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Becoming a violin  luthier

The path to luthiery is different for everyone, whilst traditionally it was a father-son apprenticeship, or apprenticeship to a violin maker you knew, this is less likely in Australia than somewhere like Europe. Thus for some it means going overseas to study, or taking up a kind of apprenticeship in a specialty music shop.  There is something about being an apprentice in an old world  European workshop that appeals to us all I think…and some secrecy too.

In getting to know violin luthiers here in Brisbane and further afield, there is a bit of a mix of all of these and everyones path is somewhat different. For my own part, coming from an academic background I can see the advantages of a deep dive under a single master, but also the wide range of expertise from a course of study, or a more collegiate style approach.

However you get your start I am not sure it matters so much its generally driven by passion rather than anything else. Along the way there are plenty of barriers of entry to the trade to deter the casual and while luthiers are in short supply, its not something to do if you want to make a lot of money.

Most luthiers I have come across have an intrest in music, usually and ideally a string player in music. They also need to have some manner of mechanical aptitude and affinity with wood. Luthiery is thus the intersection of these two skill sets – and they don’t commonly intersect  – but here is the sweet spot for a violin luthier. Being able to play the violin and perhaps even teaching experience all helps in under standing the needs of a player – and is a really important ingredient for understanding what a violin should be able to do. A musical ear is really helpful here for fine tonal adjustments. An ability to understand the mechanics of a violin, how it works from a acoustical-mechanical perspective help guide the craft. An appreciation for fine tolerances, combined with practical skills with tools is the second major skill set. Understanding wood and tools used to work wood at fine tolerances, together with finishing and construction are something that need to also be developed along the way. 

So if you can play a Paganini caprice or two and cut a decent dovetail joint…you will likely make a fabulous luthier in time.

For the rest of us mere mortals this is something we might work up to in time, not sure about the Paganini bit…but hey this is a blog). Luthiery, just like playing a violin is where a teacher plays a pivotal role. Being shown technique  and then practicing your scales err… skills over and over is important. After you have carved and admired your first bridge, you will look back on it 50 bridges later and wonder what you were thinking…and so one as you master technique after technique.

My own journey began as a player, and then repair of my childrens instruments under the watchful eye of a violin maker friend…eventually he told me to hang a sign out…but more on that later.

I had this lovely Chinese Zither in for some minor work last week. Its proper name is a Guzheng. Its a plucked instrument like a horizontal harp if you will.

Accompanying it was a Ruan that also need some work, A Ruan is a kind of Chinese guitar that comes in three sizes and it tuned tonic-fith-tonic fith

Cara, the artist who brought them in is a regular performer, here is one of her recording for the ABC.

Visiting artist Bulgantamir brought this amazing horsehead fiddle by my workshop for some minor work. It has 2 strings, that are made of twisted horsehead. Inside the instrument is a bass bar and sound post. The music was interesting, lots of harmonics and rhythmic bowing.

Catch him on insta

Make makes a violin expert? Are you looking for a violin expert then you might have come to the right place ……or you might not? It’s a self appointed label a violin store or workshop owner might give themselves. So what would make a violin expert, would you need to be an expert violin player, a expert luthier with expert knowledge of product? …

If your looking for a violin expert to fit out your young child with an instrument you might be looking for something quite different to a concert violinist looking for a new specialist instrument for soloing.

So after 40 years of violin playing (not all of it at a high level), working as a violin luthier for various music shops and apprenticing to a violin maker I find myself unwilling to venture in and call myself an expert ( Dunning Kruger have something to say on this ) . Yet when I look at the instruments that come to me for repair, or someone coming to buy an instrument I certainly think I have a measure of some expertise to offer. Many find my perspective as a player, educator, luthier and also as a parent of young players helpful.

Ernst Keller Violin Review.

I see Ernst Keller Violins come my way in the shop occasionally. These violins are less common of the student violins in the market  and I suspect this is because they don’t make the teacher recommended list. One the surface Ernst Keller violins are pretty much like the other beginner student violins on the market, though they feel a little heavy. What I think sets them apart from the teacher recommended brands is the setup. On the Ernst Keller violins I have seen the nut heights are usually too high and bridge shape and sound post not always positioned optimally, which can affect the sound and the playability. I suspect, as this is a violin that most often makes its way into generalist music stores, that the setup might be done with sufficient expertise…but thats just a guess  The Guarneri style chin rest doesn’t always suit young chin shapes either. So the Ernst Keller violin review verdict , good bones and a solidly built instrument and with a bit of care they can sound OK.

So in my spare moments I have been restoring this lovely old French cello. It’s had by the look of it a very full life with extensive work done on the neck and some sound post patches.  It has a highly resonant top plate that unfortunately has split in several places and many of the edges and a corner are quite badly damaged.

The top plate itself has shrunk such that gluing it back together would like cause tension in other areas of the top plate and in places has been filled with a black glue that was quite hard to remove.  

Leaving the top on the cello on initially, as it was to fragile to remove it, I set about rebuilding the splits with thin slivers of spruce inserted and stabilising the other five cracks. Then the top plate was stable enough to be removed and then worked on in my cello cradle. Here more than twenty cleats were installed across the various cleats. Cleats go cross grain in an offset pattern to spread the stress unevenly to other grain lines. These days I’m using parallelogram shaped cleats and finishing them in  a slight pyramid feathering to the edge to remove mass – they are not as manificent as my teachers though. I then burnish them slightly with some pigments to blend it in with the old wood.

Next up are the edge repairs and corners repairs to the cello, unfortunately many of these go beyond the purfling line and the wood next to them is quite weathered as well, so I have gone for an edge doubling technique to provide better mechanical strength. The lower layer is hidden and thus can be slightly- or a lot cross grain for strength. Normally cross grain is somewhat avoided because of shrinkage cross grain with age will be different for the old and new timbers, but in this case was needed to hold the edge together. The top layer is matched for the grain of the top plate though. One the timber is rebuilt and shaped, new purfling can be installed once some channels are carved.  Colouring new wood to old wood is a challenge, whilst I have the traditional pigments, building up the layers and how the light plays through it is a whole art in itself, the main thing is the repair doesn’t draw attention to itself.

Once all back together a new bridge was needed – it seems the top sits higher  now that the structure has been restored…and the sound…sublime!!!