Why does my violin sound scratchy?

There’s nothing more frustrating than having a scratchy sound, especially when you don’t know why it’s happening or how to fix it! The three main causes of scratchy sound are: too much pressure, poor contact point, and a stiff right hand.

Too much pressure. If you are pressing too hard into the string, the sound will be scratchy. To produce a beautiful tone, do not press the bow into the string; instead, use the natural weight of your arm to sink into the string. Try this exercise to practice feeling the natural weight of your arm.

Place your right arm out in front of you, and use your left hand to point in front of you. Place the index finger of your left

hand underneath your right elbow. Allow the weight of your arm to sink into your finger; it should feel very heavy.

Gradually move your finger up your arm, feeling the natural weight at every step. This is how your arm should feel when

using the violin bow.

Contact point refers to where the bow makes contact with the string. Ideally, the bow should stay halfway between the bridge and fingerboard to produce the best sound. If your bow gets too close to the bridge, the sound will become scratchy, and if it gets too close to the fingerboard, the sound will become whispy and unclear. To maintain an ideal contact point, you must keep the bow straight and prevent it from sliding

Stiff right hand. This is an issue with just about all of my adult students! As adults, we naturally carry around a lot more tension than children and have more trouble releasing it. Here’s one of my favorite exercises for practicing right hand flexibility.

Place your bow on the A string at the frog and notice the shape of your hand. It should be curved, relaxed, and balanced.

Pick your bow up and place it at the tip. Notice the shape of the hand. The fingers should be straighter and balanced

towards the index finger. Pick your bow up and go back to the frog. Play a down bow and notice the shape of your

hand at the tip. Now play an up bow and think about curling the fingers in as you approach the tip.

If you address these three issues, 99.9% of your scratchy sound will go away. Let me know which tip was most helpful for you!