All depends how much you want the fiddle muted. You can get a rubber mute that fits on your bridge for a few dollars. For about $20US, you can get a metal mute, and they really reduce the sound. Great for folks living in apartments. Just be careful when you put it on your fiddle that you don't drop it and scratch your fiddle. very easy to use. If it bothers your brother that much, I'd have your brother cough up the money.
But don't make a habit of using the mute all the time when you practice - use it only when really necessary. Too much practice with the mute can affect your tone control.
Both of the above are excellent advice. I use a heavy Meisel metal mute (be careful not to drop it - can't stress that enough) for early morning and working through difficult passages, but augment that with lots of muteless playing -- not to say loud all the time, but to experiment with playing loudly, playing softly, bearing down on the bow, holding it lightly, etc.
i dont play the fiddle but i have heard that using a mute can cause you to play sharp as if lowers the pitch... therfore when you play without it you are playing too sharp... if you get my drift... i think anyways...
I had an ebony mute which seems to keep the tone more mellow and full bodied then a metal one though it doesn't reduce the decibels quite as much, I would say that unless you are both in the same room, it would lower it enough anyway and sounds far richer then the metal one even though it is fussier to position for an even distribution of sound.
Saxwhistle is in good company (although wrong). I once heard the leader of one of my orchestras remark that putting a mute on made his fiddle play flat (eyebrows raised among his listeners). I think what is happening is that the mute cuts out most of the upper harmonics and this fools the ear into thinking the pitch of the instrument has dropped. Can't say I've noticed the phenomenon myself, but then at my age I'm probably not hearing those high harmonics very much anyway.
An old-fashioned forked clothes peg carefully pushed on to the bridge horizontally from the bass side works well (but I don't mute when practising - the neighbours make enough noise themselves). Those ebony ones that you put on the top of the bridge make me paranoid - imagine the damage if you forgot it was on there and banged down the lid of the case.
I've always used a spring-type clothes pin, mostly because they are readily available and cost almost nothing. (Yeah, Scots-Irish. Does it show?)
Besides, if it really bothers your brother all that much, you could always get a mike and an amp.....
fiddle mutes
fiddle mutes
hello,
This is just a little question about fiddle mutes:
Which shall i get?there are so many to choose from
All i want to do is stop my brother getting p*ssed off when i practice!
Are they easy to take on and off? And what do all the different types do?
cheers for any info
Jake
# Posted on August 11th 2007 by sloth
Re: fiddle mutes
All depends how much you want the fiddle muted. You can get a rubber mute that fits on your bridge for a few dollars. For about $20US, you can get a metal mute, and they really reduce the sound. Great for folks living in apartments. Just be careful when you put it on your fiddle that you don't drop it and scratch your fiddle. very easy to use. If it bothers your brother that much, I'd have your brother cough up the money.
Good luck,
Larry
# Posted on August 11th 2007 by nofrets
Re: fiddle mutes
But don't make a habit of using the mute all the time when you practice - use it only when really necessary. Too much practice with the mute can affect your tone control.
# Posted on August 11th 2007 by Trevor Jennings
Re: fiddle mutes
Both of the above are excellent advice. I use a heavy Meisel metal mute (be careful not to drop it - can't stress that enough) for early morning and working through difficult passages, but augment that with lots of muteless playing -- not to say loud all the time, but to experiment with playing loudly, playing softly, bearing down on the bow, holding it lightly, etc.
# Posted on August 11th 2007 by fidkid
Re: fiddle mutes
I use the little rubber one that fits on the bridge. It's inexpensive and does the trick just fine.
# Posted on August 11th 2007 by justwhistle
Re: fiddle mutes
Or use a clothes peg - the type with a built-in metal spring.
# Posted on August 11th 2007 by Trevor Jennings
Re: fiddle mutes
i bought a metal one, but it was too much, so i usually use clothes pin.
# Posted on August 12th 2007 by Kheelch
Re: fiddle mutes
"if you want to mute the treble put more below the bass strings and vice versa"
Pardon the tangent, but if anyone could explain the physics of [above] to me, why, I'd be much obliged.
# Posted on August 12th 2007 by Tall, Dark, and Mysterious
Re: fiddle mutes
i think i'll go for rubber rather than metal.
I've also seen some ebony ones, are these any good?
cheers
jake
# Posted on August 12th 2007 by sloth
Re: fiddle mutes
i dont play the fiddle but i have heard that using a mute can cause you to play sharp as if lowers the pitch... therfore when you play without it you are playing too sharp... if you get my drift... i think anyways...
# Posted on August 12th 2007 by saxwhistle
Re: fiddle mutes
saxwhistle your an idiot by using mute your reducing the amount of vibrations causing less volume not pitch
# Posted on August 12th 2007 by Irish Mandolin
Re: fiddle mutes
I had an ebony mute which seems to keep the tone more mellow and full bodied then a metal one though it doesn't reduce the decibels quite as much, I would say that unless you are both in the same room, it would lower it enough anyway and sounds far richer then the metal one even though it is fussier to position for an even distribution of sound.
# Posted on August 12th 2007 by StevieE
Re: fiddle mutes
Saxwhistle is in good company (although wrong). I once heard the leader of one of my orchestras remark that putting a mute on made his fiddle play flat (eyebrows raised among his listeners). I think what is happening is that the mute cuts out most of the upper harmonics and this fools the ear into thinking the pitch of the instrument has dropped. Can't say I've noticed the phenomenon myself, but then at my age I'm probably not hearing those high harmonics very much anyway.
# Posted on August 12th 2007 by Trevor Jennings
Re: fiddle mutes
An old-fashioned forked clothes peg carefully pushed on to the bridge horizontally from the bass side works well (but I don't mute when practising - the neighbours make enough noise themselves). Those ebony ones that you put on the top of the bridge make me paranoid - imagine the damage if you forgot it was on there and banged down the lid of the case.
# Posted on August 12th 2007 by RichardB
Re: fiddle mutes
I've always used a spring-type clothes pin, mostly because they are readily available and cost almost nothing. (Yeah, Scots-Irish. Does it show?)
Besides, if it really bothers your brother all that much, you could always get a mike and an amp.....
# Posted on August 14th 2007 by ismisepol