Care and Instrument Maintenance
Wondering how to take care of your new instrument? The following tips provide guidelines for the proper care and maintenance of your violin, viola, or cello.
Wondering how to take care of your new instrument? The following tips provide guidelines for the proper care and maintenance of your violin, viola, or cello.
- Tighten your violin bow before playing by gently turning the tension screw.
Avoid making the bow hairs too taut---the separation between the bow stick and
hair should be about the width of a pencil.
- Whenever you handle your violin bow, try not to touch the bow hairs with
your fingers or hand. The natural oils on your skin will impact the ability of
the bow to grip the string.
- Put a small amount of rosin on your bow before playing. Hold the rosin
in your left hand, place the bow hairs flat on the rosin and slowly move the bow
back and forth on the rosin. Rosin provides the bow hair with friction in order
to produce a sound when the bow is pulled across the violin strings.
- If you do not have enough rosin on your bow, your bow will slide across the
strings and produce very little or no sound. Too much rosin can produce a raspy,
scratching sound, and can result in rosin caking the strings. Visit this rosin & sound page
for directions on how to apply rosin.
- After playing the violin, gently clean it with a soft, clean, lint-free
cloth to remove rosin build-up on the strings and any dust, oil or sweat on your
instrument, including the chinrest.
- Polish is rarely needed, and when necessary, only a commercial violin polish should be used. Cleaning the violin with furniture polish or water could damage the varnish and acoustics of the violin (water could also cause the violin seams to open).
- When you are not using your violin and bow, always place them in your case.
They can easily fall and become damaged if you leave them on a chair or another
surface, even temporarily.
- If you use a shoulder rest or shoulder pad, always remove it from your
violin before putting your violin back in its case.
- Loosen the hair on your bow before putting it back in the case.
- Make sure you have securely closed your instrument case with any zippers and
latches before picking up your instrument case.
- Do not store your violin in extreme hot or cold locations, and never leave
your instrument in direct sunlight or in the trunk of your car on a warm day
(the heat could melt the varnish).
- If you live in a dry climate, you may want to consider using a humidifier made for violins (excessive dryness can cause cracking or the seams of your violin to open).
- If your violin ever has cracks or the seams begin to open, take it to a
music store, violin maker or luthier to be professionally repaired. Never use
commercial glue to repair cracks on your violin. Instrument makers use a special
glue for violin seams and repairs.
- If your violin bridge ever needs to be adjusted, it is important to note
that the violin bridge is held in place by pressure and proper placement, not
glue (tension from the violin strings holds it in place). Please bring it to your instructor or to an instrument specialist.