Question

what is wolf tone with respect to string instrument behavior？

Answer 1

wolf tone (also just called a “wolf”) is a note that cannot be played properly on a stringed instrument. It happens most commonly when musicians play quietly, which is to say when the bow is applying very little pressure. The only thing you can hear is whistling overtones (harmonics) or a breathy sound. Particularly persistent wolves can only be conquered with intense pressure; in these cases, the string will reverberate as it should, but the sound itself is stuttery and not pretty. Its name probably comes from the howling sound of the overtone – or perhaps it comes from the suggestion that a wolf is “attacking” and “swallowing” the tone.

The wolf does not come from outside; it is caused by the specific design of the instrument affected.

The simple explanation is that a wolf develops when a stringed instrument plays a particular frequency that overlaps with a strong unmuted frequency of the instrument itself – and when this frequency also overlaps with the frequency of a certain note. When the note in question is played, the body of the instrument starts reverberating in such a way that the frequency of the string begins to “wobble” or is cancelled out completely.

The place where this frequency is found depends on the design of the instrument and is different in every case. Celli and bases have wolves much more often than violins, since their bodies are too small relative to their tuning.