Buying your first violin should not be taken lightly. If you are serious about learning the violin, read on. In this post, I will share with you some useful tips in buying the violin.
- Avoid buying cheap violins. You have been warned. I have heard many stories of people buying a cheap set of violin online only to find out that what they have received is only a violin shaped object (VSO). The VSO may look like a violin but people have hard times tuning and playing on it. You will be more frustrated and end up giving up learning the violin. Instead, I suggest you go to violin shops in your areas. General music stores may have a few selections of the violins but you can ask people in the store for a specific violin shop in your areas.
- Find a teacher before the violin. Because I already made a contact with a teacher, she offered to come to the store with me. Since I knew nothing about the violin at that time, I did not even think about asking her to come with me. As an adult learner, this is one of my recommendation — bring your teacher to buy the violin with you. This could be the first lesson between you and the teacher. The teacher can help try the violins while you listen to their sounds. They can also give you their opinions about the violins. If you treat this as your first lesson, be sure to compensate your teacher for their professional help.
- Choose your violin. Like a magic wand, the violin chooses its owner. Many people choose the look over sound. Make sure you enjoy the sound that the violin produces since you will be hearing it under your ears each time you practice. If you do not like the sound of the violin, you would not want to practice.
When I went to the store for the first time, I had no idea that each violin produces different tones. I told the person that I came here to buy a violin with a remark that it would be my first ever. The salesperson came back with two violins: a $600 student violin package and an upgraded version of the student violin. Because I did not play, my teacher played both of them while I listened to their sounds. Both violin sounds were comparable but I liked the upgraded one better because it produced warmer tone. My teacher told me that the upgraded violin was easier to play — I did not know what that meant at the time. It means the instruments are easier to play in tune and create better sound without much effort.
- To rent or to buy? After I listened and had chosen the violin, I was offered an option of renting. The benefit of renting is that it costs significantly less ($20/month). Plus, the 6-month rent will go towards my purchase, should I decide to buy one. If you are a beginner, this is a good option for trying it out for a few months to see whether you are going to stick with it.
If you decide to buy one, be sure to ask for a trade-in policy. Many shops offer such a policy because students tend to upgrade their violins as they progress. The trade-in policy is good because you do not end up with multiple violins at home and you get to enjoy higher quality and well built violins.
- Check the setup. Before you leave the store, be sure that you have everything you need such as a shoulder rest, a rosin, a piece of microfiber cloth, a bow, a case, a humidifier, etc. Your teacher can help with your setup to see whether you need a shoulder rest. Maybe you need a higher chinrest. The shop can usually add some cork on the current chinrest to raise it up to a certain height. There are many tall or customized chinrests out there too.
I hope that this list is helpful. Feel free to add your comments or suggestions that I may have missed. Enjoy practicing!