How Tight Do You Tighten A Violin Bow?: The Ultimate Guide to Tightening and Loosening Your Violin Bow

When you first receive your violin bow, the hair will probably be touching the stick. You have to tighten the violin bow which forces the hair to stretch and move away from the stick in order to play. But a common question when it comes to learning how to tighten the violin bow is “how MUCH do I tighten the violin bow?”

Well, it depends.

When you are just beginning, you can learn to tighten the violin bow by sight. But as you become more comfortable playing, you will learn to tighten the violin bow based on feel.

When you are finished playing, you will want to loosen the hair on your violin bow to release the tension.

But first let’s talk about the mechanics of tightening and loosening a violin bow.

How to Tighten a Violin Bow

Hold the violin bow horizontally in front of you with the frog to the right. You’ll notice a silver screw at the very end of the frog. Turn the screw away from you and watch the middle of the bow. You’ll begin to see the bow hair moving away from the stick.

Also notice the frog. Do you see how the frog moves as well when tightening the violin bow? The more you tighten, the more space is created between the tip of the frog and the leather grip. This is the place where your thumb goes so if you find there’s not enough space for your thumb, tighten the bow a little more.

Notice how Tightening the bow changes the space between the frog and the leather grip

the looser the bow, the less space between the frog and the leather grip

The Rule for Tightening the Violin Bow

Eventually, you will tighten the bow based on sight and feel, but if you are a beginner here is a rule for tightening your violin bow by sight.

Notice the stick of the violin bow is curved with the stick dipping down towards the middle slightly.

To tell how much to tighten your bow, turn the screw until you can fit your pinky in between the violin stick and the hair at the middle of the bow.

Watch the middle of the bow as you tighten and continue turning the screw until you could fit your pinky in between the stick and the hair in the middle of the bow. You have to look at the middle of the bow because if you look at the ends, you will see the hair is further away from the stick. Use the middle as your gauge.

Now, the “pinky” rule is a good place to start. However, I notice that most people don’t tighten the bow enough when using this rule. So tighten the violin bow so that your pinky with a little bit of space on either side can fit in between the stick and the hair.

Tighten the bow until you can fit your pinky in between the hair and the stick in the middle of the bow

What Happens if You Tighten a Violin Bow Too Much?

Can you over tighten a violin bow? Yes! Over tightening a bow can damage the bow. When you over tighten the bow, the stick will be very straight without any of that natural curve. All that extra tension can warp or break the stick. You’ll also over stretch your hair which means you will have to continue over tightening your bow just to get to a “normal” tightness because the hair is too loose. You’ll have to get the bow rehaired sooner rather than later.

Over tightening the bow also makes it harder to play. The bow is too stiff when the hair is too tight resulting in unwanted bounces and scratches. The bow will be harder to control when the hair is too tight.

Can You Play if Your Violin Bow Hair is Too Loose?

When people learn that over tightening the violin bow can damage that expensive wooden stick, they tend to under tighten the bow.

While under tightening the bow will not damage it, it will make it harder to play. When the violin bow is too loose there is no resistance. You need a little give in the hair to be able to apply and release weight to get a good tone.

Just like Goldilocks, it’s all about getting it just right and that comes down to learning to tighten the violin bow based on feel.

How to Tighten the Violin Bow by Feel

Eventually, you will be able to feel if your violin bow is too tight or too loose as you play violin. The best way to learn to do this is to experiment. Try barely tightening your violin bow and then play something. You’ll notice there is no resistance or “give” in the violin bow. You can’t apply any weight into the string.

Now try slightly over tightening the violin bow (don’t worry, this will just be for a second). Play something now. Notice how the violin bow is too stiff and also looses some of its resistance and give. The bow is probably so stiff when it is overtightened that it is much easier to bounce the bow and get unwanted bounces.

Loosen the bow until you feel the correct amount of resistance.

How Much Do I Loosen the Violin Bow

When you are finished playing, you will want to loosen the hair on the violin bow. This will your hair to last longer and reduce the tension on the stick. But how much do you loosen the violin bow?

Most people tend to loosen the bow too much when they are finished playing. Simply loosen the screw until the hair is just touching the stick. That’s it! You can put your violin bow to bed now!

The correct amount to tighten the violin bow

The Correct amount to loosen the Violin Bow

Do I have to loosen the bow every time I finish playing?

If you’re just taking a short break, it’s fine to leave the violin bow hair tight. If you’re taking a longer break or if you are done for the day, it’s best to go ahead and loosen the bow hair.

What happens if you loosen the bow too much?

The hair will get very loose and floppy and eventually you will unscrew the screw completely. Don’t worry! You didn’t break your violin bow. Simply reinsert the screw and tighten it again. You may notice when you loosen your violin bow too much, the screw detaches and the frog detaches as well. Again, you didn’t break your bow. Reinsert the frog into the hole where it was attached, reinsert the screw and tighten.

if you loosen the bow too much, the screw may come out

and the frog may detach! don’t worry, reinsert the frog and the screw, retighten, and you’re good to go!

I forgot to loosen my bow hair! Is it okay?

That moment when you realize you forgot to loosen your bow hair last night

You close up your violin case and completely forget to loosen the bow hair. When you open up your case the next day, to your horror you see the violin bow is already tight! EEK! Is the bow damaged? Did you ruin that expensive stick?

Don’t worry, this happens to all of us at some time (sometimes multiple times…) Repeatedly forgetting to loosen the bow hair will not necessarily damage the bow, but you will have to rehair the bow sooner as the hair is getting stretched out more and more.

Can I replace the hair on my violin bow?

Yes, you can and you should! The bow hair wears out eventually and looses its “grippiness.” No matter how much rosin you apply, the bow will feel like it’s slipping across the strings. Simply take your bow to a local string shop or luthier and have them rehair the bow. This will cost anywhere from around $70 and up depending on your location.

You should rehair your bow at least once a year. Rehair your bow every 3-4 months if you play more regularly (2 hours a day and up).

Does weather and humidity affect violin bow hair?

Absolutely. Humid weather will make the violin bow hair stretch and lengthen, making it harder to get the correct amount of tension. You will tighten and tighten and tighten the screw and eventually the hair will have the correct amount of tension. The danger occurs if the humidity changes and turns drier, then the hair will constrict and your violin bow will be too tight.

This is particularly a problem when playing outside or going in between playing outside and inside. Keep an eye on the humidity and try to keep the humidity around 40%-60%.

Why won’t my violin bow tighten?

Hight humidity can make it harder to tighten the bow. If the bow hair is old, or if the bow hair has been overstretched, it will be hard to tighten the bow. Getting a bow rehair will fix this problem.

Sometimes there may be an issue with the screw. Cheap violins that come with cheap bows can often be difficult if not impossible to tighten due to the inferiority of the parts. If you’re playing a a very cheap bow (Under $50) and you’re violin bow won’t tighten, you may need to upgrade to a better bow.

I hope this helps you with all your questions when it comes to tightening and loosening the violin bow. If I didn’t cover something, let me know in the comments below.

Happy Practicing!

Why Do Some Violins Have Only One Fine Tuner?

Why do some violins have four fine tuners? Why do other violins have only one fine tuner? Do you need to have four fine tuners? Do only beginners have fine tuners?

To understand why some violins have one fine tuner and some have more, we need to discuss a little bit of violin string history.

(Also visit How to Tune a Violin (Without Breaking the Strings!) A Beginner’s Ultimate Guide to Tuning the Violin)

Why Violins Have Fine Tuners

Before the advent of steel strings in the early 1900s, strings were made of gut. Since gut is quite stretchy, fine tuners weren’t necessary. When steel strings came onto the stage in 1919, fine tuners became necessary for violin E strings.

Steel is not as stretchy as gut, therefore it’s much harder to make smaller adjustments with a thin, steel E string. Accidentally over-tightening an E string will make it break. So fine tuners that could make small adjustments became useful for steel E strings.

Fine tuners on violins were pretty handy and it made sense to use them on all the strings for beginner violins to make the tuning process easier for beginners.

Do I Need Four Fine Tuners on My Violin?

You don’t have to have fine tuners on every string. If your pegs work correctly and you don’t have trouble tuning, you can get by with only one fine tuner on the E string. However, there’s no shame in having four fine tuners.

If you have geared pegs on your violin, fine tuners probably aren’t necessary. (It’s still handy to have them on the E string).

Some beginner violins come with tailpieces with four fine tuners built in to the tailpiece. Other violins come with tailpieces that have holes where the strings attach allowing you to add or remove fine tuners to suit your needs.

A Violin with Fine Tuners Built Into the Tailpiece

A violin with REMOVABLE fine tuners and only one fine tuner on the E string

Why do some violins have only one fine tuner?

You will often find that more expensive, higher quality violins often only have one fine tuner on the E string. Usually, more advanced violinists purchase the more expensive violins, so there’s an assumption that the violinist purchasing the violin is comfortable with tuning using the pegs. If the fine tuners aren’t necessary, there’s no need to put them on a violin.

However, you don’t have to be an advanced player to play on an “advanced” violin. Violins that are categorized as “intermediate” or “advanced” are simply more expensive and usually better quality. They don’t require people with advanced skills to play them. On the contrary, high quality violins are much EASIER to play than beginner violins!

So if you’re a beginner and you want to spend the money on a high quality violin, go for it! If you’re worried about having trouble tuning if the violin has only one fine tuner, I recommend getting geared pegs installed. I have geared pegs on my violin and I would never go back to traditional, wooden pegs!

Do Fine Tuners Affect the Sound of a Violin?

Another reason that some violins have only one fine tuner is due to the affect fine tuners can have on the sound. Anytime you add something to a violin, a chinrest, a different tailpiece, it will affect the sound. The more “stuff” you put on a violin, the more potential for buzzes or unwanted noises. If you are comfortable tuning using the pegs, there’s no need for that potential effect on the sound.

Can violinists really tell the difference in sound between a violin with four fine tuners and a violin with one fine tuner? This is hard to say because all of the high quality instruments I’ve ever played have had one fine tuner and all of the cheaper, beginner violins have always had four fine tuners. The cheaper violins didn’t sound cheap because they had four fine tuners, they were simply made from cheaper materials.

I’ve never had a reason to install more fine tuners on my personal violins, so I can’t say if adding fine tuners negatively affects the sound in an obvious manner.

Do Professional Violinists Use Fine Tuners?

If more expensive violins usually come with only one fine tuner, you may be wondering if professional violinists use fine tuners? Many professional violinists don’t use fine tuners (except on the E string). This has to do with aesthetics, the ease of tuning with the pegs, and sound.

However, I’ve seen several famous violinists and fiddlers with more than one fine tuner on their violin. So there is no judgment or shame when it comes to using fine tuners!

To sum it up, if you want to use fine tuners, use them! If you’re a beginner, thinking about purchasing a violin without four fine tuners and wondering if that’s okay, it absolutely is! If you can afford it, I always say go for the nicer, higher quality violin (even if it only has one fine tuner). Get geared pegs installed and you won’t miss the other fine tuners.

Happy Practicing!

Can I Learn Violin on an Electric Violin?

Can Beginners Learn Violin on an Electric Violin?

If you are thinking about learning the violin, you might be wondering “can I learn to play violin on an electric violin?” While you technically could learn violin on an electric violin, I would recommend against beginners starting off with an electric violin. Why? It all has to do with learning to produce a good tone.

Before we get into the specifics about tone, let’s talk about the three types of violins: acoustic, acoustic/electric, and electric.

What is the Difference Between Acoustic Violins, Acoustic/Electric Violins, and Electric Violins?

Acoustic violins have wooden bodies that naturally resonate and amplify the sound. The wooden body of an acoustic violin acts as a resonance chamber. Electric violins don’t have resonance chambers. They require an amplifier in order to be heard. Acoustic/Electric violins have the traditional wooden body, but they also have pick-ups and usually volume adjusters.

Should I start with electric or acoustic violin?

If you are just starting to learn violin, you should start with an acoustic violin. Acoustic violins allow you to hear the tone you are producing and make adjustments. Electric violins require an amplifier to produce a sound. Even then, the amplified sound is not natural and will make it difficult to learn to produce a good tone.

Producing a good tone with the violin is one of the most difficult skills to master. It requires the optimum amount of weight and speed transferred through the bow to the strings. How do you know if you have the right amount of weight and speed? The natural resonance chamber of an acoustic violin will tell you! If something sounds bad, you’ll hear it and be able to adjust. The effects added when playing with an electric violin (such as amplification, distortion, reverb, etc) make it difficult to hear and learn how to produce a good tone. An electric violin without an amplifier is so quiet that you won’t be able to gauge if you are doing the right things with your bow to produce a good tone.

What are the Disadvantages of an Electric Violin?

Electric violins require amplification to be heard, so if you don’t have an amplifier, the electric violin will be very quiet, and may not produce a sound at all. That means you won’t be able to hear everything you need to hear on an electric violin, making it much harder to learn.

The effects of amplification can also distort the natural sound of the violin and hide mistakes with intonation and bowing.

Is Electric Violin Easier than Acoustic Violin?

No! It is much easier to learn to play on an acoustic violin. With an electric violin, it can be difficult if not impossible to learn to produce a good tone. If you are a beginner violinist, you should learn to play on an acoustic violin.

I’m worried about my neighbors. Should I learn to play on an electric violin?

Electric violins are quieter than acoustic violins since they don’t have resonance chambers and rely on amplifiers to produce a sound. An electric violin without an amplifier has a very quiet sound or it may not produce a sound at all. If you are worried about disturbing your neighbors while you learn to play the violin, you can get a practice mute for your acoustic violin which significantly reduces the sound. Beginner violinists should avoid electric violins until you learn the basics of tone production and intonation. The sound of an acoustic violin can be dampened with a practice mute, but you still have the option of removing the practice mute when you’re not worried about disturbing anyone.

I’m worried about being heard when playing with large groups. Should I get an acoustic/electric violin?

A good quality acoustic violin can actually produce a very loud sound once you learn the basics of tone production. If you need to be heard over other louder instruments or in large venues, you can always mic an acoustic violin.

Acoustic/Electric violins are usually more expensive than their counterpart acoustic violins. If you are a beginner, I would recommend putting that extra money towards a better acoustic violin rather than purchasing an acoustic/electric violin. You can always mic an acoustic violin if you need to be louder. If you regularly play at large venues, for large crowds, or with other amplified instruments, then buying an electric violin or an acoustic/electric violin is probably worth the extra money.

Purchasing your first violin can be overwhelming! Do you need more help choosing your first violin? Check out my top 10 violins for beginners.

Happy Practicing!

5 Items You Need to Play Violin

Are you ready to start playing violin and wondering, “What all do I need to start playing violin?” Here is my list of must-have accessories for playing violin.

For starters, you'll want a violin! Check out my post on buying a violin to help you pick out the right size or decide between renting and buying. There are many options for beginner violins. After hearing and tuning many beginner violins, I’ve narrowed down the choices and selected the most affordable violins that still have great sound and are easy to tune. Discover my top picks for beginner violins here.

1. Shoulder Rest.

This is essential to helping you hold the violin correct. I recommend the Everest shoulder rest for people with smaller necks or the Wolf Forte Secondo with normal to longer necks. Make sure your shoulder rest size matches the size of your violin. Check out my page on shoulder rests for more detailed information.

2. Music Stand

Using a music stand promotes good posture. If you're practicing with your music in your lap, in your case, or pinned to the wall, chances are you're doing some weird things with your posture that can lead to real tension issues. Portable stands are fine and nice to have, but a stand with a solid back makes it easier to write on your music. Plus, it’s more stable and solid than those flimsy, cheap wire stand. I recommend this stand which doubles as a foldable travel stand, but it’s got a solid sturdy back.

Hamilton Traveler Portable Music Stand

5. Rosin

If you purchased your violin as an outfit, rosin was probably included. However, student-grade rosin often has a grittier sound and produces more powder. For a few dollars more you can upgrade to a better sound. A cake of rosin can last a decade if properly taken care of, so it’s worth spending a few extra dollars. Dark rosin is more sticky and is better for dry climates. Light or amber rosin is better for violin but both colors work.

This Holstein Reserve Rosin is my absolute favorite. It’s a little pricey but so worth it.

4. Metronome/Tuner

You can use free apps for help tuning your violin. As you progress, you’ll realize a tuner and a metronome offer many tools to a violinist to make even faster progress. I suggest buying an actual metronome tuner combo. These metronome/tuners are usually louder than the apps and the metronomes also offers different pitches, called “drones” which can really help you play in tune!

Boss and Korg are good brands, like this Korg Metronome Tuner.

5. Method Books

Check out my page on best beginner books for adults and children alike!

6. Finger Decals (Optional)

You don’t have to put “stickers” or decals on your fingerboard to help you know where to put your fingers. You want to learn to rely on your ear and muscle memory more than anything. But if you want a little visual aid to help you know where to put your fingers, I recommend First Frets. Remember to buy the size that matches your violin size.

Happy Practicing!

Buying a Violin For the First Time

Buying your first violin is a big decision. Although it might not involve as much money, it’s something like buying your first house or car. You want something suitable to your needs. Not too cheap, not too expensive. If you are looking for a beginner violin, here are some tips to help you find the perfect one.

How much money do I spend on my first violin?

That’s the question I get asked the most when new students are realizing just how expensive violins can get. Beginner violin outfits will range from $200-$500. Does the more expensive violin actually sound better? Will I progress faster? What about new versus used violins?

Buying Used Violins

Shopping for beginner violins can be similar to shopping for a car. If you buy a used car, you generally get it for cheaper than a new one since you’re accepting dings, scratches, and maybe other unknown problems. With violins, if you buy a used beginner violin (from a reputable source, not Ebay or the thrift store) the first thing you’ll want to do is change the strings (around $40 plus installation) and get the bow re-haired ($40 to $75). When you take those things into account, the used violin might not be cheaper.

Side note: I do have a student who found a very nice violin at a thrift store for $30. Finding jewels like that does happen (never to me!) but it is rare. More often, I see worthless violins at antique stores and thrift shops with outrageous price tags. These violins are usually useful only as wall decorations, so be wary!

Buying New Violins

If you are buying a new violin from a dealer or an online company, how much money is enough? Back to the car analogy. If you are shopping for a new car you have a couple options. You can buy a budget car that gets the job done just fine. But you might only make it to 60,000 miles before problems start creeping up and you either have to pay a lot for repairs, or buy a new car. Instead of purchasing a budget car, you could pay a little more and get a car that will get you past 100,000 miles so you won’t have to worry about buying another car anytime soon.

Good quality “budget” violins will get the job done but you will grow out of them quicker. If you buy a higher end beginner violin or an intermediate violin ($400-$1000) you won’t have to worry about upgrading as soon. Budget violin outfits come with budget bows. Bows on the lower end of the scale can be very heavy or have an annoying wobble when you draw the bow on the string.

You will also be able to do more with a better quality violin. Some of the upgrades you might get are better tuning pegs for easier tuning, a lighter bow or a more stable bow, and better sound production. Learning to produce a good tone on a violin is possibly one of the hardest tasks beginning violinists must overcome. Having good equipment makes it so much easier.

What’s your mission?

Another thing to consider is what you are buying the violin for. If you want to see if you like the violin, then get the budget version or rent. If you will be playing in church or performing, go for something a little nicer. Cheap violins will not project as well when performing. With a better violin, you’ll sound better without having to work so hard. Are you buying a full size violin for a child? Will the child take this violin through high school, orchestra rehearsals, auditions, and the rest of their adult life? Pay a little more. If you’re going on a long road trip, you’d want them to have a good, reliable car, right? You can’t win Nascar races with run-of-the-mill budget cars.

Getting Your Money's Worth

Another question I’m frequently asked is, “If I sell my violin, will I be able to get back what I paid for it?” That’s a very hard question to answer since it depends on what you paid for it, what condition it’s in, where you live, and what the market is like in your area. Keep in mind, beginner violins are not one-of-a-kind Ferraris. They’re more like a basic, stock, Ford Focus. Companies like Shar will be turning out beginner violins until the end of time so if you want to sell your violin, you’ll have to take that into consideration. You wouldn’t buy a new car, put 5,000 miles on it and expect to get exactly what you paid for it. Why? Because your potential buyer could go to the dealer and buy a new car for the same price.

Trade-In Policies

This is the best way to insure you’ll get something out of your old violin. Violin shops often have trade-in policies. If you buy a violin from them and later want to upgrade to a better violin, they will give you money back on your old violin as long as the old violin and the new violin come from their store. Ask your local dealer what their trade-in policy is.

If you are looking for online options, Fiddlershop has a great trade-in policy.

Until you start paying big bucks, violins aren’t really investments. If you take good care of them, they’ll at least hold their value but you probably won’t get more for a beginner violin than what you paid for it. Like other hobbies and activities you do for fun, it’s about the amount of enjoyment you get out of the violin, not how much it will be worth in ten years.

Affording the Better Violin

So you want the better violin, but how do you afford it? Ask your music store what their financing options are. Fiddlershop has a financing option as well as the option to pay in installments.

Tuning Your Violin

Learn the ins and outs of tuning your violin

At first, it might take you a while to learn to tune your violin. As you get better, tuning your violin will get quicker. Keep in mind, violins of inferior quality may make it difficult, or impossible to tune. If you are getting frustrated tuning, it may be time to look for a better violin.

Tuning the violin isn’t difficult, but with a few tips and tricks, you can learn to tune quickly and easily.

Read the rest of the article at Lessonface.com

How to Take Care of Your Violin

Even beginner violins aren’t cheap by any means. So it’s important to learn how to take care of your violin from day one. Taking care of your violin ensures that you are getting the best possible sound your violin can offer. With a little bit of upkeep and preventative maintenance, you can catch issues before they develop into bigger problems. Follow these guidelines so your violin always sounds its best!

Read the rest of the article at Lessonface.com