If you’re starting out on the violin for the first time it can be hard to decide whether to buy or hire the instrument. You’ll want an instrument in good order and it should definitely include: case, bow, four strings (not necessarily in tune but ‘installed’ properly), pegs, chin rest, a bridge etc. It’s also useful to have a music stand for putting your music on as you learn from printed materials.

If you are given an instrument from someone else, it can look messy and usuable but it might just need a bit of a tidy up by a MusicMaps teacher. Clients are very welcome to send us a ink or a picture of the item to us here at MusicMaps and we can advise further.

Otherwise you can hire an instrument or buy one. If you want to hire an instrument, you’ll need a good string shop to visit. In London are preferred shop is Stringers. Here’s the link.

http://www.stringersmusic.com/hire-scheme/cost-of-hiring-an-instrument.html

They’ll make sure you get the right size and make sure everything is fitted properly.

If you’d like to buy one you can buy from the Stentor Student range from a range of online providers. You’ll need to know the size your child needs – your MusicMaps Guide can tell you. A small violin is 1/16 for a young child, going through 1/8, 1/4 (approximately for a seven year old), 1/2 and full size (for an adult). If you buy an instrument you can expected to last for a year or more, depending on how quickly your child grows. Biggers violins make a better sound so sometimes it’s good to change if you’re progressing quickly.

Do you have more questions? Email or call us and we’ll be happy to help