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Your violin, carefully made with special woods and tools
by a skilled craftsman, needs special care to keep it in good playing
condition. Given proper treatment, violin family instruments should outlive
their owners. Indeed, instruments
from the 17th and 18th Centuries are still played on a regular basis. However, owners must be careful and guard
against hazards. Always remember
that others need to use these instruments after we are gone.
Handle with Care!
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Violins
are delicate and must not be dropped, lifted improperly, or treated irresponsibly.
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Never
place an instrument on a chair or lean it against something.
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When
handling, hold the instrument by the neck and chinrest areas rather than by
the fragile scroll, and avoid touching varnished surfaces with fingers.
This will help to prevent clouding of the varnish, as well as cracks caused
by too much finger pressure, especially near the fragile ff-hole wings.
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Do
not let non-musicians or unsupervised children play your violin. Untrained hands might easily drop the
violin or the tightened bow, and major damage could occur.
·
Treat
your instrument/bow like you would a living thing. Avoid excessive heat, cold, dryness, and
humidity.
Everyday Use
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Where
possible, keep instruments in the open. Hang them on the wall, or place
them on an instrument stand, table, or piano, or keep in an open case. Make
them available for playing! However,
keep them away from direct sunlight, air vents, and heat ducts.
·
Remember
that cases are mainly for transporting instruments, rather than for
long-term storage. Instruments left in cases for long periods are subjected
to mold growth and other problems related to high humidity and lack of air
circulation.
Transportation and Storage Hints
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Invest
in a good, well-padded case that fits your instrument properly.
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Use
a violin blanket in the case to protect the top of the instrument from
sharp metal edges on the bow's frog, and never store a shoulder rest, spare strings, or other items loose in
the same compartment as the instrument, as this may cause damage.
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Be careful about leaving instruments in cars,
because the temperature can easily get too cold or too hot.
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Store
violins in living quarters, not in the attic, basement, or garage.
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Loosen
fingerpegs slightly (1/2 to one turn), retaining
enough force to hold the bridge and soundpost firmly in place.
·
It
is best to store bows hanging in the open air, because carpet beetles may
feed on bow hair stored in closed cases.
Another option is to put mothballs in the case, in a perforated prescription
bottle in the accessory pocket.
String Things
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Strings should be changed every six months for
daily players, or yearly for occasional players.
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Change strings one at a time, to avoid upsetting
the adjustment of the bridge and soundpost.
·
New strings may need an hour or two of
"playing-in" time before they will hold their tune.
·
If your strings break repeatedly, it means that
there is a sharp spot that needs to be corrected somewhere on the nut, bridge,
tailpiece, or fine tuner.
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The
type of strings used on your instrument may affect the instrument's health
as well as its tone. Inexpensive
steel strings exert more pounds of pressure on a violin, whereas perlon
strings are low tension. I think
steel strings are a main cause for warped and broken bridges, open seams,
cracks, and sunken necks, all of which are chronic problems on student
instruments set up with steel strings.
Better quality older instruments, especially, were designed for
lower-tension gut strings and are often damaged by the use of high-tension
steel strings. Besides causing less damage, most people think perlon
strings have a warmer and deeper sound than steel strings.
Cleaning and Polish
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A
good rule is to "clean often, polish little,” and leave difficult
cleaning jobs and polishing to the violin shop.
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Rosin
is your fiddle's enemy because it sticks to the strings, fingerboard, and
varnish, where it deadens tone and eventually turns gummy and black. Don’t over-rosin, and always keep a soft
cotton flannel cloth in the case for gently cleaning all traces of rosin
from the violin and bow stick after playing. If you need to remove rosin or dirt
build-up, use only water on a soft cloth.
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Avoid
oil-based polishes that enter cracks, open seams, and make future repairs
difficult. Wax-type polishes are preferred, although even these build into
a gummy coating that is opaque and difficult to remove.
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