This seems a stupid question to me, but I am VERY new to the violin (ex, I don't have a teacher yet, but I have a violin that I got 2 weeks ago).
I've tried to tune the strings, but I'm having a very hard time getting the strings to tune to the proper pitch.
Also, when I turn the pegs, they keep slipping back. How do I fix this so they stay in place?
I already know I got a very VERY cheap violin and a cheap bow, but maybe in a few months (after I get my English horn) I can get a new bow, and after that, a better violin. This cheap one is so that I can learn how to play notes and such on a violin and find if I like it; I'm not one who is very easily discouraged, in fact, I love challenges. That's why I chose violin for a secondary instrument, it's challenging.
I managed to get the A and E strings tuned to the correct pitch, but it was hard because the pegs kept slipping. I pushed them in really hard (some sort of temp fix I read about in forums) and it worked.
I am afraid to try this on the D string though. When I tried to turn the peg for that string, it went very loose and moved its position on the peg, and now I've tried to push the peg in to make it stay, and it won't very well. I haven't tried the G string yet, though.

Also, could it be that I need new strings? I got the violin off of ebay from a lady whose husband wanted to learn to play, but he gave up. It's 2 years old, not played on much.
If I need new strings, about how much would a set cost? Which brand of strings do you prefer?


Thanks

I use chalk, works like a charm

Oh, and for strings, I use Dominants - my set cost about £21 from ebay.

Thanks a bunch! I need to let my mom know so we could maybe g the strings changed too. The violin is 2 years old, and idk if the strings on it are the ones that came with the violin or not.

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oh, and one more question: where on the peg to I put the chalk? (now that's a stupid question)

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spell check edit: "so we could maybe get the strings changed too"

Do you guys/girls have an idea if my issue is caused by the string or peg? I think it's the peg, but here's something that recently happened:

I was tuning my D string, and I turned the peg to tighten it, and it went back, only it nearly totally "unraveled" so it's barely sitting on the peg right now (i mean it's tied, but the location on the peg where it's tied has been changed 'cause of that).

I think it would be the peg, but I'm not that experienced with all this myself, so I think if you're worried you should see a professional, or at least go to a shop that sells strings and ask their opinion..

Though chalk works it doesnt last very long (at least it doesnt in my experience), it would be best if you sent it to a violin shop to get the pegs refitted.

strings are a little bit elastic, or they would retain their tension quite so well and when you tune them they would just break because they couldn't handle the pressure. if your violin hasn't been played in a long while the strings would have slowly returned to their original unstretched length and now are being lazy and won't stretch. you will slowly have to stretch them back by tuning quite regularly. they will even go out of tune while playing but the more you play the better they will get. it could be that the pegs do not fit the holes well (which is most likely the case if its a cheap violin). you would place chalk on the area of the peg that would fit into the hole, on the wood. don't get it on the strings too much. you could also go for the very dangerous option of trying to swell the wood a little, but i wouldn't try that unless you know your wood work. if your screw it up it then involves carving it back into shape and thats just oo much effort. in NZ dominants are about $80 a set from a music store, which is about 60 or so american and are the best strings for the intermediate range player, or higher. depends on your budget but like all things the cheaper, most likely the crappier. i wouldn't go higher then dominants on your violin probably.

wow this is a tome! good luck and don't worry about the "silly" questions. how would you learn otherwise?

a new set of pegs works... if u bought it on ebay i would reccomend a new set of strings. a peg set is about 12$.

=]

How do you use chalk? and what kind of chalk, the one used in schools? sorry i dont know really