Finding the Right Violin Teacher, Viola Teacher, or Cello Teacher

Written by Amy Tobin of Fein Violins

When you, or your child, have decided to start playing the violin, viola, or cello, one of the most important things you can do, other than get a good quality instrument (see our violin tone post), is to find a good teacher.

A good teacher can be the difference between creating a lifelong love of music or making the learning process a chore, so it is definitely worthwhile to do a little research before making a decision.

There are a lot of ways to learn the violin (or viola, or cello).

Violin Bows- Too Tight, Too Loose, Just Right

 Written by Amy Tobin of Fein Violins

When you are learning how to play a bowed string instrument (violin, viola, cello), there are a lot of things about the process that can seem a bit nebulous and mystifying. It can be overwhelming for a beginning student because so much of what we do is seemingly done by feel.

One of those things that seem to be especially difficult to grasp early on is how much to tighten the bow when you play. Today I am going to give you a couple of quick tips to help you with this!

First of all,

Violas. Size Matters.

Written by Andy Fein, luthier at Fein Violins

If you read the previous blog (and you should) you will learn that the air volume inside your instrument has a fundamental frequency that helps power the low tones on your instrument. The bigger the air volume inside your instrument, the lower the fundamental frequency will be.

For violas, where an adult might play anywhere from a 15 inch body length up to 16 1/2 inch body length (and sometimes larger) the larger violas will sound better. That is, a 16 inch viola will sound much better than a 15 inch but not quite as nice

Sing to Your Violin

Hey! This is a fun parlor trick and will teach you something about your violin!
Put your mouth near the f holes on your violin. Now sing a scale. Do you notice a single pitch that resonates/vibrates more than the others?

Now pluck your D string. Same note! (Or close.) Assuming you're using a full size violin.

Let's get technical (not too technical, I know it's mainly musicians reading this!):

The fundamental frequency of an object is related to its volume. (Whether within a room, an instrument, etc). For full size violins,

The Lady Blunt Stradivarius Violin

Written by: Andy Fein, luthier at Fein Violins
and Angela Newgren 


Do you have an extra 12 million dollars to spare? How about using it to buy a Stradivarius violin!

Lady Blunt Stradivarius

Photo by Tarisio Auctions

The Nippon Music Foundation is auctioning off their prestigious 'Lady Blunt' Stradivarius. Made in 1721, this Strad is one of two Stradivarius violins in near perfect, original condition. (The other being the 'Messiah' of 1716)

The 'Lady Blunt' Stradivarius

It bears its original neck, re-angled at the heel, and also has its original bass-bar and fingerboard. It has