How wonderful! Your best preparation for music school/ conservatory is to hire yourself a top-notch teacher who has a history of helping students gain access to conservatories.

In addition, during your pre-college years, try to take part in our community's terrific array of opportunities, such as MYS and GTCYS, and paticipate in competitions such as Schubert Club, Thursday Musical, and YPSCA. Attending summer music camps such as Madeline Island Music Camp, Tanglewood, or Interlochen is both a lot of fun and a great way to meet other musicians from around the world.

Although you may start with the Suzuki books, your pre-college musical education should take you through the full tour of materials for auditions, technique, and musical development, from such great works as the Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky violin concertos to invaluable technical exercises for development of dexterity and tone.

Perhaps most importantly, devote time, practice, and activity towards pursuing violin at the highest level. Take private lessons, go to concerts, listen to recordings, play chamber music, and, then, find your own unique voice. And perform perform perform! Learning to perform is vital; while you may initially exprience "stage fright," the best way to overcome this is to put yourself out there as often as possible.

Performing solo with orchestra is especially rewarding, and you might consider playing a concerto with a local community orchestra or your high school orchestra. The local youth symphonies also have solo competitions. If your teacher offers recitals, make sure you play in them. Volunteering your time performing in nursing homes can be very rewarding -- they really love to hear you play!

Conservatories usually require auditions. Sometimes these are in person, and other times you may send a tape. There are schools that make the rounds to major cities for auditions, but for other schools you may have to travel. In planning for your audition, make sure you have at least two pieces in contrasting styles, such as two selections from the romantic and Baroque eras, or choose contrasting tempos such as adagio and allegro. Make sure you know your major and minor scales in three octaves and can play in every key. Many schools list audition "requirements" but you are also sometimes given a blank slate. In this case, I suggest going with the music that you think shows you at your best, rather than choosing difficult material aimed at impressing your listeners.

Also, be prepared to offer a recording of yourself, preferably analogue and "no-dolby / unedited," of audition selections. Try to have the recording made in a studio (such as Studio "M" at MPR), or use high quality equipment.

In addition -- find yourself a professional level piano accompanist. He or she is an absolute necessity for auditions and competitions. You may want to work with a few before settling on one that you use repeatedly. I keep a list of trusted, experienced accompanists for my students.

You might also want to consider schools such as Oberlin or Yale, which offer academic programs that confer double degrees such as the BA/BM or BA/MM. This pursuit ensures that, should you choose a path other than a career in music, you also have the college experience to back up your candidacy for opportunities in other fields. Yale was my choice, from which I earned both a B.A. in music theory and history as well as an M.M. in violin performance.

Choosing the correct size violin is essential. The best person to assess fit is your violin teacher or an expert at a dedicated violin shop.

The picture below shows how the violin increases in size, from the smallest (1/16th) to the largest (4/4, or full size).




A good way to estimate the correct size violin for your son is to measure the length of his arm from the neck to the middle of his palm with the left arm extended. Then, you may follow the violin sizing guide pictured below.




Another way to assess fit is to have him extend his left arm and grasp the scroll of the instrument. Usually, if a student can comfortably grasp the scroll, as pirctured above, then the violin should be the right size.



Students usually stay in each size for a year or two. Because children grow so quickly and unpredictably, it is important to reasses fit frequently. Using a violin that is too small will cramp both the left hand and the bow arm. However, a violin that is too large can cause strain and injury to muscles and joints as the student is forced to extend the reach of the left hand beyond its appropriate limit.

At 9 years old, your son may need a 3/4 size instrument. However, depending on his height and the length of his arms, the appropriate size for him will likely range from 1/2 size to full size.

I like to tell students that "the violin is an acoustically perfect instrument." What this means is that a full size violin, at 14'' in length, is ideally configured to offer maximal projection and body of tone. Unfortunately, any violin either smaller than or larger than a full size instrument is not acoustically perfect. In general, the smaller the violin, the smaller the sound. This puts the young beginner at an immediate disadvantage: no matter how well he plays the violin, his 1/2 size fiddle will never sound as good as a full size instrument of similar quality. However, the closer in size he gets to the full size, the better his instrument should sound.

But not all small violins are built alike!! You can give your son a better experience by renting or purchasing a high quality small instrument. While it may never sound as good as a full size of comparable quality, it can certainly sound better than the small instruments played by many of his peers.

The key is to rent or purchase the instrument from a reputable shop that carries hand-carved small instruments. In the last few years, affordable hand-carved instruments have become available in violin shops across the United States. Thus, factory-made violins, along with their inferior sound, should be relegated to the past.

Finally, once you know what size he needs, your son should several different instruments before making a final decision. A shop may offer several violins of the same size and "model." But even these are not identical! Every instrument sounds different. Not even two instruments by the same maker sound alike. As a teacher, I like to assist in selecting an instrument, or at least give a final thumbs up before a student rents or (especiially) buys an instrument.

Choosing a good violin bow is quite a challenge. For one thing, a bow that is perfect for one violin may be a poor choice for another. The technique and style of each player will also affect whether a violin and bow are well matched. Thus, you might think a given violin and bow are perfect for each other, but I might try the same combination and think it doesn't sound good at all.

It is not a surprise that you are not satisfied with the bow that came with your violin. Most of these are made of fiberglass and are worth as little as $25. A fiberglass bow is a very poor substitute for wood. These bows are very weak and will collapse at the middle with very little pressure. The hair is sparse and of low quality. These bows are sometimes on the heavy side, and can have a club-like feel and appearance. It is very limting to have a fiberglass bow, and a very large upgrade is possible by spending around $100-$150, as I will discuss a little later.

Below are two bows. The red bow on the left is a fiberglass bow made by Glasser. The bow on the right is a fine 19th century French Bow (by Dominique Peccatte).





As you can see, the red Glasser bow has a thicker, heavier (plastic) frog. By pulling the hair further from the stick, this design helps prevent the bow from collapsing completely with the slightest pressure. However, a bow with this design is very difficult to control and cannot produce a clean sound, particularly during rapid passages that require agility and a slightly off the string bowing technique. I would go as far to say that you might as well be playing tennis with a frying pan!

The finest bows in the world are made of wood. Specifically, pernambuco wood. This wood is quite rare and expensive, as it is taken from the center of the tree. Brazilwood bows come from the same tree, but are not the center cut.

A little about bow prices:

19th and early 20th century French bows made of pernambuco wood are considered the most valuable, and it is possible to spend over $100,000 for the finest examples. It is quite common for professional musicians to spend between $10,000 and $30,000 to obtain a fine French bow. Some of the most famous French bowmakers: Eugene Sartory (who made strong, powerful sticks favored by many soloists for their ability to produce a large sound that carries well), Francois Tourte (possibly the inventor of the "modern" bow, also favored by soloists for its incredible sweetness and smoothness.) and Dominique Peccatte, another maker of choice for soloists, known for its exception balance and richness of sound. The Sartory might go for $20,000, and the Tourte and Peccatte upwards of $50,000!

Besides the French School, there are two other schools with a rich history of bow making. The first is the English School, from which bows made by Tubbs and those stamped "W.E. Hill" are the most well-known. Fine English bows usually sell for around $5,000 to $15,000. The second is the German School, which is significantly less favored than the other two. Bows by this country's most famous family of bowmakers, bearing the name of Nurnberger, are "comparatively cheap." But even a Nurnberger will probably cost you at least $2,000.


There are also several contemporary American bowmakers who are doing excellent work. One of these is Roger Zabinski, a luthier who lives and works in Minnesota. It is possible to commission from him a new bow designed to meet your needs, or to match your violin. But you should expect these also to be priced somewhere in the range of $2,000 to $4,000.

But wait! You only have $500 to spend! So let's examine your options.

1) Fiberglass. Fiberglass is out. Don't even think about it.

2) Brazilwood. Although you probably would need to spend over $1,000 for a genuine pernambuco bow, you will find many Brazilwood bows priced at or below $500 and as low as $50.00. The quality of these bows is very hit and miss. Even if they bear the same stamp, each is unique. If you want to go with a Brazilwood bow, consider trying a lot of them. By a lot, I mean at least a dozen. Consider taking a couple home so you can spend more time with them. It might be good to go to a couple different shops. Brazilwood bows are a dime a dozen, so hold out for one that you really think is special. Remember that wood bows can be quite fragile. If you tend to be hard on your equipment you might want to consider a different material. Expect to spend at least $100.00 for one that will perform quite well.

3) Carbon Fiber. The original manufacturer of the carbon fiber bow is CodaBow. CodaBow offers many different bows at many different price levels, (starting around $250.00, and makes claims about how each model handles in comparison to the others. But each coda bow, no matter the model, is unique. Why? The answer is wood. Namely, the ebony wood frog. Since each peice of ebony differs in density, coda bows actually do vary both in weight and in the location of the balance point. The best bows usually come in at around 60 grams. But I have seen coda bows that weigh as little as 55 grams and as much as 65 grams. And some of the cheaper models actually sound better than the more expensive ones. Be prepared to try several different models and ask to compare different bows of the same model as well. At the very least, CodaBows should be more consistent than wood bows. And they certainly are sturdier. Below is CodaBow's new flagship model, the "weaved" Diamond. I have seen Diamond models on the Internet for a little over $500.00. Remember, however, that their cheapest offering, the Aspire, might sound just as good or even better! And there is a relatively new carbon fiber bow on the market made by Glasser (yes, our fiberglass friend!), called a "braided" carbon fiber bow, that is very well priced (around $325), and designed to compete with CodaBow's Diamond.

A recent question posted on my site came from the mother of an eight-year-old beginner:

"My son's school orchestra director says that private lessons are unnecessary, because students can learn everything they need at school. So why does my son need private violin lessons?"

I used to be surprised by this question, the first dozen or so times I heard it. For centuries, violin skills have been passed from generation to generation through individual instruction by private violin teachers. Across the United States, there is a long history of collaboration between orchestra programs and private violin teachers. Many schools (such as Wayzata and Edina) continue to recommend private violin teachers and distribute lists of good private violin teachers to their students. The result is better training for students and a better sounding orchestra for the schools.

Today, more and more schools are cutting back and even eliminating orchestra programs. Yet, these same schools are now claiming that their students do not require private lessons!

The reality is that most good private violin teachers share these two qualities:

1. Years --even decades-- of intense study of violin technique and performance.

2. Years --even decades-- of experience teaching the violin to students.

A good private violin teacher is probably not qualified to teach your child to play the tuba, or even the cello. But she knows how to play and teach the violin.

When you entrust your child to the school orchestra program, who teaches your child to play the violin?

The "orchestra director," of course! But who is this person? Can she play the violin at a reasonably high level? (Or at all?) What experience or training does she have exclusively on the violin? Even if she is a concert violinist, how much time can she devote to your child? And why does it matter? Can't a parent rely on the schools to do a good job teaching the violin, just like they do with math and reading?

The answer is, unfortunately, no. I cannot count the number of students who have had their instruction solely in the school system and have developed bad habits. "Bad habits" inevitably mean that the student cannot produce a good sound. And, without instruction in proper technique, he or she may already play with so much tension that it actually hurts to play.

Children learn very quickly. However, once they establish habits --good or bad-- they often experience frustration if these need to be modified later. (Don't we all!) If you wait until she shows sufficient interest or talent to start private violin lessons, or you entrust his violin instruction solely to the schools, you may well set your child up for failure. Please consider starting your child off on the right foot with private violin lessons taught by a good private violin teacher-- from day one!

Wow! You must really practice a lot!

There are many different kinds of chinrests. Most fit into two categories: chinrests that extend over the tailpiece and mount under the button, and chinrests that mount on the side.



And these come in many different shapes, sizes and materials, and have names such as Guarneri, Strad, Hill, Flesch, Dresden, Wittner, and Tekka.



With possibly one exception I will describe below, I do not "prefer" any one of these over the others because no two people are built exactly alike, and a chin rest that is comfortable for one student may not be a good fit for another. If your worn out chin rest was comfortable, I suggest replacing it with an identical model. Otherwise, you might want to head to a violin shop and try a few of them. Look for a violin shop that carries several different models and will allow you to try them. Your teacher should also be able to help evaluate fit.

Now, as promised, I will discuss the one chin rest that, for some players, I do recommend over the others. It is called the Gel Rest. The gel rest actually comes in several shapes, but its distinguishing feature is that it has a cushion made of a non-irritating hypoallergenic gel that fits over the wood in the rest. The company that makes the gel rest also supplies the gel toppers separately, and can make a double layered version for taller necks. The potential advantages of the gel rest are several. First, the cushioning of the gel reduces irritation to the skin from the chin rest. Second, it won't slip in hot conditions where sweating is an issue. Third, it helps the neck support the violin through friction between the neck and the gel. Finally, the cushion is more forgiving against the neck and often feels more comfortable to the player.

Below are some pictures of the gel and the various chin rest shapes:

Many of us have quite a large "string collection" in our cases or stashed away for safe keeping. We have used strings, new strings (both inside and outside of packaging), and perhaps even damaged strings, saved for that special emergency when we have broken a string and don't have anything else to replace it with. But once a string is out of it's packaging and becomes an "unidentified" string, it can be very difficult to figure out what type of string it is, let alone whether it is an A, D, E, or G string.

Every string manufacturer individually labels its strings at both the peg and the ball/loop end. These labels take the form of colors on the windings, sometimes solid, sometimes stripes. Sometimes the colors are the same at each end, and sometimes they are different. For each manufacturer, each string set usually bears its own, unique color scheme where every string within the set has a different combination of colors. To further complicate matters, sometimes even the different tension strings within string sets have their own color scheme as well. As you can imagine, there are quite a few combinations!

Although there are string identification tables available on the internet, these are often difficult to use and sometimes even misleading. But because they can be useful when you at least know the brand and name of the set (for instance you are certain that you have a pirastro Obligato set but you are unsure which string is which), you might be able to use a string identifier to save yourself a trip to the shop.

After all, string identification charts depend on our ability to define color, which is not always consistent from person to person. For instance you have concluded that your unidentified string has a blue peg end and a yellow ball end. But are you sure that it isn't blue and yellow, or blue and gold, or light blue and yellow, or light blue and gold? (rest assured all of these possiblities do exist!)

It is usually the case that thinner strings are higher in pitch and thicker strings are lower in pitch. The thicker string allows less tension and thus a lower pitch for the same string length. However -- and this is a BIG however -- since strings use different metals as windings as well as different cores, (not only between string sets but also within them), it is sometimes the case that the D string is THICKER than the G string! A "wound" E string might appear larger than an A string. A high tension A string from one string set might appear thicker than a light tension string from another set.

Thus, (and especially if you mix string from different set) you cannot always determine what type of string you have based solely on it's thickness.

So why does all of this matter? What is wrng with putting on the wrong string?

Suppose our questioner were to put a G string on his D string peg. Since it was thicker, he was convinced that the D string must in fact be a G string. But a G string is not built to be tuned all the way up to the D a fifth above. The extra tension this would cause on the instrument and bridge could be enormous -- enough not only to cause the bridge to collapse and possibly break, but also to cause a crack in the top of the fiddle, most likely over the sound post. This crack, called a soundpost crack, is very bad both for the sound of your violin and also for it's value.

Therefore, I highly recommend against putting any unidentified strings on your violin or viola. And, even if you think you are able to identify them, using a chart or internet tool, there are, in my opinion, too many different strings that look very similar for you to ever be certain you have made a correct identification.

For unidentified strings, prevention is probably the best cure. Consider keeping each new string securely in its labeled packet prior to installing it. If you keep the packaging, you can put your used strings back in their properly labeled packaging should you wish to keep them. If you lose the packaging, consider tying a label to the string before it is stored that fully identifies the string.

To the questioner: I would suggest that you take your strings and his violin to a good violin shop, where they should be able to indentify your strings and help you to install them, if necessary.

A few other remarks on installing strings: It is best to install the strings one at a time. If you are replacing an entire set, it is a good idea to examine the bridge before and after installing each string to make sure it is still straight. It is important to take care not to tune any of the strings above their proper pitch in order to stretch them. Most strings go through a breaking-in period where they will need to be retuned frequently. Attempting to stretch the string puts added tension on your instrument that could potentially damage it.