Violin Lessons - Whistling E String

Thank you ! This is an absolutely good video ! In Mauritius the weather changers often, and I noticed that it affects my violins to some extent. I was wondering till I came across your video. Thanks again. By the way, tuning the violin at 440 Hz or, 432 Hz, or 420 hz appears to be an issue among a few Violinists. I am still a Learner and would appreciate your advice. Thank you.

Judex, I would suggest tuning your violin to 440. It is very important when learning to keep your violin tuned to 440 for training your ear for good intonation. Best Heather

Thank you Heather. I was a Champion in snapping the Strings. Now I have got all tuned to 440 Hz. Training my ears now. Thanks again and Cheers !

I use Helicore fo the GDA and for the E I use a Vision,an never git inney whistlin

When you buy violin E strings usually buy a certain fixed thickness. However if you experiment with plain steel Guitar E's- those come in different thicknesses starting from .008 going up all the way to .017 inch size . I found the .011 to be good in my case. This way you can get what your instrument likes best. They are a dollar each so no worries. Also about the whistling I found that accumulated rosin on the E makes it worse. Again as Heather says nothing is fool proof so sometimes I change the fingering or bowing if it is possible to avoid whistling.
Anthony

Thanks I was in a quandary about that very problem. 

Thanks Heather. Amazingly helpful!

I am switching a set of Dominant strings from my daughter's 10 year old 1/2 size Stentor onto a 90 year old German made "Marcus Berini" 3/4 size on which both of my E strings have a very bad whistle, (but only when played open), wheras neither had any whistle on the Stentor, (Chinese made) using the same two e strings. I have ordered and am waiting for a "Pirastro Universal no 1" wound e string and hoping that this sorts the problem out, (not exactly the same string as advised here), because generally the tone of the Marcus Berini Violin is notably better than the Stentor apart from that problem.
I was advised by the previous owner that there were some small hairline splits on the top, but I have stored it from June to now and probably my house is more humid and the splits have closed to the point of being undetectable and so I can't attempt to glue them. Could these supposed hairline be a cause for the whistle?

Thanks for summing up this so nicely. It is so hard to find good advice on this topic. If nothing helps: use a wound E string, e.g. Pirastro Eudoxa wound E string. A wound string provides a much better grip for the bow, so whistling close to impossible.

Hi Heather tyvm for your video. You play very well, very smooth and fluent. Here is a tip from me to you. Your reverb in that room would be excellent for a harmonica player but not for a violin. Suggestion' hang some tapestry or blankets on 2 parallel walls in that room and it will absorb the sound and cut back on the echo a bit. Your welcome

Is your protector an inlaid hardwood or something stuck on?

Thanks

My problem solved. Thank you for your help.

Great trouble-shooting video. I found it helpful.

helpful--thanks!

there is no tube on my E string but I dont think its cutting into the bridge so far. I use the strings my violin came with. So far no problems they stay in tune, and I can use all my 4 fine tunners which I like as I am worried about using the tuning pegs to much it might case wear and tear to the peg box. Good video :)

You are just adorable up close ... Thanks for the info...

I have used a 'Kaplan' non whistling E String. It worked as advertised.

Amazingly helpful tutorial. Thank you.

Great video I shall try those tips 🌻

not the weather, why would it affect a metal string

Thankyou! Amazing video : )
I didn't knew about the role of the tube with the E string and unfortunately enough my E string did make its impression into the bridge.
Thanks for letting me know.
Just curious to know wether the non whistling E string have a less ringing sound than the more whistling ones?

My F# on my e string 1st finger position always sounds scratchy and very unclear. But my open e sounds fine. Is there something wrong with my technique or violin setup?

Thank you!

Thanks for the tips. I tried that Pirasrtro Gold. Whistling for days. I had good success with a wound Dominant, but now I have an electric violin that whistles EVERY TIME, even with the wound Dominant. Bering totally honest, I really don't see a problem with my technique, as it does it no matter what I do.

Thank you great info

This was the most helpful video for violin playing that I've seen in over 10 years. Thank you so much. I am now going to make me a bridge for wider string spacing. If that doesn't fix the problem then I will make me a new nut for the fingerboard. My hand is over 8 inches long and my fingers are 3/4 of an inch wide. My hand is proportional, I'm just over 6 feet tall. It didn't help that I played on a full size violin with a 3/4 size bridge for over 10 years. My old teacher told me during the first lesson that there was something wrong with my bridge and then replaced it with a bridge that would make me touch and play 3 strings at the same time. She only did me that way. I don't know if that made me a better player after all, but about 15 years later, what she said, "there's something wrong with your bridge", is ringing in my ears again. I don't know how to feel about that, but thanks so much for this video!

Perfect and easy to understand. Thanks for the video!

A music shop salesman will always tell you the E string is garranteed not to whistle to charge you the top price for it. I find all my strings whistle I think the fine tuners have something to do with it . Adam Beanstock

Glad I took up Mandolin. We have our own set of problems: buzzing from frets due to poor set up, to name one example.

Thanks for this info