Violin

Pep

I know absolutely nothing about music.
My 8yr old will start violin lessons soon. Bloody expensive. We must buy a violin.
Question: how much is it reasonable to pay for the instrument???? 10? 100? 1000?
Please don't tell me to ask the teacher, already done that, just I'd like other opinions. Never mind it's hard to speak with the teacher, she's from Uzbekistand and we speak (bad, very bad, very very bad) German.

Bear in mind she will use it only a short time, she is growing fast, soon it will be too small for her.

Thanks,

ddraver

I'm not 100% sure (I played the flute) but there is usually a fairly decent second hand market for such things. Can you try the music teacher at the school or whatever german craigslist is?

bendertherobot

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kinglos-YWA100 ... iolin&th=1

These seem sound. Generally you need to look out for good quality materials and pegs which stay in place. The noise it makes is important but these should be fine.

Matthewfalle

around these parts, see, you can hire them for a trrm at a time from the local kusic education service linked to the schools. we did this with bambina and her clarinet. MF thinks it was about £60 a term and that included one lesson a week, so about EURO348,931. But at least blue passports are coming back.

#skreeeeeechskraaaatch

martinperry

Search Ebay for Stentor - Student 1 or 2 will be more than adequate - 3/4 size I would guess
Buy well 2nd hand (£100-£150) and you should be able to re sell for about what you paid.
My daughter (13) went through grade 1-4 on these.
Grade 5 up - thats a different story - think £1000+, but again, antique instruments can work as investments so long as the little love doesnt trash it!! - Dont get me started on how much Ive just paid for a Grade 6+ cello - violins are easy!!
Also, get a cheap electronic tuner - it will save you endless ear pain!!

Pep

Thanks.
About the size: the teacher says we need 1/4.

bompington

oxoman wrote:

Don't forget the ear protection.

Bompetta is starting violin soon, so ear plugs will be vital.

For all of us.

martinperry

Quite surprised by the 1/4 size thing - perhaps shes very small!! - We transitioned to full size @10 YO - maybe worth going 1/2 size to avoid a very rapid replacement!

darkhairedlord

Tell them to take up electric guitar instead.

veronese68

bompington wrote:

oxoman wrote:

Don't forget the ear protection.

Bompetta is starting violin soon, so ear plugs will be vital.
For all of us.

I was made to do violin lessons when small, my parents made me practice in the upstairs bathroom. They said it was so I could see myself in the mirror and make sure I was doing it right. I don't think that had anything to do with it and it was merely an attempt to get the godawful screeching noise away from them.

Matthewfalle

darkhairedlord wrote:

Tell them to take up electric guitar instead.

The triangle is a belter according to a MF. Joy all round

#ithinkihavegonedeaf

slowbike

I would suggest hiring for at least the first term - ask the school music dept if you don't know of a reasonable music shop - sometimes the local authority will have instruments to hire too.
It won't be an amazing instrument - but it doesn't need to be - it just needs to get the interest and dedication of the student - once they've demonstrated they're keen, then it's time to start looking at better quality instruments.

Pep

Yes, child is very small (but healthy) for her 8yr old age.

capt_slog

bendertherobot wrote:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kinglos-YWA1005-Handcrafted-Student-Acoustic/dp/B019KM37D0/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1536050217&sr=8-5&keywords=starter+violin&th=1

These seem sound. Generally you need to look out for good quality materials and pegs which stay in place. The noise it makes is important but these should be fine.

I think you're about right there too. (pricewise)

Youngest Slog wanted to play at school when he was round 9-10. I bought him a violin from a local specialist shop where they had them at £1000s, I paid £50. That was 14 years ago. It worked okay from what i could tell

Ben6899

Give me a shout, if you want German lessons. Can't help you with the violin though!

Pross

Definitely second hand. There are so many kids that start playing instruments for a term and then give up, quite often the parents are from the camp that their child is going to be a virtuoso and has to have the best money can buy for their first lesson so there's bargains out there. Ours had a modest priced second hand one that we sold on for the same as we paid when she (thankfully!) gave up. She stuck with the flute so after a year or so we got her a decent one as a Christmas present but again we went second hand, I don't see the point in buying a brand new instrument - even the best players tend to use something old albeit very high quality.

Pep

Capt Slog wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

I bought him a violin from a local specialist shop where they had them at £1000s, I paid £50.

:shock: :shock: :shock:

Pep

Ben6899 wrote:

Give me a shout, if you want German lessons.

Thanks, but not thanks.
Had enough of formal lessons. Mind you my teachers would tell you I have had NOT enough, but ....

Now I keep just practising. I can read books and newspaper and understand 99% at the radio. Just I will never learn the grammar . I've been in Germany since 2013. Use 100% English at work and a mix of other languages at home (but not German).

capt_slog

Pep wrote:

Capt Slog wrote:

I bought him a violin from a local specialist shop where they had them at £1000s, I paid £50.

:shock: :shock: :shock:

Hmm. As I re-read that I see what you mean.

I've just had a look at the shop's web page, and they do list some at over £20K ! However, I bought one of the cheap student instruments they also sell, and that was £50 at the time.

They don't list how much the student ones cost now, but I did notice that it says everything they sell is set-up correctly. This makes a huge difference in how the instrument will play and a correctly set-up one will be easier to learn on.

I bought a guitar in March, and I've done a lot to the set-up myself, but it's taken a lot of tweaking. In hindsight I'm sure I'd have been better off having it done by a professional.

darkhairedlord

Capt Slog wrote:

Pep wrote:

Capt Slog wrote:

I bought him a violin from a local specialist shop where they had them at £1000s, I paid £50.

:shock: :shock: :shock:

Hmm. As I re-read that I see what you mean.

I've just had a look at the shop's web page, and they do list some at over £20K ! However, I bought one of the cheap student instruments they also sell, and that was £50 at the time.

They don't list how much the student ones cost now, but I did notice that it says everything they sell is set-up correctly. This makes a huge difference in how the instrument will play and a correctly set-up one will be easier to learn on.

I bought a guitar in March, and I've done a lot to the set-up myself, but it's taken a lot of tweaking. In hindsight I'm sure I'd have been better off having it done by a professional.

c'mon, it's easier than a bike fit.
tune, check relief, check string height, adjust, retune, check again, set intonation, retune, job done.

capt_slog

darkhairedlord wrote:

Capt Slog wrote:

I bought a guitar in March, and I've done a lot to the set-up myself, but it's taken a lot of tweaking. In hindsight I'm sure I'd have been better off having it done by a professional.

c'mon, it's easier than a bike fit.
tune, check relief, check string height, adjust, retune, check again, set intonation, retune, job done.

The thing with a bike fit is that if you make an adjustment you can always go back a step or start again.

This was an acoustic. There's nothing to adjust except the truss-rod and the way to adjust the string height is to shave material from the bottom of the bridge saddle and/or cut into the nut, and if I went too far, it's new bits. So I was careful. Had I gone to a luthier, he would have known what he doing and got it right in one go.

keef66

I still wake in a cold sweat from a nightmare in which I'm reliving the torture of our 6 year old endlessly practicing 'Seagull', a tune with only 2 notes, on his tiny, rented violin.

He's nearly 30 now, but the experience still haunts me. For the sake of your sanity, and that of your neighbours, persuade your youngster to try the drums instead...

slowbike

keef66 wrote:

For the sake of your sanity, and that of your neighbours, persuade your youngster to try the drums instead...

I am

not that I play them - but it's fun trying to get him to get into rhythm...

darkhairedlord

Capt Slog wrote:

darkhairedlord wrote:

Capt Slog wrote:

I bought a guitar in March, and I've done a lot to the set-up myself, but it's taken a lot of tweaking. In hindsight I'm sure I'd have been better off having it done by a professional.

c'mon, it's easier than a bike fit.
tune, check relief, check string height, adjust, retune, check again, set intonation, retune, job done.

The thing with a bike fit is that if you make an adjustment you can always go back a step or start again.

This was an acoustic. There's nothing to adjust except the truss-rod and the way to adjust the string height is to shave material from the bottom of the bridge saddle and/or cut into the nut, and if I went too far, it's new bits. So I was careful. Had I gone to a luthier, he would have known what he doing and got it right in one go.

Just go electric and annoy the neighbours...

keef66

darkhairedlord wrote:

Capt Slog wrote:

darkhairedlord wrote:

Capt Slog wrote:

I bought a guitar in March, and I've done a lot to the set-up myself, but it's taken a lot of tweaking. In hindsight I'm sure I'd have been better off having it done by a professional.

c'mon, it's easier than a bike fit.
tune, check relief, check string height, adjust, retune, check again, set intonation, retune, job done.

The thing with a bike fit is that if you make an adjustment you can always go back a step or start again.

This was an acoustic. There's nothing to adjust except the truss-rod and the way to adjust the string height is to shave material from the bottom of the bridge saddle and/or cut into the nut, and if I went too far, it's new bits. So I was careful. Had I gone to a luthier, he would have known what he doing and got it right in one go.

Just go electric and annoy the neighbours...

I remember house hunting and rocking up at a semi-detached house where the neighbour had Yamaha stickers all over the bedroom window. We didn't stay long enough to find out if it was musical instruments or motorbikes...

capt_slog

darkhairedlord wrote:

Just go electric and annoy the neighbours...

Been there, done that.

I made an electric when i was around 17. I've still got it, and it still plays as well as it did (just about okay ). I can't say i did a bad job considering I was working from pictures in guitar catalogues and looking through the music shop windows. I might have another go when i retire (soonish) and see what i could make now with the internet at my disposal.

keef66

Capt Slog wrote:

I might have another go when i retire (soonish) and see what i could make now with the internet at my disposal.

Bombs mainly if you read the Daily Mail...

Akirasho

Rental.

Pep

We bought a violin online for 85 euro. We'll see what comnes out of it.
Yesterday the child had the first lesson, trial lesson, all went well.
By the way, about expensive violin supposedly making better sound than cheap ones, here my story:
when I met the teacher I asked her indeed this question: what's the difference between expensive and cheap instruments? She was happy to give me a real demo: she played for a few sec a violin worthed ca 10-15k . Next she played the same piece on a much less expensive one. Never mind she sounded to me a very great player. She looked at me straigth into the eyes proud, smiled, and told me: "you see, completely different sound" .

They sounded absolutely identical to me :shock:

robert88

Isn't the bow very important? Carbon fibre is probably where it's at.

ivor_pye

Jack Benny hasn't used his for a while.