·DON’T ever leave the instrument in extreme temperatures. (This includes a car for a long period of time.)
·DON’T set your Violin, Viola or Cello in an upright standing position leaning against a wall etc.
·DON’T leave the instrument OR bow out of its case when not in use.
·DO keep your instrument and Bow in its case when not in use.
·DO make sure your violin case is zipped or locked before picking it up.
·DO take care not to bump or drop the violin or bow.
·DO keep an eye on the bridge. If looking from the side of the instrument, It should stand at a 90 degree angle from the violin. If it seems like it is tilting forward towards the scroll, let your teacher know.
Strings and Tuning:
Use the right size strings… If they break, call us for replacement. If pegs slip or stick excessively have them checked by your teacher or corrected at our violin shop.
Generally there are two ways to tune the violin. The first way is with the pegs located at the scroll. The second is with the fine tuners located on the tailpiece. The wooden pegs are tapered and will require a gentle turning action combined with firm inward pressure to keep the taper snugly seated - otherwise it will slip! Unless you are tuning new strings a VERY small turn is all that is needed. After new strings have stabilized most of tuning can be done using the fine tuners. The fine tuner allow for a very small and controlled adjustment. DO NOT OVERTUNE … IT WILL CAUSE THE STRINGS TO BREAK!
Bow:
Don’t polish the bow, or touch its hair, or waive it around. Don’t drop or drag it on the floor, or touch anything except the strings with it. Tighten it just enough to play right, and loosen it after playing. Round “cakes” of rosin is best. Rotate it as you apply it – it will last longer and not create valleys in the rosin. Bring your bow to our shop if you feel like it cannot be adjusted properly or if the hair comes “unplugged”.
TheViolinBridge
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.
Set your violin on your lap, with the scroll away from you and the end pin towards your abdomen.
With the sides of your hands holding the instrument in place and your thumb, index and middle finger over the top of the bridge.
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.
The chinrest is a modern useful addition to the violin, it doesn't require much maintenance but it is worth noting its position on the body of the instrument. A lot of chin rests are fitted close to or even straddling the tailpiece. Check to make sure it is not actually touching the tailpiece at any point as this can cause buzzes or even a reduction in resonance or tone in some cases. Occasionally the chinrest may require tightening in the event it becomes loose. This can be accomplshed by turning the metal fittings until the chinrest is again without movement
NEVER LEAVE AN INSTRUMENT WHERE IT CAN BE STEPPED ON, SAT UPON, OR KNOCKED TO THE FLOOR!
Common Problems:
If the fingerboard, sound post, or bridge comes loose or breaks, or if you find cracks, opening in the seams, loosen the strings right away and arrange to bring it to our violin shop. If the strings buzz or begin to dig deeply into the bridge, or feel too high or too low - bring it to our shop. Never glue anything yourself – Sorry Dad, this also includes you – the bridge and sound post are certainly never glued!
