Shoulder Rests: Do Beginning Players Need Them?
There are violinists and violists who swear by modern shoulder rests, but not everyone agrees on their necessity. Shoulder rests . Are they necessary or are they not? This is a question that is always being asked by students, performers and teachers. Now that you've purchased a student violin for your child, it is now a question for you, the parent. The violin shoulder rest is not considered one...
What Do New Violins Cost?
Whether you're pricing student, intermediate or professional violins, the general rule is, you get what you pay for. New violins for sale range in price according to many different factors including quality of the wood, the maker, the accessories, the country of origin and more. Typically violin shops and online violin stores will categorize their instrument offerings in three different...
Violin Strings for Beginning Players
Even for beginning players, the right strings will not only make the violin sound better, but will make it easier to play. Once the parent purchases a violin for your child who is a beginning player, the parent quickly finds out that the violin, bow and case is only the beginning. To allow one's child the richest playing experience - especially if the child is taking lessons in school or...
Violin Rosin: Essential for Beginning Players
It's small and comes in a small box, but the importance of this particular violin accessory, rosin, is considerable. So, you've purchased your child a violin. Most likely, whether you purchased the violin from a private party, online, or from a brick and mortar violin shop, you now have a violin and violin bow in a violin case. That's a great start but, unfortunately, only the beginning of...
Buying a Violin Bow for Your Beginning Player
A student violin bow does not need to be expensive but it surely needs to be "good enough". If you have purchased a student or intermediate violin outfit, the bow is included in the package along with the instrument and the case. If you purchase a stand-alone violin, however, it will become necessary to also purchase a violin bow. Once you decide to make the purchase, you have two choices: You...
Cello Accessories for the Beginning Player
There are many accessories for the cello, but only a few which are essential for a student cellist. If your child is just starting out as a student cellist, you've most likely rented him or her a cello. Or if your child joined the school orchestra, he or she is using a student cello provided by the school. And if you were reasonably sure that your child is committed to playing, you might have...
Dampit Internal Humidifiers for Violins, Violas and Cellos
Dampit humidifiers are one of the more obscure but essential accessories that protect your instrument from dry climates. Some players of acoustic stringed instruments - violins, violas and cellos - live and work in hot, dry climates and others live in cool, dry climates. Because these instruments are crafted from wood, they need to be protected from extreme dry climates and dry environments so...
Jay Haide Stringed Instruments – For All Levels of Players
Jay Haide handcrafted instruments - violins, violas and cellos - are all about quality and affordability. Jay Haide stringed instruments are well known on the market today for their high quality and affordability as lower and midrange, handcrafted instruments. But if you try to locate Jay Haide to tell the violinmaker that you appreciate his work, you’d be hard pressed to find him. This is...
Choosing a Violin Teacher for Your Child
One cannot understate the importance of performing due diligence in choosing your child's violin teacher. If your child has expressed an interest in playing the violin (or the viola or the cello), odds are good that their school provides basic music courses, such as beginning orchestra, where a student can learn the basics of a string instrument. But typically, class instruction is rarely enough...
Renting a Violin for Your Student Violinist
Before renting a stringed instrument for your beginning player, know what you're getting... and getting into. Depending on your beginning violin student’s personality, level of commitment, maturity and other factors, you may decide that you would like to rent your child an instrument rather than purchasing a new one. There are pluses and minuses to both scenarios. If you do decide to go the...
Student Violins: Mass-Produced Versus Hand Crafted
Whether a student instrument is hand crafted or mass produced in a factory makes all the difference in the world. When it comes to student violins for sale , the axiom that “you get what you pay for” has never been truer. There exist two basic types of student violins: Those that are mass-produced student violins of inferior quality and workmanship by several less-than-skilled luthiers and then...
Types of Cello Strings: An Overview
Cello strings come in countless brands, sizes and materials, so the question becomes, which is right for you? Search an online violin store or your local violin shop and you'll quickly notice that there are many, many different brands and types of cello strings for sale including for the beginner, intermediate and professional player. Some of these strings are very affordable, some less so...
Eastman Violins: Hand Crafted for All Playing Levels
Eastman-made stringed instruments are affordable and higher quality... just don't go looking for the Eastman Family who crafts them. Whether your search for a new violin has taken you to a local brick and mortar violin shop or to the Internet seeking to purchase a new violin at an online violin store, you’ve probably encountered the brand name Eastman. Eastman Music Company, formerly known as...
Electronic Tuners: Essential Violin Accessories for Students
Electronic tuners are handy, dandy accessories that are affordable and help music students keep their instruments in tune. For the beginning violin student, there are two basic challenges to playing music well: playing in time and playing in tune. Obviously, in order to play in tune, the violin student – as well as those students who study the viola and cello – must make sure that their...
Metronomes: Essential Violin Accessories for Students
Teaching a student to play a steady tempo can be challenging. A Metronome's steady, rhythmic pulse can help. There are plenty of violin accessories available for student violinists, as well as for those who play cello, viola or bass. Few, if any, of the accessories on the market are unnecessary. Most violin accessories, such as dampits, mutes and fine tuners are useful, essential even, but not...
Intermediate and Student Violins from Snow
Snow instruments are crafted in China but offer higher quality, affordable student, advanced and professional instruments. Over the years, many luthiers have traveled from China to Europe to learn the fine art of violinmaking from reputable schools in Germany, France and Italy. Some of the more highly trained and talented violinmakers set up workshops where they created quality instruments and...
Demystifying Stringed Instrument Mutes
In the world of violin accessories, performance and practice mutes seem unimportant... until you need one! While not as vital as shoulder rests, chin rests and pegs, violin mutes – as well as mutes for violas and cellos, for that matter – are important instrument accessories for a number of good reasons. Mutes are small devices that are attached to a stringed instrument that alters its timbre,...
Care and Maintenance of Student Violins – Violin Parts
For music students, part of "practice" isn't just playing the instrument, but properly maintaining it as well. Part of the joy of teaching violin students to play is to teach them how to properly care for their instrument, whether leased or owned. Properly caring for an instrument is as important an exercise as learning to play. In fact, each task goes hand in hand. Even student violins for sale...
Care and Maintenance of Student Violins - Protection and Cleanliness
There are many reasons to properly maintain a student instrument, including protecting your investment as well as preserving the instrument's sound quality. Part of the responsibility of the both the parent of a student violin player and the violin teacher, is to teach the student to properly care for their violin. Keeping a violin clean and protected from harsh conditions will keep the violin...
What to Know About Violin Cases: An Overview
Choosing a violin case for a student violin is simple; but the more expensive the violin, choosing the right case can get tricky. Before any discussion about violin cases, we must face a simple fact: A violin case is a necessity for any violinist, whether beginner or professional. A violin case is required for safely transporting a violin and for keeping the instrument protected from harm as...
Student Violin Outfits: How to Choose
Investing in a quality violin outfit for a student player could be a wise decision providing that you’re armed with the knowledge of what to look for and what questions to ask. If a parent is convinced that their student violinist is at a point where it makes sense to invest in their own violin – as opposed to spending more towards renting an instrument – purchasing a violin outfit may be the...
Student Violin Outfits: An Overview
In the market for a good student violin? Before you buy a la carte , consider purchasing a violin outfit that includes everything a student player needs to get started. Anyone seeking to purchase a student violin or intermediate violin will usually notice that their favorite online violin store , as well as their neighborhood violin shop, offer individual violins, bows, cases and accessories...
Thomastik Infeld Strings for Violins, Violas and Cellos
Creating stringed instrument strings since 1919, this Vienna-based string manufacturer has earned a reputation of excellence. Founded in Vienna by Dr. Franz Thomastik and Otto Infeld, Thomastik-Infeld has been manufacturing strings for violins , violas and cellos since 1919. Because piano strings were produced with steel, the company began manufacturing all of their stringed instrument strings...
When Purchasing a Student Violin, It's All In the Setup
There are tremendous advantages to purchasing a student instrument at a local shop, especially if they have mastered the setup. Everything important about the violin – from playing the violin, to making a violin – lies in the smallest details. When shopping online for student violins for sale , the rule of “small details continues to apply.” How you ask? When purchasing a violin within the $250...
Sizes of Violins
Since an instrument that is too large or too small is more difficult to play, selecting the correct size instrument is vital. For obvious reasons, violins (as well as violas and cellos) come in varying sizes, from full sized violins for adults to much smaller student violins for children learning to play. Obtaining the right sized violin for a child is vitally important. A too-large or too-small...
Pirastro Strings: Quality & Consistency
Pirastro creates consistent and high quality strings for violins, violas and cellos as only a successful 300-year-old company can. Pirastro makes gut, synthetic and steel strings for violins , violas and cellos. Players of all levels use their strings, but the company boasts a great many renowned classical artists that use their strings exclusively. They also make strings for basses, harps and...
Care and Maintenance of Violin Bows
Caring for a violin bow, like caring for a violin, requires dedication and consistency, but can save money on expensive repairs over the long run. With so much emphasis on violin care, the proper maintenance and care of the violin bow can get lost in the shuffle. In many ways, a violin bow is much more delicate and susceptible to misuse than the violin itself. Still, many of the standard rules...
What to do About Bow Bugs
Bugs that attack violin, viola and cello bows are a nuisance but a simple problem to treat and prevent. If you play violin or viola or cello long enough it will eventually happen. You will open your case and retrieve your bow. And even though you know for sure that you have been properly caring for and maintaining your bow, several hairs on your bow are broken off and hanging loose. This is a...