# Violin break during concert



## h1478971

what happens if a musicians violin string in a concert breaks? What does he do?

Also what happens if it were a soloist?


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## jurianbai

see videos:











of course need luck , when it's 'safe' to break.


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## Zanralotta

jurianbai said:


> see videos:
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> of course need luck , when it's 'safe' to break.


Wow... The first one is the perfect example why it's stupid to put on old strings right before a concert, "because they're more broken in and sound better". Such an annoying and sadly common thing! 
A string can always break during a performance, you don't need to push your luck


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## Musicdude

Trust me, she didnt put on "old strings". She put on strings that had been played on. When one puts on a new string, it takes about 3-4 days for it to settle in and retain it's pitch. And they sound horrible, they squeak and are just a real pain. There's an art as to when you change your strings, nobody would dare to put on new strings right before a solo performance, they wouldnt stay in tune for 15 seconds.


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## TresPicos

h1478971 said:


> what happens if a musicians violin string in a concert breaks? What does he do?
> 
> Also what happens if it were a soloist?


I saw a soloist's string break at a concert once. The concertmaster quickly handed over his violin to the soloist and the guy sitting behind the concertmaster equally quickly handed over his violin to the concertmaster, all within a few seconds. I don't know if that's the standard practice, but I guess so. They all seemed to know exactly what to do.

I don't remember if there was actually a third hand-over as well, so that the guy sitting behind the concertmaster got a violin from the person sitting on his left, so that the violinist ending up idle would be one less exposed to the audience.


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## Musicdude

TresPicos said:


> I don't know if that's the standard practice, but I guess so..


Yes, that is protocol.

If the soloist breaks a string, he/she grabs the concertmasters fiddle. If the concertmaster breaks a string, he/she grabs a fiddle. If the section players break a string, they are outta luck.

In many orchestras, one violinist is designated "String carrier". They have a set in their pocket and can pass up a string. It matters where in the piece the string breaks. If it is near the end, an orchestra player just goes with 3. If a soloist breaks a string at the beginning, they will stop and change it. It's VERY hard to pick up a stranger's fiddle and play it well. They are all different and take getting used to. Therefore, one only does the fiddle-grab near the end.

I'm a pro violinist. I've done the fiddle-grab exactly one time.  In chamber music I have broken a string, left the stage and changed it. As an orchestra section player, I usually go with 3. One time I broke one during the 1st mvmt of Mahler 3 (his longest). I sat there for a minute thinking. I then got up and left, came back with a new string on. I had like 75 minutes to go, and I wasnt about to attempt it with 3 strings.


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## AmateurComposer

h1478971 said:


> what happens if a musicians violin string in a concert breaks? What does he do?
> 
> Also what happens if it were a soloist?


It is bad enough when a string breaks. How about the bow?


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## Musicdude

AmateurComposer said:


> It is bad enough when a string breaks. How about the bow?


Sissy stuff. You say you want a violin break? I'll give ya a steenkin violin break!

The following is a real piece. It's well known in the contemporary classical world and performed often, it's called "8 songs for a Mad King" by Peter Maxwell Davies. Look at the video around 1:50 and watch what happens in the next 10 seconds. This is written into the score, it happens at every performance:


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## jurianbai

He was inspired by Jimi Hendrix or Kurt Cobain.


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## Musicdude

jurianbai said:


> He was inspired by Jimi Hendrix or Kurt Cobain.


This piece came before Woodstock.


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## AmateurComposer

Musicdude said:


> Sissy stuff. You say you want a violin break? I'll give ya a steenkin violin break!
> 
> The following is a real piece. It's well known in the contemporary classical world and performed often, it's called "8 songs for a Mad King" by Peter Maxwell Davies. Look at the video around 1:50 and watch what happens in the next 10 seconds. This is written into the score, it happens at every performance:


1. Please do not put words in my mouth. I did NOT say that I want a violin break. In fact, I do not want any such thing. I feel sorry for a performer whose performance is ruined because of such accident.

2. If the event is written into the score, and it happens at every performance, then it is not a break. It is part of the performance.


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## Fsharpmajor

AmateurComposer said:


> Please do not put words in my mouth. I did NOT say that I want a violin break. In fact, I do not want any such thing


Musicdude was making a one-upmanship joke of the "you think you're tough? I'll show you who's tough" variety. I don't believe that he meant to offend you.


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## AmateurComposer

Fsharpmajor said:


> Musicdude was making a one-upmanship joke of the "you think you're tough? I'll show you who's tough" variety. I don't believe that he meant to offend you.


He claimed that I said something which I did not say. I believe I had the right to protest and to set the record straight. I was not offended.

As for the "one-upmanship joke of the <you think you're tough? I'll show you who's tough> variety" - I pointed out in my second part of my response to his post that he was confusing, let me put it in an analogy, between a road traffic accident and a destruction derby - the former being an unplanned for tragedy while the latter being deliberate and intended for entertainment.


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## Earthling

Geez, it was just a joke...


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## David58117

Earthling said:


> Geez, it was just a joke...


I understood it as one as well. I didn't think there was a record that needed to be set straight. Oh well, time goes on.


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## Signore

Well, forget about it...


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