Just wondered if anyone else had experienced the same thing. Picked up my violin to play and it sounded REALLY loud. OH said it was no different to normal so I wasn't bowing differently or anything, but the sound was really loud and clear in my left ear.

I've had a bit of a cold so I'm wondering if it's something to do with having a blocked ear and it suddenly clearing or by being blocked there's a better connection between my chin rest, chin and ear and the sounds getting transmitted more through that route something.

Any ideas?

I'd say its likely to be because of your cold, cant imagine anything happening to make it louder
See how you go as you recover from your cold

Yes - I think it's probably that - I didn't think the violin had suddenly changed, but it was sooooo odd the apparent difference in volume was huge.

have you dropped your shoulder rest and not realised

LOL jo
my violin sounds the same with and without a s/r, infact many luthiers argue TOWARDS shoulder rests because they free up the back of the violin to vibrate because even if its resting on the collarbone it would probably be muffled by clothes/skin and a lot of people who play restless do have a portion of the violin pressed against them
i personally believe a well fitting s/r would enhance the sound if anything but thats just how i see it but either way the difference would be really minimal. also dont know if anyone has seen the new s/r's that have come out i cant remember the name but they are black and have a 'bar' across it to push the sides out so theyre not pushing in on the violin... (if that makes any sense!) good idea but i expect the difference would be so minimal/non existant that it's a bit of a wasted spend!

sorry heifetz, he'll be spinning in his grave

that said i still wish i could consistntly play without one!

well....my violin has been a lot louder since I've started playing without a shoulder rest (since a year and 4 months ago), and this is not me imagining it, I've had my son complaining how much louder I am (and this was 'instantly' the first day I stopped using the rest) and a friend as well has noticed!

I therefore 'assumed' it would be the same for others, but maybe not? Not that I care to be honest, I just thought maybe Badstrad has dropped her rest and not realised


AAAAHHHH now maybe I know why my violin sounds a lot louder now: mine does not press against me when I play (so not muffled by clothes/skin/etc).....so its back is well 'free'

When I was young I used to become deaf with catarrh, mostly but not always one ear at a time. The treatment in those days was hydrogen peroxide, which I think is now deprecated. When my hearing came back, after several days treatment, I noticed my clothes rustling very loudly when I moved for half a day or so. Eventually, the brain's filters (are they meaning-sensitive?) started working again, and I ceased to notice.

How's it today? Do others find it louder?

RE: Kenm's comment - same used to happen to me. My ears would clear quite suddenly and the world was suddenly so noisy! As he said, your brain must start to filter it out because you cease to notice

But what I didn't notice/can't remember but someone lese told me - if you lose hearing via the normal route (eardrum, etc) then noise getting through to the brain by other routes seems enhanced, and if the loss is sudden it can seem startling - so your analysis seems good. Hope you recover soon.

OK - well I hit the Olbas Oil last night, and today things seem much better - back to normal volume. So I think it must have been something to do with having blocked ears. Phew! For a little while, I thought I was going to have to give up my shouty girl (loud at the best of times) Calypso and go back to her quiet sweet cousin, Pandora. So glad it's better. Calypso is a wayyyy better violin.

Thanks for the support everyone.

Oh and BTW - I tried without a shoulder rest when I first started playing but I didn't like the feel of it on my collar bone - possibly the one boney part of me!