How to maintain the quality of your violin?

When you really love something, you will take good care of it, as no matter in any given situation, you will not want to lose it.

Similarly, you are passionate about music and you love playing the violin, you must have bought a great quality violin and taking violin lessons Singapore. But do you know that the quality degrades with time since these are natural wood? Does that mean that every now and then, you have to keep purchasing a violin? NO! This clearly means that you have to know the techniques of taking care of the violin.

Not only this instrument has the ability to offer some of the most heart touching rhythms but also it has its own mental advantages on the listeners and player.

But do you know that violin is one of the most fragile wooden instruments that can break if you accidentally drop it or get cracked if it is placed in a dry place for long? Too much humidity can result in expansion, thereby making it impossible to turn the tuning pegs, and oily fingers can damage the violin.

Violin is made by balancing the different delicate parts beautifully to offer timeless sound. The sound of the violin is something that you will fall in love with.

But nothing comes for free, and nothing retains unless proper attention and maintenance are done. Therefore, you must know the way to protect the violin to make sure that the instrument is preserved and can be valued by the coming generation.

Having knowledge on the way to protect your violin can offer value to the investment made.

So let us have a quick look at the way to protect your violin.

Tips to protect your violin:

Wash Your Hands:

When you are starting your practice, you should always start after washing your hands. This makes sure of getting rid of oils and grease in your hands. This is because the presence of oil and grease can result in damaging the quality of the instrument.

For better protection of the wood, the varnish is being used on the wood. This varnish is also valuable to ensure protection against the other surrounding environment. To be more precise, varnishing wood can have a serious impact on the tonal quality.

Even if it is the beginner violin that you are playing, you must start developing the habit of washing this instrument before playing the instrument. Do follow the same thing in your violin lessons.

Get a case:

You cannot fight against nature as summers will be humid and hot while winters will be chilled and cold, but you definitely can find out a way to protect your instrument from getting damaged due to the changing weather.

Therefore, the only way to protect the instrument is by putting it inside the violin case. This ensures protection from any kind of environmental and physical damages.

But how do you understand that the case is really worth the investment?

You need to make sure that it is temperature resistant, protective, and durable.

Make sure that the case is made from strong materials like thick wood, polycarbonate, carbon fiber, and other materials. Avoid cases made of Styrofoam or thin wooden piece.

Durable cases are those that can last for decades. It, therefore, means that the case will have string zippers, hinges, and locks. But ho to understand it the case you chose is durable? You must go for the reputation.

You must know that the popular brands are renowned because of their specific reasons. It will be great if you avoid cases that do not come with any logo or name.

As mentioned above that temperature change can affect the quality and therefore nothing but when a case is made from wood, it can be the right choice for your violin.

Don’t go for the sellers who compels you to buy the carbon fiber as it absorbs heat. There in summers, it is going to hamper your instrument.

After you are done playing, wipe the instrument:

Wiping the instrument after every use can be a great choice. This is a must to prevent caking of the rosin dust and getting the residue.

Even when you don’t know, rosin is the silent killer for the violins. If not noticed and if you keep it growing over time, it can result in creating patches of the violin which is not possible to wipe off with a cloth.

You can find many violin cleaners available in the market that are designed in a way that it becomes a great choice for removing the buildup of rosins. Most of the cleaners consist of alcohol, which is simply a good choice for removing the rosin residue.

Also make sure that you use two different clothes for cleaning the violin. One cloth must be taken for wiping the rosin dust and the other for wiping the violin. Using microfiber cloth for removing rosin dust can become a valuable choice.

Find a violin pouch or instrument blanket for your violin:

You will always find that most of the violin cases comes with an addition violin pouch. This is provided to make sure that the violin is protected from the rosin present on the bow.

When you are carrying the case, rosin dust can get loose from its bow. Despite placing the case in a smooth way on the floor, the little vibrations created while keeping the violin can shake rosin dust. Therefore, when you place a cloth in between the bow and violin, it can protect your instrument.

You will also find that many professional violinists check for the silk pouches. They generally put the instrument inside the pouch, and therefore, no dust particles fall on it when it is inside the case, and you are carrying it.

Check the bridge alignment:

Whenever you are playing the violin, you must check that its bridge is set at a 90-degree angle. While tuning the strings in your violin lessons Singapore, you increase the string tension overtime. Sometimes, these slow pull can result in pulling the bridge forward and resulting in warping slightly.

You must realign the bridge by losing its strings and adjust the bridge top to ensure it becomes straight once again.

Such practice ensures falling off the bridge over time. You always need to keep in your mind that a violin that is preserved well can have more value in the future.

Look for Frayed Strings:

The prime agenda is to change strings that can snap. You will never want to scratch a violin by sudden snapping of strings under tension. Even in worse case, it can directly hit your face.

Properly maintained violin not only preserves the sound but also increases the value of the instrument. Make sure you check every point to make sure that you have an instrument that can get a great value after years.

Check a luthier:

Just like your doctor, you must take your violin to the lither. This practice is a great one, and you definitely need to visit a luthier once a year just to make sure that your violin is fine. The luthier can help you take proper measures for the best sounds and shape. They are experts to can ensure keeping your violin in good condition over time.

If you are taking the violin lessons, your trainers are also an expert with whom you can check your violin.

Bottom Line:

These are some of the most common ways of keeping your violin clean. You will also find your trainers telling you the same thing on the very first day of your violin lessons Singapore about the way to store your violin.