Best Violin Bows 2024: A Violin Teacher’s Guide to Choosing the Right Bow

Choosing the right violin bow is just as important, if not more important than the violin itself, especially for beginners. A good violin bow will make it easier for you to play multiple bow strokes, have smoother string changes, and produce a better tone. You might not realize how a cheaper violin bow is holding you back until you try out a better bow.

Picking out a violin is all about sound, but choosing the right violin bow is all about feel and ease of playing. You really can’t tell how a violin bow will play until you hold it, tighten up that hair, and play! Which is why I am only recommending beginner and intermediate violin bows that I have personally played and tested using my own Better Bow Analysis scoring system.

I’m not going to recommend a bow to you that I haven’t personally played!

In this ultimate guide to choosing the right violin bow, I’ll be discussing the following topics. Skip ahead if you like!

• My top 3 Violin Bow Picks for Beginner, Advancing Beginner, and Intermediate Players

• What is the difference between cheap and expensive violin bows?

• Can beginners play on advanced bows?

• How much should I spend on a violin bow?

• Carbon Fiber Vs. Wood. What’s the best material for a violin bow?

• Best Violin Bows for Beginners (My Recommendations and Reviews)

• Best Violin Bows for Intermediate Players

• Common Questions about Upgrading Your Violin Bow
  

My Top 3 Picks

Best Bow for Beginners

Holstein 2-star Sandalwood

• Easy to control

• Good tone

Best Bow for Advancing Beginners

Fiddlerman Performance Series Carbon Fiber

• Richer Tone

• Advanced bow strokes

Best Bow for Intermediate Players

Holstein 3-star Pernambuco

• Very responsive

• More finesse

Keep reading for more detailed reviews of all of these bows!

What is the difference between cheap and expensive violin bows?

As you go up in price, better violin bows will be made of better materials and will have better quality craftsmanship. While qualities vary, better bows will have quicker response as you pull the bow across the string. The weight will often feel more balanced in the hand, as opposed to being tip-heavy.  Better bows will also be much more responsive to your muscle inputs, which means you don’t have to make large muscle inputs to get a response. Kind of like a well-trained horse!

Can beginner violinists play on advanced bows?

When searching for the best violin bows for beginners, you might often see violins and bows divided into categories of beginner, intermediate, and advanced. As you go up in category, you’ll also go up in price!

But can a beginner violinist use an advanced bow?

When it comes to violins, a beginner can play an advanced (more expensive) violin. It will only make your life easier. However, with violin bows, it can go either way. Sometimes the more expensive bow will be harder to control, because it’s more responsive. If your muscles aren’t trained to make those fine adjustments, the violin bow might seem like a sports car with a mind of its own!

But this isn’t always the case. And this is where it comes down to feel. You just have to try out bows to see which ones are best for you. Don’t be afraid of bows that are very responsive. You will never learn those fine motor inputs if your bow is slow and unresponsive.

As I review beginner violin bows and intermediate violin bows, I’ll tell you which ones are good for beginners, and which ones might require a more advanced skill level.

How much should I spend on a violin bow?

Bows range in price from whatever bow-shaped-object you might find on the internet to $700,000 for a Tourté bow, the Stradivarius of bows!

I would avoid buying any bow cheaper than $50. A good beginner violin bow will cost anywhere from $70-$200. An intermediate bow will take you from $200-$500. I would consider $500-$1000 advanced and $1000+ will take you into a very advanced or professional quality violin bow.

Carbon Fiber Vs. Wood

What material is best for a violin bow? Carbon fiber or wood?

Bows are made out of different materials and the two big options are wood or carbon fiber.

Bows have been made out of wood for centuries and there are different hierarchies of wood with pernambuco being the most desirable. Other woods include brazilwood or sandalwood.

Now you might be wondering is carbon fiber better than wood. If you’re looking at bows under a hundred dollars, yes, I generally think carbon fiber is better. As you get into higher price ranges I don’t think you can say one is better than the other. It’s more of a case by case comparison and will vary depending on your needs.

Carbon fiber is more durable but that shouldn’t necessarily play a factor in your decision unless you’re buying for a child who’s going to be using the bow for sword fights at school. When it comes to sword fights, yes carbon fiber will beat out wood every time. So if you want your child to win that sword fight, go for carbon fiber.

Now if you’re not using your bow for sword-fighting then this isn’t a huge factor. The only reason you might want to side with carbon fiber for the durability factor is if you’re playing outside a lot or using it for camping and you want a good, sturdy back up bow.

Very cheap bows will be made of fiberglass and will feel very clunky and have a slow response on the strings. I would avoid fiberglass and instead go for a carbon fiber if you’re looking for a budget-friendly beginner violin bow.

Now that we’ve discussed the basics, let’s talk about the best violin bows for beginners!

Best Beginner Violin Bows

The Fiddlerman Carbon Fiber Bow

This bow comes standard for some of Fiddlershop’s violin outfits and it’s an upgrade option for some of their more budget-friendly violin outfits. I would definitely recommend upgrading to this bow as it is much better than standard violin bows that come with most beginner violin outfits.

This violin bow is great for beginners. It’s stable and will allow you to learn all of the basics well. As you get into the complexities of sustaining weight to produce a good tone, or if you are learning more advanced bow strokes, you may begin to outgrow this bow. While that’s expected for a bow under $100, this bow will still give you ample room to grow as a brand new beginner.

The Fiddlerman Carbon fiber bow also comes in “Noir.” It’s the same bow but with premium black Siberian horse hair for better grip and articulation.

You can also purchase this bow with the frog in snakewood (image below).

Pros

-Great for learning the basics

-Stable

-More responsive than standard beginner violin bows

Cons

-Slightly heavier at the tip

Holstein 2-Star Sandalwood Violin Bow

This bow is a fantastic beginner or early intermediate violin bow. It has a very balanced feel with a lot of power and control.There’s really no cons to this bow for its price range. It does all of the basic bow strokes and some of the more advanced ones well. It’s stable so it feels easy to control. If I were recommending a bow for someone just starting off, this would be my number one pick. It’s going to help you master all of the basics and allow you to get into intermediate and some advanced concepts without any issues.

Pros

-Best violin bow for brand new beginners

-Good for advanced beginners and early intermediate as well

-Great control and feel

Best Violin Bows for Intermediate Players

Holstein 1-Star Pernambuco Violin bow

If you want a little bit more finesse, the Holstein Pernambuco 1-star is a great option. This bow is really light, agile, and lively. It definitely has its own personality, making it a lot of fun to play! It can take more weight than the Holstein Sandalwood bow and it’s a little bit cleaner on bow strokes like staccato. When you really start to think about producing a good, solid tone, this bow will help you do it. Because it is so lively and responsive, it could be harder to control if you don’t already have some right hand skills. But it will be great for someone looking to upgrade to get more nuance and finesse.

Pros

-Very Light

-Lively

-Responsive

-Great for advancing beginners or intermediate players

Cons

-Extreme responsiveness might make it harder to control for brand new beginners.

Fiddlerman Performance Series Carbon Fiber Bow

This bow feels a little bit heavier than the 1 star and because of that it tends to feel more stable. It does beginner and advanced techniques really well and I feel like it keeps good contact with the string. This is a good option if you want a more stable bow as it will help you produce a good, clean, focused tone. If you actually wanted to start off with this bow, you definitely could. It’s beginner-friendly but it also has that intermediate and more advanced capability.

Pros

-Very stable

-Brand new beginner-friendly but also great for advancing players as well

Cons

-Not quite as responsive as the Holstein Pernambuco 1 Star

Holstein 2-star Pernambuco Violin Bow

This intermediate violin bow is definitely is a step up. It feels like the best of both worlds between the Holstein 1 Star Pernambuco and the Performance Carbon Fiber. It has the stability of the Performance Carbon Fiber even though it’s still light and responsive and has a more clear focused sound. It will take quite a bit of weight as well. It does string crossings a little bit better than the carbon fiber and overall it has more finesse. Out of all the bows I’ve talked about so far, this one did spiccato the best so if you’re getting into more advanced bow strokes this is a good bow for it. This bow would be great for you if you’re getting into more intermediate or advanced techniques or if you’re a beginner who wants to start off with a really good bow, this is a great pick.

Pros

-Combines stability of Performance Carbon Fiber with finesse of Pernambuco 1 star

-Suitable for beginners

-Great violin bow for intermediate or advancing players

-Does advanced bow stokes well

Holstein 3-Star Pernambuco Violin Bow

All of these bows were great for their prices but this Holstein 3 Star Pernambuco did outperform all of the other beginner and intermediate violin bows. It was very enjoyable to play and was actually comparable in many ways to my much more expensive German bow. I would be very happy using this bow on a daily basis. It’s actually a little easier to play than all of the other bows and that’s usually what you get when you spend more money. It’s very smooth, responsive, and it has good, crisp articulation when you want it. Any time you need fast bow speed with a rich, full sound, this bow delivers. It gives you good contact with the string and it will also take a lot of weight.

If you want a bow that you’re not going to need to upgrade for a really long time, if ever, this is a great bow. You could definitely play advanced techniques and advanced music with this bow and be very happy.

Pros

-Stable, but agile

-Very responsive but still easy to control

-Produces a wide variety of colors and dynamics very easily

-Creates a beautiful, rich tone

-Makes it easier to do advanced bow strokes

Common Questions About Upgrading Your Violin Bow

Here are some other common questions you might hav when shopping for the right violin bow.

Is a lighter or heavier bow better for violin?

This depends on your preference. A lighter violin bow will usually be very responsive and lively, although it might not produce as full of a tone. Heavier bows might feel more stable and make it easier to produce a full tone, but they may lose some responsiveness.

Regardless of whether a bow is heavy or light, it should feel balanced. Extremely heavy bows might also induce more tension or fatigue when playing for long periods of time.

Is a Round or Octagonal Violin Bow Better?

You may notice that the stick of the bow will sometimes be completely round, and other times it will be octagonally shaped. Which one is better?

You will hear violinists say that a round bow is more responsive. Then you might hear an equally accomplished violinist saying an octagonal bow is more responsive. Which one is it?

Personally, I think the differences you may be feeling between bows will be more of a factor of material and craftsmanship over round or octagonal sticks.

If you could find two bows, one round and one octagonal, made of the exact same material, crafted by the exact same maker, using the exact same bow hair and the same rosin, sure, you might be able to tell some differences between the round stick and the octagonal stick. But when you’re comparing bows across different brands and different materials and different price ranges, don’t get stuck on whether or not the stick is round or octagonal.

Just choose the bow that you like the best!

How many bows should a violinist have? Why do violinists have more than one bow?

Violinists have multiple bows because you always need to have a back up. You will need to get your bow rehaired every year. If you play frequently, you may need to get the bow rehaired two or three times a year. The rehair process might take a couple days or a week depending on your luthier. If you have to ship off your bow to get it rehaired, it could take even longer.

I don’t really want to resort to playing pizzicato for several weeks out of the year, which is why I have multiple bows!

Conclusion

Choosing the best student violin bow, or the best bow for intermediate and advancing players can be challenging. All of these bow options are good choices depending on your skill and preferences.

I hope this helps you make a decision when it comes to upgrading your violin bow!

Happy Practicing!

~Lora

How to Relax While Playing Violin: 6 Exercises for Tension-Free Playing

Whether you’ve been playing violin for 10 minutes or 10 years, you’ve probably realized that being tense is the ultimate enemy to playing the violin. Playing with tension can impact everything, from your tone, to your left hand finger action, to your overall joy of playing. These 6 exercises will help you relax while playing the violin.

But first…set-up!

Having a Comfortable Set-Up

Having a good set-up is essential to staying relaxed. So If you’re not comfortable with your shoulder rest or your chin rest, that’s the first thing you’ll want to investigate. I have several resources on adjusting that shoulder rest and getting more comfortable

• How to Adjust Your Shoulder Rest for Tension Free Playing

• 3 Best Shoulder Rests

Exercise #1

Our first exercise for tension-free playing is to play with your jaw open. It’s very common to hold tension in your jaw. That tension tends to trickle down throughs the neck to the rest of your body. So one way to practice is with your mouth open. Try it and you’ll realize that it’s actually hard to tense up your neck with your jaw open.

Exercise #2

Walk around while you play! It’s very easy for your body to be locked and stiff if you’re stuck in one place. So try walking around your practice room while playing to help you relax. Try it with simple things like open strings or scales. Alternatively you can also try swaying a little bit to help you unlock any tense muscles.

Exercise #3

While practicing and working hard on the violin, we often forget one vital element to our playing: breathing.

Consciously breathing in a certain way can not only help you to relax, it can also help your tone. During your warm-up period while you’re playing open strings, try inhaling on up bows and and exhaling on down bows. You can also try breathing in right before you play and then exhaling and relaxing as you play the first note of a song or scale.

Exercise #4

Try playing something and tense up every muscle you possibly can. While this may seem conutnerintinuitve, often times we tense up muscles without even realizing it. So play super tense for a scale or song, and then follow that up playing “normally.” You might be able to identify specific areas of your body that you didn’t even realize you were  tensing up. Your muscles will also enjoy relaxing when you resort to playing normally.

Exercise #5

This exercise is specifically for left hand tension. It’s important to remember that we have opposing hands. Whatever tension is present with the fingers, the thumb will try to oppose and mimic that tension and vice versa. So if you’re pressing the strings with excessive pressure, the thumb will have to oppose that pressure resulting in what I call the “death grip.” Try this exercise to get rid of the death grip on the violin.

• Play an easy scale or tetrachord with your fingers barely touching the string. It will sound bad.

• Add a little more pressure with the left hand. Imagine that you’re pressing the strings down halfway to the fingerboard. Play it again.

• Add just a little more pressure until you can lightly feel the fingerboard underneath your fingers. Play the passage again.

At this point, the passage probably sounds fine and hopefully you’ve noticed that you need a lot less finger pressure to depress the strings properly. Do this exercise anytime you’re experiencing tension or pain in your left hand.

Exercise #6

The last thing you can do to help you to relax is to think about your body and tension awareness when you’re not playing the violin. If you’re tense in other areas of your life, you can’t expect to pick up a violin and have that tension magically disappear. So become more aware of your body. When you’re driving the car, are there some muscles you could relax? When you’re waiting in line are you subconsciously tense somewhere in your body.

Learning to relax your body when you’re not playing the violin will help you relax when you are playing violin. Becoming more aware of subconconscious tension was actually the key for me when it came to getting rid of uncontrollable tension in my playing.

Happy Practicing!

Why Does My Violin E String Whistle? And How Do I Stop It?

Violin E strings are notorious for whistling occasionally. This whistling is common and can be extremely frustrating. But why do E strings whistle like that?

Normally, the bow causes the strings to vibrate side to side, but when the string vibrates abnormally in a torsional or twisting motion, you get an E string whistle. This whistle only occurs on the E string because E strings on the violin are normally unwound. Wound strings, like your G, D, and A strings are not as susceptible to this abnormal twisting motion of the string.

How can I stop my E string from whistling?

Anything that detracts from a clean start can cause the violin E string to whistle. Dirty bow hair or too much or too little rosin can contribute to the whistle.

However, I’ve noticed that the most common culprit is slurring and bow speed. You might notice the E string whistles more when slurring from the A string. This is often because the bow speed is too fast for the E string, resulting in a sloppy start to the vibrations, causing the twisting motion of the string.

Here are my recommendations for stopping your E string from whistling.

• Wipe off excess rosin off of the E string

• Slow the bow speed as you change over to the E string.

• Add more weight in the bow as you change to the E string (I imagine something pulling my right elbow down to help me add more weight).

• Play closer to the bridge with more weight to get a cleaner start.

• Change the bowing so you avoid slurs over to the open E string.

• Change the fingering so you avoid playing the open E string.

• Some strings tend to whistle more than others. You may also try changing your E string.

Happy Practicing!

Top 10 Best Apps for Violinists

As a violin teacher, there are several amazing apps for violinists that I always recommend to all of my students. From handy tuner/metronome apps to sheet music catalogues or backing tracks, these apps and websites make it so much easier to learn the violin.

I divide these great apps for the violin into a few different categories. Tuners and metronome apps, sheet music and accompaniment apps, practicing apps, and apps for learning to play violin.

While all of these violin apps are helpful, my personal favorites can be found in Sheet Music and Accompaniment Apps. You’ll find some apps and websites here to take your practicing to a whole new level (and make you have more fun while practicing too!)

Let’s get started with my favorite, must-have apps for violinists!

Tuning and Metronome Apps for Violin

While you definitely may want to purchase a dedicated metronome or tuner, having a tuning or metronome app on your phone is a great idea. There are so many tuning apps these days. Here are my favorites for the violin.

1. insTuner

insTuner has been my go-to tuning app ever since I first got a smart phone. It’s free, doesn’t have annoying ads, and is wonderfully simplistic. Many tuning apps for the violin are distracting with so many bells and whistles. As if tuning weren’t complicated enough!

That’s one reason why I love insTuner. It’s a simple tuner and a tone generator. Nothing fancy. Just what you need and nothing more.

Watch my tutorial on how to tune a violin using the insTuner.

Get insTuner here.

2. Helix Tuner

Here’s another free tuning app for the violin, but Helix Tuner is not your standard tuner, and you probably shouldn’t treat it that way. Helix Tuner displays sounds like a circular oscillograph. The more stable the image, the more in tune you are. When the image rotates clockwise, you are sharp. Counterclockwise equals flat.

Helix Tuner can be wonderfully mesmerizing. I don’t recommend using it all the time, or even as your primary tuner. I recommend Helix Tuner to help students hear sounds as frequencies. As violinists, the more you think of the sounds you are producing as wavelengths or frequencies, the better your sound production will be.

Get Helix Tuner here

3. Tunic Unisono

Like Helix Tuner, Tunic Unisono also produces sounds as images. It’s another fun app for seeing the tones you are producing as frequencies. It’s got a slightly higher price tag than the free Helix Tuner, but it’s definitely worth signing up for the free trial to play around and see if you like it.

Get Tunic Unisono here

I’ll show you how to use Helix Tuner and Tunic Unisono and how to hear sounds as wavelengths here.

4. Smart Metronome &Tuner

Now on to metronome apps for violinists. My favorite is Smart Metronome and Tuner. Again, it’s simple. Not too much on the screen to distract you. I like that it has a digital arm that swings instead of just a flashing light. There’s also a tuner and some other features like a timer and a practice log. I mainly use this app just for the metronome. It clicks and is easy to adjust…that’s all I need!

Get Smart Metronome and Tuner App here

5. Soundcorset

For an app that does it all, try Soundcorset. It’s a tuner, metronome, sheet music catalogue, and practice tracker. You can also record yourself through the app which is great for keeping track of your progress and seeing how far you’ve come1

Get Soundcorset here

Sheet Music And Accompaniment Apps For Violinists

Next up, my favorite violin apps for sheet music and accompaniment.

6. MuseScore

MuseScore has got to be one of the best repositories for sheet music of all kinds, whether it’s classical, fiddle, modern, or whatever. It’s like Youtube for sheet music because the majority of its catalogue has been uploaded by users. That means some music is hit or miss when it comes to quality, but it’s still a great place to get  sheet music.

There are two sides to MuseScore, one is the music catalogue uploaded by users and the other is the free notation software. I use MuseScore to create all of my sheet music. I also always recommend my students download the MuseScore notation software. If you’re a member of my studio, I upload the MuseScore files in addition to the printable sheet music so that you can download the MuseScore file and use MuseScore to play the tracks or change anything you want, like slurs, notes, key signature, etc.

It’s also worth nothing that you don’t have to pay for MuseScore to download the software or to browse the catalogue. Paying for MuseScore simply allows you to download the MuseScore files from other users or download and print the sheet music (plus other features as well).

The MuseScore notation software is only available for computers (not tablets or phones). The user-uploaded sheet music catalogue is available through the app or on your computer.

Download the MuseScore app from your App Store or visit the music catalogue online here.

Download the MuseScore free notation software here.

7. Strum Machine

If you love fiddling, Strum Machine is a must have app for fiddlers! Strum Machine has backing tracks for a long list of fiddle songs. Plus you can create your own chords if the song isn’t in the Strum Machine catalogue. You can speed up and slow down the accompaniment and adjust the playback and instruments. Best of all, it sounds like real instruments! Not some nasally computerized audio.

I use Strum Machine myself pretty much everyday. If you have to play fiddle by yourself, you want Strum Machine to back you up!

Strum Machine also exists as a website, so you can use the app or your computer.

Normally you can sign up for Strum Machine and get a 14 day free trial, but if you use this link you can get a 30 day free trial courtesy of Strum Machine.

8. TomPlay

TomPlay is like Strum Machine, but for classical pieces. There’s a massive collection of piano accompaniment for many of our standard violin pieces (including the Suzuki Books). You can speed up and slow down the play along tracks, loop measures, and choose to include or exclude the solo violin.

TomPlay can be used through the app on your phone or tablet, or on your computer through the website.

Search the App Store for TomPlay or access the website here.

Practicing Apps for Violinists

9. Drone Tone

I always recommend practicing with drones. Playing violin is all about developing your ear and if you’re trying work on intonation using a tuning app with its little flashing green light, you’re headed down the wrong path! Use a drone to help you play in tune. It’s more musically appealing than watching a light on your tuner, and it will help you develop your ear.

For instance, if you’re playing a D scale, have a D drone playing and compare and adjust all of your fingers to the D drone! Many tuners have tone generators, but I love drone generators that produce chords. It’s much more fun and enjoyable to listen to.

Drone Tone exists as an app and also as a website.

Get the Drone Tone App or access it on your computer here.

10. EarMaster

Since violinists don’t have frets, learning to play in tune is all about training your ear to tell your fingers where to go! I’m a big fan of EarMaster and recommend it to all of my studio members. EarMaster is an ear training software with great exercises to help build up your ear training skills. It’s great for beginners or advanced musicians.

EarMaster can be accessed by an app and as a website.

Get EarMaster here.

*Bonus* Best App for Learning to Play the Violin

11. The Meadowlark Violin Online Studio App

If you want to learn to play the violin using an app, I have to recommend….my app! My online studio includes over 800 lessons on how to play the violin (or fiddle) and you can get all that at the tip of your fingers with the app. You’ll also get access to my exclusive community where you can ask me questions anytime. There’s live events, monthly missions to keep you focused, recitals, studio hours, and so much I can’t even name it all.

If you’re interested learn more here!

(And by the way, it’s not just an app. It works great on a computer as well!)

I hope you enjoyed my best apps for violinists. What are your favorite violin apps? Comment and let me know!

How (Not) to Hold the Violin Bow: 5 Steps to Form a Natural, Relaxed Bow Hold

The way you hold the violin bow is directly correlated to the sound you are producing. A relaxed bow hold will help you produce a good tone, allow for smoother string crossings, and eventually give you the tools to play fast sections and do advanced bow strokes.

Whether you are learning a beginner bow hold, of if you’ve been playing violin a while, it’s a great idea to rethink how to hold the violin bow properly for the best control and relaxation. So if you’re not completely happy with that tone you’re producing it might be time to reevaluate your bow hold.

Let’s talk about how to hold the violin bow for beginners and the common mistakes I see with bow holds and how those mistakes can negatively affect your sound.

Also visit, How Much to Tighten Your Bow: The Ultimate Guide to Tightening and Loosening Your Bow

Is it a Bow Hold or a Bow Grip?

When learning how to hold the bow, you will hear both terms: bow hold and bow grip. I dislike the term bow grip because “grip” implies force and tension. You want to avoid tension at all costs when it comes to the bow, so I avoid calling it a bow grip. The term bow hold is better but even that has its negative connotations.

You really aren’t even holding the bow. Once you learn to form a relaxed bow hold, you will realize you’re just balancing the bow between the thumb and the fingers. So instead of a bow hold, it should be called a bow balance. But I’ll keep calling it a bow hold for traditions sake!

Is There a Correct Way to Hold a Violin Bow?

While there are many variations on the violin bow hold, there are many common mistakes people have when it comes to learning to hold the violin bow. Holding the bow incorrectly will negatively affect your sound. The way you were originally taught to hold your violin bow can have a lasting affect on your bow hold, even if you’ve matured beyond those beginning stages.

So before we get into how to hold your violin bow correctly, let’s talk about some approaches to holding the bow that don’t yield good results.

A lot of methods use what I call the “one finger at a time approach.” You put this finger here and this finger here and the pinky on top and curve your thumb underneath… And then you usually end up with something unnatural.

The one finger at a time approach doesn’t work because each finger in the bow hold has to work together as one cohesive unit.

Another method I’m not a huge fan of is the “bow hold bunny.” This method involves the middle two fingers touching the thumb like the bunny’s teeth and the pinky and index finger sticking up in the air like the ears. When you do this on the bow it’s like the bunny is eating the stick and then you flop the ears down on the stick. In my opinion this approach to holding the violin bow has a lot of different problems. For one, it’s going to make the middle two fingers be unnatural close to each other. It also tends to make people pinch the bow with the middle fingers. And then the pinky and the index finger are unnaturally spaced.

Avoid the dreaded, unnatural, bow hold bunny monster

This approach might be fine for very young children. But I think mature children and adults benefit from a different approach when it comes to beginner bow holds and learning how to hold the violin bow properly.

How to Hold the Violin Bow

This is how I teach students to hold the violin bow. And even if you’ve been playing for a long time, I think it’s always a good idea to revisit the basics of bow hold and see if there’s anything you could do differently to relax more and get a better tone.

Bow Hold Step 1: Get the Fingers Relaxed

The first step to learning to hold the violin bow is to put down the bow! We’ll get to that later.

Get your fingers relaxed

Next I like to have students hang their right hand by their side and relax the hand. Shake the hand if you want to get rid of any tension. Don’t think about anything. Overthinking how to hold the bow usually results in bad bow holds.

Now, bring the hand up until the arm is horizontal. Continue to let the fingers dangle. That’s usually a perfect beginner bow hold. The fingers are naturally spaced with a gentle curve. They’re not abnormally straight, nor are they abnormally curved. The thumb is gently curved as well. For the standard bow hold, you also want the elbow to be even with the wrist and the knuckles. You don’t ever want the knuckles or the fingers to be above the wrist for a standard, beginner, middle of the bow bow hold.

Now we just have to figure out where will the bow touch the fingers?

Bow Hold Step 2: Learning Where the Fingers Touch the Violin Bow

When learning how to hold the violin bow for beginners, always start with a pencil. I use a pencil to demonstrate where the fingers are placed in a perfect violin bow hold. 

If I keep my hand relaxed with the knuckles, wrist, and elbow even, all I have to do is bring my pencil up until the pinky can rest on the pencil.

Bring the pencil up to your pinky

make sure you have part of your fingers on top of the pencil

I bring my pencil up until the pinky comfortably rests on the stick and the middle knuckles or the area right below the middle knuckles are also resting on top of the stick.

Having fingers on top of the stick is very important because that’s how weight is going to be transferred into the stick and that’s how you produce and good tone.

Bow Hold Step 3: Place the Thumb

One of the most common questions I see when it comes to forming a beginner violin bow hold is where do I place the thumb?

Place the thumb underneath the pencil where ever it naturally falls, usually between the 1st and 2nd fingers. The important thing is to not overthink where the thumb is placed. Where does your thumb go to naturally balance the fingers that are on top of the stick?

One very important thing to remember when it comes to forming the bow hold is to gently curve the thumb. You never want a “hitchhiker’s thumb” that is unnatural bent backwards and locked.

Avoid the stiff, bent hitchhiker’s thumb

avoid bending your thumb back like this

Bow Hold Step 4: Slant the Fingers

You want to have a slight slant with the fingers so that everything is leaning just slightly towards the index finger.

Bow hold with no slant

bow hold with slight slant towards index finger

And that’s your beginner’s bow hold! Do you see how forming everything as one cohesive unit makes for a more natural and relaxed bow hold? Continue practicing your violin bow hold on a pencil wherever you are. But now let’s move on to forming the violin bow hold on the violin bow!

Violin Bow Hold Step 5: Forming the Violin Bow Hold With the Bow

When it comes to forming the violin bow hold on the bow, people tend to fall back into a “this finger goes here, this finger goes here approach.” Avoid this approach at all costs and try to always form the bow hold as one cohesive unit.

Start off by holding the bow horizontal with your left hand holding the bow at the tip.

Now, get your right hand relaxed again and place it on top of the stick right in the middle of the bow. That area is just like a pencil. Place your thumb, gently curved underneath the stick, wherever it naturally falls.

Then with your left hand, pull the bow and let your hand slide down to the frog until your thumb hits the tip of the frog. Your thumb will rest right at the tip of the frog, not inside that tempting little space inside the frog.

Form the bow hold in the middle of the bow

slide the bow hold down until your thumb hits the top of the frog

And that’s how you form a natural, relaxed bow hold.

Common Beginner Bow Hold Mistakes

When it comes to learning how to hold the violin bow, there are many mistakes beginners make that can negatively impact the sound and your joy of playing! Let’s talk through some common bow hold mistakes.

Bow Hold Mistake #1: Bending the Thumb Back

This locks the thumb and makes it unmovable and inflexible. You need that thumb to be relaxed to produce a lovely sound! So relax the thumb and let it naturally curve.

Bad thumb

good thumb

Bow Hold Mistake #2: Pinching the Stick with the Fingers

Don’t try to pinch the stick to hold the violin bow.

Let the fingers dangle over the stick. Remember, you aren’t really holding the bow and you’re definitely not gripping the bow! You’re really just balancing the bow between the fingers and the thumb.

Most people try to pinch the bow because they feel very uncomfortable balancing the bow on the thumb.

This is very understandable. Practice balancing the bow hold over a soft pillow or mattress if you are afraid of dropping the bow.

As you can see by the picture, pinching the bow with the tips of the fingers leads to a very straight pinky, and a bent back thumb.

All of the fingers are locked and inflexible which will contribute to a stiff sound. You need those fingers to move like little shock absorbers or springs, so loosen up and let those fingers drape over the stick!

Bow Hold Mistake #3: Not Curving the Pinky

Avoid locking the pinky straight

You also don’t want the pinky to be straight and locked (unless, you are playing in the upper half of the bow). Keep that pinky gently curved and on top of the stick.

Notice when your pinky is straight and locked how immovable it is. We need that pinky to flex just like all of the other fingers.

When the pinky locks on the violin bow, there’s a good chance it’s forcing the thumb to bend back and lock as well.

So relax all of the fingers. Practice holding your bow over something soft if you are afraid of dropping it.

And we’ve all dropped violin bows. It still happens to me sometimes and I’ll wonder what in the world just happened.

It’s not a bad idea to practice in a room with carpet, or place a rug in your practice area.

Bow Hold Mistake #4 Placing the Thumb Inside the Frog

It might be tempting to place your thumb inside that little dip in the frog, like the picture below. But don’t do it! Place your thumb at the tip of the frog, in between the tip of the frog and the leather grip.

Avoid placing the thumb inside the frog

place the thumb at the tip of the for and in between the frog and the leather grip

Do Fiddlers Hold the Violin Bow Differently?

A fiddler’s bow hold at the balance point

Is there a different way to hold the fiddle bow? While there is no difference between a violin bow and a fiddle bow, some fiddlers do hold the bow higher up on the stick. This facilities fast string crossings and easier double stops and compliments the style of playing.

If you are a beginner just starting to learn to play, I recommend holding the violin bow at the frog, even if you only want to fiddle. If you can hold the bow at the frog, you can hold it at the middle. But it’s harder to hold the bow in the middle and then transition to holding it at the frog.

Conclusion: Holding the Bow the Right Way

The bow hold is absolutely crucial to good tone production and advanced bow strokes. Having a natural, relaxed bow hold is not something you’ll be able to master in one day. It takes time to teach the muscles to relax and be in control of the stick. So give yourself time but reevaluate your bow hold often. Since the violin bow hold is so crucial to your sound, it’s a topic I talk a lot about in my online studio. I’ve got lots of lessons and workshops on the bow hold, so if you’re interested in seeing what my online studio has to offer, learn more here!

Happy Practicing!

Once you learn to hold the bow correctly, learn the secret to better bow control and relaxation!

How Tight Do You Tighten A Violin Bow?: The Ultimate Guide to Tightening and Loosening Your Violin Bow

When you first receive your violin bow, the hair will probably be touching the stick. You have to tighten the violin bow which forces the hair to stretch and move away from the stick in order to play. But a common question when it comes to learning how to tighten the violin bow is “how MUCH do I tighten the violin bow?”

Well, it depends.

When you are just beginning, you can learn to tighten the violin bow by sight. But as you become more comfortable playing, you will learn to tighten the violin bow based on feel.

When you are finished playing, you will want to loosen the hair on your violin bow to release the tension.

But first let’s talk about the mechanics of tightening and loosening a violin bow.

How to Tighten a Violin Bow

Hold the violin bow horizontally in front of you with the frog to the right. You’ll notice a silver screw at the very end of the frog. Turn the screw away from you and watch the middle of the bow. You’ll begin to see the bow hair moving away from the stick.

Also notice the frog. Do you see how the frog moves as well when tightening the violin bow? The more you tighten, the more space is created between the tip of the frog and the leather grip. This is the place where your thumb goes so if you find there’s not enough space for your thumb, tighten the bow a little more.

Notice how Tightening the bow changes the space between the frog and the leather grip

the looser the bow, the less space between the frog and the leather grip

The Rule for Tightening the Violin Bow

Eventually, you will tighten the bow based on sight and feel, but if you are a beginner here is a rule for tightening your violin bow by sight.

Notice the stick of the violin bow is curved with the stick dipping down towards the middle slightly.

To tell how much to tighten your bow, turn the screw until you can fit your pinky in between the violin stick and the hair at the middle of the bow.

Watch the middle of the bow as you tighten and continue turning the screw until you could fit your pinky in between the stick and the hair in the middle of the bow. You have to look at the middle of the bow because if you look at the ends, you will see the hair is further away from the stick. Use the middle as your gauge.

Now, the “pinky” rule is a good place to start. However, I notice that most people don’t tighten the bow enough when using this rule. So tighten the violin bow so that your pinky with a little bit of space on either side can fit in between the stick and the hair.

Tighten the bow until you can fit your pinky in between the hair and the stick in the middle of the bow

What Happens if You Tighten a Violin Bow Too Much?

Can you over tighten a violin bow? Yes! Over tightening a bow can damage the bow. When you over tighten the bow, the stick will be very straight without any of that natural curve. All that extra tension can warp or break the stick. You’ll also over stretch your hair which means you will have to continue over tightening your bow just to get to a “normal” tightness because the hair is too loose. You’ll have to get the bow rehaired sooner rather than later.

Over tightening the bow also makes it harder to play. The bow is too stiff when the hair is too tight resulting in unwanted bounces and scratches. The bow will be harder to control when the hair is too tight.

Can You Play if Your Violin Bow Hair is Too Loose?

When people learn that over tightening the violin bow can damage that expensive wooden stick, they tend to under tighten the bow.

While under tightening the bow will not damage it, it will make it harder to play. When the violin bow is too loose there is no resistance. You need a little give in the hair to be able to apply and release weight to get a good tone.

Just like Goldilocks, it’s all about getting it just right and that comes down to learning to tighten the violin bow based on feel.

How to Tighten the Violin Bow by Feel

Eventually, you will be able to feel if your violin bow is too tight or too loose as you play violin. The best way to learn to do this is to experiment. Try barely tightening your violin bow and then play something. You’ll notice there is no resistance or “give” in the violin bow. You can’t apply any weight into the string.

Now try slightly over tightening the violin bow (don’t worry, this will just be for a second). Play something now. Notice how the violin bow is too stiff and also looses some of its resistance and give. The bow is probably so stiff when it is overtightened that it is much easier to bounce the bow and get unwanted bounces.

Loosen the bow until you feel the correct amount of resistance.

How Much Do I Loosen the Violin Bow

When you are finished playing, you will want to loosen the hair on the violin bow. This will your hair to last longer and reduce the tension on the stick. But how much do you loosen the violin bow?

Most people tend to loosen the bow too much when they are finished playing. Simply loosen the screw until the hair is just touching the stick. That’s it! You can put your violin bow to bed now!

The correct amount to tighten the violin bow

The Correct amount to loosen the Violin Bow

Do I have to loosen the bow every time I finish playing?

If you’re just taking a short break, it’s fine to leave the violin bow hair tight. If you’re taking a longer break or if you are done for the day, it’s best to go ahead and loosen the bow hair.

What happens if you loosen the bow too much?

The hair will get very loose and floppy and eventually you will unscrew the screw completely. Don’t worry! You didn’t break your violin bow. Simply reinsert the screw and tighten it again. You may notice when you loosen your violin bow too much, the screw detaches and the frog detaches as well. Again, you didn’t break your bow. Reinsert the frog into the hole where it was attached, reinsert the screw and tighten.

if you loosen the bow too much, the screw may come out

and the frog may detach! don’t worry, reinsert the frog and the screw, retighten, and you’re good to go!

I forgot to loosen my bow hair! Is it okay?

That moment when you realize you forgot to loosen your bow hair last night

You close up your violin case and completely forget to loosen the bow hair. When you open up your case the next day, to your horror you see the violin bow is already tight! EEK! Is the bow damaged? Did you ruin that expensive stick?

Don’t worry, this happens to all of us at some time (sometimes multiple times…) Repeatedly forgetting to loosen the bow hair will not necessarily damage the bow, but you will have to rehair the bow sooner as the hair is getting stretched out more and more.

Can I replace the hair on my violin bow?

Yes, you can and you should! The bow hair wears out eventually and looses its “grippiness.” No matter how much rosin you apply, the bow will feel like it’s slipping across the strings. Simply take your bow to a local string shop or luthier and have them rehair the bow. This will cost anywhere from around $70 and up depending on your location.

You should rehair your bow at least once a year. Rehair your bow every 3-4 months if you play more regularly (2 hours a day and up).

Does weather and humidity affect violin bow hair?

Absolutely. Humid weather will make the violin bow hair stretch and lengthen, making it harder to get the correct amount of tension. You will tighten and tighten and tighten the screw and eventually the hair will have the correct amount of tension. The danger occurs if the humidity changes and turns drier, then the hair will constrict and your violin bow will be too tight.

This is particularly a problem when playing outside or going in between playing outside and inside. Keep an eye on the humidity and try to keep the humidity around 40%-60%.

Why won’t my violin bow tighten?

Hight humidity can make it harder to tighten the bow. If the bow hair is old, or if the bow hair has been overstretched, it will be hard to tighten the bow. Getting a bow rehair will fix this problem.

Sometimes there may be an issue with the screw. Cheap violins that come with cheap bows can often be difficult if not impossible to tighten due to the inferiority of the parts. If you’re playing a a very cheap bow (Under $50) and you’re violin bow won’t tighten, you may need to upgrade to a better bow.

I hope this helps you with all your questions when it comes to tightening and loosening the violin bow. If I didn’t cover something, let me know in the comments below.

Happy Practicing!

How to Tune a Violin (Without Breaking the Strings!) A Beginner's Ultimate Guide to Tuning

It’s vitally important to tune your violin every time before you start playing. But learning how to tune your violin as a beginner may seem intimidating. Once you understand a few things about tuning, you’ll see that tuning your violin is not as hard as it may seem.

Let’s talk about how to tune your violin and common tuning problems you may encounter (like the dreaded broken string!) Spoiler Alert: don’t worry, broken strings happen to everyone, but keeping a few things in mind will help you avoid breaking any strings!

Okay let’s get started by talking about a few music theory basics before we jump into learning how to tune the violin.

Important Musical Concepts for Better Violin Tuning

The musical alphabet consists of the notes A through G. If you started with an A and went up to a G and then kept going after that, the next note would be an A. It’s the same pitch as the first A you started on, just 8 steps higher. We call that an octave.

You can have lots of different As, they’re all the same note, just occurring at different frequencies or octaves. On your tuner, the octave in which that pitch occurs is notated by a little number next to the pitch.

So you see, if I play my open A, that tells me I’m playing an A4, if I play the A that’s an octave lower, that’s known as A3.

The names of your strings and the octaves that correspond with those pitches are:

How Tuners and Tuning Apps Work

Now let’s talk about how a tuner or a free tuning app works. I like to use the INS tuning app but most tuning apps work in a similar fashion. When you play a note, the name of the note and its octave number register on your screen. You’ll get a pitch and a number next to it. If the note is in tune, you’ll get a green light. You’ll notice there’s a bar that moves across the screen. In some tuners, this bar is depicted as a dial or a light on the left and the right of the pitch. If the note is too high or too sharp, the bar will be to the right on the sharp side. If the note is too low or too flat, the bar will be on the left side. The bar moves closer to the center as you get closer to being in tune.

How to Tune Your Violin Using the Fine Tuners

The fine tuners are the little screws on your violin tailpiece. They make small adjustments to the string.

(Why do some violin only have one fine tuner?)

A violin with 4 fine tuners on the tailpiece

You can hold your violin different ways when you’re first learning to tune, but I recommend starting off with the violin against your stomach. Pluck a string and then adjust the fine tuner. The fine tuner works just like a screw. Righty tighty, lefty loosey. So if you want the string to be more taught or higher in pitch, turn the fine tuner to the right or clockwise. If you’re too high or too sharp and you need to go lower, loosen the fine tuner by turning it left or counter clockwise.

Now tuners can be finicky because the microphone is picking up on other noises, so as long as it’s flashing green pretty regularly, that’s good. Now move on to the next string and repeat the process until you’re finished tuning.

You can also progress to tuning with the violin on your shoulder if you like. Pluck the strings with the left hand and tune with the right hand like this…

Tuning the violin using the fine tuners while playing pizzicato

Tuning the violin using the fine tuners and the bow

Now if your strings are close to being in tune, maybe a half step away or less. Use the fine tuners. If it’s really out of tune, for instance if your A string is registering as a G, then you’re going to have to use the pegs.

How to Tune the Violin Using Pegs

There’s a few tricks when it comes to learning how to tune the violin using the pegs. Let’s say my A string is registering as a G. The string is too low for the fine tuners to do anything so I’m going to have to tune the violin using the pegs. Trace the string up to its peg. The A string’s peg is the top peg on the right. Hold the violin neck firmly with the left hand and pinch the peg in between your fingers with the right hand. I always like to release the tension on the peg first by slightly turning it back or towards me. Keep a firm hold on the peg because you don’t want it to loosen completely. As the tension releases, you’ll feel a little click. Now if you let your hand go of the peg, that peg could possibly loosen completely so keep the pressure on it. Now turn the peg away from you as you apply a little bit of pressure towards the peg box to help that peg get wedged into the hole.

Once you’re relatively close, use the fine tuners to get the string perfectly in tune.
Now that’s the basics of how to tune the violin for beginners using pegs or fine tuners, but it’s not always that simple so lets talk about some issues you might run into when it comes to tuning the violin.

Possible Tuning Problems When Learning to Tune the Violin

We talked about the musical alphabet consisting of the notes A through G. Well, in between each of those notes (well in between almost all of the notes) there’s a half way point. So in between each note there’s a sharp or a flat note. In between A and B there’s an A#, It’s a half step higher than an A. Now sharps and flats are really 2 sides of the same coin. So a B flat is the same note as an A#. It’s a half step lower than a B which is the same as an A sharp. You’re just thinking about it in different ways.

So in between G and A, there’s a G sharp or an A flat.

Occasionally, your string may be so flat, the tuner will actually show an A with a a little flat sign next to it. Or if the A were too high, it might even register as a B flat which is the same thing as an A sharp.

It’s important to pay attention to see if there is a flat or sharp symbol next to the note name because you could accidentally tune your A to an A flat. I’ve had some students occasionally show up to lessons with their violin perfectly tuned to an A flat.  So as you’re tuning, make sure you’re not tuning to a sharp note or a flat note.

How to Tune the Violin Without Breaking A String

Why is the violin so hard to tune? a question of the ages

Every beginner’s nightmare is the possibility of breaking a string while tuning. We all accidentally breaks a string at some point, but I’m going to try to help you avoid that!

The easiest string to break on the violin is the E string since it is very thin. Because of its thin diameter, it’s easy to over tighten the string. At some point, the string will snap if you continue to tighten it too much. Anytime you are tuning the E string, especially if you are tuning using the peg, make very small adjustments and stop to check the pitch with the tuner very often.

We’ve all broken E strings so it’s a good idea to have some extras on hand. Here are my recommendations for the best violin strings!

To prevent breaking strings while tuning the violin on any of the other strings, always make small adjustments and avoid over tightening the string.

Why won’t my violin strings stay tight?

Sometimes you tune your violin and the strings continue to loosen. There are a couple of reasons why violin strings don’t stay tight.

• New Strings: new strings take time to stretch out. It may take a few days of frequent tuning before the strings settle out and stay tight.

• The pegs aren’t wedged in the peg hole. Remember when I said to apply a little pressure towards the peg box while tuning the violin using the pegs? This is to help wedge the peg into the whole to prevent the peg from slipping. Slipping pegs equal loose violin strings.

• Low Humidity. Dry air will make the wooden pegs shrink and slip. Try to maintain the ideal humidity level in between 40-60% humidity to prevent your violins strings from loosening.

• Low Quality Violins. If you are using a violin on the cheaper side, poor quality workmanship will contribute to pegs that continue to slip and strings that never stay tight.
  
  (Get my top 10 Recommendations for Good Quality Beginner and Intermediate Violins)
  

How often does a violin need to be tuned?

Tune your violin every time before you start playing. Be very precise with tuning and don't settle for “almost” in tune.

People have struggled with tuning for centuries

Getting a violin perfectly in tune is very important since we don’t have frets, keys, or stickers. Muscle memory is how you learn to always place your fingers in the right place. If the violin strings are always slightly different in pitch every time you play, you will never develop the correct muscle memory to be able to play in tune.

Another reason to tune your violin every time before you start playing has to do with sympathetic vibrations of the strings. When you play one string, the other strings are sympathetically vibrating. So make sure those vibrations are in tune!

Why do some violins only have one fine tuner?

More expensive, higher quality violins often only have one fine tuner on the E string. Fine tuners can affect the sound or be the source of buzzes and unwanted noises. If you are comfortable tuning using the pegs, there’s no need for that potential effect on the sound.

A violin with only one fine tuner

The advent of steel strings also plays a part in the use of fine tuners. Before steel strings, when all strings were gut, fine tuners weren’t necessary. Gut is stretchier than steel. However, it’s very hard to make small adjustments with steel strings, especially on the E string. When steel strings were introduced in 1919, fine tuners became a necessity and continued to be used for E strings up until today.

Learn more about why some violin have only one fine tuner here.

Do Professional Violinists Use Fine Tuners?

If more expensive violins usually come with only one fine tuner, you may be wondering if professionals use fine tuners? Many professional violinists don’t use fine tuners (except on the E string). This has to do with aesthetics and sound as more fine tuners may negatively affect the tone production.

However, I’ve seen several famous violinists and fiddlers with more than one fine tuner on their violin. So there is no judgment or shame when it comes to using fine tuners!

Why is tuning a violin so hard?

Tuning a violin is definitely harder than tuning a guitar or a mandolin. Why is tuning a violin so hard? Guitars have geared pegs whereas most violins use traditional pegs. A traditional peg is just a wooden peg inside of a hole. That means humidity and weather can make tuning a violin harder as the wooden peg swells or shrinks. Wood that hasn’t been properly dried will also contribute to difficulties tuning the violin. Poor workmanship and cheap violins is yet another contributor that makes it hard to tune the violin.

Geared pegs look the exact same as traditional ebony pegs

The nature of wooden pegs also makes it hard to tune the violin because it’s difficult to make small adjustments. This is especially frustrating for violins with only one fine tuner.

You can skip a lot of the tuning frustrations by installing geared pegs onto your violin. Geared pegs look just like traditional pegs, but they are geared much like guitar pegs making tuning much easier. Geared pegs have many names and brands like Perfection Pegs or Planetary Pegs. You can get geared pegs installed at your local luthier or violin shop. I have geared pegs and I will never go back to traditional pegs!

Learning to Tune Your Violin is an Art Form!

Tuning is definitely a skill and an art form in an of itself so if. And there’s more to it than just using a little machine and a flashing green light. You should be working on making progress in your tuning abilities the same way you work on getting better intonation or a better tone. Using a tuner is a great way to learn to tune the violin for beginners, but there are better ways to tune and learning more advanced tuning techniques will actually strengthen your ear, help your understanding of tone and sound production, and improve your playing overall.

If you’re ready to learn how to tune the violin by ear or how to tune the violin using double stops, check out my Art of Tuning Course which is included when you sign up for the Meadowlark Violin Online Studio. Happy Tuning!

Why Do Some Violins Have Only One Fine Tuner?

Why do some violins have four fine tuners? Why do other violins have only one fine tuner? Do you need to have four fine tuners? Do only beginners have fine tuners?

To understand why some violins have one fine tuner and some have more, we need to discuss a little bit of violin string history.

(Also visit How to Tune a Violin (Without Breaking the Strings!) A Beginner’s Ultimate Guide to Tuning the Violin)

Why Violins Have Fine Tuners

Before the advent of steel strings in the early 1900s, strings were made of gut. Since gut is quite stretchy, fine tuners weren’t necessary. When steel strings came onto the stage in 1919, fine tuners became necessary for violin E strings.

Steel is not as stretchy as gut, therefore it’s much harder to make smaller adjustments with a thin, steel E string. Accidentally over-tightening an E string will make it break. So fine tuners that could make small adjustments became useful for steel E strings.

Fine tuners on violins were pretty handy and it made sense to use them on all the strings for beginner violins to make the tuning process easier for beginners.

Do I Need Four Fine Tuners on My Violin?

You don’t have to have fine tuners on every string. If your pegs work correctly and you don’t have trouble tuning, you can get by with only one fine tuner on the E string. However, there’s no shame in having four fine tuners.

If you have geared pegs on your violin, fine tuners probably aren’t necessary. (It’s still handy to have them on the E string).

Some beginner violins come with tailpieces with four fine tuners built in to the tailpiece. Other violins come with tailpieces that have holes where the strings attach allowing you to add or remove fine tuners to suit your needs.

A Violin with Fine Tuners Built Into the Tailpiece

A violin with REMOVABLE fine tuners and only one fine tuner on the E string

Why do some violins have only one fine tuner?

You will often find that more expensive, higher quality violins often only have one fine tuner on the E string. Usually, more advanced violinists purchase the more expensive violins, so there’s an assumption that the violinist purchasing the violin is comfortable with tuning using the pegs. If the fine tuners aren’t necessary, there’s no need to put them on a violin.

However, you don’t have to be an advanced player to play on an “advanced” violin. Violins that are categorized as “intermediate” or “advanced” are simply more expensive and usually better quality. They don’t require people with advanced skills to play them. On the contrary, high quality violins are much EASIER to play than beginner violins!

So if you’re a beginner and you want to spend the money on a high quality violin, go for it! If you’re worried about having trouble tuning if the violin has only one fine tuner, I recommend getting geared pegs installed. I have geared pegs on my violin and I would never go back to traditional, wooden pegs!

Do Fine Tuners Affect the Sound of a Violin?

Another reason that some violins have only one fine tuner is due to the affect fine tuners can have on the sound. Anytime you add something to a violin, a chinrest, a different tailpiece, it will affect the sound. The more “stuff” you put on a violin, the more potential for buzzes or unwanted noises. If you are comfortable tuning using the pegs, there’s no need for that potential effect on the sound.

Can violinists really tell the difference in sound between a violin with four fine tuners and a violin with one fine tuner? This is hard to say because all of the high quality instruments I’ve ever played have had one fine tuner and all of the cheaper, beginner violins have always had four fine tuners. The cheaper violins didn’t sound cheap because they had four fine tuners, they were simply made from cheaper materials.

I’ve never had a reason to install more fine tuners on my personal violins, so I can’t say if adding fine tuners negatively affects the sound in an obvious manner.

Do Professional Violinists Use Fine Tuners?

If more expensive violins usually come with only one fine tuner, you may be wondering if professional violinists use fine tuners? Many professional violinists don’t use fine tuners (except on the E string). This has to do with aesthetics, the ease of tuning with the pegs, and sound.

However, I’ve seen several famous violinists and fiddlers with more than one fine tuner on their violin. So there is no judgment or shame when it comes to using fine tuners!

To sum it up, if you want to use fine tuners, use them! If you’re a beginner, thinking about purchasing a violin without four fine tuners and wondering if that’s okay, it absolutely is! If you can afford it, I always say go for the nicer, higher quality violin (even if it only has one fine tuner). Get geared pegs installed and you won’t miss the other fine tuners.

Happy Practicing!

5 Reasons You Struggle to Play Fast on the Violin

A common question I get is “why can’t I play fast on the violin?” Or “how do I play fast on the violin?” The question isn’t really how do I play fast. The real question is how do I play fast on the violin and sound good!

Today I’m going to talk about 5 reasons you struggle with playing fast on the violin, how you can fix those problems and start playing fast on the violin!

Out of the 5 reasons you can’t play fast, the last two reasons are some of the often forgotten culprits that can make playing fast on the violin very hard. So stick around to make sure you’re focusing on these two areas so you can improve your ability to play quickly, but let’s start with reason number one…

Also visit 5 Exercises to Help You Play Fast on the Violin for more tips on playing fast.

#1 Bad Left Hand Technique

One of the most common bad habits that I see is a crooked left wrist. This will really impede your ability to play fast on the violin. If your wrist is crooked your fingers have to go up to reach the finger board. If your wrist is straight, your fingers go down to reach the finger board.

A crooked wrist also introduces tension and it’s very hard or impossible to play fast on the violin if your left hand is tense. Try this. Without the violin, make your wrist crooked and try to wiggle your fingers really quickly. Now straighten your wrist and wiggle your fingers. Can you feel the difference?

Crooked wrist impedes fast finger motion

straight wrist allows for fast violin fingers

Playing with your wrist straight will also help you to curve your fingers and play right on the tips of your fingers and both of those things will help you play much more accurately and quickly.

P.S. Check out my free course, Bad Habits That Are Killing Your Progress

#2 Flying Fingers or Not Leaving Fingers Down

If your fingers fly off the string when you don’t need them it’s going to take them that much longer to get back to the string. That’s going to translate to sloppy passages when you’re trying to play fast on the violin. So keep your fingers close to the fingerboard so you can use them immediately.

You also want to leave fingers down as much as you can. You want to avoid what I call “tap dancing” on the strings. For instance, if you have a passage that has a first finger followed by a second finger, do you lift off the first finger?  There’s usually no need to lift it off, so keep it down. Less unnecessary motion will translate to cleaner fast passage.

Now most people have no idea that their fingers are lifting or flying off the strings, so try recording yourself to see if you’re guilty of those very common bad habits.

#3 Inaccurate Pitch

If you’re trying to play something fast on the violin, and it just sounds bad and out of tune, you’ve got to go back and play the passage very slowly. If it sounds even slightly out of tune when you’re playing slowly, it’s only going to sound worse when you speed it up.

If you’re playing slowly and constantly sliding your fingers around to find the right pitch, when you speed up that passage, you’re not going to have time to slide your fingers around to get in tune. The passage will just sound sloppy and out of tune.

So you have to practice pitch accuracy at slow tempos. Aim for being right on the note at the start of the pitch. If you play a note and it’s out of tune, remember what your tendency was and go back and play the previous note and then the out of tune note again and try to correct your tendency. Do this until your muscle memory for accurate pitch is solid and then start speeding up the passage.

#4 Coordination

When we think of how to play fast on the violin, we tend to focus on the left hand. But playing fast and sounding good has a lot to do with your coordination with the bow.

The left hand could be perfectly in tune and super fast and clean but if it’s not coordinated with the bow, it’s still going to sound sloppy. I’ve got some great exercises for coordination and speed here.

#5 Flexibility

You’ve got to have flexibility in both hands to be able to play fast on the violin. If either hand is stiff or tense you’re going to struggle playing fast and sounding good.

For that left hand, that means avoiding the death grip and using light finger pressure. But I think being able to play fast actually depends a lot on right arm flexibility.

For instance, if I’m playing very fast, separate notes and my right arm is stiff and locked, what do you think it will sound like? Not very good. It’s like trying to run with your knees locked.

To be able to change bow directions very quickly your right arm, wrist, and fingers need to act more like shock absorbers, reacting and absorbing all of that quick motion that’s involved in fast bow changes. Try practicing just open strings, changing the bow from down to up very quickly and relax your right hand fingers and wrist so that they are passively following along with the bow.

Now the skills related to a relaxed, flexible bow hand are not things that you’re going to learn over night. It does take a lot of training and practice and I’ve got a lot of resources to help you with that in my online studio.

You should also make sure that you are working on playing your scales and arpeggios at faster tempos using a metronome. If it’s hard to play a scale quickly and cleanly, it’s going to be even more difficult to play a fast passage in a song well.

So if you’re struggling with playing fast on the violin, slow it down. Take your time focusing on accurate pitch, relaxed hands, and coordination. Gradually speed up those fast passages and you’ll be able to play fast, and sound good at the same time!

Happy Practicing!

5 Exercises to Help You Play Fast on the Violin

Playing fast on the violin and sounding good is something we all have to practice, no matter how advanced you are.

You might also want to visit 5 Reasons You Struggle to Play Fast on the Violin to help you understand why you’re struggling. This blog will also help you fix any bad habits that could be keeping your from playing fast.

Here are my top 5 exercises to help you play faster and cleaner on the violin!

First of all, isolate that fast passage and isolate groups of notes inside of that larger passage. For instance, don’t try to conquer all of these notes at once.

Divide the passage into groups of 4 notes or groups of 8 notes.

Try each of the following exercises with each of the smaller groups and then combine and do the exercise again with the whole passage. With the right practicing mindset, you can start to play violin faster and cleaner!

#1 Add a Note

Isolate your fast passage and start by playing just the first two notes. When that sounds clean, add the third note, then the fourth note, and so on. Remember, you can do this for each small group of notes, starting the process over again with each group and then try doing the whole passage, one note at a time.

Taking our original first passage as an example, this is how we would use this technique to gradually speed up the passage.

Play just the first two notes

then add the third note, repeat, Add the 4th note, repeat, etc.

#2 Loop Passages

Take a small group of notes, and play it at a slow tempo, repeat the passage, like you’re playing in a circle. When you can play the passage cleanly at a certain tempo, gradually start speeding it up with each repetition.

For instance, from our original passage, we would take the first grouping of sixteenth notes and loop it like this.

#3 Long Short/ and Short Long

Imposing rhythms onto your tricky passage is one of the best things you can do to clean up a fast passage and play faster on the violin. Not only are you working on speeding up the left hand fingers, you’re also making sure your left and right hands are coordinated as you get faster.

When you write the rhythms down, it looks a lot more complicated than it is. Play these exercises by ear. But here’s what the rhythms would look like.

Take a passage of 8th notes or 16th notes and instead of playing the notes as written, add in this rhythm as you play (you don’t have to write it down).

Long Short Rhythm/Making the first note long and the second note short

Working in groups of two, making the first note long and the second note short. Long short long short, etc. Play through the whole passage this way and then reverse the rhythm and do it again. Now play the first note short and the second note long.

When you practice this way, your’e working on speeding up notes, but not all at once. You’re working on speeding up only two notes at a time. When you reverse the rhythm you work on speeding up two different notes. When you’re practicing fast passages with these rhythms, hold the long note for as long as you want. Use that long note to think about the next two notes.

Once you practice this this, way try playing the whole passage with the normal rhythm.

#4 One Our of Every 4

This is a similar technique for playing faster on the violin. This rhythm works with 8th notes or 16th notes. Instead of working in groups of two, you’re going to be working with groups of four notes. Make the first note of every four notes long. Play through the whole passage this way.

Make the first note of every grouping long and the next three notes short

Then make the second note of every four notes long. Then make the third note long, then the fourth note long.

Do you see how you’re speeding up three notes at a time? As you do different variations of that rhythm, you’re speeding up 3 different notes each time.

This technique for speeding up your playing on the violin also works for groups of 3, like triplets. Simply move which note is the long note.
Once you finish practicing this technique, always try play the whole passage with the normal rhythm.

#5 Up 4 Back 2

It’s always great to use a metronome to help you gradually speed up fast passages on the violin, but I love the up 4 back 2 technique when it comes to speeding up tricky spots. Start with whatever beat mer minute where you can comfortably play the passage. Now go up 4 clicks and play the passage again. Now go back two clicks and play it again. Repeat the process, up 4 back 2. When you play the up 4, it might feel a little hectic and rushed. Then when you slow it down to the back 2 tempo, it feels relaxed and doable, but you’re still faster than your original tempo. So you’re tricking your mind into thinking that playing faster isn’t that bad. You can also do this with up 10 back 5.

I hope these 5 techniques help you speed up tricky passages on the violin. They’re my go-to exercises anytime I need to speed up a passage, clean it up, or just get more comfortable with the finger patterns or bowings.

Let me know in the comments below if it’s helpful or if you have other techniques to help you play faster.

Happy Practicing!

5 Irish Fiddle Tunes to Play for St. Patrick's Day (With Sheet Music)

Grab your violin and get ready to celebrate St. Patrick’s day with these 5 Irish songs that sound great on the fiddle!

If you want more Irish Fiddling fun, check out my course, Learn to Play Irish Fiddle in my online studio.

In addition to these great Irish tunes, I’ve got several other tutorials on some fun fiddle classics, like Swallowtail Jig and Red-Haired Boy.

Let’s start our list of great Irish fiddle tunes to play on St. Patrick’s day with a little Whiskey in the Jar!

Whiskey in the Jar: Irish Fiddle Sheet Music

A classic Irish tune, Whiskey in the Jar is perfect for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. Need some help with adding in bowings?

2. Black Velvet Band: Irish Fiddle Sheet Music

I love this classic Irish song, Black Velvet Band. A little less rollicking than Whiskey in the Jar, but still a great Irish tune that sounds good on the fiddle. Black Velvet Band is in 6/8 time so remember the 8th note gets the beat!

3. Rosin the Bow: Irish Fiddle Sheet Music

While not one of the most famous of Irish songs, Rosin the Bow is one of my personal favorites when it comes to Irish music that sounds great on the fiddle. Need help rosing your bow? Find that and more beginner violin lessons here.

4. Irish Washerwoman: St. Patrick’s Day Fiddle Music

What St. Patrick’s day celebration would be complete without this class Irish fiddling tune?

If you need help learning to play this classic Irish tune, I’ve got a complete tutorial on how to play Irish Washerwoman (with scale warm-ups). Find the tutorial here.

5. Danny Boy: Irish Tunes for Violin

It might night be as lively as Irish Washerwoman, but Danny Boy is such a classic Irish tune that I had to include it in a list of great St. Patrick’s Day fiddle tunes. It’s a great song to end your celebration on, and hey, you can always jazz it up!

If you want to download any of these Irish songs, sign up for my online studio where you’ll get access to 800+ violin lessons and access to a downloadable sheet music library with over 200 songs and books just for violin and fiddle). See you over there!

Enjoy fiddling this St. Patrick’s Day!

Happy Practicing!

4 Common Mistakes Adult Beginners Make When Learning to Play the Violin

If you’re an adult beginner and you feel like you are always struggling with the violin, then understanding these common mistakes adult beginners make when learning the violin might be the key to help you unlock your problems and start enjoying the violin.

I’ve been teaching violin for over a decade to all ages and I’ve learned that there are certain common mistakes and problems that adult violinists always seem to deal with. Now these mistakes aren’t technical mistakes. I’m not going to be talking about things like crooked wrist or bad posture (although I do have a free course that does talk about those common technical bad habits).

What I am going to be talking about is mistakes adults make in their approach to learning the violin. I think these mistakes are some of the main reasons people start learning the violin but then give up later, or maybe why people feel like they are always practicing but never making any progress.

So let’s get started.

Adult Beginner Mistake #1: Trying to Learn Everything All at Once

We’re adults, we can multi-task, right? Well multi-tasking while learning the violin is not a good idea. The left hand is doing something completely different than the right hand. You’re trying to not make scratchy sounds with your bow while placing your left hand fingers on a fingerboard that has no markings or frets, and let’s throw in some music reading while we’re at it.

Learning those three skills at the same time is hard. Period.

Even if you play other instruments or you are used to reading music, I still suggest you separate learning the violin into three separate skills when you’re just starting. Focus just on the left hand. Play pizzicato so you can focus on left hand position and intonation. Then focus on just on the right hand so you can think about tone production and relaxing your bow hold. Learn songs and scales without even looking at sheet music. Then work on combining the left and right hands. And then, start adding in reading music.

Adult Beginner Mistake #2 Having Too Many Violin Books

You just bought your new violin, you’re on Amazon looking at books, and you get all these recommendations for some amazing violin books. Scale books, method books, Irish fiddling, oh Gypsy music for violin, classical music, French fiddling, Ashokan Farewell, gotta have all of those!

I’m of the mindset that there is no such thing as too many books, so maybe buying all of those books isn’t a mistake, but trying to go through all of them at once, is.

I know how this goes. It’s like starting your first garden. You get so excited looking at the seed catalogues that you buy fifty varieties of seeds. And you end up planting a little bit of this a little bit of that and none of the seeds actually produce anything because you’re trying to learn how to grow fifty different types of plants all at once.

It’s the same thing with violin. It can be really tempting to just jump from one song to the next and never stay on any one song for any length of time. This might be one of the reasons you feel like you’re never making any progress, because…you’re not making any progress.

Too many violin books!

My rule is that you should stay on a song until you are absolutely sick of it and then move on. That way you move beyond just learning notes. When you stay with a song until you’re sick of it, you’re converting all of those new skills that you’ve learned into muscle memory which means when you do move on to a new and harder song, you can focus on those more advanced skills because those easier skills have already been converted to muscle memory.

That also gives you the mental space to go beyond just reading music, and start actually making music. You can memorize songs, you can add in dynamics and phrasing, and start to add your own personal stamp to any song you learn.

So my recommendation is that you should stick with one scale or one etude or warm-up exercise, or song for several weeks. You should only be learning one or two new songs at a time, but you should also always save time for revisiting old songs as well.

Adult Beginner Mistake #3 Having Too High of Expectations

My motto for life is “keep your expectations low and you won’t be disappointed.”

There’s a difference between setting goals and having unrealistic expectations. If you have unrealistic expectations, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment and frustration.

You have to learn to enjoy small victories when it comes to learning the violin. Not to be cliche, but it’s all about the journey.

The violin is not something you can conquer which brings me to my next common mistake.

Adult Beginner Mistake #4 Thinking of the Violin As Something To Conquer or a Box to Check

I’ve learned that people who want to learn the violin are pretty cool people with different hobbies and interests. As adults we tend to think of things we want to accomplish. I want to learn how to bake my own bread—check! I want to raise my own chickens—check! I want to get my pilot’s license—check!

I want to learn to play the violin—che….no. The violin is not something you can ever check off. It’s not something you can conquer, so don’t even try to conquer it. You will never master the violin. I’m not saying that to discourage you. The fact that you will never master this instrument, is part of its allure.

If you find joy in little victories and understanding little secrets of the violin,  then you’ll see the violin as part of your life’s journey and not something you have to conquer or check off. And when you approach learning the violin that way, you’ll make more progress and you’ll have fun doing it.

So I hope these tips help you as an adult learning to play the violin. Let me know in the comments below if you feel like you make these mistakes or if there are other mistakes you’ve made and what you’ve done to overcome those problems.

Happy Practicing!

Down Bow, Up Bow, Slurs, or Separate? Choosing Good Violin Bowings

How do you know when to use a down bow or an up bow? What’s the difference between down bows and up bows? How do you add in bowings when none are written? How do you change bowings when they are written? Are there any rules for choosing good violin bowings?

These are all very common questions about violin bowing that don't get enough attention. Let’s dive into the world of violin bowings!

Down Bows or Up Bows: How to Choose the Correct Bowing Direction

First let’s talk about up bows and down bows. Down bows are when the bow moves from the frog towards the tip. Up bows are when they bow moves from the tip towards the frog. Down bows and up bows are notated by two different symbols.

In general (and this is very general), use down bows for strong beats or down beats and up bows for off beats or weak beats. If you have a single pickup note, it’s usually an up bow. Some passages might feel awkward starting on a down bow, or they might feel awkward starting on an up bow, sometimes it doesn't really matter.

To understand if you should use a down bow or an up bow, try experimenting with both and see what makes sense. You can also try starting in different parts of the bow. This can greatly affect how comfortable and natural the bowing feels.

Down Bows vs. Up Bows: General Rules for Violin Bowings

Most “rules” in music can be broken! But here are some general rules for choosing between down bows and up bows on the violin.

Use down bows for:

• Strong beats or down beats

• Forte or loud sections

• Accents

• When you need to travel to the upper half of the bow

• Decrescendos

• Long, slow bows (especially when they have a decrescendo at the end)

• The last note of a phrase or song (especially when the last note ends with a decrescendo)

Use up bows for

• Weak beats or pick up notes

• Piano or softer sections

• When you need to travel to the frog

• When approaching a note that needs to be played “off” the string

• Crescendos

• The last note of a song when you want to end with a flourish, a crescendo, or come off the string.

Slurs and Separate Notes

A slur is when we connect multiple notes into one bow. This bowing is notated by a curved line connecting all of the notes in the slur.

Separate notes, or notes that are not connected by slurs are notated different ways. Most often, notes that are separate don’t have any indication other than the absence of a slur. Sometimes separate notes have individual down bows and up bows over each note. Other times you will notice dots or dashes over the notes to indicate articulation and to show that each note is distinct or separate and not slurred together. Playing each note on a different bow is sometimes often referred to as a detaché bow stroke.

How to Choose Good Violin Bowings

Choosing good violin bowings depends on several factors. I would break down my bowing strategy into five groups: ability/ease of playing, sound, tempo, style, and necessity. Let’s talk about each violin bowing strategy!

Ability: How the Level of Your Playing Affects What Bowings You Choose

Sometimes I’ll see a printed bowing and think, “there's no way I can play that bowing!” Or at least, I’m not ready to do it yet!

So I change the bowing to make it easier for my playing ability. For instance, if I’m learning a piece and the printed bowing wants me to slur eight notes in one bow, I might split that up until the tempo is faster and I’m ready to tackle all of those notes in one bow. If I’m dealing with big string crossings, I usually avoid a slur because it’s harder to make it sound good. It’s fine to change bowings to make it easier on yourself. Although you also want to challenge yourself to be able to play more difficult bowing combinations sometimes as well!

Slurring two notes will be easier than slurring four notes at slower tempos.

Easier

Harder

Sounds: Choosing Violin Bowings Based on the Sound You Want to Portray

This is where slurred bows or separate bows come in to play. If I want a smoother sound, I’ll slur the notes together. How much do I slur? Do I slur two notes, three notes, four notes? It depends on the tempo and how much bow I want to use, and what I can comfortably fit into one bow. Separate bowings have their place too and often add to a variety in sound. If EVERYTHING is slurred together in various combinations of slurs, playing detaché or using separate bows can make something stand out (in a good way or a bad way!) It depends on the sound you’re aiming for.

Tempo: Speed Affects What Violin Bowings You Should Use

This is a big one that I don’t think we think about enough. Tempo plays a big factor when determine what bowing you should choose.

The slower something is, the harder the slurs and long bows will be to play on the violin. It’s much easier to slur eight sixteenth notes in a fast tempo than eight quarter notes in a slow tempo. This is also one reason why the bowings might change from your initial “learning” tempo, to your actual performance-ready tempo.

Style and Musicality: Choosing Violin Bowings for Different Musical Styles

When it comes to musicality, more advanced bow strokes come in to play like hooked bowings, louré bowings, “off” the string strokes like spiccato and staccato, or even bow lifts. As you get a feel for different styles of playing (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Fiddle) you’ll get an idea for what bow strokes would work best in certain areas. When it comes to musicality, if you have an important, long, accented note you would probably want to start it on a down bow at the frog. If you want to start something very softly, you would start at the tip on an up bow.

Necessity: Choosing Violin Bowings Often Depends on What Needs to Happen

A lot of decisions fall into this category. You might change a bowing somewhere just to make a bowing further down the line work out. Sometimes certain bow strokes or bowings are used for musicality, but sometimes they’re more for bow planning. For instance, if there was a certain note you really wanted to start at the frog, you might slur the previous notes into one long up bow to get you where you need to be. Use the bow as a tool to help you!

When You Can’t Change the Bowings

As a violin teacher, I always encourage my students to make their own decisions when it comes to choosing bowings. If there is a bowing you don’t like, as long as you are consciously changing it and have a good reason, that’s fine with me!

However, there are certain times when changing a bowing to fit your own needs is a no-no. And that’s orchestra time! Everyone needs to bow in the same direction in orchestra. So if you’re part of an orchestra, coming up with your own violin bowings probably isn’t the best idea unless you are the concertmaster or principal second! However, if you do have suggestions for bowings, ask your section leader or conductor.

The Takeaway When it Comes to Choosing Violin Bowings

So as you can see, when it comes to deciding on violin bowings the main thing to remember is…it depends. Choosing good violin bowings depends on your ability, the tempo, style characteristics, and your own personal decisions of musicality and phrasing. Most of all, deciding what bowing to choose comes down to trial and error. And this is where experimenting comes in handy. And you know what I think about experimenting!

Happy Practicing!

P.S. The bow is your most useful tool for creating musicality, expression, and phrasing. Do you want to learn more about how to control the bow, relax while playing, and develop a better sound? The Secret to Better Bow Control is just one of the courses you get access to when you become a Meadowlarker and sign up for my online studio! Learn more here.

The Ultimate Guide to Adult Fiddle and Violin Camps

Attending an adult fiddle camp is one of the best ways to motivate your playing. Adult camps for fiddle or violin usually offer workshops, classes, jam sessions, performances, dances, and ensemble playing over a few days or weekends.

You don’t have to be an expert player to attend these adult camps. Unless otherwise noted, all of these adult music camps are great for people of all ages and skill levels, from beginner to advanced players!

However, while some camps do offer courses for brand new beginners, you probably do want to show up with some basic skills. And by basic skills I mean being able to bow and produce a decent sound and being familiar with left hand notes and basic finger patterns. The more fundamentals you know beforehand, the more you will get out of the camp. But don’t worry, if you’re not ready, I can help!

Whether you love fiddle, Celtic, gypsy jazz, classical, Scandinavian, Cajun, or any other style of playing, there’s a camp for you!

In this directory, you’ll find a list of adult fiddle camps and adult classical violin camps, their locations, the style of playing they focus on, and the general time period in which they occur.

Locations vary wildly, but most adult music camps occur in idyllic locations, like the redwood forests of California, beautiful Nova Scotia, or even fiddling sailing trips around the coast of Scotland.

Start packing your bags, get your violin ready, and enjoy browsing my ultimate guide to adult fiddle and violin camps!

Or skip ahead!

Adult Fiddle and Violin Camps in Canada

Adult Fiddle Camps in the United Kingdom

Adult Fiddle and Violin Camps in Europe

Virtual Adult Fiddle Camps

Adult Fiddle Camps by Famous Fiddlers

Adult Fiddle and Violin Camps By State

Alabama

Alabama Folk School

About: Various workshops and retreats focusing on old-time music and crafts.

Date Range: Varies

Style: Old Time

Location: Nauvoo, Alabama

https://campmcdowell.org/dates-rates

California

California Bluegrass Association Summer Music Camps

About: Jams, classes, concerts, and dances.

Date Range: Summer

Style: Bluegrass

Location: Grass Valley, California

https://californiabluegrass.org/summer_music_camp/smc-home/

Julian Family Fiddle Camp

About: Acoustic music camp for people of all ages and musical abilities. Located at a rural retreat near a historic mining town.

Date Range: May

Style: Appalachian and Bluegrass

Location: Julian, California

https://californiabluegrass.org/cbaevent/julian-family-fiddle-camp/

Lark Camp

About: Learn traditional styles from all over the world.

Date Range: Summer

Style: Traditional

Location: Mendocino Woodlands, California

https://www.larkcamp.org

SoCal Chamber Music Workshops

About: One week workshop for adult amateur chamber musicians. Great for intermediate or advanced players.

Date Range: Summer

Style: Classical chamber music

Location: Claremont, California

https://www.socalchambermusic.com

Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School

About: Alasdair Fraser’s Scottish fiddle camp in the redwood forests of Northern California.

Date Range: August

Style: Scottish fiddling

Location: Boulder Creek, California

http://www.valleyofthemoon.org

Colorado

Colorado Roots Music Camp

About: Multiple camps with small class sizes featuring a wide variety of styles.

Date Range: Summer

Style: Varies but include bluegrass, folk, blues, swing, Irish, and more.

Location: Divide, Colorado

https://www.rmmc.org/roots/

Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp

About: Daily fiddle classes, contra and square dances, jam sessions, concerts, and opportunities to hike and swim.

Date Range: Summer

Style: Varies but includes Old Time fiddle, Cape Breton, Klezmer and many other styles

Location: Golden Bell Camp, Colorado

https://www.rmfiddle.com

Florida

Florida Fiddlers Convention

About: Workshops, jams, concerts, string band contest, and a homemade pie contest!

Date Range: October

Style: Fiddle

Location: Keystone Heights, Florida

https://flafiddlers.wordpress.com

Kansas

Sunflower Ragtime Orchestra

About: Rehearse and perform popular orchestral music of the early 1900s with other adult amateur musicians.

Date Range: Summer (2 Sessions)

Style: Ragtime, Orchestra

Location: Olathe, Kansas

https://www.musicsmiths.net/sro

Medieval Music Sumer Camp

About: Explore the music of the 12th and 13th centuries on period instruments.

Date Range: Summer

Style: Medieval

Location: Metropolitan Conservatory, Overland Park, Kansas

https://www.metropolitanconservatorykc.com/medievalmusiccamp

Heartland Chamber Adult Workshop

About: A four-day workshop where you are coached on chamber music by members of the Kansas City Symphony.

Date Range: Summer

Style: Classical chamber music

Location: Prairie Village, Kansas

https://www.heartlandchambermusic.org/adultworkshop

Kentucky

Cowan Creek Mountain Music Festival

About: Classes, jam sessions, and dancing for adults and kids in the beautiful Appalachian mountains of eastern Kentucky.

Date Range: Last week in June

Style: Kentucky mountain music

Location: Whitesburg, Kentucky

http://cowancreekmusic.org

Louisiana

Dewey Balfa Cajun and Creole Heritage Week

About: Immersive, multi-day lessons, workshops, and dances including instruction on Louisiana music, crafts, and cooking.

Date Range: March

Style: Cajun and Creole

Location: Eunice, Louisiana

https://lafolkroots.org

Maine

Maine Fiddle Camp

About: Workshops, dances, jam sessions for all ages and levels. Several sessions offered.

Date Range: Summer

Style: Traditional

Location: Camp NEOFA, Montville, Maine

https://www.mainefiddlecamp.org

Massachusetts

Country Dance and Song Society

About: Connecting people through the traditions of English Country Dance, contra, and square dance and the music that is an integral part of those traditions.

Date Range: Varies, but mostly Summer

Style: Varies

Location: Virtual and Various Locations in Massachusetts, Maine, and Michigan

https://cdss.org

Minnesota

Bluff Country Gathering

About: Fiddle workshops (and other instruments), concerts, and dances.

Date Range: May

Style: Traditional American Music

Location: Spring Grove, MN

http://www.boveeheil.com/bluff-country-gathering.htm

Adult Chamber Music Retreat

About: A six-day retreat for classical music enthusiasts. For intermediate players or community orchestra members.

Date Range: June

Style: Classical chamber music

Location: Grand Rapids, Minnesota

https://www.thirdcoastchambercollective.com/projects/chamber-camp

Montana

Montana Fiddle Camp

About: Multiple camps on the old-time music tradition in the Little Belt mountains of Montana.

Date Range: May/June

Style: Varies by camp, but includes fiddle and Western swing and more

Location: Monarch, Montana

https://www.montanafiddlecamp.org

New Hampshire

Fiddleheads Jam Camp

About: Jam Camp offers guided jams with focus on jamming essentials and techniques - hearing chords, backup, playing in different styles, soloing and having fun!

Date Range: September

Style: From blues to bluegrass, jigs to jazz, cajun to country and more!

Location: Coontoocook, New Hampshire

https://www.fiddleheadscamp.com

New York

The Ashokan Center Music and Dance Camps

About: Jay Unger and Molly Mason’s famous fiddle camp. Various styles of camps held in the serene setting of the Catskill Mountains.

Date Range: Varies

Style: Camps vary but include such styles as bluegrass, Western Swing, Scottish, and Zydeco just to name a few.

Location:

https://ashokancenter.org/camps/

Catskills Irish Arts Week

About: Classes, workshops, dances, and concerts featuring a variety of Irish instruments.

Date Range: Summer

Style: Irish Fiddling

Location: East Durham, New York

https://www.catskillsirishartsweek.com

Scor! String Experiences for Adults

About: Various camps with a focus on ensemble-playing.

Date Range: Varies

Style: Varies: classical and fiddle.

Location: Canandaigua, New York (Finger Lakes Region), and various other places around the U.S.

https://www.scorstrings.com/pages/in-person-events

North Carolina

Blue Ridge Music Week

About: Daily classes for fiddle (and other old time instruments), jam sessions, and concerts.

Date Range: Summer

Style: Old Time Fiddle

Location: Mars Hill, NC

https://www.brotmw.org

John C. Campbell Folk School

About: Year-round weeklong and weekend classes for adults in craft, art, music, dance, and more. Small-sized campus on a scenic 270-acre campus.

Date Range: Varies

Style: Varies

Location: Brasstown, North Carolina

https://www.folkschool.org

Jink and Diddle School of Scottish Fiddling

About: Multiple sessions on Scottish fiddling in the mountains of North Carolina.

Date Range: Summer

Style: Scottish fiddling

Location: Banner Elk, North Carolina

http://www.fiddletree-music.com

The Swannanoa Gathering

About: Various week-long programs in various forms of folk music and dance.

Date Range: Summer

Style: Varies by camp

Location: Swannanoa Valley, near Asheville, North Carolina

https://swangathering.com

North Dakota

International Music Camp/ Adult Community Camps

About: A four-day camp for string orchestra.

Date Range: Summer

Style: Classical Orchestra

Location: International Peace Garden, North Dakota/Manitoba

https://internationalmusiccamp.com/programs-and-sessions/music/adult-community-camps/

Ohio

Ohio Scottish Arts School

About: Classes in Scottish Arts of fiddle, harp, highland dance, pipes, and drums

Date Range: Summer

Style: Scottish Fiddle

Location: Berea, Ohio

https://ohioscottishartsschool.com

Oklahoma

Jana Jae Fiddle Camp and Music Festival

About: Individual and group sessions for all ages and levels.

Date Range: Labor Day Weekend

Style: Fiddle

Location: Grove, Oklahoma

https://www.grandlakefestivals.com/fiddle_camp.htm

Pennsylvania

Folk College

About: A weekend of folk music workshops and concerts.

Date Range: May

Style: Folk

Location: Huntingdon, Pennsylvania

https://folkcollege.com

Tennessee

Nashville Acoustic Camps

About: Small size fiddle camps by Megan Lynch Chowning.

Date Range: Varies

Style: Old Time Fiddle

Location: Nashville, Tennessee

https://www.nashvilleacousticcamps.com

Texas

Acoustic Music Camp

About: Learn banjo, mandolin, guitar, & bass with the The Tennessee Bluegrass Band. Learn to pick, jam, and have fun.

Date Range: April (in Conjunction with the Bluegrass Heritage Festival)

Style: Bluegrass

Location: Dallas, TX

https://acousticmusiccamp.com

Live Oak Fiddle Camp

About: Advanced fiddle and guitar instruction on a working cattle ranch.

Date Range: May

Style: Various Fiddle styles

Location: Hallettesville, Texas

https://liveoakfiddlecamp.com

Camp Bluegrass

About: A six-day camp with a focus on individual skills and slow jams.

Date Range: July

Style: Bluegrass

Location: Levelland, Texas

https://campmcdowell.org/dates-rates

Vermont

Northeast Heritage Music Camp

About: A welcoming camp community in the hills of Vermont for a week of traditional music immersion open to all instruments.

Date Range: Summer

Style: Music traditions of New England and eastern Canada along with related traditions from around the world.

Location: Starksboro, Vermont

http://www.northeastheritagemusiccamp.com

Washington

Cascadia Irish Music Week

About: A yearly gathering of learners and teachers of Irish traditional music and culture.

Date Range: Summer

Style: Irish

Location: Olympia, WA

https://www.cascadiairish.org/home

Fiddle Tunes

About: It’s a week-long, total-immersion workshop with a hallmark of presenting an expansive array of fiddle styles from specific geographic regions of the world.

Date Range: Summer

Style: Varied styles with a focus on fiddle

Location: Port Townsend, Washington

https://centrum.org/program/fiddle-tunes/

West Virgina

Allegheny Echoes

About: Celebration of Appalachian culture and heritage through old time music classes and outdoor activities in the heart of the mountains.

Date Range: Summer

Style: Bluegrass

Location: Marlinton, WV

http://www.alleghenyechoes.com/location

Wisconsin

Hardanger Fiddle Music and Dance Summer Workshops

About:  Intensive Hardanger fiddle and Norwegian dance classes, concerts, culture sessions, and evening parties.

Date Range: July

Style: Hardanger fiddle

Location: Dodgeville, Wisconsin

https://www.hfaa.org

Haugaard’s West Denmark Fiddle School

About: Classes, singing, and dancing.

Date Range: June

Style: Scandinavian and Anglo/Celtic music

Location: West Denmark, Wisconsin

https://www.wdfiddleschool.org

Adult Fiddle and Violin Camps in Canada

Northern Lights Bluegrass and Old Time Music Camp

About: An all-ages music camp prior to the annual Northern Lights Music Festival.

Date Range: August

Style: Bluegrass and Old Time

Location: Ness Creek, Saskatchewan

https://northernlightsbluegrass.com/music-camp/

SOAR: String Orchestra for Adults Retreat

About: An orchestra camp for adult beginners and intermediate players.

Date Range: August

Style: Classical string orchestra

Location: New Denver, British Columbia

https://www.valhallafinearts.org/site/adult-string-orchestra/

The Gaelic College

About: Year-round programming in the culture, music, language, crafts, customs, and traditions of the immigrants from the Highlands of Scotland. Offers students of all ages and skill levels instruction in Gaelic culture and music.

Date Range: Varies

Style: Cape Breton

Location: St. Ann’s Nova Scotia

https://gaeliccollege.edu

International Music Camp/ Adult Community Camps

About: A four-day camp for string orchestra.

Date Range: Summer

Style: Classical Orchestra

Location: International Peace Garden, North Dakota/Manitoba

https://internationalmusiccamp.com/programs-and-sessions/music/adult-community-camps/

Adult Fiddle and Violin Camps in the United Kingdom

Sessions and Sail

About: Scottish sailing trips aboard a tall ship that feature traditional music workshops, sessions, and ceilidhs along the way.

Date Range: Varies

Style: Varies by sailing trip but includes Scottish fiddling, song writing, and bluegrass sailing trips.

Location: Most voyages start from Oban, Scotland

https://sessionsandsail.com/home

Fèis Glenn Albainn

About: A long weekend on the shores of Loch Ness to develop skills in song, dance, and traditional music.

Date Range: February

Style: Scottish

Location: Fort Augustus, Scotland

http://www.feisgleannalbainn.co.uk

Fèis Rois Adult Féis

About: A three day retreat catering to all abilities, from beginner to advanced. No previous knowledge of traditional music required. Violins are even provided for beginning classes!

Date Range: May

Style: Scottish

Location: Ullapool, Scotland

https://feisrois.org/residential-feisan/adult-feis/

Blazin in Beauly

About: A workshop run by Blazin Fiddle with various class options from “Gently Paced” to “Super Advanced”

Date Range: October

Style: Scottish

Location: Beauly, Scotland

https://blazininbeauly.com

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig

About: Various camps and short courses held at the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture

Date Range: Varies

Style: Scottish

Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland

https://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/short-courses/?lang=en

Adult Fiddle and Violin Camps in Europe

Scandia Camp Mendocino

About: Dance, music, and more!

Date Range: Summer

Style: Scandinavian

Location: Norway and Sweden

http://www.scandiacampmendocino.org

Sore Fingers Summer School

About: Europe’s leading organization for Bluegrass and Old Time Music Camps.

Date Range: October and Easter

Style: Bluegrass

Location: Kingham, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

https://www.sorefingers.co.uk

Grappelli Django Summer Camp

About: A long weekend of workshops and jam sessions hosted by some of the world’s most famous Gypsy jazz musicians.

Date Range: August/September

Style: Gypsy jazz

Location: The Netherlands

https://www.grappellidjangocamp.com

Virtual Adult Fiddle and Violin Camps

Fiddle Hell

About: Online workshops, concerts, and jams.

Date Range: April

Style: Bluegrass, Blues, Cajun, Cape Breton, East European, Electric, Irish, Jazz, Jazz Manouche, Klezmer, Latin, Mexican, New Acoustic, New England, Old-Time Southern, Québécois, Scandinavian, Scottish, and Swing styles. 

Location: Online

https://www.fiddlehell.org

Adult Camps By Famous Fiddlers

These camps and workshops are led by well-known performing fiddlers and violinists. Locations and dates vary as many musicians hold workshops around the world. Check the musician’s webpage for more information.

Alasdair Fraser Camps and Workshops

Date Range: Varies

Style: Scottish Fiddle

Location: Varies

https://alasdairfraser.com/camps-workshops/

O’Connor Method String Camp

About: Mark O’Connor’s music instruction camp based on the O’Connor Method.

Date Range: Summer

Style: American traditional music

Location: Charlotte, North Carolina

https://oconnormethodstringcamp.com

3 Easy Fiddle Tunes for Violin (Free Sheet Music)

These 3 fiddle tunes for violin sound a lot more difficult than they are! If you are learning to play the violin or teaching yourself to play violin, you’ve probably heard these 3 famous fiddle tunes. I’ve also got tutorials for each tune to show you how to play them and impress your fiddling friends!

No matter what your level of playing, stick with your fiddling practice routine. Before you start playing, always warm-up with my fiddling warm-ups and scales. Then start practicing slowly. Gradually ease up the tempo. Remember, as you play faster use less bow. If you are really ready to start fiddling, check out my favorite fiddle books

Helpful Resources

• 20 Steps to Learning the Violin

• Can You Teach Yourself Violin?

• Am I Too Old to Learn Violin? My Honest Opinion

• Sign up for my free course, 3 Bad Habits That Are Killing Your Progress!

Devil’s Dream Violin Sheet Music

Devil’s Dream is a classic fiddle tune. Do you see the pattern? Almost every measure is repeated twice. The measures with string crossings (measures 3-4 and measures 9-10) can be tricky. Practice them slowly in the middle of the bow. Also for measure 3, make sure you have your first finger flattened to cover both the B on the A string and the F# on the E string.

===>Click here for the Devil’s Dream Tutorial.

Swallowtail Jig Violin Sheet Music

Like many Irish Jigs, Swallowtail Jig is in 6/8 time, meaning there are 6 notes in a measure and the 8th note gets the beat. Quarter notes get 2 beats and dotted quarter notes get 3 beats. In the first full measure keep your first finger down on the D and A string at the same time so you can quickly play those notes.

===>Click here to download the free sheet music for Swallowtail Jig. You can also learn all the tips and tricks of Swallowtail Jig with my video lesson on Swallowtail Jig for violin. There’s also a play-along track for Swallowtail Jig on the violin and a fiddle duet for Swallowtail Jig.

Irish Washerwoman Violin Sheet Music

Once you’ve gotten a handle on 6/8 time, try sheet music for Irish Washerwoman. Keep fingers down as much as possible to help you play the notes quickly.

===>Click here to get the free sheet music for Irish Washerwoman + my tutorial!

P.S. If you’re tired of that cheap violin you bought on Amazon and you’re ready to REALLY enjoy playing the violin, I’m here to help you out! I’m on a mission to ban VSOs (violin-shaped-objects). Check out my ultimate guide to he best teacher-approved beginner and intermediate violins.

NOW you can practice happy :)

Overcoming the Struggle of Learning to Play Violin

People always say violin is the hardest instrument to learn. Or they say it has a steep learning curve. I disagree with both of those statements. Personally, I believe that every instrument is equally hard to master.

One of the reasons people give up on the violin is that they never realize where the real struggle is. I'm about to tell you.

Violin isn't necessarily harder than other instruments. The thing about violin is that it has a low threshold for frustration.

Think about it. You make some scratchy noises with your bow and you start questioning your whole purpose in life. You get filled with self-doubt and wonder if you're wasting your time. How do I know? ​I've been there!​

I played guitar for 3 years before I ever picked up the violin and I never recall having a soul-searching, doubt-filled, tear-brimming moment after strumming some guitar chords that didn't sound great.

Violin is different. It's easy to get frustrated. The real struggle with the violin is not learning where to place your left hand fingers or how to get a good tone. The biggest struggle with playing violin is overcoming the mental frustrations you impose on yourself.

Once you realize this, you'll understand your greatest obstacle in achieving your dreams is your own mind.

Now let’s talk about WHY people get frustrated so easily and how to fix it.

First, you need to think about the negative cycle of...not practicing!

It's important to practice the violin often, even if it's just for a few minutes. I do recommend taking off at least one day a week to refresh. Make it a goal to practice at least 5-6 days a week.

There's more to it than just not practicing. Not practicing the right way can yield the same results as not practicing at all.

When I first started playing violin, I would practice for 4 and 5 hours a day with okay results. When I finally figured out how to practice as a college student, I could get more accomplished in less time with little or no frustration.

If you would like to get more accomplished in less time, watch the video lesson here on my ultimate practice routine.​

Basically you want to do stretches, warm-ups, scales, etudes or exercises, a solo piece, something fun you do well, and also take some time to experiment.

Whoa! That sounds like a lot! I thought you just said practice every day, even if just for a few minutes? How do I fit all of this in?

Well, each one of those items doesn't have to take 15 minutes. For instance, here's how you could break it down for someone that's been playing for a few months.

• Stretches: 1 minute

• Warm-ups: Playing open strings (no left hand). 2 minutes

• Scales: 3-5 minutes

• Exercises/Etudes: 5-10 minutes

• Solo Piece: 10-15 minutes

• Something Fun You Do Well: 2 minutes

• Time to Experiment: There are no rules when you experiment. Do it for 3 seconds or 3 hours

So you see, that routine could easily fit into half an hour, or maybe two twenty-minute sessions. As you progress, you can scale it up if you want to spend more time on each item.

Now I know life gets in the way. Here's what I want you to do if you don't have time to do your full routine. Only do open strings. Yep, that's it. If all you do is open strings every day, I guarantee, you'll make progress!

There's one more reason people get frustrated with the violin and quit. They think learning violin is a continual upward slope. It’s more like stairs with a combination of progress and plateaus.

You’re going to reach plateaus with certain skills. That’s expected. Don’t get frustrated. Realize you’ve reached a plateau and focus on another skill. Give yourself some time and pretty soon you’ll be making progress again.

People also don't rejoice in small victories. The road to being the musician you want to be is comprised of lots of tiny steps. Find joy in each of those steps and you will always love playing the violin.

One of my favorite quotes is: "Make the most of all that comes and the least of all the goes."

Rejoice when you do something well. And when you don't do something well, learn from it and let it go.

To sum it up, here's what you want to take away.

1. Practice every day even if it's just open strings

2. Develop a practice routine and stick with it as much as you can

3. Rejoice in small victories

Those three items are the keys to making progress on the violin and squashing frustration in its tracks.

For more practicing tips, join me in my ​members-only 30 Day Practice Challenge​ and find a new way to get more enjoyment out of your practice routine every day.

Steps for Sticking with the Violin

So is violin worth it? I think so! There's a reason I stopped playing all those other instruments to focus on the violin. Sometimes the things in life that involve the most struggle also have the greatest rewards.

Those frustrations you're dealing with? I've dealt with all of them and overcame them all! Here's my tips to help you master the mental aspect of playing violin.

• Tell someone you're playing the violin. Whether that's in person or on social media. Accountability helps you stick with something. When you start sharing with people that you play the violin you'll probably hear these two statements, "I always wanted to learn violin" or "I used to play violin..." and then you'll realize how special you are for plugging away at this tantlyzing instrument.

• Listen. Listen. Listen. Listen to music all the time. Fiddle, classical, gypsy, whatever. Mix it up. Stay surprised. Attend live events as much as you can. Listening is the number one thing you can do to stay motivated. Need some ideas? Here's my ​ultimate playlist.​

• Don't set unrealistic goals or expectations. That's just setting yourself up for failure. Learn to enjoy the journey of small accomplishments.

• Play for people. I'm super introverted but playing for people is a great source of joy. Make yourself do it and you'll be happy you did!

• Join a jam session, ​my members-only community forum​, or local orchestra. Playing with others is a great way to stay motivated. Sometimes you just have to jump in feet first and do it.

• Make progress videos. Record yourself. You don't have to listen to it if you don't want to (although it's a great help). In a few weeks, record yourself again. Get a good collection and then see all the progress you've made.

• ​Submit videos and get my feedback on your playing​ through my Online Studio Membership

If you're just starting to play violin, or thinking about starting, don't let this scare you away. Yes, violin is a challenge but if you have the right mindset and a good foundation of the basics, you can learn to play the music you've always wanted to play. If you are brand new, check out my ​"Getting Started"​ articles and videos.

Happy Practicing!

~Lora

10 Best Violins for Beginners [2024] A Violin Teacher’s Ultimate Guide

You’ve decided you’re ready to learn to play the violin! Then you start researching beginner violins. If you are scouring the internet, asking yourself, “what’s the best beginner violin to buy,” you aren’t alone. It’s an overwhelming decision. Unfortunately, the market is saturated with cheap, poorly made VSOs (violin-shaped-objects). Many of my students show up to their first lesson with these inferior “violins.” They are difficult or impossible to tune, produce an awful tone, and come with low-quality bows, chin rests, and other accessories. 

Students with low quality violins generally take one of two paths. 1. They get frustrated and quit. 2 They get frustrated and buy a better violin. Learning to play the violin or teaching yourself to play violin is hard enough. You shouldn’t have to struggle with a VSO as well.

Trying to make an informed choice on such an important purchase can be difficult. Reading beginner violin reviews can be misleading and confusing. Everyone has an opinion, so who can you trust?

To save you time, money and frustration, I’ve created an ultimate guide to helping you choose the best beginner violin. I’ve had experience with every violin I’m about to tell you about. I’ve either played the violins myself, have students who own the violins, or have heard about them from other violin teachers. In this guide, I’ll answer these questions. Click to skip ahead to each section.

• What makes a good beginner violin?

• What makes a violin “advanced?”

• How much money should I spend on a violin?

• What are the best violin brands under $500?

• What are the best violins by price range?

• What are the 10 best beginner and intermediate violins?

• What violin brands to avoid?

• What violin would I buy?

You may also having questions about buying vs. renlfting your first violin. If you are buying a violin for a child or young adult, you’ll also want to measure in order to get the right size.

These other resources may be helpful if you are just starting to learn violin:

• Learn to Play the Violin in 20 Steps

• Can You Teach Yourself to Play Violin? Yes! Here’s 3 Reasons Why

• Am I Too Old to Learn the Violin? A Violin Teacher’s Honest Opinion

If you’re looking for a better bow, check out my recommendations in my article: Best Violin Bow: A Violin Teacher’s Guide to Choosing the Right Bow.

Let’s get started!

What Makes a Good Beginner Violin?

Good materials

Real violins are made of quality materials. Many cheap violins come with plastic parts, wood that hasn’t been dried properly, or wood painted to look like real ebony (the fingerboard). Substandard parts means the violin will never function the way it is supposed to.

Proper Set-Up

Any violin you purchase should be correctly “set-up” by a luthier before being sent to you. Many cheap, factory violins lack this important step. A luthier will make sure the bridge is the correct curvature (otherwise you’ll hit other strings no matter how you bow). They will also ensure the strings are the proper tension, so you don’t have to be a weight-lifter just to put a finger down. A luthier will also ensure the pegs are correctly installed and other parts are functioning before shipping the violin to you.

Easy to tune

Why is tuning so important? You must tune every time you play so that your muscle memory develops correctly. Having a violin that won’t stay in tune wastes practice time and lesson time. 

VSOs (violin shaped objects) can be notoriously impossible to tune. A quality beginner violin will have pegs that correctly fit their holes and be relatively easy to tune. I’ve seen some VSOs come with plastic pegs, meaning the pegs will slip no matter what.

Even violins with well-fitted traditional wooden pegs are subject to changes in humidity that can make tuning difficult or downright impossible sometimes. The answer to the age old problem of tuning is geared pegs, also known as perfection pegs or planetary pegs. Geared pegs look like traditional wooden pegs, but they work like the tuning pegs on guitars, making tuning a breeze. No more stuck or slipping pegs. No more loose strings from changes in weather. Tuning only takes a few seconds. You will rarely, if ever, need to use your fine tuners, even for your E string. I use geared pegs on all of my violins. I will never go back to traditional pegs! Not all violins come with the option for perfection pegs, but I’ve been able to find a few that do offer this wonderful upgrade.

What should be included?

Most beginner violins should come as an outfit, which includes a violin, case, bow, and maybe some rosin. Not all beginner violins do, but that’s okay. You can choose which accessories you want. Be very wary of outfits that include lots of accessories, like tuners, extra strings, shoulder rests, and method books. These other items are often cheap add-ons that you will probably end up throwing away anyway. 

What makes a violin "advanced?"

Don’t let violin nomenclature confuse you. When looking at any any violin website, violins are divided into beginner, intermediate, advanced, and professional level categories. That doesn’t mean that you have to be an advanced player to handle an advanced level violin. It’s actually quite the opposite. Advanced violins make it EASIER to sound good. Give a beginner an advanced model violin and they will instantly have a better tone. On the other hand, certain beginner violins will only sound good in the hands of a professional.

How much money should I spend on a violin?

After watching the violin market for the past 20 years, I’ve been able to tell the price line between VSO and real violins. Generally speaking, don’t buy any violin outfit for under $200. Anything cheaper than this is not worth buying. 

If you are unsure if you will stick with the violin and just want to “try it out,” don’t fall for these cheap VSOs. I guarantee you, you won’t like it. Some of these “violins” are essentially worthless after you purchase them. No one else will want them either. But if you buy a real violin, and later decide you don’t want it, you can always resell it! Some of the violins around $150-$200 might be playable, but they will come with cheap strings, poor sound quality, and a list of items you might need to tweak to get it easy to play. Skip the hassle, spend $50-$100 more dollars and get a violin you won’t have to keep messing with.

Violins around $200-$350 are considered beginner violins. The violins on the lower end of that range will get the job done, but they are “student” violins. For those who just want to try violin, or for young children who are growing and changing sizes quickly, these violins are fine. A violin in the $300 range is suitable for beginners with a more discerning ear.

$350-$450 is the price point for more advanced beginner violins. These violins should last you a year to three years if you are making consistent progress. They won’t “give out” after three years, but by that time your skill level could benefit from a better violin.

$450-$550 A good price range for older children or adults who will be able to easily distinguish the better quality.

$550-$1000 If you don’t want to worry about having to buy another violin as your skill progresses, look for violins in this range. This price range bridges the gap between beginner and intermediate violins. 

$1000 + This will get you into the range of intermediate and advanced violins. Violins at this price point and above offer quality woods and workmanship. If you’re serious about the violin, instruments in this price range will offer the best quality of sound and allow you to progress and won’t hold you back.

What are the best violin brands under $500?

• Tower Strings

• Fiddlerman

• Gliga Violins

• Knilling

• Franz Hoffman

• Carlo Lamberti

Tower Strings

The Tower Strings line of beginner violins is sold by Fiddlershop. These entry level violins are the best beginner violins in the industry, in my opinion. Since they are sold by Fiddlershop, every violin is tested by a luthier before being shipped. That means your violin is ready to play out of the box—with a little tuning of course!

Fiddlerman

Fiddlerman violins are sold by Fiddlershop, a company that is relatively new to the violin scene. Due to great customer service and exceptional products, Fiddlershop is quickly making a name for itself as a go-to store for all things violin. The Fiddlerman violins offer great quality for a good price. And yes, Fiddlerman violins can be played by fiddlers and classical violinists just the same! All violins sold by Fiddlershop are tested and played by a luthier before being shipped, so you know your violin will sound good. My favorite part about Fiddlerman? They will custom install perfection pegs on any violin you purchase. Plan to add about $100 dollars for this upgrade which I would deem essential. I use perfection pegs on all of my violins and I will never go back to traditional wooden pegs. Being able to easily tune your violin could make the difference between loving this instrument, and hating it. Trust me. 

Gliga Violins

Gliga violins are handmade in Romania. They offer a wide range of violins for all levels and budgets. One thing that sets Gliga apart is their ability to let you customize your violin. You can choose the varnish color, tailpiece, bow, and strings—allowing for a violin that is uniquely yours. 

This makes Gliga special because you can purchase a quality violin with the standard set-up and get a great violin for a budget price. Then, make upgrades according to your budget. 

Knilling

Knilling is a well-known name brand for beginners. My first violin was a Knilling and I still use it for traveling around. Knilling is also one of the few brands that offers violins with perfection pegs (geared pegs that make tuning SO easy). 

Franz Hoffman

Franz Hoffman violins are made in China but are set-up and sold by Shar Music, one of the well-known violin dealers. Franz Hoffman offers a long line of beginner violins and their Amadeus model is one of the cheapest, good quality beginner violins you can buy.

Carlo Lamberti

Another maker sold by Shar Music, Carlo Lamberti offers some upgrades in sound quality for an advanced beginner level violin. These violins may cost a little more, but you will have a violin that will last you through your beginning stages.

What are the best violins by price range?

• $180-$250—Tower Strings Entertainer, Gilga Genial, Franz Hoffman 

• $250-$350—Tower Strings Rockstar, Tower Strings Legend, Fiddlerman OB1, Gliga Gems 2,

• $350-$450— Fiddlerman Apprentice, Gliga Gems 1,

• $450-$550—Fiddlerman Concert, Gliga Genova, Carlo Lamberti

• $550+—Fiddlerman Artist, Gliga Gama,

Top 10 Beginner and Intermediate Violins

If you want a basic overview, here are my top ten picks for the best beginner to intermediate violins. Click to skip ahead.

1. Tower Strings Entertainer Violin

2. Tower Strings Rockstar Violin

3. Fiddlerman OB1 Violin

4. Gliga Gems 2 Violin

5. Tower Strings Legend Violin

6. Fiddlerman Apprentice Violin

7. Fiddlerman Concert Violin

8. Franz Hoffman Amadeus Violin

9. Knilling Perfection Violin

10. Carlo Lamberti Sonata Violin

Best Beginner Violin Reviews

Tower Strings Violins

Tower Strings offer three entry-level violins: The Entertainer, the Rockstar, and the Legend. These violins surpassed all of my expectations for a beginner level violin. They don’t look or feel like beginner level violins. The have a beautiful finish and little touches like mother of pearl inlays on the pegs and tailpiece give the violin a high-quality appearance. Their wonderful tone and ease of playability make these violins my top pick for beginner violins. At a starting price of $269, they also happen to be one of the most affordable violin outfits.

The outfits come with brazilwood bows and standard entry-level strings but I would highly recommend upgrading to the Fiddlerman carbon fiber bow and the Fiddlerman synthetic core strings. The strings were the best beginner strings I have ever played—even tone and bright, complex sound. The bow made playing very easy and forgiving (not always the case with beginner violins). The combination of strings and the carbon fiber bow made for such an enjoyable playing experience that I would highly recommend them. When you click “add to cart” you will have the option to upgrade.

The violins come as an outfit with a case, bow, rosin, tuner, shoulder rest, cleaning cloth, mute, and beginner’s guide. Literally everything you need to get started playing immediately. The violins I received were almost perfectly in tune when they arrived. A little tuning and you are ready to learn violin.

As with all Fiddlershop violins, your violin is inspected and played by a luthier before being shipped so your violin is ready to go when you get it. This is big, and it’s not something you are going to get when ordering a violin form a mega online store.

Which one should I get? With this brand of violins, you can rest assured that the more money you spend, the better violin you will receive. The Entertainer was wonderful and would suit any beginner just violin. I noticed an increase in tone quality with the increase in price of the other violins, as well as more beautiful wood on the back. If you want a little bit better sound, spring for the Rockstar or Legend.

If you want to make tuning really easy on yourself, Fiddlershop now sells the Entertainer EasyTune. The EasyTune comes with geared pegs already installed which makes tuning so much easier. (I have geared pegs installed on my violin and I’ll never go back to traditional pegs.) Fiddlershop is one of the only online retailers that will install geared pegs on any of their violins before they’re shipped to you (you just have to ask for it). But with the EasyTune, you can purchase the violin with geared pegs already installed. Win win!

Want to really save money? Fiddlershop often has discounted B stock violins for sale. They are perfectly playable with minor cosmetic defects. Check out the discounts here!

Pros

• Most affordable beginner-level violin

• Easy to tune (especially if you get the EasyTune)

• Professional-looking finish

• Easy to play

• Sweet, yet powerful tone

• Comes with everything you need to play

• Great customer service

Cons

• There really aren’t any but…Fiddlerman strings and carbon fiber bow are upgrades (well worth it)

Fiddlerman Violins

Fiddlerman violins may be relatively new in the violin world, but they are quickly earning a name as a solid, dependable, good quality beginner violin. Fiddlerman offers two entry level beginner violins, the OB1 and the Apprentice if you are on a tight budget. If you can afford a little more, I would recommend the Concert model which has a powerful sound and a beautiful, strong tone.

What sets these violins apart is that they come with superior strings and bows. The Fiddlerman synthetic core violin strings are the best beginner strings I’ve ever tried (better than Dominants). And the Fiddlerman carbon fiber bow is also the best student level violin bow I’ve ever tried. The combination of Fiddlerman strings with the carbon fiber bow made playing extremely easy and forgivable. Normally this quality of strings and bow would be an upgrade for other outfits, but it is standard with Fiddlerman violins.

All Fiddlerman violins come with a 10 point inspection so you know your violin is set-up in the best way possible. Every violin that is tested and played by a luthier before being shipped. The violin also comes as an outfit with a case, carbon fiber bow, rosin, a mute, cleaning cloth, and a quality violin shoulder rest, and a digital tuner. Normally I say to watch out for outfits that include so many goodies, but these goodies are actually worth having! You literally need nothing else to start playing.

One thing I love about Fiddlerman is that they can install perfection pegs on any violin you buy. Plan to add about $100 plus the cost of the pegs to the price for this upgrade which I deem essential.

Want to really save money? Fiddlershop often has discounted B stock violins for sale. They are perfectly playable with minor cosmetic defects. Check out the discounts here!

If you are willing to spend a little more, I recently had a student buy a Symphony violin and it sounds phenomenal!

Pros

• Fiddlerman Synthetic Core violin strings (my favorite beginner level string)

• Fiddlerman Carbon Fiber Bow (the best beginner bow I’ve ever tried)

• Powerful sound

• Attractive finish

• Comes with everything you need to start playing

• Option to install perfection pegs

• Great customer service

Cons

• These violins sell out quickly so they may not always have your size!

Gliga Violins

UPDATE: Recently, I have seen a significant drop in Gliga’s customer service. They do not always respond to questions or phone calls and can be slow to ship violins. They still offer a good product at a good price, but their lack of communication may be something worth considering when deciding between violin dealers.

Gliga Violins are handmade in Romania and offer the largest selection of sizes, styles, and quality. Their cheapest violin outfit is a Genial 2 which starts at $208 for an entire outfit—that’s a great bargain for a good beginner violin. However, there are several upgrades I would definitely recommend and that will drive the price up at which point you may be better off with a Tower Strings or Fiddlerman violin. There are many levels of quality in the Genial line. The Gems line are the beginner level violins that I would recommend. I recently purchased a Gems 2 and found it to be a decent student violin for the price (around $320 for the violin outfit and shipping.

Since Gliga offers so many choices during checkout, you can choose to go with everything standard for a cheap outfit, or you an upgrade certain aspects. Definitely go with better strings. The standard strings left a lot to be desired. I recommend Evah PIrazzis or Dominants. If you can, upgrade to the Carbon Fiber Bow. I also recommend the Wittner tailpiece which can make changing the strings easier.

Gliga also offers the better quality violins for a little more. If you can, go for the intermediate level Gems 1 or Genova. Their advanced models are the Gama violins. I played a Gama a few years ago and fell in love with it. Although cheaper than my personal violin, it sounded comparable in many ways.

Pros

• Easy to order

• Lots of options on size, appearance, and quality

• Good craftsmanship, beautiful appearance

• Correctly set-up and ready to play

• Great tone

• Standard options allow for a great violin on a budget price tag

• Wooden chin rest (rare in student violins at this price range)

 Cons

• Pegs can be difficult to turn at first

• Standard strings, bow, and tailpiece leave a little to be desired

• Romanian strings don’t have the best sound (choose the upgraded Evah PIrazzis or Dominants). Advanced models come with better strings.

• Standard tailpiece with fine tuners made changing strings difficult (go for the Wittner tailpiece to solve this problem.)

• Customer service is slow to respond to questions, if they respond at all.

Franz Hoffman Amadeus Violin

The Franz Hoffman Amadeus violin is one of the cheapest budget violins. Many of my students have started off with this violin. It’s fairly easy to tune with a decent sound. Craftsmanship is pretty standard. This isn’t a violin you will ohh and ahh over, but it checks all the boxes for an easy-to-play beginner violin. It’s a factory violin, so the focus is on affordability. These violins are set-up and ready to play which puts them above other factory-made violins from mega online stores. Students who progress quickly might need a better violin to match their skills as they progress.

Shar Music, one of the most well-trusted online violin dealers, also offers more options in the Franz Hoffman line as well as various other beginner and intermediate violins.

For around the same price, I would personally rather have the Tower Strings Entertainer violin. Much better quality for just a little more.

Pros

• Affordable

• Set-up and ready to play

• Comes

• Good for young children

Cons

• Standard student quality

• Orange, beginner-looking finish

• Not ideal for quickly advancing students

Knilling Perfection Violin

This brand is a long-time standard in the violin industry for good quality beginner violins. My choice for a Knilling Violin would be the Knilling Perfection model. What’s different about this violin? It comes with geared perfection pegs! 

Having a violin that is easy to tune saves so much time in lessons, which is one reason I love this violin. My students who have this violin can’t say enough about the pegs.

If you want a violin that is super easy to tune straight out of the box, like the Tower Strings Entertainer EasyTune, this is another violin option for you.

Pros

• Easy to tune

• Comes with Perfection Pegs installed

• Great looking finish for the price

• Good sound for beginners

• Great for young children

Cons

• Not the best quality violin for the price

Carlo Lamberti Sonata Violin

This violin offers a good blend between the beginner and intermediate levels with a price point to match. These violins are made in China and then shipped to the U.S. where they receive the correct set-up from a qualified luthier. Some of my students have this violin model and they enjoy a superior, focused tone. This violin comes with a comfortable chin rest, a tailpiece with fine tuners built-in (for ease of changing strings), and Thomastik Vision strings, a good intermediate level set of strings.

Shar Music offers various upgrades in the Carlo Lamberti Line such as the Classic, Symphony, and Master Series.

Pros

• Strong Tone

• Tailpiece with built-in fine tuners

• Good strings

• Good for advancing beginners

Cons

• Doesn’t come as an outfit

What violin brands to avoid?

Many times, a new student will come to a lesson with a violin that won’t stay in tune. The sound is scratchy, the bow is difficult to control, and the strings are difficult to press down. Sometimes the bridge doesn’t have the correct curvature and the student will continuously hit other strings. I can usually guess what brand of violin this is. There are two repeat offenders: Mendini and Cecilo. Many students purchase these violins because they look like decent violins, but they are far from it. While these two companies do make more advanced beginner level violins, they also sell cheap VSOs. While I’ve never tried their more advanced models, I don’t think I want to. When there are so many other great beginner violins out there, why support a company that produces what I would call a gimmick?

Violin Brands To Avoid

• Mendini

• Cecilo

• Eastar

• Lagrima

• JMFinger

• Aliyese

• Amazon Basics

• Sky

• Vangoa

• Amdini

Since there are probably more BAD “violins” out there than good ones, this list could go on and on. 

What violin would I buy?

If I were buying a violin for my own child, I would purchase the Tower Strings Rockstar or Legend Violin with perfection pegs or the Fiddlerman Concert Violin with perfection pegs. Even if I were there to tune it, I would want my own child being very comfortable tuning their own violin, and the perfection pegs make that possible. If I were buying a violin for a very young child, requiring a violin under a 3/4 size, I might go with the Tower Strings Entertainer or Fiddlerman OB1 or Apprentice with perfection pegs.

If I were an adult beginner purchasing a violin for myself? The Fiddlerman Artist Violin with perfection pegs or the Gliga Gama would be my first pick (they are also the most expensive). There is something to be said about having a violin that looks and feels as nice as it sounds. Having something of quality makes you WANT to open the case, look at your beautiful violin, and play it.

If I couldn’t afford that, I’d get a Fiddlerman Concert with perfection pegs or a Gliga Genova.

Shop Wisely

One thing I’ve noticed while searching for “the best beginner violins” is a plethora of websites listing what they claim are the best beginner violins. I’ve found that many of these websites recommend violins that I know from experience are atrocious. As you read their pros and cons on a particular violin, you may be able to tell that the writer has no experience with this violin at all, they are simply regurgitating reviews. While many of these websites are legitimate, many exist to make money off of affiliate links. Affiliate links allow website owners to make a small commission on products, at no cost to the person using the link. I too use affiliate links as a way to help support the cost of the website, but I don’t promote products for the sake of earning a commission. The whole reason I created my website was to educate students and stop them from wasting money on VSOs. 

Don’t be fooled! Purchase a quality violin and you won’t regret it!

Check out my Step by Step Guide to Starting Violin Lessons and double check that you have everything you need to make learning the violin fun with my checklist on What to Buy for Violin Lessons.

Happy Practicing!

How to Play Auld Lang Syne on the Violin (Easy Violin Sheet Music)

Start practicing Auld Lang Syne on the violin to get ready for the New Year! This easy violin sheet music for Auld Lang Syne will make you the star of any New Year’s party!

How To Play Auld Lang Syne on the Violin

First of all, notice the key signature: one sharp. That means all your second fingers on the D string will be “high” or next to 3rd finger. All your 2nd fingers on the A and E strings will be “low” or next to 1st finger.

Notice how the rhythm in the first full measure is repeated throughout the song but just with different notes? That can make it a lot easier to play.

Auld Lang Syne on the violin is relatively slow, so use lots of bow for a great sound!

How to Play Auld Lang Syne on the Violin

In this video lesson on Auld Lang Syne, I’ll teach you how to play this classic song!

Auld Lang Syne Easy Violin Sheet Music

Download the free pdf version of Auld Lang Syne on the violin here.

Auld Lang Syne Violin Sheet Music

Happy Practicing and Happy New Year!

How to Play “Silent Night”: Violin Tutorial and Free Sheet Music

“Silent Night” sounds absolutely beautiful on the violin. But it can be deceptively tricky to get that “Silent Night” sound. In this tutorial I’ll show you how to avoid certain areas of the bow to get that smooth sound you want. We’ll also talk about finger patterns, stretching for those difficult fourth fingers, and how to use your bow to make the beginning and ending notes magical!

Let’s get started learning “Silent Night” on the violin! First download your free sheet music below and then watch the tutorial for all of my tips and tricks. Then play-along with me!

Download and Print Your Free Silent Night Violin Sheet Music Here

Click here to download the free sheet music for Silent Night.

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Sign up for my newsletter below and you’ll get updates anytime I upload new song tutorials (plus get some free violin printable goodies as well!)

Now watch the tutorial here and let’s learn “Silent Night” together on the violin!

Master the Basics: Easy Violin Scales and Arpeggios for Beginners

Hello, fellow violin enthusiasts! I'm Lora from Meadowlark Violin, and today I'm excited to share with you the secrets of mastering three super easy scales and arpeggios tailored for beginners. Scales are the backbone of every violinist's practice routine, serving as the essential building blocks for honing your technique. Whether you've just started playing or have a few weeks or months of playing under your belt, these scales and arpeggios will set you on the right track.

I’ll be teaching you all of these scales by ear, no sheet music required! Learning scales and songs by ear is great for intonation, even if you already read music.

The Magic of Finger Patterns

What makes these scales super easy, you ask? Well, they all share the same finger pattern. That means learning one pattern opens the door to playing three different scales. Understanding finger patterns can simplify the learning process, and repetitive finger patterns don’t just stop with easy scales. As you progress on the violin, you’ll notice advanced scales spanning several octaves can share the exact same finger pattern as another scale in a completely different key. (Learn more about universal scales and violin finger patterns here.)

Dive into D Major

Let's kick off our exploration with the D major scale. With two sharps (F# and C#), we delve into the world of half step pairs. Half steps occur where two fingers are touching on the violin.(Learn more about half step pairs and how scales work here.) F# and G, and C# and D, form our two half step pairs for D major. As we start on the open D string, I'll guide you through the notes, creating a musical journey akin to the first two notes of "Happy Birthday."

On the D string, play the open D string followed by the first finger, second, and third finger. All of the notes will be a whole step apart except for the second and third fingers. These notes are F# and G and that’s one of our half step pairs, so those fingers will be touching. Repeat that exact pattern on the A string for a complete D major scale.

Transition to A Major

Next on our musical adventure is the A major scale. With three sharps (F#, C#, and G#), we adjust our half step pairs. Our new half step pairs are between G# and A, and C# and D. The finger pattern remains consistent, allowing a smooth transition from D major. Simply play the exact same finger pattern, but on the A and E strings. Tada! An A major scale.

Venture into G Major

Our final destination is the G major scale. Utilizing the same finger pattern, we seamlessly navigate between the G and D strings. The magic lies in the continuity of patterns – one pattern, three scales. The consistent approach makes G major as accessible as the previous ones, empowering you to expand your repertoire. Can you determine what the half step pairs are for G major based on the finger patterns? The half step pairs are B and C and F# and G.

Arpeggios Unveiled

Now that we've mastered the scales, it's time to delve into arpeggios – a sequence of individual notes forming a chord. Let’s start with the D major arpeggio, which consists of the notes D F# and A. On the D string, play the open D followed by the second finger. Then move over to the A string. Play the open A followed by the third finger. That’s a basic arpeggio pattern! The same pattern is applied to A major and G major arpeggios, simply start on the A string for an A arpeggio and start on the G string for a G arpeggio.

Conclusion: Embrace the Patterns

In conclusion, mastering the basics of violin scales and arpeggios is akin to unlocking a musical treasure chest. By discerning and embracing these patterns, you pave the way for easier and more enjoyable learning experiences. Remember, the violin might seem intricate, but patterns are your allies.