Protecting String Instruments from Cold Weather Changes: A How to Guide

Hi string players! If you’re in the Northern hemisphere like me, we’re going through the middle of fall, and soon we’ll be heading into winter! It’s only going to keep getting colder and colder from here, and we need to protect our instruments from the weather changes.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Protecting String Instruments from Cold Weather

If you’re new to the string instrument world, it might seem a bit crazy that we need to care for our instruments differently when it gets cold out. Here are a few FAQs to get started.

Why do we need to protect string instruments?

Traditional string instruments are made of wood, which is hygroscopic. This means that they attract and absorb moisture, causing them to swell in high humidity and shrink in lower humidity.

What does a change of humidity and temperature do to our instruments?

Changes in humidity and temperature can cause open seams, cracks in the wood, buzzing sounds, string wear and tear from the extra tuning, and a leaning or collapsed bridge, also from all the extra tuning.

We all want to avoid these. They’re not good for your instrument, and can turn into costly repairs! Let’s talk about how we can keep our instruments safe as we get into the colder weather.

General

In general, our string instruments like about the same level of temperature and humidity as we do: around 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit, and around 40-60% humidity. Our instruments feel changes in temperature and humidity just like our bodies do! If you’re not comfortable, your instrument likely isn’t comfortable, either. Instruments are at risk of cracking anywhere below 35% humidity.

Thankfully, our instruments are made with hide glue. When the wood of our instruments move, the hide glue breaks rather than the wood. In some extreme cases, the wood can crack, so if the glue on your instrument cracks or comes loose, be very careful and take it in for a repair right away!

Instruments with previous repairs are more susceptible to damage, because the previous repairs are more likely to split open than a solid instrument is.

In general, we want to avoid any abrupt changes in humidity, and acclimate the instrument slowly so nothing moves too fast and breaks.

What can we do to protect string instruments against the cold weather?

Get a hygrometer

Hygrometers measure how much humidity is in the air, and it’s very helpful to have one on hand.

You can buy one to sit in a room you often leave your instrument in, or you can get one for the inside of your case. Some cases even have a hygrometer built in! These aren’t always accurate, so you may want to test it against a more reliable hygrometer before trusting it.

If you’re unable to get a hygrometer, one way to test humidity levels is with your lips–if they’re dry, the instrument is also most likely too dry!

Once you have a hygrometer, monitor the humidity levels of where your instrument goes (practice room, concert hall, case, etc.) and try to determine what humidity level your instrument prefers the most. Some instruments sound the best in higher humidity, and some sound better in slightly lower humidity.

If you generally leave your instrument in one space, monitor the humidity levels of that room. If the room has low humidity you may want to invest in a humidifier, and if the room has higher humidity, you may want to get a dehumidifier.

Let’s talk about humidifiers!

Don’t use a warm mist humidifier in your practice space–they can breed mold in your instrument! I recommend evaporative humidifiers (which work by evaporating water off the filter and releasing it into the air), or you can get an ultra sonic humidifier – they use fast vibrations that suspend the water particles into the air. Ultra sonic humidifiers are quieter, but the evaporative are stronger.

Use your case

If you’re regularly transporting your instrument, keep it closed inside the case for as long as you can to guard against humidity changes. After a bit, crack the case to let the instrument acclimate slowly. Opening up your case too soon can actually produce condensation on your instrument!

You can get a humidifier for your case, but once you open it up, the humidity change will likely be more abrupt than it would be if you didn’t use a case humidifier. However, it is easier to control the humidity of a small case than it is to control the humidity of an entire room.

There are dampits, which go inside your instrument, and are great to use when your instrument is inside the case. They won’t make too much of a difference when the instrument is out and you’re playing, but if I’m in a very dry space I’ll sometimes play with my dampit in my viola.

Use a silk instrument bag

One thing that I really love is using a silk instrument bag. Mine is from Carmen Bruna Designs, and I love it! Here is their website, and you can find them on Instagram @carmenbrunadesigns! They post really beautiful product photos on their Instagram, so if you’re interested, I’d take a look there first to figure out what you might be interested in!

Using a bag helps slow down temperature and humidity changes. Small cracks in between zipper teeth can cause drafts, so adding a bag creates another layer of protection for your instrument!

Silk is the best fabric to chose. Since it’s tightly woven it will provide the best protection, but a tightly woven cotton will also work. Silk instrument bags also make great gifts!

Protect against the heat

In the winter, we of course turn on the heat. Since winter air is dry, the heat we pump into our homes also becomes dry. We want to keep our instruments away from heat sources, because the high concentration of dry air will cause the wood of the instrument to shrink.

Don’t leave your instrument out in the cold!

Don’t leave your instrument in your car (or any equally cold space) for extended periods of time. If you wouldn’t be comfortable in an environment for more than 5 or 10 minutes, neither would your instrument!

Your case won’t protect against the extreme temperature changes that take place in a cold car. If you have left your instrument in the car, transport it inside and leave it in the case for as long as possible to allow it to acclimate very slowly.

Clean up rosin

Try to remove rosin dust from your instrument every time you play. Raised humidity can make the rosin dust moist, and it’ll adhere to your instrument. It can affect looks, sound, and its longterm condition.

I keep a microfiber cloth in my case to wipe down my viola after every practice session and rehearsal. A few years ago I made a habit to always wipe it down, and it’s helped keep up the quality of my viola!

What to do if something bad happens

We can’t always control our environment, and of course we can’t control how our instrument will react. Here’s what to do if something bad happens!

Open seams

An open seam is where the seam of your instrument comes unglued. Your instrument will sound weird–the sound might not vibrate as well, and it might sound a little muffled. If you think you have an open seam but can’t find it, lightly knock around the edges of your instrument. If you have an open seam, that area will sound different from the rest of the instrument. If you find one, avoid playing and take your instrument into a luthier.

Buzzing

Buzzing happens when the bridge is lowered and the strings end up closer to the fingerboard. This happens when the wood of the instrument shrinks. Some large instruments have adjusters on the bridge to raise and lower the height of the strings. You can adjust these to reduce buzzing.

Leaning or Collapsed Bridge

If your instrument is repeatedly going out of tune and you’re tuning over and over again, check your bridge regularly to be sure that it’s still standing up straight. The bridge has a lot of tension on it from holding up all four strings, and the soundpost relies on this tension to stay in place.

Often, when a bridge collapses, the soundpost falls as well. If this happens, take it into the shop right away! Don’t attempt to replace the bridge and soundpost yourself, because their placement is very important to the unique sound of your instrument.

String wear and tear

If you’re repeatedly tuning, your strings will wear out faster than usual. They might unwind sooner, and will generally become weaker. It’s always a good idea to carry an extra set of strings just in case one breaks while you’re out playing!

Tips for Humans

It’s also important for us to stay healthy during the winter, especially this year. I won’t go into 2020-specific tips, but here are some ways to stay in top playing shape during the cold months.

Keep your fingers warm and moisturized

Wear gloves outside and before performing if you’re in a cold space and your hands are cold, and keep your hands moisturized to avoid cracking. I don’t know if you’ve ever played a string instrument with cracked skin on your fingers, but it’s not fun!

Moisturizing is especially important this year, with all the extra hand washing we’re all doing. I can’t use lotion right before playing, but I like to use lotion every night before bed and whenever my hands feel dry if I’m not around my instrument.

Keep your neck moisturized as well! If you’re an upper strings player and you have a violin hickey, keep it moisturized so it doesn’t get more irritated in the cold! I like to add moisturizer there every morning and night as part of my skin care routine during the colder months.

Warm up your muscles before playing

Our joints like warmth, and going from stillness to playing isn’t easy with cold muscles. Do some stretches or yoga before playing to gently warm up the muscles and ease into playing.

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Do you have any tips for caring for your string instrument during the cold weather? Let me know down below! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!