Violin Lessons: Types of violins and tips to buy
There are various factors that you need to consider when you are looking to buy a violin. From your experience, budget, requirements, and categories, a lot of options may come up. You need to look through these carefully and select the one that meets your needs the best.
Types of violins
There are no official categories for violins. But depending on their carving, the finish, the work and the quality of wood used, you can pretty much classify them into beginner, intermediate and professional.
Beginner Violins
In the case of beginner violins, which are the best one to buy if you have just started taking violin lessons, the instrument will be made from a lower-quality of wood. It does not involve many intricate carvings and a proper finish. The tuning pegs and chinrests usually are made of plastic. They are made with beginners in mind who are just venturing into the world of guitar and not very sure. It is reasonably priced and hence affordable.
Intermediate Violins
These violins are for those who are not beginners anymore but neither have they mastered the art. They have the need of a better violin to give their best. It is not an available category everywhere. It is useful when a musician needs better than a beginners’ violin but does not want to spend a fortune on professional violins.
Professional violins
Professional violins are made from the best quality wood. It is hand crafted and built by a master luthier. It has classy signs such as wooden tailpieces, ebony fingerboard and the like. They are priced high due to the excellent material used and the fact that they are carefully hand-crafted by a skilled artist. So, this makes it a worthy choice for a master violinist. A master violin for a master musician!
Once you have decided which kind of violin you are going to go for, here are some tips for you!
Try it before buying
Always try it out before you decide to buy it. Many shops actually have a designated try-out room so that you can try it out once. Take a bow along and try it out before selecting a violin. A bow and a violin case will have to be purchased separately in most situations. Don’t forget to see if the violin and the bow go together and you are comfortable with it.
Take a violinist friend along
Take along a friend who knows the in and out of violins. They will have experience and can help you out. Though the liking differs from person to person, you can weed out the really bad ones. It is a big investment. So, take your time and try it out before you buy one.
Renting a violin
If you are buying it for your child for his violin classes, make sure you buy one that suits his size. My suggestion would be to rent a violin till your child is ready to play a full sized one. Else you will have to keep buying bigger ones and this can turn out to be more expensive in the longer run.
Get it checked by a luthier
Do not go for a violin because it looks good. The sound is the main concern. It is always better if you can take the violin to a luthier for a check to be sure it is in good condition.
New violins are usually less expensive. A major reason is because aged wood produces better quality sound than newer wood. Another reason is if the luthier is no more, that violin is priced higher as it becomes limited edition in a way. In many cases, new violins sound as good as older ones. It is better if you just consider the sound quality and not keep the age of a violin as your main criteria.
After you buy the instrument, to know how to find a good violin teacher, check out: https://www.absolutelyintuned.com.sg/2014/06/02/how-to-find-a-good-violin-teacher/.
For more on violins, you can refer to http://singaporeviolinlessons.com/.