especially if using a bridge pick-up)
18:16 - Things to keep in mind if playing amplified
18:40 - Different definitions of the word "tone" in music / sound
20:56 - Ending thoughts - happy tone practicing! :D
Intonation Video link: youtube.com/watch?v=8LFHGTsrO4M
I hope this video helps a little, or at least gives you some ideas and things to think about!
Thank you for watching, and I hope you have a good rest of the week -- please stay safe and healthy! =)
~ Katy
------------
A big "Thank you!" goes to my supporters on Patreon:
patreon.com/KatyAdelson
Music store website:
goldenaspenmusic.com
Artist portfolio website:
katyadelson.com
Download/stream my "Tune Collection" album:
fanlink.to/TuneCollection
Download/stream my "Ghost Ship" single:
fanlink.to/GhostShip
Hashtags:
#Tone #MusicLesson #Violin #Fiddle #KatyAdelson #Music
Software and equipment used:
Full list of all my basic violin equipment:
katyadelson.com/about/violin-equipment-and-recommendations
Violin gear:
Violin: 1899 Ernst Kreusler “Copy of Antonius Stradivarius” violin from Germany
Bow: CodaBow Luma
Strings: Evah Pirazzi Violin Strings (with a ball E) - are still my favorite strings atm.
Rosin: Salchow Rosin
Shoulder Rest: Bonmusica Shoulder Rest
Software used (for Macintosh):
Final Cut Pro for video editing
PicMonkey.com for the ending cards
Camera:
Canon 70D + 18-135 mm kit lens
