What kind of violin do I need?
If you’re a parent or beginner student who has never played violin, shopping for one can be overwhelming! Unfortunately, there are a lot of motivated sellers pushing all SORTS of instruments these days, and the internet provides thousands of options beyond the local shops in your town. It is hard even for a professional to determine the actual quality of an instrument by an internet listing alone. By far, the easiest way to shop for a violin is to go to an actual shop to see the instrument up close, and to play it. But what about for people who don’t even know how to hold a violin?! Or if you’re a parent trying to buy a small violin for your child?
Don’t panic. =)
While going to a local violin store can sometimes feel like going to a high pressure car dealership, the truth is that any good shop will understand the necessity of SHOWING you the instrument, and telling you the basics about what you need, what makes an instrument good quality, how to maintain it, and basically anything else you want to know. And honestly, if you walk into a store and the salesperson doesn’t seem to know much about violins or doesn’t want to open a case and at least play the open strings for you to hear the sound— GO TO A DIFFERENT STORE. There are plenty of Wonderful violin shops that work hard to hire people who play the instruments they sell, keep their employees educated, and care about whether you are buying what you need. It’s not any different than buying a bicycle—it has to fit and you have to know some basics of how to use it and maintain it to be satisfied, or they won’t have a happy customer. So make a list of questions to take with you and plan an afternoon to go to a good local violin shop if you can—even if you don’t buy from them you can learn a lot! A simple Google search can help you find local violin shops to try.
If you really can’t go to a violin shop, yes, the internet can help. But ask yourself honestly now— if you DO have a local violin shop and you don’t want to bother going, how will you make the energy or time to play violin? Do yourself a favor and go to a local violin shop first before you buy anything. Let more than one person tell you what they offer for sale before you pick something not knowing there are perhaps better options.
But what IS a better option?
No, that Amazon $40 violin 4/4 outfit is NOT a good option. No. Do Not Buy That!!
I’m not just saying that to sell something. I’m not selling violins anymore. There are no affiliate links here and I don’t work for any music stores. I’m just a teacher now, and I want to make sure people who want to learn violin don’t order junk on Amazon or elsewhere that just won’t work, and then get frustrated and give up learning.
There’s not a magic number for how much you should spend on a violin, but you should get a violin, case, and bow all together in what is called an “Outfit”. Outfits are sized. A Full Size violin is 4/4, the next smallest in size is a 3/4 violin, the next smallest is 1/2 size, and so on 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64. Bows are sized the same way, and we Always use the same size bow and violin. Adults usually play 4/4 size violins. My toddler has a 1/64 violin. When I was 5 years old, my grandmother gave me my first violin, a 1/4 size. A good shop can help size you or your child to make sure you know what size instrument you need, and they do not charge for this service or require that you buy from them. Just do the nice thing and buy a rosin or other accessory from the shop if you ask them to size you and you don’t buy your instrument there!
But we’re on a budget—-we can’t afford a violin, they cost thousands!! Nope. Not anymore.
There is a good happy medium for a cost of an instrument. Typically, good beginner instruments of all sizes are somewhere between $150-$550 USD, before tax and shipping. Some places resell these instruments for far more because there are a lot of people who expect to pay thousands for an instrument. So my best advice for you if you have never played a violin and know very little about it, is to Rent a violin outfit until you have time to do research and really know what you want. If you are getting a violin for a child, you should almost always rent so that you can simply switch instruments when your child grows.
Many stores offer violin rentals at $20 USD/month, including insurance against damages. So it would be many months before you spend more than what the violin is worth. If you rented for a year, it would be about $240 USD—half as much as a basic beginner instrument. And some stores allow you to put some or all of your rental payments towards a purchase! In that case, it really does make sense to rent. Once you have developed a love for playing violin and you feel like you need a better quality instrument, THEN you should shop for an instrument to own.
If you’re in that last category, or your child is becoming a devoted player who would really benefit from having a nicer instrument, talking to a violin teacher is a good start to find out what specific things you need to look and listen for to determine what violin you want. Unfortunately the price is not a good measure of how good a violin sounds—some Stradivarius instruments are priceless (bank insured for 5 Million+) but don’t sound as good as a new instrument made by a brilliant contemporary luthier. Don’t come attacking me—this is the plain truth. The Strads are beautiful gems of violin history and in their day, they were the very best violins on the planet. They truly are the upper echelon of violin craftsmenship. But all instruments have a lifespan, and science and luthierie have come a long way since the age of Amati and Stradivarius. There are Incredible instruments being made today by contemporary luthiers, and there are even new categories of violins being made for players with Any sorts of needs. Gone are the days when violins were only made of wood and painted orange brown. Violin options are vast, and the kinds of music violins can play is even more expansive. You can get a Wonderful traditional violin for $1500 USD these days, or even a 7 string electric violin that looks like a flying V guitar. And anything in between! But I could go on for a while—- if you’d like to talk about what kinds of violins are options these days, how to actually shop for one, or anything else, send me a message and I’m happy to help!
One last thing— No, you’re not going to find a Strad at a garage sale, pawn shop, or antique store. Yes, someone may tell you it’s a Strad. But Strads are like Gucci purses. Everyone wants you to think it’s a real Gucci, but there are knockoffs and fakes galore. You know a real Gucci purse won’t sell for $50, and a real Strad won’t sell for $500. Even the incomplete Strads in museums are worth millions. Several large violin manufacturers printed “Copy of Antonius Stradivarius” on labels placed inside their instruments, which were made in Germany, China and elsewhere 1940 and later. Some are very nice instruments, and others are not. I would have to type several pages more to explain the small details you’d have to look and listen for to determine what is a very nice instrument and what is not, and like I said above, you really do need to see and hear the instrument in person to be able to tell. Ultimately, if you look and listen to an instrument and say “Wow. I love that!!” Then that is the instrument for you, no matter if it is “valuable” or not. Violins are like diamonds— Each is unique. Enjoy it while you wear it (play it) and don’t expect anyone else to want to buy it for what you paid for it unless you’re VERY sure you have something extraordinary. You don’t need to pay thousands for a good violin anymore. You need one with good working parts, but there is truly a wide range of acceptable instruments these days.
Good luck!
