Violin FAQ’s
What are some violin do’s and do-not’s?
You should NEVER EVER:
Should I rent or buy my violin?
For growing children, renting a violin is often the more practical option. They will typically outgrow their violin every few years or so. However, buying your violin from a specialty store will usually give you a better quality instrument.
How much should my child be practicing?
There is so much variability in how much children practice. Some 12-year-olds practice 10 minutes a week while some 6-year-olds practice far a few hours a day! How much you practice depends on how much you want to improve. Here are my general guidelines for figuring out your practice schedule:
You should NEVER EVER:
- Clean your violin with water or rubbing alcohol
- Store your violin next to a heater
- Leave your violin in the car
- Use standard wood glue on any part of the instrument
- Leave your bow tightened after use
- Wipe your violin with a dry cotton cloth after use
- Store your violin in a safe and temperate place
- Loosen your bow after use
Should I rent or buy my violin?
For growing children, renting a violin is often the more practical option. They will typically outgrow their violin every few years or so. However, buying your violin from a specialty store will usually give you a better quality instrument.
How much should my child be practicing?
There is so much variability in how much children practice. Some 12-year-olds practice 10 minutes a week while some 6-year-olds practice far a few hours a day! How much you practice depends on how much you want to improve. Here are my general guidelines for figuring out your practice schedule:
- Its more important to practice regularly than to have long practice sections.
- At a beginning level, 10-15 minutes a day is the absolute minimum you need to put in to see consistent growth.
- Make sure you cover each part of your weekly assignments multiple times throughout the week.
- Don’t practice just to fill time. If you have thoughtfully and thoroughly covered all parts of your assignment, you can consider your practice session finished for the day.