The BAVS FAQ

How do I tune the violin?

How much should I tighten the bow?

How do I use rosin on the bow?

How do I clean the violin and bow?

When I should have the bow rehaired?

How and when should I change my strings?

How do I tune the violin?

Tuning fork. One useful trick for amplifying the sound of a tuning fork is to strike it, and then lightly touch the rounded (non-forked) end to the top of the bridge, or to the body of the violin, or some other solid, non-metallic material. This amplifies the sound significantly, and causes it to resonate lingeringly; if the A string is in tune, also creates a good sympathetic vibration that'll help you verify that it is indeed in tune.

Pitch pipe. The advantage to good pitch pipes is that they let you hear all four notes of the open strings, and let you play them in fifths. However, it's hard to sustain the sound and the purity of the pitch is often not very good.

Electronic tuner or keyboard. Depending on the quality, these produce good, sustained, accurate pitches. There are a variety of card-thickness products (usually with metronome) that are currently available, and fit nicely into a case; however, the purity of the pitch sometimes sounds electronic and "buzzy". Listen before you buy.

Though beginners may initially find it tempting to tune the individual strings in isolation against some steady pitch, such as that generated by an electronic keyboard, it is ultimately easier and more accurate to tune in fifths. For orchestral work, it is necessary to be able to tune in fifths based on just an A reference note.

Once the A string is in tune, tune the D string against the A. When tuning, volume should be moderate -- just do natural up-down bowstrokes. Try to tune "up" to the pitch; if the instrument is already tuned sharp (the pitch is too high), tune it flat (down below the pitch) and come up. You will be able to hear the fifth "come into focus" -- there'll come a point where it will no longer sound "wrong". Tuning up will cause the peg to hold more easily, making it less likely that it'll slip (thus throwing the string out of tune again); also, from the perspective of good leverage on the pegs, it's easier for your fingers to make finer adjustments that way -- if you overshoot and go sharp, go below the tone a little again with a quick twist, then slowly turn the peg so the pitch comes upwards. You can make very tiny adjustments in one of two ways: if you run your thumb along the string, tugging slightly, it will stretch the string a little and thus lower the pitch, and if you push down on the string just behind the nut (the place where the fingerboard meets the pegbox), you will raise the pitch.

Once the D string is in tune, tune the G string against the D, the same way. Then, quickly double-check that the A and D strings are still in tune, before tuning the E string against the A. The strings need to be tuned in this order, because tuning the lower strings can sometimes subtly shift alignment, slightly affecting the pitch of the E string. Use the E fine tuner to adjust the E string's pitch, unless it's seriously out of tune, as it's usually difficult to make the necessary fine adjustments using the E peg.

An advanced trick is to check the harmonics in fifths. In the third position, if you let your fingers flatten out naturally, your fourth finger rests upon the note one octave above the open string. By touching the string lightly, you will produce a "whistling" note. The fifth of the harmonics will sound easily in the natural position of the hand. If the instrument is in tune, harmonics in fifths should sound easily and clearly. However, this is only a useful technique if you are an advanced enough player that you can effortlessly find the harmonics.

[Last update: Sun Apr 16 15:54:15 2000.]

How much should I tighten the bow?

How do I use rosin on the bow?

How do I clean the violin and bow?

When I should have the bow rehaired?

• More than a year has passed since your last rehair, and you use this bow regularly.
• It takes noticeably more rosin to get a sufficient "grab".
• The hair at the frog of the bow is black and dirty, or oily.
• The hair has turned yellow and brittle.
• Bow hairs break with greater frequency.
• You have broken enough hairs that the hair looks thinned out.

Active players will typically have their bows rehaired twice a year. Less active players will probably find that once a year is adequate.

[Last update: Fri Aug 24 15:14:25 2001.]

How and when should I change my strings?

String manufacturers usually recommend that the entire set of strings be changed at a given time, since this will ensure that the response characteristics of the strings are even -- new strings respond differently than old strings. In practice, though, E strings tend to wear out more quickly than the other strings, losing their brilliance or going false. Thus, you will probably change the E string by itself, and then periodically replace the G, D, and A strings together.

When changing strings, you should never take more than one string off the violin at a time. The tension that the strings create is important for holding the bridge and the soundpost in place. If your soundpost ever collapses, don't try to fix it yourself, and don't try to play the instrument -- take it to a luthier, who will reset it properly for you.

To change a string, first take the old string off the instrument. You can do this simply by turning the peg for that string until the string has been loosened, and simply take the string off.

Take a sharp #2 pencil, and rub a light coat of graphite over the groove in the bridge and the nut (the groove at the end of the fingerboard), where the string was. The graphite serves as a lubricant, allowing the string to slide smoothly when it is being tuned, reducing wear on the string and the chance of breakage.

Put on the new string. You'll probably have somewhere around a half-dozen windings of the string around the peg; the windings should not overlap, and should go from the center of the peg, towards the peg box. The string should come close to the peg box but not actually touch it (though there are varying schools of thought on that).

Pegs that are too loose or too tight can often benefit from peg compound, sometimes called "peg dope". However, this is also a function of how tightly you've jammed the pegs into the pegbox. Be careful.

Strings often take several days to "settle" to the point where they'll hold a pitch without needing to be re-tuned every couple of minutes. The tonal characteristics of the string may change subtly during that settling-in period, as well. Do not deliberately tune the string sharp during this breaking-in period, or at any other time; similarly, never deliberately loosen all the strings. You want to maintain "standard" tension on the strings, meaning that the strings should all be tuned to approximately the correct pitch, even if the instrument is sitting in storage.

You can shorten this settling-in period by doing the following: Go up and down the string, gently pushing it between your thumb and index finger, five times or so. Re-tune. Repeat this a few times. You can also bow up and down, near the bridge, using heavy pressure, a few times. Note that this trick shortens the lifespan of the string, but it is sometimes necessary to quickly stabilize the pitch, particularly if you've broken a string just prior to a concert.

If you are planning to change more than one string, you will find that it is better to let one string settle a bit before changing the next string. Begin with the lower strings first; for example, if you are replacing an entire set of strings, change the G, then the D, then the A, then the E. Let the first string get to the point where it will hold its tuning for several minutes before stretching sufficiently that it needs to be retuned, before changing the next string; this will probably necessitate a five or ten-minute wait (during which you will keep retuning the new string) between each string. This will reduce the degree to which you inadvertently move the bridge, and it's easier, from the perspective of the constant retuning that must usually be done for new strings, to not have all of the strings stretching massively all at once.

[Last update: Fri Aug 24 15:19:06 2001.]