Does anyone know how to make a cardboard box violin for a 3 year old???

Why? Would you give the kid a cardboard saxaphone if he wanted to play that instead? They do make violins for three year olds, you know. And nothing you make from cardboard would be playable.

thats not the point of a cardboard box violin

http://www.music123.com/Cherub-Training-Box-Violin---Bow-i113151.music

I would just buy one. My kids started violin at age 3, and now they are now teens. We never used a box violin, but started out with a real one. I bought my small violins for less than $80 from Tretter in CA. I preferred giving my kids the real thing. A real violin is generates much more interest than a box violin. Just make sure when your child is messing with it that he or she is on a rug/carpet rather than a concrete slab. That way if the violin gets dropped there won`t be any major damage.

I think it is great that you are going to have your child learn violin young. My tip is that there will come a point where the child wants to quit...my line was, "I wouldn`t allow you to quit math or reading, so why would I allow you to quit music?" Most children get past the stage of wanting to quit once they play well. When asked about violin lessons my teens tell everyone that they will be forever grateful that I didn`t give in and let them quit.

I know other people have different opinions on this, but I wouldn`t give in too quickly when the child wants to quit. I think you have to be creative and find ways to keep up their interest. It could be adding music that is more to their liking (did that with my daughter..Celtic fiddling revived her interest in a big way) or making a big deal out of his or her playing...and yes, I have even given a reward (not a bribe since they didn`t know they were getting it ahead of time) for their hard work.

I love hearing my teens play. They both play awesome. Plus, when they stick with it and learn to play well, it often sparks their interest in other instruments. My teens play viola, piano, drums, and guitar now as well.

Are you doing Suzuki? If so, make sure they get music theory early! That is my one beef with Suzuki.
Dee

Could we please have the phone # to get in touch with Tretter Violins? Thanks, Rebecca

Before you order a violin, make sure your 3 year old is big enough for the 1/32. I made a cereal box violin for mine until she was able to handle the 1/32. It was not the real thing, but with rubber bands as strings, she could make some sounds and was able to learn posture and correct hold. It made getting the real violin so much more exciting too (and in her case eliminated the period of just holding the violin and bow. Once she got the real thing, she was ready to learn to play, and did so very quickly.)