My daughter is four years old. She has asked to learn to play the violin. Should I start her private lessons now?

A recent question posted on my site came from the mother of an eight-year-old beginner:

"My son's school orchestra director says that private lessons are unnecessary, because students can learn everything they need at school. So why does my son need private violin lessons?"

I used to be surprised by this question, the first dozen or so times I heard it. For centuries, violin skills have been passed from generation to generation through individual instruction by private violin teachers. Across the United States, there is a long history of collaboration between orchestra programs and private violin teachers. Many schools (such as Wayzata and Edina) continue to recommend private violin teachers and distribute lists of good private violin teachers to their students. The result is better training for students and a better sounding orchestra for the schools.

Today, more and more schools are cutting back and even eliminating orchestra programs. Yet, these same schools are now claiming that their students do not require private lessons!

The reality is that most good private violin teachers share these two qualities:

1. Years --even decades-- of intense study of violin technique and performance.

2. Years --even decades-- of experience teaching the violin to students.

A good private violin teacher is probably not qualified to teach your child to play the tuba, or even the cello. But she knows how to play and teach the violin.

When you entrust your child to the school orchestra program, who teaches your child to play the violin?

The "orchestra director," of course! But who is this person? Can she play the violin at a reasonably high level? (Or at all?) What experience or training does she have exclusively on the violin? Even if she is a concert violinist, how much time can she devote to your child? And why does it matter? Can't a parent rely on the schools to do a good job teaching the violin, just like they do with math and reading?

The answer is, unfortunately, no. I cannot count the number of students who have had their instruction solely in the school system and have developed bad habits. "Bad habits" inevitably mean that the student cannot produce a good sound. And, without instruction in proper technique, he or she may already play with so much tension that it actually hurts to play.

Children learn very quickly. However, once they establish habits --good or bad-- they often experience frustration if these need to be modified later. (Don't we all!) If you wait until she shows sufficient interest or talent to start private violin lessons, or you entrust his violin instruction solely to the schools, you may well set your child up for failure. Please consider starting your child off on the right foot with private violin lessons taught by a good private violin teacher-- from day one!

What kind of chin rest do you like? Mine has worn out from all my practicing, so I need a new one.

Wow! You must really practice a lot!

There are many different kinds of chinrests. Most fit into two categories: chinrests that extend over the tailpiece and mount under the button, and chinrests that mount on the side.



And these come in many different shapes, sizes and materials, and have names such as Guarneri, Strad, Hill, Flesch, Dresden, Wittner, and Tekka.



With possibly one exception I will describe below, I do not "prefer" any one of these over the others because no two people are built exactly alike, and a chin rest that is comfortable for one student may not be a good fit for another. If your worn out chin rest was comfortable, I suggest replacing it with an identical model. Otherwise, you might want to head to a violin shop and try a few of them. Look for a violin shop that carries several different models and will allow you to try them. Your teacher should also be able to help evaluate fit.

Now, as promised, I will discuss the one chin rest that, for some players, I do recommend over the others. It is called the Gel Rest. The gel rest actually comes in several shapes, but its distinguishing feature is that it has a cushion made of a non-irritating hypoallergenic gel that fits over the wood in the rest. The company that makes the gel rest also supplies the gel toppers separately, and can make a double layered version for taller necks. The potential advantages of the gel rest are several. First, the cushioning of the gel reduces irritation to the skin from the chin rest. Second, it won't slip in hot conditions where sweating is an issue. Third, it helps the neck support the violin through friction between the neck and the gel. Finally, the cushion is more forgiving against the neck and often feels more comfortable to the player.

Below are some pictures of the gel and the various chin rest shapes:

In order to install the strings, how do I tell the G string from the D string?

Many of us have quite a large "string collection" in our cases or stashed away for safe keeping. We have used strings, new strings (both inside and outside of packaging), and perhaps even damaged strings, saved for that special emergency when we have broken a string and don't have anything else to replace it with. But once a string is out of it's packaging and becomes an "unidentified" string, it can be very difficult to figure out what type of string it is, let alone whether it is an A, D, E, or G string.

Every string manufacturer individually labels its strings at both the peg and the ball/loop end. These labels take the form of colors on the windings, sometimes solid, sometimes stripes. Sometimes the colors are the same at each end, and sometimes they are different. For each manufacturer, each string set usually bears its own, unique color scheme where every string within the set has a different combination of colors. To further complicate matters, sometimes even the different tension strings within string sets have their own color scheme as well. As you can imagine, there are quite a few combinations!

Although there are string identification tables available on the internet, these are often difficult to use and sometimes even misleading. But because they can be useful when you at least know the brand and name of the set (for instance you are certain that you have a pirastro Obligato set but you are unsure which string is which), you might be able to use a string identifier to save yourself a trip to the shop.

After all, string identification charts depend on our ability to define color, which is not always consistent from person to person. For instance you have concluded that your unidentified string has a blue peg end and a yellow ball end. But are you sure that it isn't blue and yellow, or blue and gold, or light blue and yellow, or light blue and gold? (rest assured all of these possiblities do exist!)

It is usually the case that thinner strings are higher in pitch and thicker strings are lower in pitch. The thicker string allows less tension and thus a lower pitch for the same string length. However -- and this is a BIG however -- since strings use different metals as windings as well as different cores, (not only between string sets but also within them), it is sometimes the case that the D string is THICKER than the G string! A "wound" E string might appear larger than an A string. A high tension A string from one string set might appear thicker than a light tension string from another set.

Thus, (and especially if you mix string from different set) you cannot always determine what type of string you have based solely on it's thickness.

So why does all of this matter? What is wrng with putting on the wrong string?

Suppose our questioner were to put a G string on his D string peg. Since it was thicker, he was convinced that the D string must in fact be a G string. But a G string is not built to be tuned all the way up to the D a fifth above. The extra tension this would cause on the instrument and bridge could be enormous -- enough not only to cause the bridge to collapse and possibly break, but also to cause a crack in the top of the fiddle, most likely over the sound post. This crack, called a soundpost crack, is very bad both for the sound of your violin and also for it's value.

Therefore, I highly recommend against putting any unidentified strings on your violin or viola. And, even if you think you are able to identify them, using a chart or internet tool, there are, in my opinion, too many different strings that look very similar for you to ever be certain you have made a correct identification.

For unidentified strings, prevention is probably the best cure. Consider keeping each new string securely in its labeled packet prior to installing it. If you keep the packaging, you can put your used strings back in their properly labeled packaging should you wish to keep them. If you lose the packaging, consider tying a label to the string before it is stored that fully identifies the string.

To the questioner: I would suggest that you take your strings and his violin to a good violin shop, where they should be able to indentify your strings and help you to install them, if necessary.

A few other remarks on installing strings: It is best to install the strings one at a time. If you are replacing an entire set, it is a good idea to examine the bridge before and after installing each string to make sure it is still straight. It is important to take care not to tune any of the strings above their proper pitch in order to stretch them. Most strings go through a breaking-in period where they will need to be retuned frequently. Attempting to stretch the string puts added tension on your instrument that could potentially damage it.