Hello fellow VIolist,
WHy do my strings keep breaking at the bridge? I am currently playing a 16inch student grade viola with red label medium strings, and in the past month ive broken my G and D on the same spot on the bridge.
Need help!, thanks for any info or advice.

Hi there,

Were your strings old? Did you put the strings on on the same time? Maybe they`re just worn. Or perhaps it`s the weather.

Good luck! (Try Helicore strings, they`re great! )

it could possibly be that the bridge`s slots where the strings go is a little sharp, so you might want to break itt down with a small flie or somwthing.... but you have to remember: dont file too much!!! im 13 and even i know, cause i`ve ben playing the cello and viola for 3 years

Remember, before playing a viola or violin, always do a walk-around. Look at the strings. Are they worn in places? If they are, drop the viola/violin and replace/repair them. If you do not, the strings may break and hit you in the face.

What about the bridge? Is it crooked? If it is not 90 degrees (+/- 2.5 degrees) perpendicular to the top of the instrument, engage in corrective action. If you do not, the bridge may collapse, and you will have to spend an hour putting the bridge back up, and then tuning the strings.

What about the tail piece? Is it worn or cracked? If it is, replace or repair it immediately. If you do not, it could suffer a failure and hurt your jaw.

Look at the fine tuners (If applicable. If you are unshure if you have fine tuners, read the user manual.). Are they touching the top deck in any way? if they are, loosten the fine tuner all the way, and tune that string from the main tuner. The fine tuners should be atleast 0.25 mm from the top deck of the instrument.

Always do a walk-around. It will save you a lot of trouble in the future.

try gettting a totally different kind of strings
or does it have anything to do with tuning?

It could be possible that the bridge is too sharp. Take a soft pencil (No. 2) and mark a little inside the place where you would put the string on the bridge. If it continues, take it to your luthier.
Hope that helps!
Mari

It`s probably how the strings fit into the slots. It`s happened to me before. Just use one of the methods previous people stated.Good luck