I have a standard Tourte round violin mute, which I use regularly for orchestral playing. It does it's job very well, sits on the bridge and has the desired effect etc., but I have one problem: Every time I move it on or off the bridge it makes rather loud creaking/flatulent noises, which is rather embarassing in rehearsals and generally bad in concerts.

Does anyone have any advice on any way I can stop or reduce these noises, or is it just a case of put up with it or get a new mute?

Is it a fairly new mute? New mutes i find tend to be quite tight on the bridge and so you get the noise of the friction created. I've just been experimenting with my mute and have found that it seems to make less noise if you place it on top of the bridge and then gently press down with one finger as then you are not in so much danger of catching a string. However I apprecciate that some pieces require some fairly speedy mute applications.

I'm in a chamber group, and pretty much all the violinists have the Tourtes. Unfortunately 2 people have similarly squeaky mutes, which gets realy embarrassing for them! Most of the round Tourtes are softer (mine's never given me any trouble) - more rubbery, less plasticky. I'd get a new one, to be honest (they're not toooo expensive), and I'd check it's rubberier first.

Just move it slowly. I have a Tourte mute for cello, standard rubber material, and I've not had any squeaking problem. The only problem I've ever had with it was accidentally putting my soft cello case over it, and then grabbing the case from the handle, which caused the mute to push pressure into my strings, effectively destroying my A and D string.

That was 6 years ago. Thank goodness.

If you need a quick and instant fix, something I've used before is a smudge of Vaseline on the bridge, which seems to stop the creaking and squeaking. I'm a cellist, but I guess it'd work for violin as well. Not sure about the long-term effects of using it would be though, or if it would affect the sound of the instrument. Probably best to get a new mute, and try it on your instrument before buying.

Thanks for the replies

Yeah, the mute is pretty new and quite plastic-y. It's not desparate, so I'll have a look for a new one the next time I can get to the music shop and just try and be more careful until then.

Bend it around a bit when you're deciding whether to buy it or not... it should be bendier if its a softer version, and less shiny. No idea why they're inconsistent like that...

Scribble some graphite pencil inside it, and on the bridge too if you want. It works as a lubricant.

I DONT KNOW IF THIS WILL WORK SO DON'T BLAME ME IF IT DOESN'T

I just thought of puttin the oven on, and puttin the mute in, at like 80C for like a minute or maybe 30seconds, and letting it soften a little, but i gess it would go brittle again?

Again, just an idea. Probably woul just melt your mute.

Oh yeh, take it off your violin first if you try it, lol