Welcome to our forum. A Message To Our New and Prospective Members . Check out our Forum Rules. Lets keep this forum an enjoyable place to visit.
Currently working on getting badges to show up horizontally. Should hopefully figure that out within a week. Thanks for your patience.
Log In
Register
Home
Topic RSS
(0 votes) 
My daughter just started to learn to play violin. People suggested to rent one but I searched on line and there are so many violins out there and it would cost us less than to rent one. They even have pink (her favorite color!) violins! I'm really tempted to buy her a pink violin to sustain her interest and to motivate her to learn to play violin. I also thought i could buy one for myself and i could learn along with her. However, I am concerned about the quality of the violin. It's very nice that the fiddlerman compares the low price violins, that gives me more faith in cheap violin. However, I would still like to hear more voices. Thank you!
Regular advisor
Offline
I saw that violin in youtube, is that the barbie violin(my bad if I'm wrong)? Yeah you're right, keep her interested and motivated to learn violin coz she's only a kid
( is she a kid? LOL) and maybe after a few lesson she might lose her interest, cheap violin(VSO) might work but don't expect that it wouldn't produce a squicky sound(but yeah squicky sound is normal to any violin beginner) but I think Cecillio is a good one because Fiddlerman has already maked a review and it's good but I don't know if there's a pink violin in Cecillio. Goodluck to you and to your daughter! 
P.S. "I also thought i could buy one for myself and i could learn along with her" I think that's a very nice idea 
Offline
PKY - Which violin exactly are you referring to? One user on this forum actually had a problem with a fiddle that he bought at KKmusicstore and was able to get the violin replaced without any hassle. I don't remember who that is but the important thing when buying cheap instruments is that you can exchange it in case you do get a lemon.
I think that buying two instruments is a GREAT idea. Learning together will be so much fun for the both of you. You can play duets or jam together, encourage and motivate each other as well. Plus if you get one bad and one good fiddle as Barry did, you'll know the difference a little better.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Offline
I just checked to see if Cecilio had a http://www.kkmusicstore.com/ce.....p-235.html
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Regular advisor
Offline
You could also get her a pink or or other colored bow, that way when it's time to re-hair, you can re-hair in a new color (or buy a new one). They sell them at southwest strings. The brand is Glasser.
Rainbow colored bows: http://www.swstrings.com/produ.....violin/203
Rainbow colored bows with colored bow hair: http://www.swstrings.com/produ.....iolin/203C
You can also get the bows with customized stick and hair color, but you'd have to special order. I'm not sure of South West Strings offers that particular service though. I know that there is also a pink bow with pink hair (or black hair), but South West doesn't carry it. :/ The store that does charges 2x more. http://beststudentviolins.com/.....rBows.html
Thanks for all the suggestions and experiences shared, much appreciated.
My daughter is only 5.5 years old. She just had her second lesson. I like the idea to rent the violin for a month to see if she stays interested. The more I read about violin, search for a violin, the more I want to get one for myself. I know it would be hard for me to learn to play well, but maybe I could learn to play children songs and play for kids I taught:)
Offline
Good idea,
At that age you might as well rent for her. She won't be ready for a full size instrument for quite a while. You CAN become a good player. Most depends on how much time and effort you invest in practice.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Hi, Fiddlerman,
thank you for your replies. Below is a quote from
http://www.zaretandsonsviolins.....child.html
"The sound quality of a small size violin is crucial. We learn to speak by imitating our parents. We learn to play by imitating the sound our teacher makes and by listening to good violinists. If the sound that comes out of the violin is screatchy, shrill, weak, etc. it is virtually impossible to imitate teachers and other violinists...A fine sounding newer small size violin can be purchased from between $750 -$1,500"
the first part is very true, i wouldn't argue with that. However, i definitely cann't afford a violin with that price. Those I am looking at, the pink violins are listed as follows:
http://www.kkmusicstore.com/me.....p-313.html
qid=1310185489&sr=8-5
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb.....ink+violin
We are renting an 1/8 violin for her right now for $15/month (cheapest one we could get). If we bought a $60 or $70 violin for her, it probably will save us that much money as well. But like you said, it could be an extra fun violin for her to motivate her. If she really wants to use that pink violin for practicing, then it better sounds nice enough. I am thinking i could go ahead to buy it, and have her teacher look at it.
I wish I could win one of the violins that you are raffling off:))
I had taken piano lessons before without owning a piano so it was difficult for me to play well. I have also learned to play a few Chinese instruments also without owning one. i believe if i own one and if I could practice with my daughter, I probably could play better, except that my stiff fingers probably are going to give up.
again, thank you!
Advanced member
Offline
http://www.sharmusic.com/Shop-.....8-size.axd
This one is 12$ a month and you can upgrade the size at any time.
hi, Anathama,
Thank you for the information, but
is this a rental or...?
Offline
pky said:
hi, Anathama,
Thank you for the information, but
is this a rental or...?
50% of all payments accumulate as a credit towards purchase of an outfit of equal or great value (credit may not be used towards future Flex Plan purchases).
If the sound that comes out of the violin is screatchy, shrill, weak, etc. it is virtually impossible to imitate teachers and other violinists
I have never heard a small violin sound close to as good as a full size violin. Sound is one of the characteristics of size. Unfortunately even 3/4 size violins sound worse than full size violins.
The only person that should spend $750 - 1500 for a small violin is the one who can easily afford it and there is no guarantee that they will get a better sounding violin either.
A far as kids imitating their parents sound, they will imitate other things too such as intonation, bowing, articulation, dynamics.... We must tell them that when they grow they will be playing on bigger instruments that have much better sounds. They will understand and compare themselves to other children with small fiddles.
I looked at the links that you gave me but cannot say anything about any of those instruments without holding and trying one. I wouldn't be surprised if they are all made in the same factory in China. If and when you get one, the best thing you could do is bring it to a Luthier to see that the sound-post is properly adjusted and that the violin is set up optimally. Maybe a teacher could do it as well. If you plan on getting a teacher you might want to ask them first if they know of anyone selling a good used 1/8 or 1/4 size violin to sell. Most kids grow and their parents need to buy bigger violins. You will eventually get most of your money back by doing the same thing in turn.
now for my coffee
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Thanks, Fiddlerman.
A far as kids imitating their parents sound, they will imitate other things too such as intonation, bowing, articulation, dynamics.... We must tell them that when they grow they will be playing on bigger instruments that have much better sounds. They will understand and compare themselves to other children with small fiddles.
Got it.
I looked at the links that you gave me but cannot say anything about any of those instruments without holding and trying one. I wouldn't be surprised if they are all made in the same factory in China. If and when you get one, the best thing you could do is bring it to a Luthier to see that the sound-post is properly adjusted and that the violin is set up optimally. Maybe a teacher could do it as well.
What does set up in violin means and how could one know if a sound post is properly installed?
If you plan on getting a teacher you might want to ask them first if they know of anyone selling a good used 1/8 or 1/4 size violin to sell. Most kids grow and their parents need to buy bigger violins. You will eventually get most of your money back by doing the same thing in turn.
That sounds like a good idea. I will check it out with her teacher.
Question:
Why do we have to do the math before we post a message?
Regular advisor
Offline
The math is the best part!
As for small violins, I had a 3/4 and traded to a 4/4 of the same make of violin. (At first they thought I was too small for a full sized one!) The sound difference was drastic! When I was poking around shopping for violins, the music store had some used ones that were in the $600 range. They were supposedly higher quality even though they were used, but the $200 new violin I ended up getting kicked the used one's tail!
Also, if you get a violin from a music store, they may have a payment plan option. XD I was offered to pay for my violin in chunks! They may be a bit more expensive than a kkmusic violin, but making payments and having a violin in hand might be worth it over making a lump sum purchase online.
Pikachu said:
The math is the best part!
I bet you like math.
Thanks for your sharing.
How old are you? My daughter loves pokemon, too, and her favorite is pikachu:)
Offline
pky said:
Question:
Why do we have to do the math before we post a message?
I need to make sure that everyone here is smart enough to play violin
Just kidding, Many sites have serious problems with Spam. This is one way to ensure that posts are not made by machines. I works great too. I haven't had to remove any posts made by bots.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Pro advisor
Offline
LOL... I would just get her a full scale pink violin from the KK music store. Their shop is right out by me and they have great customer service. I am not affiliated with them in any shape or form to keep pushing them like I do but I have bought a saxophone, trumpet, violins and even their miniature drums. For China made stuff this company is pretty good. My conga drum arrived broken and they sent me out another one with no problems. And I just glued the conga together so now I have two.
Offline
myguitarnow said:
My conga drum arrived broken and they sent me out another one with no problems. And I just glued the conga together so now I have two.
LOL, that's great.
I've actually heard the same thing from many sources about KKmusicstore and I am not affiliated with them either except for them sending me 7 violins to test with no strings attached - not literally of course.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Fiddlerman said:
Just kidding, Many sites have serious problems with Spam. This is one way to ensure that posts are not made by machines. I works great too. I haven't had to remove any posts made by bots.
Got it, its much better than those "letters" one time I tried to enter all those letters on one website and I tried and tried and couldn't get it. should have it sounded out.
1 Guest(s)
Mouse
Fiddlerman
ELCBK
Strabo
