I`ve felt the need for a thread answering some of the most common questions about the violin.
So here goes.

What size is right for me?
Straight from http://store.musicbasics.com/howtodetrigs.html, here it is.
If your arm length, from neck to palm, is [≥23, 22, 20, 18.5, 16.5, 15, 14] in inches, then you should get a violin of [4/4, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/10, 1/16] size.

I can`t get any sound out of it.
That`s not really a question, but anyway...
Make sure your bow is rosined. If it`s a new cake of rosin, scratching the surface with a knife or toothbrush may help.
Make sure the bow hair isn`t too old. Old hair doesn`t take rosin very well.
Are you sure that`s rosin?
Make sure the strings are fairly clean. My that I mean there isn`t too much rosin buildup on them.


How come I find it extremely difficult to tune?
You may have trouble matching pitches or
Your peg holes are uneven/not round (Don`t bother fixing them yourself. Get a luthier.) or
You need peg solution/chalk/soap/something that will move when you turn and stop when you stop or
You have metal strings, which are harder to tune with pegs or
Your strings are too old or
Your string length is wrong, resulting in out-of-tune overtones, making it so you can`t hear the pitches right or
Something I can`t think of at the moment.


Vibrato?
Oscillation of pitch.
I only have tipps for wrist vibrato, since that`s the only one I know. Haven`t checked out arm and finger vibrato yet. But for any vibrato, the thing you are trying to achieve is an opening and closing of the middle and last phalanges.
Number one: Tension is bad. It`ll ruin your vibrato, which will ruin your playing, which will ruin the music.

There`s obviously a limit to post size. Here is the above post continued:

Your thumb should be relaxed, always when playing the violin.
I think of vibrato as switching back and forth between two "shapes" of the hand. One is the normal playing shape. The

other is back, or knuckles-open, shape. To form the "back" shape, picture your finger glued to the string. Then,

without moving your thumb, try to slide your hand away from you.

What strings?
Choose the strings that you like best. I know that`s easier said than done, since most people can`t afford to go

trying many sets of strings. I`ll write a few things about strings.

Types of Strings: synthetic, gut core, plain gut, metal. This might narrow your search a little.
Synthetic strings are the most popular, and most expensive. The original synthetic string was created my Thomastik in

nineteen hundred seventy-something. It was said to have a gut-like sound and not have the disadvantages of gut. It`s

still the most popular string today. Synthetic strings have middle to quick response. They have a wide variety of

sounds. They are easily tuned with pegs. Many synthetic sets come with a metal E-string, so a fine tuner is almost

required there.
Gut core strings are gut, wound with some kind of metal. They are mostly used by modern players who want a gut sound

but want a more durable string than plain gut. Many gut core string sets come with metal E`s. There aren`t as many gut

core strings as synthetic strings.
Plain gut strings. I`ve only seen these on baroque violins before, even though it is perfectly fine to have these on

modern instruments. Gut strings have lots of overtones, a very complex sound. Vibratos sound warm and smooth. They

generally have slow response, which requires better bowing technique (as well as left hand technique) to get a good

sound out of them. They are very sensitive to changes of temperature amd humidity. Don`t bother using fine

tuners.
Metal strings have a pure, simple but loud sound. Usually they`re very bright. They have quick response, which makes

them more forgiving of imperfect bowing. One shouldn`t use these on old instruments. They have high tension.

How tight should the bow be?
It depends on the style of music you`re playing, or what the music demands. Generally though, the smallest distance

between the stick and the hair should be around one centimeter.

How do I choose a violin?
First, set a budget, but be flexible about it. Just don`t try $10000 violins when your budget is around $1000.
Then, go wherever you want and start playing violins. Bring your own bow too. Have a passage prepared to play. Just a

short passage that utilises the full range of the violin. Play that same passage on all the violins you try. You`re

bound to find a few that stand out. Then just take those few and examine them closer. Are all the measurements

correct? Is everything in place? How`s the craftsmanship? Put back any that are sloppily made (You`ll be sorry) and

play the few that are left again. It might help if someone is there listening. They can give opinions. They might be

able to play for you so you can listen. Once you have made up your mind, ask if you can take the instrument home with

you for a few days. Never buy the same day. That`ll give you a chance to go somewhere else or really get to know the

instrument.
NOTE: If you can`t hear any difference, you do not need a new violin. You only need a new one if your old one`s

falling apart or you can tell the difference between a good violin and a not so good violin.
NOTE: If you have never played a violin before, I suggest you rent one first. Then buy a violin when you think you`re

advanced enough.
NOTE: Notice I did not mention brands or anything like that. A good instrument is a good instrument, whether it be

made in Hanoi or Cremona.


That should lessen the threads asking those questions.
If anyone has anything to add or change or something please post it.

Harvey

Hey thanks for the FAQ can I ask another question though, are synthetic strings made out of plastic? And how much more of a warm sound does it produce? I listen to Pachelbel`s Canon in D for strings and Continuo a lot whilst I try to make my violin sound like thiers, I can`t, from your information I could assume that the sound my violin makes has to do with how I have Dominant Strings. (Metal with winding)

Bion,

Bear in mind that the recording you have will have been made by professional players using professional quality instruments. That is going to account for far more of the tonal differences than the make of strings.

Not all makes of string suit all violins. Dominants give a good indication of the violin`s natural tone, but if the violin itself is too bright then you will do better with strings that compensate for that.

Not sure what the synthetic cores are made of except something synthetic. Dominants have a "perlon" core, whatever that means ....

Liz

ps. virtually all strings have a metal winding. To get anythign else you have to go for pure gut strings and they are really rather specialist.

What sort of violin have you got, what sort of bow are you using, and how long have you been playing? Those are all factors.

Liz

In your recording of Pachelbel`s Canon, the players will most likely have plain gut or at least gut core strings. They might be tuned lower too.
Synthetic strings can me made of a variety of materials.
Perlon is the name of the nylon Thomastik uses in the Dominant strings.

OK thanks for the information . I think im going to save up some money and get a gut string set so my violin - and the violin I get in the future will have the string potential of that quality.

If you are wondering my violin is a Steuben for 76$ on Ebay brand new. I think it is pretty bright because I have heard professional violins said to be good ones and their tone seems to come from the inside of the violin more. And yet my violin doesn`t do that, the tone is pretty strong.
I have been playing for two years yet several violinists tell me that I can play the violin very well for how long ive been playing. I play with a fiberglass bow and I use long strait bows too.

So any other factors you might concider.

Thanks for the tips!

A $76 violin isn`t going to sound anything like a professional violin, no matter what strings you put on it. My advice would be not to experiment with strings any further but rather to save your money towards a better instrument.

I agree. The money for about 10 sets of strings can get you a considerably better instument, unless you got an insane deal.

Looks like it`s time to bump this, or someone else can make a better FAQ (This one`s a bit sloppy)

I`m not going to keep bumping this. It seems to me that this did not help much, and only a few people know how to use "Search."
So I think I`ll just let it die.