Just got a violin

[Tare]

Wasup yall, just picked up a beginners violin. Any tips for maintenance while on the road, or cool sites to check for lessons and such? I wanna learn klezmer, classical and whatever else i can learn really. Any info would rock, thanks!

 

[wartomods]

i play the violin, self taught, it is somewhat difficult to get the hang of it, but just practice and play by ear.
TO maintain in the road, just keep it in the case, untight your bow when you dont play, many people say this i never do this though, lol, have rosing always available, and never let it get wet, there isnt much more to be said, ask anything especific if you want.

 

[Angela]

I travel with a fiddle and it's survived traveling so far. Their really much hardier instruments than people think. As long as you aren't in the tropics or the arctic it should be fine. Just don't get it wet or throw it off a train and it'll be ok. I play old-time Appalachian style so I can't really offer any advice on the styles your wanting to play but the best advice I can give is to find other folks playing the kind of music you want to learn and listen to as much of it as you can.

 

[Tare]

Thanks guys, Angela i wanna learn ol'time as well, don't matter what kind. And throwing it off of a train was my major concern besides weather. Doesn't matter if its in a hard case? And obviously speed and terrain are factors as well, thanks again yall.

 

[Angela]

Well mine has actually been thrown off a couple of trains over the years. At low speeds though! Just get a padded/styrofoam case for it and it should be ok.

 

[Tare]

The case that came with it is styrofoam, thats better than a hard case?

 

[SparrowW]

A slightly old thread, but I've been thinking about taking my violin when I head out, I'm just not sure. I'm worried about it breaking and carry the case, which is an old one and doesn't have straps or anything like that. Advice?

 

[switch]

From what I can tell, any hard case will protect your violin pretty well- Just try to avoid throwing it off trains. I keep a shoulder strap on a hard case, so that if I'm getting off on the fly I can just toss my pack while keeping my violin attached to my body.
As for the old antique-y cases, I've seen people anchor metal loops for shoulder straps that you could pick up at any hardware store.
Wayward- If you love the thing, take it with you. Your instrument will keep you sane, it'll help you make friends, and most importantly, it'll feed you AND get you drunk! If you already know how to play it, I'm sure you can keep it safe, too.
Tare- on the off-chance you haven't gotten a case yet, the answer is no! Make the dough, trade, whatever, to get a hard case.

 

[dirtyfacedan]

Awww...you should have got a Fiddle instead! One of my roomies break hers out at parties, and it sure is fun! YEE HAA!!