Mastering the Violin: Techniques for Advanced Players

Many early violins are extremely valuable. Other violins made in later years of the same century can sell for millions of dollars. Violins made by such world renowned makers as Amati, Stradivari, Vuillaume, Amati, Bergonzi, Guarneri, Gasparo da Salò, Stainer are extremely rare and are of great value to collectors.

These instruments are of great value because of their historical significance. Musicians prize these fine violin for sale because they show the craftsmanship of their makers. They are often intricately designed and feature elaborate and unique carvings and engravings that are not found on many models today.

Many European Violin makers began making replicas of early violins in the mid 19-th century. These replicas were not made to confuse or trick collectors, but to appeal to students and other people who appreciated the designs of these instruments but did not have the money to purchase originals. Many contemporary violin companies continue to make these replicas in the hope of perpetuating classic violin designs. This strategy makes sense when people realize that the basic design of the violin has been relatively unchanged since the 18th century.

Antique violins are valuable for several reasons. They are rare artifacts, not much different from paintings and sculptures. Antique violins also provide models for current Violin makers to follow. Musicians appreciate the design and innovation present in original violins.

It is very crucial to not take off all the violin strings on your instrument simultaneously. This could result in drastic adjustments in the tension and stress on the violin and this may cause the sound post inside the violin to drop.

Remove and replace the violin strings one string at a time. Immediately after removing the older violin string, you may want to lubricate the groove exactly where the string passes above the bridge by rubbing a graphite pencil lead in the groove. This decreases friction and aids in stopping bridge movements. Additionally, you will want to rub the pencil in the slot of the nut at the top of the fingerboard. This it makes it possible for the string to slide more quickly, making tuning much easier and it helps halt buzzing.

Insert the violin string onto the instrument’s tailpiece and into your peg and wind it in the manner the string is neatly distributed around the peg. If you have tailpiece adjusters fitted, it is important to being careful how you insert the string through the adjuster mainly because it can easily damage the string. A violin string that is not wound neatly will make the instrument much more difficult to tune and keep in tune. There will be a lot less stress placed on an evenly wound string helping to ensure that there is less possibility of friction damaging the string from the peg box by itself and leading to it to break.

Be certain that when you have completed changing each individual violin string that its fine tuner (if it has a fine tuner) isn’t either too restricted nor too loose. It should be adjusted somewhere near the middle so that you can either tune up or down as required.