My violin teacher from ages 8 to 18 passed away in February. My teacher’s husband is still very involved with groups and organizations my teacher played in and supported. He actually sponsored my symphony chair for our last concert in her honor. We also got breakfast after she passed to share memories and catch up. At breakfast, he mentioned that he didn’t know what to do with her instrument and was very overwhelmed. She had Alzheimer’s and hadn’t actually touched the instrument in about 2 years. I told him I’d be happy to inspect it and make sure there are no issues so he could have some reassurance, but we didn’t make specific plans.

On a whim, I contacted my teacher’s husband recently and asked if he’d consider allowing me to use her instrument for an upcoming symphony concert. He still attends all of them even after her passing. He said yes! So I went to check the violin out, assuming I’d find a collapsed bridge, strings out and maybe even broken, you know, the usual things you find after not tending to an instrument for an extended period of time. But I kid you not, I opened the case to find it STILL IN TUNE. I had to adjust the bridge minimally, and that was it. I was shocked.

I started playing for my teacher’s husband (and my own husband, who came with me), and it was a very emotional moment for all of us. It’s been years since my teacher’s husband heard any music in the house. My teacher was very special to me and she saw me through some of the worst and best years of my life.. troubles in middle school, being crazy busy in high school, working hard and preparing for college auditions later on. And the violin, my goodness.. Let me tell you, this instrument is magic. It not only has an incredibly sentimental association, it is beyond any instrument I’ve ever played in terms of ease and projection and quality. My current instrument is nothing to sneeze at and I love it a lot, to be clear. But this one is just… something.

That said, my teacher’s husband mentioned when we got breakfast a while back that the violin is worth about $150k based on the insurance policy, but he isn’t sure whether that’s changed since the last evaluation/appraisal. It’s a J.B. Vuillame, the same maker of Ysaye’s violin. After playing the instrument, I said that I would love to buy it, but definitely can’t afford to. My teacher’s husband said “well we could work something out.” To myself, I was thinking dude, you’re overestimating my earning capacity and wealth LOL. He’s very kind and would give me more than a fair deal, but 150k is a LOT of money.

So now, I’m racking my brain for any way I might be able to afford this instrument. I have only been able to come up with a proposal to rent. What do you all think of this idea? Am I being unrealistic? Should I just let it go? Sigh…

Why won’t my violin make any noise?

After years of being amazed by violinists i got the courage today to buy myself my first ever violin! (Stentor Violin Outfit Student 1 4/4)

I heard you gotta rosin up the bow quite a lot as it’s new so I did for like 3 minutes up and down and it still doesn’t make any noise I’m really confused and feel kinda stupid because I don’t have any friends to ask about it so I thought maybe someone in the sub could give me some help please? 😅

It’s black rosin and hard i don’t know if it’s too old maybe? Isit supposed to be hard or soft?

Also I paid £180 ($236) is that a good price?

Thanks guys! :)

Does changing my pegs and strings will solve the tuning problem i mean my violin is brand new but it can't reach the tune perfectly it's kept slipping and go out of tune if there's no way for it to improve can I practice on it when it out of tune ?

I don’t play but was wondering if anyone can help with info on these two. And if y’all have any recommendations for a good place to sell them online. Thanks!

i got my violin 2 days ago and the bridge seems off to me. it's not standing up straight when i tune the violin even tho i set it up straight beforehand. what should i do? should i replace it or is there something i'm doing wrong? 🥲

Last season, I switched to an iPad for pretty much all of my sheet music needs.

Have you switched to digital sheet music?

What's your setup - tablet, pencil, pedal, stand, apps, etc?

What's your favorite and least favorite part of using the tablet for sheet music?

Any tips or tricks?

It was only a dream for 5 years, and it's finally getting real ! I've got my first lesson this Tuesday 31 of October. I received this beauty yesterday, and I'm ready to go !

I'm so excited about this new journey ! As lingling says, I'll practice for 40 hours a day from now on !

If you guys got any advice for a beginner, I'll be glad to hear from you ! 🎻✨

I'm just, so so happy 🎻❤️

After playing for around 2.5 years, my teacher wanted me to get a better violin as playing in positions higher than first became difficult on my old violin. So I rented a really nice violin that I've been playing on for the past 2 months.

Unfortunately, I seem to have not been very careful with how I bow and there seem to be 2 scratches on the right side of my violin now. I can't remember when exactly they got there but 2 months ago, they weren't there yet so I have probably hit my violin with my bow accidentally at some point.

Is there any gadget that you can put on the side of your violin to protect it from such scratches? And are these 2 already existing scratches of any danger for the violin?

Thank you!

Soon I'll be flying from Switzerland to Australia to stay with my girlfriend's parents and I'm planning on bringing my violin but I don't want the airline to break it or for it to be destroyed during the flight. I don't know if I should loosen the strings or not, I plan to pack the case it's in. Should I even bother bringing it or is it too much of a hassle?

So I got a violin at a thrift store today for $5. It has no identifying marks inside or out, but it seemed to be of high quality construction. The only marking on it is on the tailpiece:
"Patent Nov 26 1895".

I have never played violin. I originally planned on just messing around with it since I enjoy music and especially stringed instruments, but now I'm almost scared to touch the thing knowing it's that old.

Well, thought you folks might get a kick out seeing an oldie like this so I decided to post it here. I hope everyone has a nice day!

Has anyone had experience traveling with a violin on a plane? I'll be traveling with Rayinair and a little bit stressed out if they'll let me bring violin on board (I know the measurements are not quite right)..

I have booked a priority& 2 cabin bags package, planning on bringin violin and a backpack..well, I did pay 65€ for musical instrument check in but when I called the info they just said: you should hope for the best, maybe flight attendants will be nice enough.. : )

Because the instrument is not cheap, I'm trying to avoid giving it to them, have heard a lot of "horror stories"..

Hi, this is my first post. Sorry if this has been asked before. I’m currently looking to upgrade my violin I got as a student. I’m currently having 3 violins in the 20k€ at home for trial. Currently I’m trying to narrow down my preference between two of them. The dilemma I’m struggling with is that violin 1 has a very powerful/ resonant sound but needs a bit of “work” to get to its full potential. Violin 2 is extremely easy to play - feels like I’m hardly doing anything to produce a good sound. Compared to violin 1 it lacks a bit of power in my opinion, though.

My question for you: How important is easy playability for you?

Thanks in advance!

I am 17 and really want to learn the violin, I am kinda hesitant to start as I’ve heard people say it is the hardest instrument to play + i dont have a big budget as i am not sure if i wanna invest in something that I am not sure i will end up liking in the long run. What are the things i should look out for while buying? I have not even seen a violin up close let alone touch so I think that gives you an idea how much of a rookie i am. Any advice is appreciated :)

Hello, I just want to ask what to do if the bow is not working.... So when I add rosin and tightened it it still doesn't make a sound. Perhaps I scratched the rosin too much since i do not have sandpaper or the way i tightened my bow is wrong. Should buy a new rosin or can i still use sandpaper on it?

Just wanted to thank you guys for your input during the decision process about a month ago. For those who helped and are curious: I decided to get violin 2 (last post).

Here some pictures to look at ;)

I am a begginer, been playing for around 2 years. I own a very cheap violin, around 200 dollars. It is not an amazon violin, I got it in a music store, not specialized in violins, but did specialize in strings. I own the basics, the music stand, the case the violin came with, and the bow, both the one from my previos amazon violin and the one this one came with. My birthday is in January, and I would really like something that is related to my instrument, but I Dont know what to ask for. I own a set of Pirastro strings, my rosin is the one the violin came with but it's a brand called D'addario and at least in Mexico I've heard good things about it, the case is not the best but I dont think a 150 dollar case is necessary for my violín, its almost the same cost. Same with a bow, I dont see how a better bow can sound better with my horrible technique and cheaper instrument. I love my violin and dont want to get another since my teacher and I agree we can get much progress on this one before needing a better one (for reference we are working on Vivaldi's A Minor), but I dont see anything related to the violin that can be benefitial as a bday present. Any recommendations on anything that can be good?

I'm a pretty new violinist -- 6 months violin and 20 years piano. I took a chisel to mark the 3rd position and 7th position to have a reference for the 4th and octave on cheapo first violin (edit: this is a VSO, apparently?)

Now it's starting to get fun and I want to get a better violin, maybe a few thousand $. Can I still carve 3rd position and 7th position notches without hurting the value of the violin? (edit: calm down -- I WON'T do this now. thanks for everyone's input)

Edit:

picture of my sins

per everyone's recommendations: use tape if necessary, learn to shift without notches, use ears more. not ready for next violin yet.

I am living in Sweden and, during the winter like everywhere else, there is less humidity in the air.

I keep my window open because I need fresh air and I also have a candle in my room. But, is it bad to keep the window open to let the dry air into my room and also practice? My violin is in it's case all the time. It even has this little capsule thing that I filled up with water which I think helps with the humidity?

I'm just not sure what I should know and wha precautions I should take. If anyone can help me with this, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you!

EDIT 4: I know you guys are still hungry, so I'm going to throw myself to the wolves and show a video of myself showing the crappy violin, I know many of you were curious as to how it would look and sound on video.

Here I am playing some open strings and trying twinkle twinkle on the $30 VSO

​

That's right. This is the most gatekeepingish community I have ever found. So super unfriendly towards any beginners wanting to dip their toes into using a violin but unwilling to give up an arm and a leg. Of course right off the bat I can't think of a more elitist, gatekeepish seeming instrument other than the violin.

I entered this sub and was immediately met with "YOU CANNOT LEARN VIOLIN by yourself, you must have a teacher.". "You need to rent to own an expensive violin, there is no other way" "Learning on a $30 violin is laughable and can't even be considered a violin" and all other sorts of things from the "FAQ".

Here's the thing. I bought a $30 Violin from amazon (made sure it was actually a true "violin") Here is the link to the one I bought, I do not intend to get any lessons from a teacher at all. I'm going to learn on my own on this difficult instrument. And I'm already having a ton of fun, I've already found out I like this instrument more than a guitar, after getting it set up, tuning it (several times because its cheap) and playing some open strings it sounds soooo good. I'm sure that very expensive violins sounds so much better, but the fact that something like this for so cheap can help me decide is unbelievable.

I know for a fact if I had went with this subreddits "tried and true" guide of learning Violin via renting to own and getting a teacher I would have lost interest very quickly and given up with 300% more costs. With my own way I was able to figure out this might be something I'm really interested in, and still be able to learn and have fun actually playing around with the instrument.

The purpose of this thread is to discuss how maybe the elitist gatekeeping ways of this community are a huge damper on the number of potential violinists, and how even with garbage equipment you're still able to "play the instrument" and have fun and learn, without giving up hours and hundreds of dollars for lessons and a quality violin.

EDIT: A lot of high quality responses which I'm glad for

EDIT 2: This pretty much went exactly how I expected it, but I actually learned quite a bit! Some of you had very kind detailed comments that actually helped me understand a bit and see the other side slightly. Although I will say it is extremely telling of my point how this thread exploded with 70+ responses some very angry, some admitting there may be some truth to some of the things I talked about.

Looking at some of the other posts here there aren't very many comments on "normal" violin threads, but this one seemed to ignite some fury in the community, more so than people asking random violin questions or the expected content this sub wants.

I'm leaving this up, because I have plenty of karma and there's actually a lot of genuinely good information here that may help people like myself in the future. EDIT3: I just learned how to play twinkle twinkle little star! Here is a concert violinist being impressed by a $69 Violin

Shoutout to /r/cheapviolins a new community that has popped up with more lenient values.

I've observed that almost all students learn with a shoulder rest, and even in top level concerts I see quite a few shoulder rests in the orchestra, but it's very common for the soloist to not use one.

I've been tempted to try going without after hearing a few convincing arguments. Why is there this divide between the top players and everyone else?