Relaxing With Music

5 Accessories To Bring Home When You Buy Your First Violin

18 March 2021

Ambre Gauthier

While you're at the musical instrument store to buy a violin, don't forget to also shop for a few essential accessories that will help you play your violin more effectively and easily. Here are five accessories to bring home when you're buying your first violin.

1. Shoulder rest

Some violin players like to use a shoulder rest under the violin to help them hold their violin securely in place, in conjunction with the chin rest on top of the violin. If you have a long neck and a prominent collar bone, for instance, you'll want to try playing with a shoulder rest to see if it helps you hold the violin more comfortably. So bring one home along with your violin and try it out.

2. Rosin

Rosin is a material that every violin player needs. If you're a beginner, you likely won't have rosin at home, so you'll want to make sure you buy some at the musical instrument store. Rosin is necessary every time you play because you have to keep your violin bow hair lightly coated in rosin as you play. This will let your bow get enough friction to vibrate the strings efficiently.

3. Spare strings

The strings on your new violin are brand-new, so they should last for several years. However, there's always the chance one of them could suffer some mishap that could leave you in need of a new string. To prepare for this eventuality, you should start off with a spare set of strings so you or your violin teacher can easily replace one whenever it's needed.

4. Music stand

While some beginners make do without a music stand, this can actually be detrimental long-term. Playing with your chin pointed down to let you see music that's laid out on a table is a non-optimal posture. Non-optimal postures can cause inefficient playing and even musculoskeletal issues such as excess muscle tension. So start your violin experience right by bringing a music stand home with you on the first day so you can use correct posture each time you practice.

5. Electronic tuner

A correctly tuned violin is essential right from the start because if you play a poorly tuned instrument, you may end up training your musical ear incorrectly. An electronic tuner will help you match each string's pitch to exactly what it ought to be, even before you've learned how to tune the violin by ear.

These accessories will help you get off to a great start with good violin posture and technique. Get in touch with your local musical instrument store today for more guidance about bringing home your first violin.

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