Whistling E String

Your Question:
I have a student who continues to occasionally "whistle" on her E string when playing double stops. We have changed the string with no improvement. I have watched her to be sure the bow is perpendicular to the string and not too close to either the bridge or the fingerboard, and yet it will still whistle on occasion. It doesn't happen every time, which is even more frustrating. Please help me diagnose this problem so I can help my student!

My Answer:
There is nothing more annoying than a whistling E string. My violin has a terrible whistle and playing fiddle tunes I play the open E string a lot. If you have determined that the problem is caused by bowing technique then it probably is the E string that you've chosen. What kind of E string is your student using? In addition, it is important to make sure that the violin is in good adjustment and that the notch for the E string at the nut and bridge are not too deep, and that the E string has proper fingerboard clearance.

I have two suggestions for clearing up this problem. You can try the Kaplan Solutions E string manufactured by D'Addario. It is a wound E string and specifically designed to get rid of the whistling E string problem. I've also had tremendous success with the Pirastro No. 1 -"The First Universal E String." It is a steel string wound with a tiny chrome steel wire, so thin that one cannot see that this string is a wound E string; the diameter of this string is almost as thin as a plain E string. This is the string that I use on my violin and it's hard to tell that this is a wound E string. To my ear it sounds as good as a plain steel E, which is my preferred E string. Please let me know if one of these solutions works for you.