I’m trying to learn to play the fiddle. It’s so loud it hurts my left ear. I have a mute, but that is only good for when I’m at home. It hurts my ear when I’m playing at the jam. What can I do? Should I wear an ear plug? Or is there something else?
The under ear stance isn’t the only position to hold a violin, especially one that’s being used as a fiddle, mostly or only in first position. The present craze for singing fiddle players in English folk has a lot of people using the breastbone hold, and the standard in arabic music is for the whole string section to play seated with violins and violas in cello position on their laps. I’ve also known a cellist who would pick up and play a violin from time to time, but who could only do so that way.
It’s not quite related, but I’m reminded of the english fiddler Dave Swarbrick, who got very ill from cancer a few years ago. One of the first symptoms to show was the fact that one ear began hearing sounds about a semitone off from what his other ear was telling him. At the time, he was playing in a duo with Martin Carthy, in which Swarb played fiddle and mandolin (Carthy played guitar or mandolin). The problem was that most people tune the fiddle and mandolin with different ears*. “That explains why we were constantly tuning..” said Carthy.
*The fiddle is under your left ear, whereas when tuning mando, most people have it in their laps with their head turned towards the headstock where the tuners are, which points their right ear at the strings. The same would be true of the flute & fiddle, come to think of it.
Simon, do you have a reference for this? I’m interested in the topic of music and perception, such as the work of Diana Deutsch here at UCSD. And not that I don’t believe your anecdote, but I think other parts of your description are a bit off.
I thought his pulmonary problem was severe emphysema, not cancer. I remember following the postings from Swarb and his wife when he was very ill before and after the transplant operation. In earlier days he was never without a cig onstage, either in his lips or stuck in the scroll of his fiddle.
And his hearing problems were publicly rumored as far back as 1975, when I saw him live with the last Fairport tour with Sandy. Which predates his pulmonary crisis by several decades.
sbfluter: I see nothing wrong with using ear protection if you think you need it. A basic foam plug will give around 30 dB reduction. But I’d also have your fiddle and bow setup looked at, if the problem is that severe. It could be that your instrument is set up to be too bright, or your playing technique is overly aggressive. I’ve seem players who dig into the strings like they’re sawing wood, and who can make the sweetest fiddle scream in pain. 
I’m quite likely to have the specifics of the disease wrong, but I’m standing by the ear + retuning anecdote. My memory suspects it was in an issue of folk/Roots aka fRoots from about the time that Swarb began gigging again. I’ll flip through the back issue stack and see if I can turn it up. If it wasn’t in fRoots, it might have been in the liner notes (err, insert) to a mid 90s Castle/Transatlantic records reissue of some of Swarb’s solo LPs, if they were written by someone like Colin Irwin. He also wrote a lot for folk roots, which my be why I’m fusing the two.
OK, thanks Simon. I’ll be interested in whatever you turn up.
I read a magazine article once that said the fiddle was as loud under the player’s ear as a set of Highland Pipes are to the piper’s ear. Having played both, I don’t believe it. But the fiddle can be pretty loud, and some more than others.
I use these:
http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er20.aspx
They’re great, especially for the price. My wife plays violin and I’ve noticed that when she practices a lot her hearing deteriorates. I finally convinced her to give ear plugs a try, and now she uses them regularly. There’s a cellist who wears earplugs on stage with the orchestra. He claims it helps him hear his instrument better. I suspect that might be true in a session too. When I wear earplugs at band practice I notice I can hear myself better – I think it must be a perception issue, because the earplugs should impact all sounds roughly equally.
But perception is more important than reality anyway. 
The modern violin hold has evolved because it allows the player to get the most out of the instrument. Fiddler’s frequently don’t have the technique to do that, but if you want to keep your options open it’s something to consider. Some of the classical violinist’s bow technique, for example, makes use of gravity, which wouldn’t work in a cello hold, and it can be more difficult for some people to keep straight wrists in a lower hold. If you don’t have carpel tunnel syndrome you might not understand the importance of good posture. 
Ok, if ear plugs are what is done, then I’ll do that. My arm’s not long enough to hold the fiddle very low like on my chest or anything like that. I have a friend who ties a shoestring around her neck and hangs the fiddle from it. It’s pretty silly, and I don’t want to do that.
My fiddle is just a cheap Chinese fiddle, but it doesn’t seem to me to be any worse than other fiddles. And while I’m sure it’s screaming in pain when I try to play it (after all, it did try to commit suicide once when I was simply thinking of playing it), I hope to improve someday. Sometimes it almost sounds like music.
For practice, would an electric violin help? That way you could turn it down. I don’t know, it is also a question I would like answered.
I was going to suggest the chest or on-the-crossed-knee holds as well. I’m not sure arm length would be that much of a factor in the latter. But what kind of strings are you using? Some are harsher &/or brighter than others. If you’re using all-steel strings, you might try giving one of the synthetic core sets a shot (I like Tonicas, but there are plenty to choose from). They’ll start bright, but mellow considerably.
Oh, maybe strings are a good idea. It’s got the original strings as far as I know, minus a broken one or two, but what kind they are I do not know.
I had a high end electric violin on loan in the house, along with a decent amp. It took all of about 10 minutes to figure out that I had no need for one (and I love “stuff”). The electric fiddle sounded pretty much like a violin with a heavy practice mute, just loud.
A friend of mine in Japan - where thin walls and close neighbors are a problem - has used one of the Yamaha silent violins for home practice for several years, and is quite happy with it. It’s lightweight and comfortable with almost no acoustic volume, and the pickup system is about as good as any electric fiddle I’ve heard.
Just to be clear, the problem isn’t that the fiddle is too loud for the house, it’s too loud for my ear. That goes whether I’m playing alone or in a group.
I’m going to bring an ear plug to the jam tonight and use it if my ear starts hurting.
Good idea…
http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er20.aspx
My wife says that my fiddle playing hurts HER ears… 