Violin Care: How to Store and String A Violin
There are two very important things to learn in how to properly care for your violin. The first is how to store it when not in use, and secondly, how to string a violin. Violins are not the cheapest things in the world, but they can last for generations if you care for them and keep the strings in good condition.
How to Store a Violin
First, in properly storing the violin, it is important to keep it flat in its case, not out and propped up against something. Violins are made of wood and wood can warp. Keeping it flat in a cushioned case, molded to fit it, will keep it secured. Of course it is all right to lay the case on its side or prop it up, just not the instrument.
The biggest mistake people make is to either leave the violin in the trunk of the car or in the attic. Excess extremes in temperatures can cause the wood to expand or shrink too quickly, which may result in stress fractures. If you keep your violin case in the trunk all day in mid July then rush it into an air-conditioned concert hall and start to tune it, the instrument will not have time to adjust to the change in temperatures.
If you ever do notice some warping, or the fingerboard starts to loosen, or you see minute cracks in the violin, take it to an experienced stringed instrument repair person called a luthier. Delaying will only cost you much more money.
The other expense with a violin is buying the strings. However, cheap strings, whether they are metal or gut, may not last as long, place unnecessary pressure on the instrument, or cause it to warp. Good strings have a coating on them which helps the bow hairs glide easier with less friction. Without proper coating, your bow won't last as long either.
How to String a Violin
The trick is to slightly loosen all the strings, even if you are only replacing one. That will keep the pressure on the bridge and neck of the violin more even. Then, unwind the string to be replaced and remove the doweling peg. Next, slide the other end that fits inside the tailpiece down and out, releasing the tiny ball at the end.
Now you are ready to restring the violin. Take the new string out of the package and uncoil it. Put the ball end back into the keyhole of the tailpiece and slide it gently up until it catches.
Next, guide the string over the bridge, making sure the bridge is straight and upright. Then guide the string up the fingerboard and over the proper slot or notch at the top.
Note: On the E String, you will notice, especially if you are using steel strings, there is a tiny little plastic sleeve the string slides on. This is placed in the bridge to keep the extra thin E string from etching into the wood.
Thread the other end, which you will see has a silkening added to it to make it easier to glide through. Sometimes it is a color coordinated, which tells you more easily which string you are threading. Turn it several times, winding it around the peg and leaving about a quarter of an inch dangling.
Now, insert the peg and continue to tighten until it feels as taunt as the other strings. If no other strings need replacing, begin to tune them all by first tightening with the peg, then the fine tuner. There, you have just learned how to string a violin.
How to Store a Violin
First, in properly storing the violin, it is important to keep it flat in its case, not out and propped up against something. Violins are made of wood and wood can warp. Keeping it flat in a cushioned case, molded to fit it, will keep it secured. Of course it is all right to lay the case on its side or prop it up, just not the instrument.
The biggest mistake people make is to either leave the violin in the trunk of the car or in the attic. Excess extremes in temperatures can cause the wood to expand or shrink too quickly, which may result in stress fractures. If you keep your violin case in the trunk all day in mid July then rush it into an air-conditioned concert hall and start to tune it, the instrument will not have time to adjust to the change in temperatures.
If you ever do notice some warping, or the fingerboard starts to loosen, or you see minute cracks in the violin, take it to an experienced stringed instrument repair person called a luthier. Delaying will only cost you much more money.
The other expense with a violin is buying the strings. However, cheap strings, whether they are metal or gut, may not last as long, place unnecessary pressure on the instrument, or cause it to warp. Good strings have a coating on them which helps the bow hairs glide easier with less friction. Without proper coating, your bow won't last as long either.
How to String a Violin
The trick is to slightly loosen all the strings, even if you are only replacing one. That will keep the pressure on the bridge and neck of the violin more even. Then, unwind the string to be replaced and remove the doweling peg. Next, slide the other end that fits inside the tailpiece down and out, releasing the tiny ball at the end.
Now you are ready to restring the violin. Take the new string out of the package and uncoil it. Put the ball end back into the keyhole of the tailpiece and slide it gently up until it catches.
Next, guide the string over the bridge, making sure the bridge is straight and upright. Then guide the string up the fingerboard and over the proper slot or notch at the top.
Note: On the E String, you will notice, especially if you are using steel strings, there is a tiny little plastic sleeve the string slides on. This is placed in the bridge to keep the extra thin E string from etching into the wood.
Thread the other end, which you will see has a silkening added to it to make it easier to glide through. Sometimes it is a color coordinated, which tells you more easily which string you are threading. Turn it several times, winding it around the peg and leaving about a quarter of an inch dangling.
Now, insert the peg and continue to tighten until it feels as taunt as the other strings. If no other strings need replacing, begin to tune them all by first tightening with the peg, then the fine tuner. There, you have just learned how to string a violin.
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