Rosin, How much to use? Options

[Celloman26]

I would really welcome some advice that I'm too shy to ask my teacher.

I always bathe my bow in rosin and end up with strings covered in rosin. Since I've started playing in a string ensemble, I can't help noticing that my strings are covered in rosin whereas most other players' strings are not.

Am I using too much? If I try to be economical with the rosin, I end up with a really scratchy tone. I must be doing something wrong, but I have no idea what! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)

Please help! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[owainsutton]

My advice is 'as little as possible'.

If you're getting scratchy sounds, it could be for any number of reasons. On the other hand, excessive rosin causes a coarse and inflexible tone, and hides only a little of any underlying problems.

I'd suggest cutting back on the rosin, and asking your teacher! If there's something awry with your technique, you might as well identify it.

Also: how old is your bow? Bow hair does degrade over time, either through use, or through lack of use (hair mites nibble away at neglected bows!)

[Tenor Viol]

You need enough rosin to cover the hair. Without rosin, your bow hair cannot grip the strings and make them vibrate. If you look along the length of the bow and flick the hair, you should see a puff of rosin dust along its length.

You should wipe your strings with a dry cloth to remove rosin from the strings when you finish playing.

It's a "Goldilocks" thing - neither too little nor too much!

[owainsutton]

If you look along the length of the bow and flick the hair, you should see a puff of rosin dust along its length.

I disagree with this - with the exception of a fairly new bow. It takes a few weeks for the rosin to gradually work its way into the full depth of the bow hair, and once this has happened you need to apply the rosin far less. Unless I do as much practice as I should (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) , I definitely don't add rosin every time I play.

[miffy]

You need enough rosin to cover the hair. Without rosin, your bow hair cannot grip the strings and make them vibrate. If you look along the length of the bow and flick the hair, you should see a puff of rosin dust along its length.

You should wipe your strings with a dry cloth to remove rosin from the strings when you finish playing.

It's a "Goldilocks" thing - neither too little nor too much!

Basically, yes!

And if you want to extend Tenor Viol's Goldilocks theme, it will also to some extent depend on the player, the bow, the strings and the type of rosin (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Celloman26]

My advice is 'as little as possible'.

If you're getting scratchy sounds, it could be for any number of reasons. On the other hand, excessive rosin causes a coarse and inflexible tone, and hides only a little of any underlying problems.

I'd suggest cutting back on the rosin, and asking your teacher! If there's something awry with your technique, you might as well identify it.

Also: how old is your bow? Bow hair does degrade over time, either through use, or through lack of use (hair mites nibble away at neglected bows!)

Thanks:
Have worked quite hard on bowing technique since starting - my teacher is very exacting on this point!

Bow: my new bow is only 3 months old, and the old bow was rehaired at the time I bought the new one. Teacher thinks both bows are of reasonable quality, particularly the new one.

I disagree with this - with the exception of a fairly new bow. It takes a few weeks for the rosin to gradually work its way into the full depth of the bow hair, and once this has happened you need to apply the rosin far less. Unless I do as much practice as I should (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) , I definitely don't add rosin every time I play.

At home, I experiment with not adding rosin each time I play, unless I can't make a decent sound - I still end up with rosin all over the strings!

You should wipe your strings with a dry cloth to remove rosin from the strings when you finish playing.

It's a "Goldilocks" thing - neither too little nor too much!

Basically, yes!

And if you want to extend Tenor Viol's Goldilocks theme, it will also to some extent depend on the player, the bow, the strings and the type of rosin (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I do clean the strings down with a dry cloth (well, almost all of the time when finished practising).
I'm beginning to appreciate there is a little controvesy on the 'rosin: how much' question. The Goldilocks analagy is probably the way forward.
I will ask my teacher for more advice at the next lesson! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[violinlove]

I do clean the strings down with a dry cloth (well, almost all of the time when finished practising).
I'm beginning to appreciate there is a little controvesy on the 'rosin: how much' question. The Goldilocks analagy is probably the way forward.
I will ask my teacher for more advice at the next lesson! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Every individual is different and every bow is different.
I use hardly any rosin at all - some people might be shocked but despite practising or playing every day for at least an hour I only rosin the bow about twice a week. I never put rosin on the bow just before a concert as I find it sounds far too rough and needs to be played in for a bit.
It's like most other things in string playing - finding what works for you.
However, if there is rosin all over your strings and cello everytime you play, then you could perhaps use a little less.
Your teacher is your best guide and you shouldn't be nervous or shy about asking something. There is no such thing as a daft question.

[cestrian]

This isn't an expert opinion (!) but when tackling the same problem I decided to not add any until I perceived the strings to have insufficient grip, I then added some. I also have rosin on my strings after playing, I don't think this is bad so long as it's not snowing all over the woodwork!

[mcm]

It also depends on the rosin - really cheap and nasty stuff makes a gritty sound and seems to fly off very quickly.

[janexxx]

I never use it unless I have too (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

Horrible stuff, it gunks up your strings, fiddle and bow. If the bow is slipping I put a few swipes on, if not I leave well alone and make sure I clean the horrible stuff off after each session.

Can't understand why fiddlers (as opposed to violinists (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ) seem to need to let the gunky stuff collect on their instruments like a badge of honour (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ill.gif)

[Flossie]

It also depends on the rosin - really cheap and nasty stuff makes a gritty sound and seems to fly off very quickly.

In my experience, light rosin seems to be dustier than dark rosin - but that could just be the particular ones I've used.

Celloman - I play violin not cello (so can't comment on current cello rosins - I used to play cello and my favourite was a dark rosin in a green cloth, but I can't remember what it was). I use Kaplan Art rosin (the dark) for my violin which creates virtually no dust and lasts for ages. I can get around 6 hours of playing out of one application, and run it along the bow 4 or 5 times when I need more. Make sure you run the rosin along the whole bow in a single movement - if you rub it up and down a little bit of the bow at a time then the rosin will often clump which can affect tone (apologies if you know this already - my first 2 cello teachers didn't tell me!).

[lottie]

My wound strings (viola) eat more rosin from off the bow-hair than the unwound strings I used previously.

I use Pirastro rosin, actually I think it's specifically Obligato rosin, and clean my strings every 4th or 5th time I play. I swipe the bow about twice every second time I play on average.

I did notice a bit of dust the other day so I think I may have used too much.


When I was a complete beginner (violin) I was struggling with a scratchy sound and ended up completely clogging up a bow with rosin from using too much... it made the sound much worse. It looked like it had been snowing heavily on my violin every time I played. I ended up having to send the bow away to be re-haired.

[viola-mad]

I use Kaplan Art rosin (the dark) for my violin which creates virtually no dust and lasts for ages.

I use the Kaplan Art light rosin, and there's hardly any dust off this either - it's great.

I tend to only apply rosin once or twice a week: when I go to a lesson or a rehearsal, never for private practice (that way I don't get confused!). And I hardly put any on, I just wipe it up and down the hair two or three times. Seems to work fine, and I very rarely feel as though I need more. And I always, always wipe strings, fingerboard and belly of the instrument, as well as the bow stick after every play. Quite apart from leaving a nasty sticky mess, I have heard that rosin dust can damage the finish of the instrument.

Bear in mind that it's easy to add more rosin, but once you've put too much on you're stuck with it - it takes a lot of playing to get it to wear off.

I'm always staggered when I go to rehearsals and see people applying rosin like they are scrubbing the floor (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)

[janexxx]

Make sure you run the rosin along the whole bow in a single movement - if you rub it up and down a little bit of the bow at a time then the rosin will often clump which can affect tone (apologies if you know this already - my first 2 cello teachers didn't tell me!).

Excellent advice (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Tenor Viol]

I think some of the issues around how much to use depend not only on the player but also on the type of rosin, there are different densities and they also vary in "stickyness".

Rosin dust is bad for varnish so it is a good idea to give the instrument a quick wipe after use.