Come the summer, come the heat and sometimes low humidity. But then again, we could (being in Britain) experience periods of high humidity. Of course, if we have an extended period of heat, or if you are dragging your lovely instrument off to the south of France, or to the Caribbean you certainly need to be aware of how these extreme factors affect wooden instruments.
Dryness plus heat can be deadly, but worse is the change from, say, an airconditioned hotel to the hot dry air outside. Common sense is as usual the answer and without doubt, have a humidifier (dampit) or similar device installed in your precious instrument. As the wood of the instrument contracts the arching may begin to deform, old cracks open and even new cracks will form. Playing in such conditions is equally a danger because your body heat affects the instrument and sweat is a great varnish cleaner! Recommended is the use of a Stradpad which covers the chinrest and the back of a violin – and Cellists try and avoid any contact with skin. It is also common sense to avoid direct sunlight and hot overheated situations as, for example in a closed car.
Make a habit of doing a cursory examination after every concert. Check the edges aren’t coming apart, check the neck and especially look for any strain or cracks appearing along the Soundpost/bridge area. Often some tell-tale signs are the frustrating appearance of a buzz, rattle or loss of volume – if so hie you off to your favourite luthier.
High humidity plus heat presents another set of problems, some good some bad. We have a violinist friend who constantly struggled with his very old violin due to seams opening, cracks etc but on taking it to Barbados the violin swelled, closed all the cracks and seams, and sang like a bird! Some 19th-century violins were even constructed with extra support at the corners, to cope with the tropics. However, your instrument may not react like that and due to internal pressures, could warp, and twist thus opening up seams. Once again use common sense and protect your instrument all you can for extreme changes of temperature.
There is, unfortunately, no magic fix for all situations – just BE AWARE, take soundings often and act if readings are out of the range of what’s acceptable.
