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Probably not very helpful as it involves more expense but I practice at night on an unplugged electric NS violin. The NS series of violins are very quiet unplugged. I often practice while watching TV and can clearly hear the TV sound over the violin. If you are in another room behind a closed door, I bet your family would not even hear you at all.
Note that not all electric violins are this quiet. I had a Yamaha SV130 and that was almost as loud as my acoustic violin.
Rubber practice mutes cover the whole top of the bridge and are a couple bucks, works pretty good. Heavy metal practice mutes will make a fiddle very quiet but will leave indentations on the bridge, probably not a big deal if it’s a cheap bridge.
The first method I used was the clothes pin. You can put one on each side of the bridge, might be able to fit two on each side. You can put a little piece of egg carton foam between the pin and the bridge.
Edited by - Johnny Rosin on 02/11/2019 14:42:54
Here's the mute that I use. Sure, in an ideal world I'd never have to use it, but I live with people, and the reality is that I use the mute or I don't play at all. If you're in a similar situation, buy it. Works great.
amazon.com/gp/product/B006GCNU...TF8&psc=1
I use a heavy metal mute when I want to play quietly BUT I don't think it's a good idea to do it a lot--especially not at the beginning. It mellows things out and creates a pleasant sound which can make it jarring to go back to playing without it. I think it's important to be able to hear exactly what's going on--all the time, but especially early on.
But, that said, being able to practice comfortably and in a relaxed sort of way--even if that involves a mute--is really important.
I have close neighbors and I love the freedom that I have to play as loud and as long as I want when I find myself in a parking lot with no one around, for example, waiting for my husband to finish with work. Keep an eye out for opportunities like that. :)
When I was in the hospital for extended-stay chemo treatments, I mentioned to my doctor that I was concerned a out neuropathy affecting my ability to feel the strings. I was under doctor's order (really!!) to play 4-5 hours a day. To do this in a hospital room without disturbing other patients was difficult. I tried all sorts of mutes, the heavy metal one was the best, but my fiddle was still too loud. So, a friend loaned me his electric (or silent) violin. Problem solved! I could play at any time and not bother anyone. I mostly noodled around playing hymns and songs of the Thanksgiving/Christmas season. I did play some old time/Missouri tunes, but nearly always returned to other familiar melodies.
The result - absolutely no chemo-related neuropathy AND my playing improved tremendously.
Mutes - heavy metal ones provide the highest level of dampening. The rubber mutes not as much, but they retained much of the tone and dynamics - just muted.
It won't completely solve your problem, but you can also spend some time learning to play quietly. Its a useful skill, although not so easy to master. You can also practice left hand work by just lightly strumming the strings, which can help you concentrate on fingering, and is much quieter than the bow.
Edited by - DougD on 02/12/2019 05:48:43
Mutes are good, but an understanding and supportive family is better. If you go into a separate room and close the door, you likely won't be much of a disturbance. Prearranged practice time prepares the family.
One thing I do is take my fiddle to work and practice during my lunch break at a nearby park. If it's cold or bad weather, I sit in the passenger seat of my car.
Speaking of banjos and lunch breaks, my friend Lee Sexton worked in the coal mines for many years. He started taking his banjo down in the mine with him to play during his lunch break. At first there was some question about whether this was permitted, but Lee said it was his own time and he could do whatever he wanted, and that's the way it turned out. I imagine his fellow workers enjoyed it too.
I remember seeing something about how Lee Sexton played at the mine in the documentary, Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus. Here's a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMDvVi24Lj0
I solved this by not practicing. I play at the jam and that's really the only time I practice. Once in a while if nobody is home I'll play some tunes for my parrots. That never works though. One is scared to death and the other has to yell through the whole tune so I can't hear a thing. So yeah, no practicing for me.
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