Violin - A Beginner's Guide

If you are interested in learning the violin it can sometimes be a little daunting to those who do not know much about this instrument. At Sutton Music Centre we are always happy to offer you advice based on our years of experience in musical instrument retail and musical education.

If you do not know what size of violin you need and currently have not been instructed what to get by your tutor, anyone of our helpful staff will be happy to assist you in finding the correct size for yourself or your child.

So what do you need to begin?

A Violin!
Like learning any musical instrument, you need an instrument! We are stockists for Stentor, Hidersine and Primavera violins. All of these instruments will meet the quality standards of any professional violin teacher. All the instruments are set up and checked over by our own in house technicians. All of these manufacturers create student instruments so they are available as full outfits, meaning you get a case, a bow and some rosin. Check out some of our collection here

A Shoulder Rest
A shoulder rest is a device that makes the instrument much more comfortable when it is resting on your shoulder, and it will help keep your instrument from slipping. Shoulder rests are adjustable and most student models will accommodate your current violin size and the next size of violin you will use. We recommend the Wolf Forte Secondo or the Viva "FLEX" Shoulder Rest

A Chin Rest
This is a specially shaped piece of wood/plastic that attaches to the body of your violin help your chin rest comfortably on your instrument.

We recommend the Wittner Kinnhalter Chin Rest

 A Music Stand

Whether playing at home or in lessons where you'll be standing up, or in a concert or orchestral performance where you'll be sitting down, you'll need something to put your music on! Having a portable and adjustable music stand will always make life easier. 

Our favourites are the more sturdy music stands like the Stentor Heavy Duty stand.

 

A Tuner

An electronic tuner is a device that will be able to tell you the current tuning of each string so you are able to adjust the tuning of the strings to the correct pitch. Some teachers also encourage their use for practicing to help maintain good intonation. One of the best tuners we have in store that's universal across most stringed instruments is the Snark Clip-On Tuner

Sheet Music

We have a huge selection of sheet music in store including tutor/ exam materials that cover ABRSM, Trinity, LCM and RSL. We also stock plenty of modern pop + rock music, ranging from simple and easy to play chord books all the way up to official transcriptions of famous band's works like Queen.  Please take some time to browse our online store. Bowed strings music can be found here

 

A Soft Cloth

Another, often overlooked but essential purchase for all strings players is a specially designed cloth to wipe away excess rosin which will keep your violin strings in excellent playing condition. We often recommend Alfred's Care Kits for all your instrument maintenance.

Spare Strings

Changing strings for a beginner could be a little daunting but it is not as difficult as you may think. We do offer a restring service in store and will always be happy to put a string on for you and show you how its done; check out our Workshop to see pricing and some examples of what we can do in store.

If you're still not too sure, ask your teacher or try YouTube- both resources are incredibly useful for your first few steps.

Whether you bring it in store to us or you tackle it yourself, you're going to need some strings! We offer both high-end and more budget friendly strings- pick from Dominant or Astrea. 

Peg Paste

Violin tuning pegs keep the strings in place and tightened appropriately. Depending on how your violin is made and your home's humidity levels, pegs can become difficult to turn or become too loose. This paste is to coat the tuning pegs to prevent them from sticking or slipping. Our in-house team can do this for you if you wish and we'd be happy to show you how to do it yourself. 

One of the shop favourites: Hill Peg Paste