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String Instrument

How to buy a good string instrument for your child

ZING! Go the strings of my tot or

You (or your child) have decided that they could benefit from learning to play violin, viola, cello or string bass.  Congratulations, and we welcome you to an exciting and rewarding world of music making.

One of the first questions that may immediately come to mind as you begin this journey is "Where do I get a quality instrument?"   Finding a first instrument that is responsive and has a beautiful sound is a critical first step when learning to play a string instrument.  This is especially true when procuring an instrument for a child.  Here are a couple of guidelines:

1) Find a reputable string instrument dealer.  If you walk in the door of the shop and see flutes, drums or trumpets, immediately turn and leave.  String instruments are a specialty item and if a store offers a variety of instruments, that often means they are less likely to provide the string specialists that you will find in shops that exclusively deal in string instruments.

2) If your child is first starting with a private teacher, consult with the teacher before making any commitment.  Most string teachers have established relationships with string instrument dealers.  These dealers know the teacher's preferences in terms of shoulder rests, strings and instrument brand.  Since the teacher probably sends significant business to a particular shop, you are also more likely to get "priority" service.  Every teacher has slightly different preferences when it comes to how an instrument‘s tone quality and how it is "set up" (chin rest, shoulder rest, type of strings, etc.)  A store that consistently deals with a teacher will have this information and can therefore provide an instrument to the particular teacher's exact specifications.   It is important to remember that string instruments come in a variety of sizes and young children need to be "sized" for an instrument.  It is very frustrating for a child to try to learn to play an instrument that is too large for them.  Matching the size to the player is a determination best made by a string specialist.  Ask the person with whom you are interacting at the string shop whether or not they are a professional string player themselves.  (Based on their response, your common sense should kick in about what to do next.)

If your child is beginning in a school program, ask the school's string teacher.  Most string teachers will hand out a list of recommended shops.  Keep in mind, however, that they are often obligated to give you the names of all shops, even those that might not provide the best service, instruments and experts.   Instead, ask the teacher where they take their instrument when it needs to be worked on or from whom they purchased their instrument.

3)  Stay off the Internet.  Yes, it is tempting when you see those rock bottom prices for violins from China, but unfortunately the quality is often very poor and many of the instruments virtually unplayable.  I have actually seen instruments that could not even be tuned because the quality was so poor.  You will also be stuck with the instrument for life, because few decent string shops will take these instruments in on trade.  Also, shops like to deal in their own "brands" and usually won't take other brands in on trade. Don't let price be the determining factor when selecting an instrument.  You will not have "saved" any money if the child is frustrated and quits because of trying to play an inferior instrument.  As by way of analogy, consider the quality of and the money you spend on sports equipment

4) Ask the following questions of the sales person before signing on the dotted line:

How much is the most expensive violin, viola, cello, bass in your store? The higher the figure, the better.  First, it likely gives a more accurate snapshot of the overall quality of the shop.  It may indicate they take this business seriously, and are willing to invest and maintain an expensive, high end inventory are prepared to be around for the long run—for themselves and your child.  Consider too, that with good instruction, your child might really get into this, and it is not uncommon for parents to pay $15,000 for a violin (even more for a cello) for an advanced teen.  That may seem inconceivable now, but music can change children for the better.  It opens doors in life that you have not even considered.  Cross that bridge when you get to it, but know that there are options should that point in time come, and you would be making an investment in your child—and the instrument.  So, plan to plan ahead a bit.  Their involvement may lead to wonderful and creative things.  It does every day.

This leads to the next question:

What is your trade in policy? Remember, most children are not starting on full sized instruments, so as they grow you are going to need to have instruments that grow with them.

Renting vs. Purchasing: If you are with a good shop, then this question simply comes down to your personal cash flow.  Many shops will credit your rental payments up to a certain amount and then apply it towards your eventual purchase.

Used vs. New: Believe it or not, used is often better.  Remember the great Italian instruments are hundreds of years old and therefore "used."  As long as the instrument is in good condition (no cracks, open seams or disfiguration), old and used are fine.

Insurance: Many shops will offer "instrument" insurance.  You should check with your homeowners insurance agent and be absolutely certain that an instrument is covered under your policy.  If there is any question, take the shop up on the instrument insurance offer, especially for cellos.  A child who can leave his or her lunch on the bus can do the same with a musical instrument.   There is also the risk of the instrument being damaged if it is dropped or bumped into.

Carbon Fiber vs. Wood Bows: Strongly consider carbon bows for kids.  The bows are less fragile and usually much more "stable" and "even" the than wood bows that can often cost twice as much.  Plus, the kids love the colors of the carbon bows and may become much more engaged just because their bow is purple or red.  Give the child some say on the color selection, it will give them a greater appreciation of their tools of the trade.

This may become something of a hobby for your child or their life's avocation.   Music has the power to change lives, and by investing in a quality instrument from the start, you send a message that this is an endeavor to be taken seriously.

About the Author

Ms. Freeman has been active as a teacher, conductor, arts administrator and professional musician for the past 30 years. Her articles have been published in such prestigious publications as the Suzuki Assoc. of the America's Journal.  Currenlty, she is on the faculty of the Peabody Preparatory  where she teaches violin/voila and Suzuki group classes and she is the director of the Maryland Talent Education Center in Frederick Maryland.  She has been a guest lecturer and masterclass clinician at conferences and institutes around the world.  As a professional musician she is principal viola of the Maryland Symphony and also a member of the National Philharmonic.  She also directs and creates video for the classical music industry, including filming concerts and producing documentaries and interviews with major artists and teachers in the classical music world.  Much of this exclusive video appears only on www.ClassicalMusicCity.com.  For more from Phyllis Freeman, go to www.ClassicalMusicCity.com and search "Phyllis Freeman."

Phyllis Freeman received her Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University and her Master of Music degree from Peabody Conservatory.

How hard is it to play a string instrument?

I play viola,violin and mandolin and i am wondering how hard it is for all of you.

i play violin viola bassoon trumpet and piano, and judging from experience from all of these nothing is extrmly difficult until you reach a certain degree of playing where it is very hard to get better

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Musical instrument is device or object used to produce music; it refers to any thing used to produce sounds. The study of musical instrument as an academic field of study is called organ logy. Over time there has been moves to arrange the chronology of musical instruments across cultures, this has proved fruitless
for reasons that all cultures advance at different level and have access to different materials, different methods have been used to attain a positive chronological progression
of musical instrument but known has presented a responsive result, for instance anthropologists has find it difficult to determine which instruments are more by attempting to compare musical instruments made by two cultures that existed at the same time but differed in organization, culture and handicraft.Musical instruments are of different types such as: Brass whose tone is produced by vibration of the lips as the player blows into a tubular resonator; examples are trumpet, trombone, tuba, baritone, euphonium, French horn, flugelhorn etc. Woodwind which produces sound when the player blows air against an edge of, or opening in, the instrument, causing the air to vibrate within a resonator. Most commonly, the player blows against a thin piece of wood called a reed examples are Bansuri, dizi, flute, fife, etc. String musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings, examples are piano, violin, viola, cello, bass, mandolin, guitar, sitar, harp, etc. Percussion musical instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration, examples of percussion instruments are the xylophone, piano, triangle, etc. Musical instruments are also being labeled using different methods such as:
The ancient system dating from the 1st century BC, divides instruments into four classification groups regarded as instruments where the sound is produced by vibrating strings; instruments where the sound is produced by vibrating columns of air; percussion instruments made of wood or metal; and percussion instruments with skin heads. The Sachs-Hornbostel classified musical instruments into four categories comprising of Chordophones, such as the piano or cello, which produces sound by vibrating strings; they are sorted into zithers, keyboard chordophones, lyres, harps, lutes, and bowed chordophones. Another is the erophones, such as the pipe organ or oboe, which produce sound by vibrating columns of air; they are sorted into free aerophones, flutes, organs, reedpipes, and lip-vibrated aerophones. Also of the Idiophones, such as the xylophone and rattle, which produces sound by vibrating themselves; they are sorted into concussion, percussion, shaken, scraped, split, and plucked idiophones. And lastly the Membranophones, such as drums or kazoos, which produces sound by a vibrating membrane; they are sorted into predrum membranophones, tubular drums, friction idiophones, kettledrums, friction drums, and mirlitons. Etc

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About the Author

I am from India. I am a freelance writer.

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