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One word of caution on new strings: you should probably give any new set of strings a few days before judging their tone. Synthetic strings tend to sound harsh or overly bright when first installed, but it's only temporary. They mellow out after a little playing.
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I am glad AndrewH mentioned the Synthetic Strings. I remember I installed Obligato Strings on my violin because I loved the warm sound. It was very hard tor me to play on them at that time. A very well versed professional violinist told me not to use them because it takes a bit more to bow them and get a good sound when beginning. I remember the E string being the hardest. And, like AndrewH said, the strings were just installed. They need to break in. I removed them and was much happier and was able to figure out the bowing, etc much better.
I think you may be expecting too much, too soon, and really not aware of it. I think that happens to us all. We know what we want it to sound like, but we have to work at it to get there. It is not just strings and bows and instruments. It is sweat and practice, and above all; patience.
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@nykteria -
I can only recommend: be kind to yourself - keep it simple for now.
But last night playing on the viola, I either didn't have the problems or the instrument is more forgiving. I need work on my intonation to make it precise so when I lose the tapes on the viola I'm actually ready, and I need to work on my left hand. I think I can make a lot of progress in either instrument if I got those things down.
Perfect! You don't HAVE to play Violin.
I think working on intonation just becomes a normal part of of life for us. Start with a tuner that will fit on your NEW Viola & try NOT to reinforce bad intonation when practicing.
If you practice bowing on open strings more, you don't have to worry about intonation. You can use this time to check/work on your bowing hand & explore bow pressure/speed, etc... try to find something (anything you do with your Viola) that sounds good before you stop.
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As you may have read, I only rosin my bow once a week or less at the moment. Re breaking in new strings, when I told my teacher I was going to change mine this month, she advised using more rosin than usual initially, as new strings are slipperier. That's potentially interesting, as it might imply that trying to deep-clean strings is counterproductive.
Andrew
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nykteria said
I personally would rather practice one instrument for 45 minutes or an hour then to practice two for 15-30 minutes. But maybe I'm missing some benefit to doing both that my teacher is seeing? I would love to get people's input.
I'd suggest, do it unevenly - practise one instrument for an hour and the other for 15 minutes, or whatever time division suits you best, depending on how much time you have.
Andrew
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I like your uneven approach @Gordon Shumway
I’m not sufficiently disciplined to do regular, highly structured practice -- scales for 45 minutes, arpeggios for another 45, shifting for 30, etc etc. Every time I have tried that I have ended up getting bored and going off to do something else.
But I do like to play, and I do want to get better. So I accept my limitations and try to work around them. I have found that I like to play early in the day and late in the afternoon or evening. I’m better at serious learning early, and I’m more creative later.
And sometimes the fiddle is working better than the mandolin, sometimes the reverse. So I accept that as well, and go with whatever’s the most functional at the time. Somehow, it all works out -- without thinking about it I get plenty of time on each of them.
Finally, I know that this crazy fiddling thing is difficult, so I definitely do not want to allow myself to become frustrated, burned out, and quit. I want to make sure that my enthusiasm and motivation stay high -- to carry me through the tough spots!
An irregular approach with two compatible instruments is what works for me.
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