Why do string quartets and other classical ensembles ask for the things they do when performing for your event?
In order to answer this question we needed more opinions and advice than just our own. JP Lucas, a luthier in Salt Lake City, UT, was kind enough to grant us an interview where we asked him questions specifically regarding the requests (demands) of a string quartet at outdoor venues. A luthier is someone who makes and/or maintains and fixes string instruments.
We will go through all the outdoor-specific requirements from our contract as well as some of the financial and logistical things. These will be pretty consistent across any string quartet you hire. Our hope in writing this article is to help our clients understand why we ask for these things and also help other quartets with their outdoor ventures with their clients as well.
As with many warnings and contracts, these things have appeared over time in our contract based on experiences. The images of our group members on this post are some of the real life moments that prompted these line items in our contract. These images indicate just a few of the times to illustrate why string quartet requests are what they are.
About our guest luthier JP Lucas
First, let’s introduce our luthier! JP Lucas made his first instrument when he was in 9th grade and has been making and maintaining them ever since.
>During his more than 40 years of experience he has maintained instruments for many players of the local professional symphony, soloists, recording artists,
and other freelance musicians. He has also made instruments for famous soloists like Steven Sharp Nelson, cellist from the Piano Guys, and volunteered
his time in Haiti as a teaching luthier.
If you want to read more about him or hear from him in various YouTube interviews here are a few things on the internet to check out:
Sugarhouse News Article about JP
Video Interview: JP Talks about his experience teaching in Haiti
Instruments
Direct sunlight, extreme heat, and the problem of humidity
under barely sufficient cover from only sun
Q: Can you describe what direct sunlight and heat does to instruments?
A: Heat and sun are really harsh and it’s extreme and we have a lot of that here in Utah. When instruments go from being inside to outside and back to inside, probably with humidifier and temperature control in the house and then none out of hte house, it can be quite a shock for the instrument. Sometimes within minutes of being outside of that temperate environment. The glue that holds instruments together is heat and water soluable. This means that if there happens to be a lot of heat or humidity it can make the glue not as sticky and thus the instrument pieces pop open. Those need to be glued back together because it affects the structure and sound of the instrument.
Sunlight:
If you have direct sunlight shining on it you’ll see the effects within an hour or two. I have seen things change where poeple take a humidification device out and it’s one hour. It’s one set of measurements and another hour it’s a different set of measurements. They change very rapidly. So the sunlight on it, that’s a bad thing.
Humidity:
Dramatic changes in humidity can also create rapid swelling and shrinking of the wood. Not all the wood on an instrument is the same and it’s not all glued together with the grains matching. This means that when there are extreme changes that wood shrinks or swells at different rates which can cause cracking in addition to seams of the instrument coming open.
Heat:
Direct sunlight just makes things hotter. Some varnish never dries… ever… and so when it gets too warm it can get sticky and can be easily damaged by things as simple as clothing or shoulder rests. Here it’s very hot, very dry. Things pop open, things crack. Not to mention all that, even if you clean your instrument well, the powdered rosin is really fine and sunlight and powdered rosin. It melts really easily and that’s when you start getting these crusty layers on the top or sides of your instrument. Then it perpetuates the problem of buildup. Rosin sticks to rosin really well and keeps building. It’s like a candy apple. After a while you get a hard coating on it.
Rain and snow
sheltering under cars from rain
Q: What happens to an instrument and/or bow when it’s exposed to the rain or snow?
A: When it rains the humidity level rises dramatically. So the wood takes in moisture even with the varnish protecting the outside. Most of the interior of an instrument is not varnished, though there are exceptions but it’s not common.
Let’s start with the bow hair right off the bat. Water on the hair makes it stretch imediately or expand out. It gets saggy. When it dries, sometimes it goes back to normal but sometimes it shrinks and it’s possible that the hairs don’t shrink/swell all at the same rates. This can be very detrimental because it puts strain on the stick of the bow and in extreme cases can even break the head off the bow or warp the stick of the bow because they get too tight. If the hair stretches then at some point you won’t be able to tighten it enough for the bow to be usable. You have to get it re-haired at that point.
Q: So, instrument-wise, what happens when it’s exposed to rain or snow?
A: If rain hits an instrument, it’s very abrupt moisture. Our glues that we use are soluble with water, that’s what we make them with. When we have direct water we have problems with the neck angles. The necks change as the body expands from rain or water hitting it which will change your string heights. Additionally, it may actually distort the instrument which can be temporary or permanent. Because we make the shapes of instruments using heat, moisture, and pressure we are reforming and shaping the instruments unintentionally when water hits them.
Q: You mentioned string heights. What is considered a normal range?
A: Normal range for a violin on the E-string is about 3.5-3.7mm. It seems like a very small measurement but even the smallest adjustment makes a huge difference to the player. Every player has a preference of height which is why there’s a range. It all depends on the player and some of the dynamics of the fingerboard, the way it’s set up. If the strings are too high it becomes difficult to press the string to the fingerboard – just harder to play. If the strings are too low then the strings may touch the fingerboard when the player doesn’t want them to making it impossible to play the instrument.
Extreme cold
Q: How does extreme cold affect instruments? Is it different than how heat affects them?
A: We have bad on both sides (heat and cold). Instead of the melting and swelling that happens with the heat, we have the opposite problem with cold. Cold tends to make varnish crackle and wood shrink which causes cracking when it puts stress against other pieces of the instrument. We also have slipping of tuning pegs. Since the wood shrinks in cold the peg holes get bigger and the pegs themselves get smaller. That makes it incredibly difficult for the player to tune the instrument and almost impossible for it to stay in tune if they can get it there at all. You will also see some buckling, ungluing, and splitting of wood in extreme cold.
Q: For people who don’t know, what does a split down the front or back of an instrument mean?
A: It depends on where the split is at. It’s never good anywhere. Because you have different shrinkage rates with the materials, if it splits up long enough it can go into the bass bar side of the bridge or it can go right into the sound post side and you have a sound post crack. Those are two bad cracks.
Q: Does one of those cracks, like the bass bar or the sound post crack, affect the value of the instrument? If so, how much?
A: Yes they do. Especially a bass bar crack. It used to devalue instruments more, they still devalue, but back when I first started in the field, we used to say if you had a sound post crack on the back you lost about 65-70% of the value of the instrument.
It does affect the sound quite a bit. It has to be repaired really well. The back cracks are real buggers because there’s something about the top material tonally where you have a lot more leeway with that. It’s more forgiving to repair. Back cracks are really tricky. That’s the foundation of the instrument, even though sound production isn’t necessarily heavily produced there. The back’s very important for sound production but the top is where the sound is mostly from
Q: Do you have a recommendation on temperature limitation?
A: 70-75 degrees is a great temperature for instruments and they like to be at a consistent level if you can. That’s where we get into the problems of going outside.
People
Shade
Sunburns and heat stroke are very real things
Yes, we know that sometimes your event attendees are also in direct sunlight not demanding shade. However, professional musicians standardly dress in all black. Black clothing really absorbs the heat of the sun. We also can’t wear sunglasses while we play because many times it makes the music harder to read off an iPad (a fairly new standard to the industry). Your guests may have ice water in glasses, a hand held fan, hats, sunglasses, misters, etc. We can’t have any of those things while we play so the shade is necessary to prevent sunburn and heat related injuries.
The walls of a tent serve an additional purpose other than making it so we don’t have to chase the shade around… they block the wind. Violin bows are measured in weight by the gram! Strong winds make it tricky to play violin and if they’re strong enough even affect the cellist. It’s hard to keep your bow on the strings when the wind keeps blowing it off. Playing in super windy conditions can possibly contribute to playing injuries because we have to use more tension to hold onto our instruments and work harder to make a nice sound.
We don’t play in temperatures cooler than 58 degrees Fahrenheit
Playing in the cold hurts
At first, the coolness of the fall season feels like a welcome change from the heat of the summer. But then we realize that as our fingers are constantly touching small metal ropes (strings), those strings are slowly equalizing the temperature in our fingers to that of the outside air. As a cellist, I can say for sure that it especially hurts to press on my thickest string when my fingers are cold.
The cold tends to numb aching muscles as we play and so we don’t notice that we are holding tension in all the wrong places. This has the potential to create nasty playing injuries. This actually happened to one of our players at a fall wedding one September. Depending on the injury it can take weeks or even months to fully recover from a playing injury and it can really inhibit the ability of that player to work – this is our job and we don’t make money for not playing.
Music choice deadlines
Three weeks before the event for special request song choices
We require three weeks before the event for any special request songs. Special request songs are choices that we don’t already have music for. This means that we will have to go out and find the music. If there’s not actually an arrangement made for purchase, then we have to hire a music arranger to do the job custom.
Check out our lists of already available songs!
Chairs without arms
We need 4 chairs without arms
We sit while playing mainly because the cellist does, so it would look odd for only one person to sit. Another reason is that we’re usually playing for a while, like at a wedding. Often, we play for the prelude and processionals, then stay seated and unnoticed during the ceremony. At other events it’s speeches, awards, etc. If it’s also hot outside then standing becomes more of a safety issue.
Chairs with arms prohibit necessary movement to play our instruments. They get in the way of the bow hand for the most part just making our job difficult and forcing us to sit in uncomfortable ways that promote injury while we are playing.
BWSQ Trio in Moab May 2023 – under barely sufficient cover from only sun
To understand our requirements, let’s look at pop culture. Some picture a string quartet in a formal concert hall—stuffy, strict, and full of glares for clapping at the wrong time. But today, many see quartets at weddings, whether in real life, on TV, or in movies. Picture a sunny day, guests dressed up, family reconnecting. Others may think of rock-inspired string musicians in pleather pants, dramatic makeup, and a cellist running around with a harness. Society’s view of quartets is evolving, and we love it! But first, let’s talk about a few needs.
Let’s look at this from a string musician’s perspective. In music school, you practice for years in tiny rooms, indoors, until your fingers give out. Performances happen in perfect conditions—great acoustics, no wind, 68-degree temperature, and maybe even a page-turner. Your instrument likely costs more than the luxury car you’ll never buy and predates cars entirely. Playing outside? That means hauling a chair, stand, water, and food while battling wind, sunburn, and flying sheet music. Worse, heat and sunlight can damage your priceless instrument—often considered part of the family, sometimes even named.
With that description above, you may think that we absolutely never WANT to play outside. Some musicians probably don’t but we don’t mind (and sometimes love it) provided we have adequate resources to protect us and our instruments while we do so. Below I will get into some of the nitty-gritty details of why we have these particular requests.
Cover & Shade
BWSQ sheltering under cars from rain – Bonneville Salt Flats July 2022
Instruments are expensive and they are expensive to repair. The low end guesstimate on how much a string quartet’s instruments are worth is roughly $200,000. Now that that is out of the way we can discuss exactly what
could happen to instruments if they are exposed for any great length of time to direct sunlight or water. For this I have some real life examples from a luthier (someone who makes…and repairs… instruments):
We need shade because we’re human. Unlike guests who can move or use fans, we’re stuck in place, dressed in black, from setup to the end of our performance. While your ceremony may be 30 minutes, we’ve already played for 30 minutes before that, plus setup time. After the ceremony, we often continue playing for a cocktail hour or reception. In summer, that means over an hour in the sun, likely sunburned, dehydrated, sweating, and swatting away bugs—all while trying to focus on the music.
Providing shade in the form of a tent with a wall or two to account for shifting sun is the best way to help us with this requirement. The walls have an added benefit of limiting how much wind we have to combat. Violin bows are actually pretty light weight and it tends to be difficult to play in a lot of wind because they can’t keep the bow on the string with any kind of consistency which really negatively affects the sound.
CHelō holding umbrellas to shield the cellos from rain – people will be ok once they’re dry. Lehi April 2023
Precipitation of any kind is evil on our instruments. Generally, string instruments are handmade and have a handmade varnish. Water will leave stains or spots on our instruments. The changes in the varnish not only look bad but could also affect the sound.
Temperature Limitations
BWSQ in Little Cottonwood Canyon in May 2022 – temperature was 44 degrees – the fireplace was NOT enough!
This section goes back to that “we are human” point from the Shade and Cover section. Fortunately and unfortunately for us we are soft, fleshy humans who are vulnerable to cold and heat. Here in Utah the temperature varies wildly even within one season or month. We have played at events in May that have been 90-100 degrees and within weeks of that we played at an event where it was 44 degrees. The really warm temperatures are pretty uncomfortable but the cold is where we absolutely have to draw the line.
Our cold limit is at 58 degrees. That might seem like it’s the perfect temperature in the fall or early spring. You are absolutely correct … IF you are able to move around, wear gloves, or are generally being active.
Playing an instrument generates some warmth, but not enough in cold air. Our fingers constantly touch metal strings that steal that warmth, leading to numbness and pain. We can’t wear gloves, and coats restrict movement, making playing difficult or impossible.
Time To Prepare
Photos by Brian Erickson and Lucia Macedo on Unsplash
It takes time to find arrangements already created by someone to purchase and play at an event. However, some songs don’t already have an arrangement made. In those cases we have to hire a person to arrange them for us or we have to use our skills to do it ourselves. That is not exactly a quick process and takes at least a week of work. Once we acquire the sheet music, we then need time to actually practice it on our own before we come together to play it at your event. Some pieces take more practice than others so we always like to err on the side of more time than less. Songs in our repertoire come together very quickly and don’t need as much preparation on our part because we have likely played them together many times.
As you might already know, it’s difficult to coordinate the schedules of 4 different people in a group – no matter what the activity is. That along with the timing of your event makes that even trickier. The more lead time you give us to plan and prepare the better we are able to make sure our musicians are available and have sufficient preparation time to give you a polished performance.
We usually arrive at least 15 minutes early to set up our instruments, chairs, and find our designated spot. After the event, we need about the same time to pack up everything.This is a critical part of our planning time.
The Money
Photo by Sam Dan Truong on Unsplash
Some of you out there may be asking why the quartet is asking for the money they are. There will be a specific blog article just on this subject in the near future. In the mean time, the short of it is basically you are paying for not only music to be played at your event but you’re also paying for the 20+ years of education, practice, and experience each of our musicians has put in over the course of their lifetime. You are also paying for the purchase of music if needed, the time planning, coordinating, and rehearsing if required. At least one member of the BWSQ is always on call to answer any questions you might have leading up to your event as well.
If you have ever been in the situation of “to tip or not to tip” you’re not alone. Many people have this question about a lot of things in life. In regard to the string quartet or other ensemble here are a couple of things to make a tip easy to plan.
- Yes you can tip – especially if you think we did a great job playing when we were supposed to, if you liked our song choices, if you think we played well.
- No you don’t have to – we do charge enough to pay our musicians the industry standard here in Utah so nobody is playing for pittance. Though, tips are always appreciated.
- How much to tip – it’s up to you. Any time we have received a tip it has been anywhere from $5/person to $150/person.
One nice consideration is to tip so that it’s easy to split up between however many players there are. That’s not necessary at all though… just a nice gesture.
In conclusion
We love playing for events both inside and out as long as proper requirements have been met. These are to protect us and our instruments so that we can keep playing beautiful music for you. Even though this is kind of an extensive article and list, we will try our utmost to make it easy on you and tell you up front everything we will need. We may even be able to give you tips on how to provide some of these items if you need.
In the end we just want to play music. It’s what we love to do. Let’s work together and we can have a truly awesome musical experience together.
Published July 31, 2023
