Q:

If I decide to get a violin and mess around with it…

My first thought was to check local pawn shops, but I'm not sure what signs of “quality” or brands to look for – I might end up with something shoddy or discouraging in some other way.

Do you have suggestions regarding where I might get a decent quality violin for not a whole lot of money? (Especially if I later end up wanting to plug it into some electronics.)

Or should I just go dirt-cheap at first, see how it works for me, and then upgrade later?

Money isn't super-tight at the moment, but I don't want to spend more than necessary.

– Ben S

A:

Hey Ben,

The instrument you choose is going to make a huge difference.

A lot of people have come to me saying that they've tried violin and just couldn't get anywhere. They were ready to give up, feeling like there was something wrong with them, when in reality they were working with a violin that was nearly impossible to create a pleasant sound with.

Many violins at the entry level price range are literally unplayable even though they may look like a violin. The internet is full of them! These earned the nickname “VSO” which stands for Violin Shaped Object.

Looks like a violin, but it really isn’t!

You just have to be careful. Here are some general tips about price range, where to shop and how to spot a VSO.

Price Range

Resist the urge to “go dirt-cheap at first” — your hunch is right that a cheap violin could easily be discouraging.

That said, you shouldn’t have to break the bank for your first violin. I've found that $450 for a violin outfit complete with bow and case is the realistic entry level price for something that is good enough to learn on. Any less than that is highly suspect (unless it's some kind of great deal from a friend).

If your budget isn’t in the $450 range, your best alternative is renting. It costs $15-$20 per month to rent a violin of comparable quality, and a portion of the rental fee goes toward your future purchase. It's a fantastic way to give things a try without a huge investment. That said, you still have to make sure the rental violin is a good quality instrument.

From there I see a leap in quality at about $1,000 and then another leap at about the $2,500 price points.

So to wrap up:

-Rent for $20 per month until you're ready to spend $450
-Beginner outfit should be around $450
-Save up to get a $1,000 intermediate violin at about the 1-2 year mark
-Your dream violin may be $2,500 and up

Pick a Shop Carefully 

Go to a dedicated violin shop.

General music stores that sell guitars and/or high school band instruments don't know violins. You'll pay too much for a violin that's poor quality or set up improperly.

I recommend Terra Nova Violins in San Antonio TX, 210-239-4700.

Tell them Jenny sent you! Have some patience and understand they are a small local shop, not an online mega store. You may have to call a couple times and nudge them along. You don't want a violin that's a stock item off a shelf anyway.

Their instruments are worth it and they always take excellent care of my students.

Now that I’ve (hopefully!) convinced you that your first violin should not be the “bargain basement” variety, let’s talk about how to get the most bang for your moderate buck.

How To Know You’re Looking at a VSO

Ah, the dreaded “Violin Shaped Object.” Looks like a violin. Might even smell like a violin. Certainly doesn’t sound like a violin. Here are a few dead giveaways:

Bridge Feet

Look at the photo below (the VSO is on the right). The feet of the bridge of the VSO are thick and rectangular. Also notice that the curve of the bridge is symmetrical. This is a blank bridge that has not been set up. The chunky rectangular feet do not efficiently transfer the vibration to the top of the violin so it will be easier to squeak and the sound you produce will generally be thin. The even curve will make it hard to play the E string without hitting the A unintentionally, which is very frustrating, and playing on D and G strings will be weird too. Not to mention, if a violin is sold with a bridge that looks like this, there is a good chance the rest of the violin is junk.

In contrast, the bridge on the left has been carved and customized by an experienced luthier. Notice the feet are curved and very thin. These have been masterfully customized by a luthier to fit the specific violin. The curve has been artfully shaped to allow easy string changes, including a steeper slope down toward the E string. There is a good chance that you are looking at a decent instrument if this kind of attention has been given to the bridge set up.

Fingerboard

The VSO fingerboard can be made of a soft wood and painted black to imitate ebony. Look under the fingerboard for gaps in the paint. A real violin will be solid black underneath because it is solid ebony.

Purfling

“Purfling” is a fancy word for the very thin strip of inlaid wood around the edge of the body of the violin. Purfling protects the violin body from temperature changes and is a sign of good craftsmanship. VSOs do not have purfling, but rather might have a thin strip of paint to imitate purfling.

Tuning Pegs

A VSO’s tuning pegs can be made of a softer wood and often are not fitted properly to the instrument. This makes it very easy for them to slip. If your violin, or the one you are looking at, goes constantly out of tune, there’s a good chance it’s a VSO.

Strings

Cheap strings sound tinny and harsh. The good quality strings that come with a good violin cost $25-$50 per set and this is part of the value you get when buying something good.

BSO

Only thing as frustrating as a VSO is a BSO: “Bow Shaped Object.” Ironically, BSOs often are not bowed enough and will appear somewhat straight. Or it will bow in the wrong direction curving side to side. You can also sometimes notice sloppy connections where the hair meets the bow.

It’s amazing, but a bow is just as important as the violin!

If you encounter one of these objects I suggest using it for backyard baseball or as a backscratcher, but minimize trying to use it to learn violin!

Location, Location, Location

The store you buy from makes the biggest difference.

I haven’t found any online dealers I can recommend wholeheartedly. Early on in my learning journey I had a $1500 violin from Shar which is a reputable online dealer.

It ended up having a strange problem where the finish was tacky and never fully dried. I ended up getting one from Terra Nova that sounded way better and cost only $1000.

After that experience I've gone local and never looked back.

And like I said before, also avoid music stores that specialize in guitars or school band instruments – their violin selection is likely to be a gorgeous array of VSOs.

Signs of Quality and “Good Brands”

It's not like a guitar where you can buy a good brand and know what you're getting. This is because it's relatively easy to mass produce a good quality guitar. Not so for violin!

You can't tell what you will get based on brand name alone until you get into the very high price ranges of makers.

It’s easy to give a checklist for spotting a VSO (what not to buy), but the only way I know to get the very best for your money is to use a personal connection. Shop extensively with an experienced violinist or find a dedicated violin shop that you trust. I trust my friends at Terra Nova Violins the most, so I send people there.

Another good way to find the best violin shop local to you is to call your nearest symphony and ask where the symphony members go.

Good luck!

Keep me posted,
Jenny

Q:

I want to learn to play some songs that are cool and sound great but are simple enough for a beginner. I don't like the songs beginner books offer —  things like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or worse, songs I’ve never heard of! Can you recommend a good book or specific songs to look for?

– Robert K., age 51

A:

I know exactly what you mean; it is neither fun nor productive to learn songs that you’re unfamiliar with. Because of the fretless nature of violin, you really have to know what you are going for before you can try to play the notes in tune.

I have searched high and low for a replacement to Twinkle as a first violin tune. I planned to proudly stamp my teaching materials with a big circle with an X through it saying “NO Twinkle Taught here!”.

But… as I've gone through the options, I can't find anything that is as beneficial or accessible as a first tune on violin as good ol' Twinkle.

I've looked through beginner fiddle tune books and beginner gypsy violin books, and it's the worst of both worlds: the tunes are completely obscure so you don't know how they are supposed to sound AND they still don't sound very good or fun to play. On top of all that they are also sometimes still too complex for a beginner to tackle without incorporating some bad habits along the way.

Here's my “beginner story”: 

I had no interest in playing classical music, so I studied with an Irish fiddle teacher for the first year and learned about 30 tunes. I didn't know how they were supposed to sound, and my technique was all over the place. I was just kind of winging it to get the tunes out to the best of my ability, but after a year they all still sounded terrible. That's when I went on my quest for a classical teacher to help me sort out these techniques. I went through about 3 teachers over the course of that next year but it all still felt very aimless. I remember sitting on my bed thinking, “Is there just something wrong with me? Maybe my arms just aren't attached right to play violin…” 

Then I found a new teacher who started me on the Suzuki method. At that point I was so desperate to play a single thing with good tone that I didn't care if it was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. After about four months of going through the simple initial steps of the Suzuki method, I was able to go back to some of those Irish fiddle tunes I knew and play them well. After a year and a half of combining Suzuki method with my interest in world fiddle music, I had a few very simple Irish fiddle tunes under my belt that I could play for an audience and people would actually enjoy listening and maybe even dance. At the five year mark I was jamming many styles of world music, but I don't think I would have gotten there without the Suzuki method.

Part of the process of learning violin is developing muscle memory for particular movements: bowing, left hand intonation, certain string crossing patterns, etc… This muscle memory has to be in place before you can put it all together to play nice tunes. If you try to go the other way around, it just makes the whole process take longer and many people quit before they get there because it feels convoluted and frustrating. It's different from guitar or piano where you really can learn great sounding tunes right off the bat just by hitting certain keys or using a certain pattern of frets and strings.

I think the Suzuki method is the BEST for training your body to do those basic techniques. Each piece only introduces one or two new techniques while most tunes that actually sound good combine many techniques. Many of the pieces are recognizable melodies, and it comes with a CD so that you can listen to all the pieces and get them in your head. (I know… yawn….) But it works! And it doesn't take forever. After about 6 months of going through the methodical process of the well designed method, you would be opened up to playing a wide variety of good sounding fiddle tunes.

I've dreamed about creating my own beginner method using simplifications of the cool fiddle tunes I know. Once I started looking closely at the tunes to see what techniques they require, and tried to analyze the sequence in the Suzuki method books, it gave me a much deeper appreciation for how genius Suzuki was. Even if it was possible to create a beginner book just as beneficial only with hipper tunes, I'm frankly not sure I'd have the patience! I'm pretty patient generally, but not like him! This method was his life work:

I have just ordered a new book in the hopes of finding something good: Mark O'Connors Beginner Fiddle Method. I will let you know what I think of it.

All that being said, here is a well organized website with a few beginner violin tunes (including audio so you can hear them): http://www.fiddlestudio.com/search/label/Beginning%20Tunes

Be warned, though: the offerings on this site have many of the common problems I talked about above. The first tune is legitimately a beginner level piece and it doesn't really sound like much more than a bowing exercise. The second piece sounds very nice, but is a HUGE jump in difficulty level.

Good luck and keep me posted!