Passionate about your violin? Give it some tender violin care

OK. Now you have bought your violin, or perhaps come by an old one in the attic, you need to know all about violin care.

Hopefully, if you followed our advice about buying violins, you have bought a good instrument to begin with. But if money is tight you might have come across an instrument that needs a bit of tender, loving violin care.

Repairs

Inspect the instrument carefully and prioritise. If it has buzzes and open cracks these must be repaired. You need a professional repairer to do this unless you are a reasonably experienced violin maker/repairer. You won't enjoy playing the instrument until you have chased out any nasty sounds!

Repairs is a large topic in itself and we recommend you do you research to understand what can be done.

Once all repairs are done and stable you can relax. Violin care does't involve a huge amount of effort. But there are some simple rules to avoid damage and devaluing your instrument.

Where to keep your violin?

First thing first. If you taking your violin out and about you definately need a violin case. You can't do without. A case will protect it from dings and knocks, but also from weather. You will be able to put it down and travel with it securely. There are lots of different types of violin case.

Even if you don't intend to take your violin out of the house keeping it in a case might be a good idea.

If you have pets, children etc its common sense to keep your instrument out of harms way.

However this needs to be balanced with encouraging yourself to play. Many violinists keep their violin on the wall at home. Its easier to pick it up and play when ever the mood takes you.

Sound frightening? Not really. A good strong hook in the wall with a nice strong bow which goes under the scroll is very secure. Or you can buy one the specially made for the job! If you are going to do this avoid hanging your violin above the central heating radiator or behind the door!!!

String Swing Violin Hanger with Bow Holder Mic Stand Hanger W/Bow Holder Wall mounted violin yoke and bow holder. Yoke is covered by surgical tubing, pivots to fit any violn and is adjustable by squeezing or expanding. Wooden bases are natural wood, with coloration and grain pattern variations from base to base.

When playing and the door bell rings, be careful where you put your violin down. It is all too easy to be in a rush. A violin rest is helpful to have so you can stand the violin in it temporarily. Ask for one as a present sometime.

Temperature and Humidity

You should keep an eye on your instrument if the temperature or humidity changes quickly with the weather or because you are travelling with your violin.

Avoid leaving your instrument in the car boot all day if it is a dry cold winter's day - or if its a boiling hot summer's day! They don't like it!! At best, your tuning will be all off. Its very annoying and upsetting to open you case and find all your strings have pinged and your bridge has fallen down!

Keep your violin clean

Boring we know. But you should clean your violin every time you play. Those fiddlers who let their instruments go white with rosin might think they have street cred but the rosin will ruin the varnish andbecome difficult to remove. Keep a soft duster in your case and wipe the violin down after every play. At home you can use a slightly dampened cloth provided you dry the instrument right away.

The same goes for the bow stick. Give it a wipe after you play.

Violin cleaner

If it has got to the stage where your instrument needs more than a quick dust, you can buy violin cleaner/polish.You wipe the wood with this for a nice treat for your violin.

Hill Violin Polish Cleans and polishes. 1 oz. bottle.

Strings

For the best tone, you should keep your strings clean. You can use proprietry cloths or string cleaner out of a bottle (such as Pirastro string cleaner). If you use liquid string cleaner, simply clean the strings with a bit of cotton wool. MAKE SURE you don't drip it on the violin though. It will ruin the varnish.

Some people use a wine cork (although I haven't tried this). Sounds like a good excuse though doesn't it?

Strings need replacing from time to time. The frequency might depend on how much you play. If you play a lot you might need to do this once every 6 months or so. Keep an eye on your strings and if you see any signs of them unraveling replace immediately.

Keep a spare set in your case along with your rosin. Always make sure you have one or two e strings as they can break often.

Rehairing your violin bow

Don't forget your bow! It should always be let down when you are not playing or it will lose its spring. Bows need to be kept clean - like your violin. If you let the rosin build up it will affect the soundas well as damage the varnish.

You should have your bow rehaired fairly regularly. This is a job for a professional. How often it needs to be done depends on how much you play. You might need to do itevery three months or so if you play a lot - or maybe once a year if you are more average. You can buy different grades of hair for rehairing. It's your choice!

Pegs

If your pegs aren't turning smoothly you can buy peg compound which will sort them. Use it sparingly.

Loose chin rest?

Finally, occasionally my chin rest comes loose. I have no idea why but its easy to fix. If you look at the end of the violin you will see small holes on the metal clamp that holds the chin rest on. You can buy little keys which let you tighten this up.

Glaesel Care Kit for Violin/Viola/Cello Standard Care kit for violin/viola which contains peg compound (loosens tight pegs), humidifier, rosin "A" pitchpipe, chinrest key, tension peg key, polish and polishing cloth.

You should also take your instrument to your dealer for a check every now and then. They will look at the whole set up and check it for you as well as change the strings and clean the violin. Its a nice treat for your violin - like giving it flowers...

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