Maintain and clean violin bow

I have already spoken how to rosin a violin bow , but a lot of people are asking questions about cleaning the bow and violin.

As for the bow: my view is that it does not need to be cleaned .. the stick should be wiped with a cloth if rosin above. As regards the wick normally no maintenance other than the change when it no longer grip, when it is worn.

signs of wear:

• rosin despite the wick no longer hangs
• the wick has lost a lot of horsehair
• the bristles are stretched and can no longer have the right tension of the bow
• The resulting sound is so good

Some say that the wick can clean with alcohol, it seems risky to me because alcohol is very aggressive to the hair.
especially: what state is the bit to get there? there is no better change it?

Violin Cleaning
Normally a violin does not really dirty because one cares.
If dirt gets to accumulate, the rest of rosin, dirt, grease, fingerprints, etc .. can be cleaned with violin popotte prepared by a luthier.

This product is to be cleaned, should not be used daily. It has a very mild abrasive side.

By cons, some musicians spend their violin polish after each concert. the polish is a mild product that removes all traces of fingers and shines .. It is rather like oil or wax. Apply with a cloth or sponge. then we can possibly polish with a soft cloth ... Not recommended for those who do not like it shines.

Fiddle Lessons for Beginners

You can find traditional fiddle lessons given by a teacher privately or if you’re a DIY’er, you can learn to play the fiddle online with videos or with instructional books. It helps if you know what style of fiddle music you wish to play such as American (Bluegrass, Cajun, Folk…) Celtic (Irish, Scottish, Welsh…), Jazz, Canadian, Scandanavian etc. because you can find instruction specifically suited for these styles as opposed to generic lessons.

Free Online Fiddle Lessons

The Folk of the Wood has some great beginner to advance fiddle lessons which include how to hold the fiddle, parts of the fiddle and bow, how to tune your fiddle, how to learn to read music, tremolo, vibrato and other fiddle bowing techniques, scales, positions and chords, practice tips and free fiddle sheet music from beginner to advance melodies. Go here to access all lessons: Free Online Fiddle Lessons.

The Fiddle Hub offers online fiddle lessons but it requires a membership. There is a paid membership where you purchase lessons for $4 and then have unlimited use of that lesson. There is also a free membership, but you still are required to register. The free membership gives you four how to play the fiddle lessons including smooth bowing, accurate fingering, learning tunes and reading tablature. It also give you access to 3 free fiddle tune lessons, “Paddy’s Return”, “Soldiers Joy” and “Whiskey Before Breakfast”. Click here for Fiddle Hub Fiddle Lessons.

Beginner Fiddle Lesson Videos

This beginner fiddle lesson starts with tuning, finger patterns and include a quick how to play fiddle beginner tune, “Bile em Cabbage Down” using Nashville shuffle and one and two bowing:
Tuning, Finger Patterns and "Bile em Cabbage Down"

Below is another little fiddle lesson given by Casey Driessen, a Grammy nominated fiddler who often tours with different bands and quartets playing bluegrass and other acoustic styles of fiddle music. He was on tour with the Frank Vignola Quintet and stopped by Mel Bay Publications where he gave this quick lesson on bowing and double stops and how to warm up with long bowing intervals:

Beginner Fiddle Lesson on Bowing and Double Stops

If you want to find a fiddle teacher in your area, we found this website, called "Get Lessons Now" where you can choose fiddle lessons from the drop down menu, enter you zipcode and it gives you a list of local teachers. It will give the teacher’s education, awards received, lesson details, rates, hours lessons are offered and a bio/personal statement from each teacher. There is also a “send message” button so you can ask questions via email.

Related post:
how to tune a violin

Want to Learn to Play the Violin?

So you want to learn to play the violin. Where should you start? Whether you want to become a classical violinist or an Irish fiddlinist, you must have a goal when practicing. Then you can list your objectives on how to reach that goal when practicing. You can have goals that are set for a year, a month, a week and of course, for the day. This way you have some way of measuring whether or not your practice time is helping you attain your ultimate goal.

You can start small right now, such as learning to read music – today for example, learn to play an open C major scale. Or learn what notes correspond to the violin strings, what strings are G, D, A and E? Then you can set bigger goals for learning different bow techniques, or learning vibrato. W rite down your goals so that you see them everyday. Another thing that has helped me is to create a dream board. Look through magazines or on the web for photos that represent your goals and where you want to be. Perhaps it’s a picture of a violinist you admire, a famous stage or perhaps family and friends listening to someone perform for them; whatever represents what your goals are and why you want to learn to play violin.

You know what they say, practice makes perfect. So how much should you practice? As much as you can without putting too much strain on other parts of your life such as family, school or your job. It’s better to practice a little every day rather than try to jam all your practice time into one session once a week. Do not overdue it at first. You must ease your body into the practice regime. It is possible to injure yourself by repetitive strain on muscles that aren’t used to that much strain all at once. Be sure to stretch before and after, just like you would for any other sport. Start with 10 minutes a day. Slowly progress to a least 30 minutes a day when you feel comfortable doing so.

So practice every day. Do not become discouraged. You will not become a professional overnight. Do not compare your progress to others. Measure your progress by your standards. No one came out of the womb ready to play violin. Some perhaps have a natural gift to learn violin more easily, but that doesn’t mean you can become just as accomplished. In fact your rewards will be even greater when you do master a technique or piece of music because it took raw determination and hard work to attain that goal. It will come. Be patient, Grasshopper. Be positive. Negative thoughts have no place in learning violin. And there is no crying in learning violin, unless the music itself is so beautiful, it makes you weep.:)

And look forward to practicing. Do not make it become a chore that you dread. Allow yourself to have fun with it. In fact at the end of every session, make sure you allow some “fun” practice time. Try playing a piece of your favorite music, for example. And do not try to learn more advanced techniques, such as vibrato, too soon. Start with the basics and master them first. Learn to hold the violin properly. Learn to strike the bow properly. Learn to read music. Small steps first.