The Best Violin Information at Your Fingertips
Violin information is bountiful on the internet but here I've compressed the important information into one page. Contrary to popular beliefs, the violin is not a particularly difficult instrument to play, and with regular practice beginners usually make rapid progress, playing simple melodies relatively quickly. The violin is particularly child-friendly in that it comes in a variety of sizes. As a student grows, the instrument can be traded for larger sizes.
Violin's cost anywhere from a £150($300) to £3.5m($7m)!! Choosing the right violin depends on what level you are at, and how much money you have to spend. Student Level (£150 and upwards($300)) These violins are produced for beginning students and are often produced by machine. These instruments are excellent for the early stages of development and are priced to easily fit into most budgets. Intermediate Level (£1000 and upwards($2000)) These instruments represent better quality wood and workmanship, most (if not all) of which is done by hand. The result is an instrument that sounds better and will suit a more advanced player. Professional Level These are violins made from only the finest woods and built with great skill by master craftsmen. Because of the relatively low number of craftsman skilled at this level, and the number of hours required to produce an instrument of this caliber with a select piece of natural wood, the price of these instruments is considerably higher. £10,000 ($20,000) up to millions of pounds(the the most expensive violin was just sold for £3.5m!)
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Because violins come in several different sizes from full-size through 3/4, 1/2, 1/4 to 1/8 and even smaller, it is possible to start playing at a very young age indeed. The famous "Suzuki Method" from Japan amazed everyone when it first arrived in the West twenty years ago by showing that children as young as 3 and 4 years old can play the violin perfectly well. You should not assume, however, that because it is possible to start so young, it is necessary to do so. Many fine players don't start until they are 9, 10 or 11 years old, and in some cases have by the age of 13 or 14 caught up with those who have been playing several years longer. While starting the violin with a good teacher is perfectly easy, parents need to be aware that initial progress is quite slow. Some teachers claim that it takes twice as long to reach Grade 1 standard on the violin as it does on most woodwind or brass instruments, which is probably because of the complexity and subtlety of the technique required. Also, for quite a long time the sound is not very satisfactory to adult ears. Pupils don't seem too bothered by this, but parents may have to be very patient! The average 6 year old will probably need a 1/8 or 1/4, moving to a 1/2 at 8 or 9, a 3/4 at 11 or 12 and a 4/4 at 13 or 14
Because the violin is basically a few pieces of wood held together by glue and tension a lot can go wrong with a violin. Fortunately, for the same reason, repairs are easy and cheap. Some of the most common faults are: •the strings break. Fortunately they are very cheap to replace - less than £2($4) in most cases. Your music shop or violin teacher will put the new string on for you in a matter of moments (or you could learn to do it yourself). Strings do vary a lot in material, quality and price. • the bridge may snap. This is the nicely-carved piece of wood that holds the strings up above the belly of the violin. For acoustic reasons it is made of a soft, very grainy wood which is strong in one direction and weak in the others, so this is a common breakage. Once again, very cheap to replace although you'll probably need a repairer to do it for you as it has to be fitted to the curvature of the belly. • The finger-board may come off. This is the black strip of wood under the strings, and is never glued on very firmly - sometimes the slightest knock will bring it off. A very cheap and quick repair. • The tail-gut (which holds the tail-piece to the bottom of the instrument and is not usually made of gut at all these days) may break. This can be quite a spectacle as the tail-piece, all four strings and the bridge will then fly in different directions! It is not, however, a serious problem and will be cheap to put right •The stick of the bow may snap. Cheap bows are not strong. Fortunately they are very cheap! Often when this happens it's not worth trying to have it repaired as a new bow may only cost £15 - £20.($30-$40) • The horse-hair of the bow will gradually wear out and start to drop off, so eventually the bow will need re-hairing at a cost of about £12 - £15($24-$30). If the bow is of poor quality, you might as well buy a new one instead - it won't cost much more. More serious damage to the wood of the violin - knocks or cracks which may sometimes appear all by themselves - is also easily repaired by an expert, although occasionally he might advise that the cost of the repair could be more than the value of a cheap violin. Your violin teacher should be able to recommend a suitable repairer, because she has to have her own instrument attended to sometimes. Whatever happens, if the violin breaks, do not try to repair it yourself. Modern glues can seriously damage a violin!
Click here for an awful story about a what can happen to your priceless violin
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