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How To Choose A Violin

By Lori Buenavista


The very first problem for beginning violin trainees is buying or renting an instrument. While it may be tempting to just select the first violin you see, or go with the least expensive, these are not the top methods. Continue reading for some advice on choosing the best violin to suit your needs.

Size

The very first order of business is to select which measurements violin you need. Violins are made in 8 sizes, from the tiny 1/32 size to a full size 4/4 violin for adults or teens. Usually, you need to have a qualified measure to determine which size violin is correct. The most common strategy to measure is from the center of the left palm to the neck.

Quality

The grade of violins varies widely. Quality is the most significant factor of price. Violins range in price from $250 to over $15,000. There are 70 components in a violin. Quality can very in each and every part. Fittings, for instance chin rest, endpins and tuning pins can be built of ebony, boxwood or even plastic-type material. Most violins are made of spruce and maple, but the quality of that wood is what ascertains price. The top violins are made from spruce and maple that is over two hundred years old, and has been stored at least 20 years. Professional violins are hand-carved. Student violins are machine-manufactured. Skilled violins are hand-varnished, often using a multi-step process. Student violins are spray-varnished. Many professionals play very old violins that were hand-carved from violin masters. Most "Stradivarius" violins are not really made by the Stradivari family. Rather, they were constructed from the pattern and proportions used by the family. There are only around 700 authentic Stradivarius violins in the world, and these are worth a large amount of money.

Tone

Every violin is different, no matter whether it was hand-carved or machine-manufactured. Because of the natural variations in wood (even wood that is precisely the same quality), the sound of every violin is quite a bit unique. A violin is definitely personal purchase wherein musicians become connected to their instruments after playing them for a long time, and are intimately familiar with the tone of their own violin. How to tell if your violin has "good tone" if you're a beginning student?

Take somebody who plays with you to the music store and have them try out quite a few instruments. Many stores allows you to take an instrument with you for a 48-hour free trial to enable you to have your teacher look at it, play it and be sure that it's a great fit for you. Avoid the very cheapest violins. These are made with substandard quality wood, plastic fittings, and the cheapest strings. It's extremely hard to get great tone from a low-cost violin.




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