How to play violin for beginners

When it comes to actually getting a violin, you have two main options: buying or renting. The price of a good-quality entry-level violin from a reputable dealer can range from $180 to $300 (at the time of writing), and this includes the case and bow. Most rental agreements start at around $35 a month, including taxes and shipping. Prices can go up from there, depending on any upgrades you choose.

If you want to try playing violin and aren’t sure yet whether you’re going to commit to the instrument, or if you’re not averse to recurring payments, there are a few big advantages to renting. And, in fact, renting was something everyone I spoke with agreed on. “New violin players should rent for the first six months to a year if they can,” said Tanen. Hopefully, in that amount of time, you’ll get a sense of whether playing violin is right for you. Always read the fine print so you know exactly what’s covered (or not covered) by the rental agreement and whether insurance or service costs extra. Here are some reasons to consider renting first instead of buying.

If you’re working with a limited budget, renting can usually get you a higher-quality instrument than if you buy. Violins can get very expensive, and if you’re working with a small budget, your buying options will be limited. Most rental agreements offer a monthly rate that’s a fraction of the price of a flat-out purchase. And if you decide to upgrade at some point, most rental policies allow you to do so for a few extra dollars a month.

You can send it back at any time. I can’t tell you how many hobbies or crafts I started and then lost interest in before long. If, after you get your violin, you realize you don’t actually enjoy the process of learning how to play it, you can simply send your instrument back.

Instrument shops make it easy to get accidental damage protection. Many dealers offer insurance on the instrument that covers normal wear and tear, as well as unexpected damage. Without insurance, replacing a collapsed bridge could cost around $70; fixing a crack in the violin body might cost $250 or more, if the instrument needs to be taken apart (prices depend on where you live and the extent of the repair).

You can often rent to own. Many rental agreements will allow you to put a portion of your payments (the first three or six months of rental fees, for example) toward the price of the violin, if you decide to buy it.

If you do decide to keep playing after six months, then it might be time to consider purchasing. Although renting can save you money in the short term, you could end up spending more than the price of a decent violin if you elect to rent for a while.

If you know you’re going to stick with playing the violin, buying an instrument can be a better value overall. You may also prefer to avoid recurring payments, or, like me, you may want to own your violin straight away. Buying can also be a good investment: Both Tanen and Ezinma told me that if you keep your instrument in good condition, your violin will be worth the same amount a year after owning it as the day you bought it. In some cases, used violins are worth even more because they’re broken in already. With a used one, you could save a little on the cost and come away with an excellent violin.

Almost everyone I spoke with suggested buying an instrument locally if possible. “Things will come that need to be fixed—strings break or the bridge may collapse—and it’s easier to take your violin to a local shop than to mail it in every time something comes up,” Tanen said. There’s also the added benefit of being able to build a rapport with shop staff over time, and when you’re ready to upgrade your kit (violin or bow), they can offer you more-personalized advice.

When shopping online, stick to a seller that specializes in stringed instruments. Three names that came up in almost every conversation I had were SHAR Music, Johnson String Instrument, and Southwest Strings. Most specialty instrument retailers have luthiers, people who make and repair stringed instruments, and who fully inspect and tune instruments before they’re shipped. This means all parts of the instrument, including the strings, pegs, bridge, and bow, are carefully looked over, and your violin will be almost ready to play as soon as you get it (you’ll still have to tune it, of course). Also, because they have the expertise, these retailers can usually offer you better support and answer questions in detail.

On the other hand, instruments purchased from general e-commerce sites like Amazon or Walmart are not always inspected. So you will likely need to take your new violin to a local music shop to be looked at. During the inspection, a luthier will look for issues that could interfere with playability (which we discuss below). Depending on what condition the instrument is in, fixing a cheap instrument can sometimes cost more than the instrument itself. This is where having a teacher can come in handy, since they’ll be able to look at it for you and let you know right away if it’s a quality instrument or not.

When purchasing your violin, check whether the store or site has a trade-in program that will allow you to put some or all of the cost of the violin toward the price of an upgrade in the future. Always check the return policy, too. Most string shops (local or online) offer a trial period, but if there isn’t one, make sure there’s at least a return window. “If you can’t return it, that should be a red flag,” Gonzalez said. “You should be able to try it out for a few days to see if you like how it sounds, and return or exchange it if you don’t.”

As you start your search for a violin, be wary: There are a number of details that can affect the playability of an instrument, in some cases making it completely unplayable. Avsharian explained how too great a space between the strings and the fingerboard can make playing the instrument painful. Low-quality strings break easily, and cheap plastic hair on the bow can make it difficult to produce a sound. Instruments made from cheap wood and/or bad varnish will produce harsh-sounding notes. “When you’re just starting out, you won’t be able to tell if something is difficult because you’re still learning, or because the violin isn’t right,” Tanen said. “This is the biggest reason students give up. They think they can’t play, get frustrated, and give up when really it’s because the instrument just doesn’t work.” In the violin community, unplayable instruments like these are called violin shaped objects, or VSOs, because they look like violins but don’t actually work.

To help you avoid these potential pitfalls, here are some areas to pay attention to. Although it’s best to visit your local string shop or violin store to inspect the violin in person, these tips should work if all you have to go by are photos.

Violins come in a range of standard sizes, usually expressed as fractions—from 1/32, which is suitable for toddlers, to 4/4 (commonly called full-size), which should work for most adults. If you’re of smaller stature or have smaller hands, you may find that a 7/8 size works better. But it’s best to get fitted by a professional or have someone measure you.

Once you’ve found a violin you’re interested in, you can check a few of its parts for signs of quality. First, take a look at the pegs near the top of the instrument, Avsharian suggested. “How do they look? Are they sticking out and not trimmed? Do they all stick out about the same distance?” If the pegs stick out at different lengths, it shows that little to no attention was paid during the construction of the instrument, so the pegs may be faulty, Avsharian told me. The pegs are responsible for keeping the strings tight. If the pegs don’t stay tight, the violin won’t stay in tune. “The strings have to have tension,” Silver said. “If the pegs won’t hold the strings, you simply cannot play it.”

The tuning pegs on a violin should all extend about the same distance from the pegbox. Photo: Winnie Yang

The bridge, the thin piece of wood that supports the strings, should sit at a 90-degree angle from the body of the violin and have no bend or lean. Photo: Winnie Yang

The button at the bottom of the violin should sit flush against the instrument. Photo: Winnie Yang

Next, check the bridge—the skinny slip of wood sticking out from the body of the violin that supports the strings. Avsharian told me a good bridge should extend 90 degrees from the body of the violin, with no bend or lean. If the bridge is too tall, the strings will be too far away from the fingerboard, which will make pressing down on the strings harder and possibly even painful. “There should only be enough space to slip a business card between the E [the highest-pitched string] and the fingerboard,” Avsharian said. “Any more than that and pressing on the strings will feel like a cheese cutter” on your fingers. “If you can’t press the string down to the fingerboard, you can’t make the right sound,” Silver said.

Avsharian also explained how the top of the bridge where the strings sit should be cut at a downward curve so that the second-lowest-pitched string, the D string, is sitting highest and each string is a little lower, all the way down to the E string. If the bridge doesn’t have enough of a curve across the top, the strings will be too close to the same height, which will make bowing individual strings much harder. The top of the bridge should look smooth. If it looks jagged or rough, it could be a sign the bridge was not made well and will likely demonstrate some of the issues mentioned above.

Cheap bows come with low-grade plastic hair that won’t hold rosin. “Without rosin, the bow’s hair won’t have any friction over the violin strings. Without friction you won’t be able to produce any sounds,” Silver told me. Decent bows will have plastic hair that’s more like the horse hair on expensive bows, and it does a better job of holding rosin. The weight of the bow is also important. A starter bow should have a little weight to it to help new students make sounds easily. If the bow is too light (due to cheap materials), then you’ll have to exert more pressure to get the instrument to make a sound, Silver explained.

The last small detail to take a peek at is the button on the bottom of the violin. That’s where the strings tie to. Make sure the button is well seated and flush against the wood of the instrument. If it’s not, you could have trouble keeping the violin in tune.

The color of the violin doesn’t affect the sound quality. What does impact the sound quality is the type of wood and the finish of that wood. Inexpensive violins will be made of cheap particle wood and won’t give you the sound you’re looking for. A decent entry-level violin will be made from spruce or ebony (or both).

There’s a lot to keep track of when you’re just starting to play, such as making sure your neck is in the correct position and that your fingers are where they should be on the fingerboard to get the right notes. A teacher can point you to some helpful gear to assist with these issues, but here are a few things the experts we spoke with suggested.

Shoulder rest: According to everyone I spoke with, this is the first thing to pick up. Shoulder rests let the violin sit more comfortably on your shoulder, and (together with a good chin rest) they ensure your neck is straight. Since each person has different needs, it’s best to talk to a teacher or someone at a string shop to help you figure out which shoulder rest works best for you. The most common brand mentioned was Kun because it works for many people and offers additional parts for customization (like extra-long screws for those with longer necks). Pricier options, like those made by Bon Musica, allow you to bend the shoulder rest to get a more-custom fit.

Chin rest: This was another universal suggestion. The violin you rent or buy is likely to come with a chin rest, but that doesn’t mean you have to use it. There are many different kinds, including some that rise up higher from the violin or sit over the tailpiece. The kind that works best for you will depend on a few things, including the shape of your shoulders and neck, and the shoulder rest you get. Again, it’s a good idea to work with a teacher or violin shop to help you figure out what works best for you.

Although these tools help, there’s no need to get them all at once.

A humidifier: Weather conditions and different heating situations could cause the environment you keep your violin in to get too dry, Ezinma and Gonzalez explained. If your instrument gets too dry, the wood can split or the seams can come apart. A room humidifier could do the trick. But if that’s not enough, there are humidifiers that sit inside the case or the instrument itself.

A tuner: Violins are sensitive and go out of tune often. A tuner will help you know how tight to make the strings so you’re hitting the right notes. There are tuning apps, like the one Ezinma uses. I prefer a small physical tuner that clips onto the scroll at the top of the violin.

Fingering tape and stickers: Since the violin doesn’t have frets like a guitar to indicate where you put your fingers, it can be hard to tell whether you’re placing your fingers in the right spot. Most of the experts I spoke with suggested putting tape down on the fingerboard to help you at first. One Wirecutter editor likes this tape she got for her child’s violin. I opted to get these stickers, which adhere to the fingerboard and clearly label all the notes.

Rosin: A good rosin is almost as important as a good bow. Rosin is made primarily of tree resin that is cooked and molded into a hard cake. Rubbing the rosin onto your bow hair leaves a sticky residue that allows the bow to produce sound when you draw it across your strings. “The rosin is actually what’s touching the strings, not the hair. If the rosin is too sticky it can make the sound abrasive,” Ezinma told me. Winnie Yang, a Wirecutter supervising editor and lifelong violinist, agreed, and she said poor-quality rosin can even make it impossible to produce a nice sound. Both Ezinma and Winnie like Bernardel rosin. Winnie also recommends Jade L’Opera.

Although these tools help, there’s no need to get them all at once. I started with a shoulder rest, the chin rest that came with my violin, rosin, and a tuning app (until I decided I liked having a physical tuner better). In the future, I want to get a simple wall hanger for storing my violin, instead of just using the case it came with. And speaking of cases, those are another accessory that can range widely in price, weight, features, and appearance.

A final piece of advice: Be patient in your search for the right beginner violin. You might find that you love the sound of the first violin you try, and if so, congrats! If not, return it for another. “The sound should be something you enjoy. Even if you’re not good with it, it should still be a joy to play,” Tanen said. “If you don’t like the sound of the instrument, you’re not going to want to keep playing it.” If possible, try to identify what you don’t like about the sound. Maybe it’s too bright, or maybe it’s too slow (video) to respond to the bow. If possible, talk to the seller and let them know what you didn’t like about it, and hopefully they can suggest something you’ll like better. Either way, as with learning to play, don’t give up.