Healthy Tones Versus Unhealthy Sounds

How do you know you are producing the right sound on your instrument?
You can start by determining whether the sound coming out of your instrument is healthy.

First, let us determine what constitutes a healthy sound. One can argue that tone quality is a matter of taste for both the player and the listener. Even though that might be true to some extent, there is still a fine line there.

A sound is unhealthy.
When it is scratchy at any dynamic level.
If it fails to meet the required intensity in different passages.
The player's tone is inconsistent. As a side note, bowing technique and location affect tone quality for string players.

Having said all this, how do you determine that you are producing a tone at its absolute best? That means making a healthy sound versus an unhealthy one.

The first step is to listen to the sound you produce. Players often need to pay more attention to the sounds they produce. They think they do, but that is not always the case.

Listening, then, is the first prerequisite for creating a healthy tone.

The second aspect is to imagine the tone you want to hear from your instrument.

Thus, as you listen, you must determine the sound quality you would like to produce. That makes a huge difference when you know what sound you want to bring out of the instrument. That is also what makes our sounds unique as we play. Each player has a distinctive sound.

Pay close attention to each note you are playing. Listen to the sound with attention, as you can change it to your liking while focusing.

It is also important to be able to hear if your sound is unhealthy. Then, you can make the right connections.

When I was a teenager, I played chamber music with my sister and a friend. Our coach focused on me at some point because he was a string player himself. One of his comments was that I should listen to what was coming out of my instrument. When the sound was unhealthy, he asked me to change it to a healthier one. And that is when I learned that I have control over that.

Another aspect is the start of any note. The note should sound healthy from the beginning, not halfway along the way. And that is possible with focus and intention before starting any given piece.

Another way to ease this is to sing the note in your head before you start playing. That is one reason musicians pause to think before performing on stage. The result is bound to be successful, more so than if one had not taken that moment to think about the note in question.

To create a healthy sound, one must think ahead and know the type of sound one wants to hear. The sound they imagine and the sound they make should match. This is another way to avoid playing unhealthy sounds.

The player must remain engaged in this way throughout their playing. This will help them improve in general.

So, to improve tone quality, avoid unhealthy tones, listen, imagine, play, and match. You have to have a clear picture of what you want to achieve to produce healthy tones versus unhealthy ones.

I recommend listening to recordings made by professionals and skilled players. This is one of the best ways to get an idea about the instrument's specific tone qualities.

How do you ensure you produce healthy sounds when practicing or performing?