hey kylesito,

i have found that rasping sounds with the bow can be either not enough rosin on the bow or to much. When you first get a bow they should have no rosin on the hair. you should rosin for a good few minuets going back and forth on the bow to get the rosin really on the strings. On the flip side of that if your playing and your just getting tons of dust and such you have to much. just take a cloth or a piece of cork(like a wine cork) and run it down the bow hair a few times and over the strings. That should help take off a bit of the rosin and the dust if you've applied to much.

Also check your rosin. I know when i was using the cheap beginner rosin that came with my violin it would get raspy or a scratchy kinda sound against the strings, though coulda just been my quality of playing back then to

The quality of the bow usually is more about balance i've personally found out. so i don't think it would be causing the raspy sound its self. i could be wrong. i'm a relative newbie myself but i would check the amount of rosin on your bow and the type of rosin first. i know upgrading rosins did wonders for me. I use the hill rosin Dark mostly n i'm happy with it hopefully more expiranced players could pipe in here about the bow but for just starting any bow is better then no bow.

As for your strings going out of tune quickly. again one of possibly two things. 1.) strings need a break in period. I don't think steel needs very long. But after you put them on they have a stretching period for a few days that makes it so you constantly have to retune. Thats normal with all strings when you first string a violin with new strings. Now the second thing could be your pegs slipping. If you are playing and you happen to notice the peg turning a bit that means its slipping which can usually be remedied by some peg drops.

Good luck. I hope some of this might help you!

Heres a link to peg drops from the Fiddlerman Shop: http://fiddlershop.com/peg-dro.....eg%20drops

It helps make the pegs just a bit tacky to help them stick in the peg box so they stop slipping and causing your instrument to go out of tune. I haven't had to use them but from everything i've read and seen thats the simplest way to explain. it only takes a tiny bit per peg to work

rosin as far as dark and light is mostly a matter of preference, especially since most people play in a more controlled environment: i.e. air conditioning/heating. Dark rosins tend to be more grippy and lights tend to be more smooth when playing. Also a lot of places that get really humid and hot, people say lighter is easier to play with because its a harder rosin where a darker rosin is softer so the heat could make it a bit less desirable. and vise versa for cold. But like i said I've found it to be more a matter of preference. I live in a place that gets in the upper 90's (Fahrenheit) with anywhere between 60 and 90% humidity and i still prefer darker rosin. Rosin, for as long as it lasts is pretty cheap. if taken care of and not dropped that is. don't be afraid to experiment and find what you like the feel of better and especially starting out don't stress to much on rosin. I know a lot of people who still play with student blocks (the $2.00 variety). I use Hill dark, I've heard good things about kaplan to. It's an easy place to get lost in the endless varieties if i do say so. lol.