The Violin Bridge

Adjusting the bridge on a violin or viola is fairly easy if you proceed with caution.

We often get questions about bridges. How do I adjust a violin bridge? My violin bridge has fallen? My violin bridge is tilting forward?

Making sure that the violin bridge is in the correct position is extremely important. If the bridge is allowed to tilt forward it can cause disastrous problems at worse and at best, it will make a loud sound that will make you think your instrument has just imploded.

The bridge is held in place only by the tension of the strings pressing down and often as the strings are tuned, they pull the bridge in a forward tilting position.           

If you need to put your violin bridge in the proper position. Follow the next few steps.

1. Set your violin on your lap, with the scroll away from you and the end pin towards your abdomen.
   
   
2. With the sides of your hands holding the instrument in place and your thumb, index and middle finger over the top of the bridge.
   
   
3. It’s important to give pressure on both sides of the bridge. This pressure should feel like a positive pressure where you are pulling the bridge back towards you, while you are also maintaining a negative resistance in the opposite direction (this ensures that you don’t push too much, causing the bridge to collapse in the opposite direction. 

If you have any doubts show your teacher that the violin bridge needs to be adjusted OR give us a call we would gladly do this for you.

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