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BillyG said
Because you quoted something... like I did here.
And it did it again, but, now, in this paragraph, I go to the menu-bar and switch off the "Blockquote" ( the double-quote icon ) - and it's back to normal...
I prefer to work with the raw source html tags, but whatever works. 
MACJR
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LOL @MACJR - there was a time I lived and breathed HTML !
Had enough of it
- but I admire your tenacity !
I seriously recommend not copying my mistakes. D'oh - 
Please make your own, different mistakes, and help us all learn :-)
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I love playing with HTML, but I can reach a point of burnout that takes months, or even a year or two, to recover from.
I am still in recovery mode now, in fact. Rather than get back to work on my web sites, that I left hanging last year, I decided to take up the violin instead.
Still, the itch to get back to making web pages is starting to get more noticeable. When I start tinkering with tags in a message board post, it is a sign it will not be much longer before I am diving back into a deep pool of raw HTML and CSS again.
MACJR
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MACJR said
Although I had read an old 1920s lesson book, a free online resource I had come across somewhere, that said to hold the bow at an angle. Unfortunately, I failed to implement that at first. It was only when I was watching a Fiddlerman video, several weeks later, that I noticed how his bow was at an angle that I recalled reading that was the proper form. Since then, I have been working harder to remember to angle my bow. It does help.
According to my teacher, you tilt it at the frog, with a smooth shift to flat as you get further and further towards the tip. It's to (partly) offset the increase force your hand exerts near the frog. You decrease the amount of bow contact to compensate for that.
Tilting it more in the middle is only for special cases, like bouncing.
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I will check out how I am working the bowing angles during my next practice session, a bit later. My usual practice time is in the early afternoon. It is still morning here in the West coast.
Thanks for the info though, Charles. It may be of help. Although my bowing is much better than it was in the beginning, I do still need to improve.
MACJR
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During today's violin practice, with my CEVN-1BK, I finally had enough. That A string was just too hard to play with the bridge shaped the way it was. So I loosed the strings and pulled out the bridge to do some work on it.
I had held off doing this bridge work because I plan to buy new Teller bridges soon, but this A string issue is just too annoying. I had to do something now!
After I took the bridge out, I compared it to a 42 mm arc and discovered the Cecilio bridge was indeed off, but not where I thought it was. It looked like the D string was too low, but actually, it was the E string that was too high. The G and D strings were more or less right on the mark. A was close, but E was off by at least a millimeter. Yeah, a millimeter is not a lot, but any loss of bowing space for a beginner is too much.
Using a couple needle files I corrected the arc of the bridge and then made better string grooves. Then I used a number 2 pencil to graphite lube the newly adjusted grooves and reinstalled the bridge.
After tuning the strings, I did some scales and then played a tune I have been having trouble with, one with a lot of A string action.
The A string is easier to play now. Unfortunately, fixing the A string did not cure my beginner playing skills though. I am still going to have to work hard at getting better at playing that A string, coming over from the G and D string direction. At least now I know that there was indeed an A string issue, and not just a beginning player's problem.
MACJR
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LOL, Correcting the A string didn't cure your beginner skills. That cracks me up!
Glad that you were able to fix it.
For everyone,
If you make new grooves on a bridge after reshaping, do not make them deep. Make them as small as possible. It's better that the pressure of the string makes a resting spot than that you do it with a file or knife. I needs to be just enough that the string won't roll off it's correct position. The string will eventually embed itself. If you make deep grooves, the wood will dampen the vibrations a bit.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Fiddlerman said
LOL, Correcting the A string didn't cure your beginner skills. That cracks me up!
Glad that you were able to fix it.
For everyone,
If you make new grooves on a bridge after reshaping, do not make them deep. Make them as small as possible. It's better that the pressure of the string makes a resting spot than that you do it with a file or knife. I needs to be just enough that the string won't roll off it's correct position. The string will eventually embed itself. If you make deep grooves, the wood will dampen the vibrations a bit.
Glad you got a chuckle out of it.
And, in fact, I did file those new grooves a touch too deep for steel core strings. The new grooves are probably about perfect for synthetic core strings though.
I was not too worried about that though. As I mentioned before, I will be buying new Teller bridges soon, so this was just a good bridge work practice session for me. At least the tops of the strings are still above the arc of the bridge, just a fraction lower than they should be though.
MACJR
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Lowering that E string side of the bridge to the proper height sure did help making that A string more accessible. I took a little time ahead of my normal practice time to test playing the EV this morning. I had fixed the bridge near the end of yesterday's lesson, so I only did a quick test of play-ability after I had finished. This morning I took just a little more of a test drive with it, but my full practice session will start here in a bit.
What I found, so far, though, is that playing the B, C, and D notes on the A string are vastly easier now. Before the bridge fix, it was harder than heck to get those notes without brushing up against either the D or E strings. There was just no room for error, and no elbow room at all. Being a beginning player, that is disaster. Getting the B, C, and D notes on the A string were possible, just very, very difficult.
Now, after the fix, I can play the A string notes much easier. I still brush up against the D or E string every now and then, but far less often. It is much easier to correct my bowing, on the spot, now, for the A string notes.
I am pleased.
Now, I just need to refine my bowing, and fingering, skill some more, so there are even fewer unwanted brushes with the D and E strings while playing the A string.
MACJR
Mac now that you have the bridge set the way you like, look through the strings from the side (at your bowing area). You will see that when the G and E are lined up, so are the D and A, but there is a 1/4" gap between them. Now twist the violin a hair and line up the G with the A, and notice about -1/8" gap, then the D with the E should be another -1/8" gap. These numbers aren't real, just impressions to give you the idea. When a bridge is flat the 1/8 can be close to 1/32. This just gives you a quick idea of how a bridge is cut, when looking at a different violin.
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Yes, even with good spacing, there is still not a lot of room to bow in.
The good news is that I am starting to adjust to the properly spaced strings now. Just did a quick mini-practice sessions and it went better than yesterday's pre-practice practice session.
Now, it is time to start focusing more on key signatures and timing. Oh, and trying to get my fingers to do that vibration thing... that looks so easy, but is not easy to do at all.
MACJR
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