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Instruments tend to get flatter because air warms up, metals expand in heat - steel strings get slacker. This happens in hot concert halls, especially in the summer. Woodwind gets warm from breath. Crowded bodies generate a lot of heat. Instruments need to be warmed up already before tuning them.
But I have heard of a ukulele literally falling to pieces in a car with the sun on it. Heat combined with humidity can cause hide glue to soften.
Andrew
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There sure are a bunch of outdoor fiddle/acoustic style festivals concerts and such. Ive also attended summer in the park orchestra series where the whole orchestra was in Sun/partial sun in the middle of June in Dallas. I think the thing with hide glue would be a situation where it was in the car with sun shining through. All that said.. I'm nervous about it as well and don't have a long bit of history with dealing with it.
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@Mouse and others. First, I think you should be rewarded a badge for the longest title in forum history. Quite impressive.
Your question is endlessly repeated by string stage musicians. I read once that a performer (I think it was Tertis), would turn his back on the audience and blow moist air from his lips into the f hole of the instrument to have it retain moisture when he played on a lighted stage.
I would use a solid electric cello on a deck.
Success is the progressive realisation of a worthy ideal. —Earl Nightingale.
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GregW said
There sure are a bunch of outdoor fiddle/acoustic style festivals concerts and such. Ive also attended summer in the park orchestra series where the whole orchestra was in Sun/partial sun in the middle of June in Dallas. I think the thing with hide glue would be a situation where it was in the car with sun shining through. All that said.. I'm nervous about it as well and don't have a long bit of history with dealing with it.
I've played outdoor concerts in temperatures as high as 98 degrees, though always in shade. Generally, when professional orchestras play outdoors, the string players don't use their good instruments. Because the risk of damage is higher and tone quality doesn't matter as much outside of a controlled concert hall environment, professional string players buy a "beater" or "gig" instrument to use for outdoor or amplified gigs, usually an intermediate to advanced student instrument that is playable for all purposes but is a small fraction of the price of their good instrument. As it turns out, these less expensive instruments might be better able to withstand heat and direct sunlight than high-end instruments, as the varnish on high-end instruments is softer to begin with.
I'm not a pro, so I only own one violin and one viola. But I've felt fairly safe rehearsing and performing outdoors in hot weather, even on my expensive viola, as long as I'm not in the sun for more than a few minutes at a time. Neither I nor my luthier have ever noticed damage to the varnish from playing outdoor concerts, not even after the annual Elk Grove Strauss Festival where my semi-pro orchestra plays outdoors in late July five evenings in a row (dress rehearsal and four shows) with temperatures usually in the low 90s at the beginning of the show. The only heat damage my instruments have suffered has been open seams (which just need re-gluing) immediately after I moved from Los Angeles to Sacramento, which involved a full day's drive in bone-dry 90+ degree weather. Again, though, I've never played in direct sunlight for more than a few minutes at a time.
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There was a time that I practiced outside for a couple of hours at a time during the summer with 80 degree temps. I had to re-tune the violin several times (I remember one day I tuned it 4 times). My advice is to down-tune it before taking it inside. If you are outside and the sun stretches the strings and you tune the strings tighter, when you go inside and the strings cool and contract, it will put stress on the neck attachment point. I had one violin that was affected by this. The end of the fingerboard became too close to the violin (it's called projection). I had no other problems with the violins because of playing them outside.
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MrYikes said
My advice is to down-tune it before taking it inside. If you are outside and the sun stretches the strings and you tune the strings tighter, when you go inside and the strings cool and contract, it will put stress on the neck attachment point.
This is good advice. I have seen it elsewhere, but I forget the context.
Andrew
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@Mouse and others. Time and size of instrument is largely irrelevant. Hide glue is melted in a double boiler, so anything approaching 180 f is too late. Your hand can’t hold on to an object that is more than 130 f, so I think that you would be safe if you used that as a criteria.
Success is the progressive realisation of a worthy ideal. —Earl Nightingale.
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I did want to add one more thing about playing outside. It feels great to do that. We spend a lot of time closed in. Practicing and playing by ourselves in smallish rooms. Playing outside gives a sense of open-ness, of freedom, of taking off the leash and letting the dogs run loose kind of thing. I had a one hour set of tunes that I played outside. My neighbors were able to barely hear my playing through the trees, but they enjoyed it and have asked me to do it again. But only the violin, they have never asked that I practice drums outside. ha.
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I love playing outside. We have quite small yard and neighbours are very close, so I’m too shy to play here, but my parents has large garden and I love to go there and play for hours. Temperature has not been much above 21°C (70°F), so it’s about same than inside. I’m just trying to avoid direct sun. Temperature is quite seldom over 80°F here, but when it is I will probably stay inside, just in case.
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I've been practicing outside a lot recently. Because of extra apartment noise with other people staying home more during the pandemic, I started going out to the American River Trail and looking for quiet, shaded places to practice. I've had no issues playing outdoors with temperatures over 90°F. I'm staying inside when it's over 100°F, and making sure my viola is completely shaded when playing outdoors.
(Note: because of where I grew up, I consider 80°F to be close to winter weather!)
@AndrewH - your 80F is our hot summer (25 - 27C or so)! And I can tolerate that as long as it is not overly humid with it. When we hit the 30+ ( C ) - well - I just fill the bath with cold water and jump in or swim ( well, even that's too much energy, just float !) in the sea.....
I love playing outdoors, and 10 ( C that is ) is just on the lower limit of comfort. The previously mentioned 25/27 ( if not sticky/humid ) is the top limit of my comfort. But, to get back to the violin's experience - never had an issue in over 5 years with string pegs slipping or even radical tuning changes OTHER than when sudden and dramatic changes occur in either or both temperature and humidity. I've generally found that yes, if tuning drift occurs - it is pretty much equal across the instument - so it may (overall) end up a tad flat or sharp overall (not important unless playing along to a backing track - but even then - as the great Ivan Galamian wrote -
One should be able to play in tune on a violin which is out of tune. The performer who has acquired such a skill will never be shaken out of his assurance and authority in public performance by a recalcitrant string.
LOLOL- indeed !!! Words to be appreciated.... I believe we have both said this before "Let your ear be the guide" ( or words to that effect )
I seriously recommend not copying my mistakes. D'oh -
Please make your own, different mistakes, and help us all learn :-)
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