I bought the Primo student violin at the store last weekend. Impressive place, and wonderful staff! I don’t think anything’s broken yet, except for my ego, as I try to learn how to play it. 🖖😀
Hi - I just watched your video of holding the bow and now this video. I do have a problem keeping my thumb under the frog. Because I have been watch so many videos for a beginner,i found myself questioning my violin that was purchased second hand for me. Different dealing told me different things about my violin to improve my playing. I purchased a new bridge since they indicted it was to high. Don’t know how a seller can sell the violin if the bridge is to high? Then went to another store and they said I required to strings because the ones on my violin were cheap. The bow that came with the violin was really bad and I didn’t know it. It had to have the hair replaced. I have been playing for 3 months and I don’t see myself improving much. It maybe because I’m 68 years old and have arthritis etc. I do want to learn and be better. So wondering if I should just purchase a new violin? How can to tell me what violin I need>. Any tips on hold the violin bow when someone has arthritis? How to place fingers on the keyboard to reach “G” strings fingering. Any help would be appreated. Thank you and I do enjoy your videos.
I'm not sure I understand your question completely but if you want an easy explanation of how to hold the bow, you can check out this video: th-cam.com/video/HcoOWGdIlgI/w-d-xo.html It is one of the most popular videos on TH-cam and it's a great explanation. As far as the bridge on your violin is concerned, I'm not sure what to tell you. Bridge height and curvature are extremely important and unfortunately, many online companies do not set up the violins properly. I have no idea if the company you purchased your violin from set up the violin properly, so it's hard to offer advice. I suppose you can look at their reviews and then decide. At Kennedy Violins, we've made our goal since day one to make sure our violins are set up professionally, and hopefully, the company you purchased from has done the same. If you suspect that you were sent a cheap overseas violin that is not set up properly you can purchase one from us or take your violin to a reputable dealer and perhaps they can collect the violin for you.
Yes, the stretching strings will move the bridge a bit back but the thing that really pushes the bridge forward is the tuning as a result of the strings stretching. Perhaps I was not very clear about that. The constant tuning in the first week or so generally pulls the bridge forward quite a bit, so you have to keep an eye on it and adjust it accordingly. The bridge will always tend to move forward more than it moves backward. I'm not 100% sure what the physics of this are but it's true nonetheless. It probably has something to do with the amount of string in front of the bridge VS the length behind it.
Hey could you see it likely that a company doing rentals would be hesitant to send me the best rental model they offer, over 3k, because I requested a fiddle bridge? Think I might have gotten ran around the block haha.
Hmmmm, I"m not sure I understand your question, unfortunately. A company generally has different levels of violins to rent and the amount you pay per month should be set on what kind of violin you are sent. If they carved a custom bridge for you, I can see how they might want to charge extra for the labor and bridge but it doesn't make sense that they'd send you a sub-par violin, just because you wanted a different bridge. The reason is that, if the violin already had a "standard" bridge installed, all they'd have to do is hold on to the bridge and then re-install it once they receive the rental violin back from you. If a bridge is already cut to fit a particular violin, it only takes about 1 minute to swap out the bridge and re-tune the violin.
@@KennedyViolins Yeah it's a situation where I specifically called to ensure it was available before I ordered it and ordered with a fiddle bridge which isn't an upcharge, like you said they just switch it out. Then after ordering was called days later to be told that model isn't available and they don't rent those out anymore. I inquired as to why it would still be advertised on the website and was told it would be removed, yet it's still there. I'm a big boy and am fine with being told no haha, it's just peculiar how it all went down and I can't find another way to make it add up. Maybe because I'm a beginner? The one they sent me is fine though, still over 2k, just not as pretty and I can hear through videos how amazing the more expensive one sounds. I'm a guitarist making the switch.
@@MD-zm6sn I seriously doubt it has anything to do with you. More than likely, it's still listed on the website because 1. It makes the company look more "higher end" to have more expensive violins listed 2. They are somewhat "luddites" and simply lack the ability to quickly pull it off the website (this is common with violin shops...) or 3. They just don't have the time or determination to cut a new bridge just for you. If it was my shop, I'd just charge a reduced fee for the bridge creation and send the violin with the bridge the customer wants. Creating a new bridge (custom for fiddling) can be quite time-consuming and requires a decent amount of skill/cost, so they may just not want to go to the effort of doing it. 🤓
@@KennedyViolins Yeah they did make up for it though by sending me a really good quite expensive bow. Like several hundred more than the rental bows so I'm satisfied. You don't give lessons do you? I'm curious if you've seen any consistencies between people who have played guitar their whole life and are starting violin, mistakes they make, things that helped them, etc. Been watching your videos for weeks now. I have a hard time preventing my fingers from lifting all the way off the fingerboard when I release a note. Trying to keep them close to the strings to reduce the distance they have to travel is tricky.
@@MD-zm6sn I retired from teaching in 2014 but I do make videos from time to time. I need to make more but it seems that I've covered just about every area I can think of. In regards to guitar/violin students, I've only seen that it'll be "easier" for you than a lot of people playing other instruments or none at all because of the similarities between guitar and violin but it probably won't seem "easy" to you because the violin is just so darn hard in the beginning. The biggest complaint from guitar players is usually how there are no frets and the lack of a tuning mechanism. It's just some of the fun of the violin. Good luck!
I bought the Primo student violin at the store last weekend. Impressive place, and wonderful staff! I don’t think anything’s broken yet, except for my ego, as I try to learn how to play it. 🖖😀
LOL, nice. Well, if you need anything in the future, just let us know!
Thanks!
Glad you liked the vid!
Hi - I just watched your video of holding the bow and now this video. I do have a problem keeping my thumb under the frog. Because I have been watch so many videos for a beginner,i found myself questioning my violin that was purchased second hand for me. Different dealing told me different things about my violin to improve my playing. I purchased a new bridge since they indicted it was to high. Don’t know how a seller can sell the violin if the bridge is to high? Then went to another store and they said I required to strings because the ones on my violin were cheap. The bow that came with the violin was really bad and I didn’t know it. It had to have the hair replaced. I have been playing for 3 months and I don’t see myself improving much. It maybe because I’m 68 years old and have arthritis etc. I do want to learn and be better. So wondering if I should just purchase a new violin? How can to tell me what violin I need>. Any tips on hold the violin bow when someone has arthritis? How to place fingers on the keyboard to reach “G” strings fingering. Any help would be appreated. Thank you and I do enjoy your videos.
I'm not sure I understand your question completely but if you want an easy explanation of how to hold the bow, you can check out this video: th-cam.com/video/HcoOWGdIlgI/w-d-xo.html It is one of the most popular videos on TH-cam and it's a great explanation. As far as the bridge on your violin is concerned, I'm not sure what to tell you. Bridge height and curvature are extremely important and unfortunately, many online companies do not set up the violins properly. I have no idea if the company you purchased your violin from set up the violin properly, so it's hard to offer advice. I suppose you can look at their reviews and then decide. At Kennedy Violins, we've made our goal since day one to make sure our violins are set up professionally, and hopefully, the company you purchased from has done the same. If you suspect that you were sent a cheap overseas violin that is not set up properly you can purchase one from us or take your violin to a reputable dealer and perhaps they can collect the violin for you.
If the bridge moves because the strings are stretching, shouldn't the bridge move backwards? Because the strings get more loose?
Yes, the stretching strings will move the bridge a bit back but the thing that really pushes the bridge forward is the tuning as a result of the strings stretching. Perhaps I was not very clear about that. The constant tuning in the first week or so generally pulls the bridge forward quite a bit, so you have to keep an eye on it and adjust it accordingly. The bridge will always tend to move forward more than it moves backward. I'm not 100% sure what the physics of this are but it's true nonetheless. It probably has something to do with the amount of string in front of the bridge VS the length behind it.
Are you the owner of Kennedy violins
I B that dude!
Hey could you see it likely that a company doing rentals would be hesitant to send me the best rental model they offer, over 3k, because I requested a fiddle bridge? Think I might have gotten ran around the block haha.
Hmmmm, I"m not sure I understand your question, unfortunately. A company generally has different levels of violins to rent and the amount you pay per month should be set on what kind of violin you are sent. If they carved a custom bridge for you, I can see how they might want to charge extra for the labor and bridge but it doesn't make sense that they'd send you a sub-par violin, just because you wanted a different bridge. The reason is that, if the violin already had a "standard" bridge installed, all they'd have to do is hold on to the bridge and then re-install it once they receive the rental violin back from you. If a bridge is already cut to fit a particular violin, it only takes about 1 minute to swap out the bridge and re-tune the violin.
@@KennedyViolins Yeah it's a situation where I specifically called to ensure it was available before I ordered it and ordered with a fiddle bridge which isn't an upcharge, like you said they just switch it out. Then after ordering was called days later to be told that model isn't available and they don't rent those out anymore. I inquired as to why it would still be advertised on the website and was told it would be removed, yet it's still there. I'm a big boy and am fine with being told no haha, it's just peculiar how it all went down and I can't find another way to make it add up. Maybe because I'm a beginner? The one they sent me is fine though, still over 2k, just not as pretty and I can hear through videos how amazing the more expensive one sounds. I'm a guitarist making the switch.
@@MD-zm6sn I seriously doubt it has anything to do with you. More than likely, it's still listed on the website because 1. It makes the company look more "higher end" to have more expensive violins listed 2. They are somewhat "luddites" and simply lack the ability to quickly pull it off the website (this is common with violin shops...) or 3. They just don't have the time or determination to cut a new bridge just for you. If it was my shop, I'd just charge a reduced fee for the bridge creation and send the violin with the bridge the customer wants. Creating a new bridge (custom for fiddling) can be quite time-consuming and requires a decent amount of skill/cost, so they may just not want to go to the effort of doing it. 🤓
@@KennedyViolins Yeah they did make up for it though by sending me a really good quite expensive bow. Like several hundred more than the rental bows so I'm satisfied. You don't give lessons do you? I'm curious if you've seen any consistencies between people who have played guitar their whole life and are starting violin, mistakes they make, things that helped them, etc. Been watching your videos for weeks now. I have a hard time preventing my fingers from lifting all the way off the fingerboard when I release a note. Trying to keep them close to the strings to reduce the distance they have to travel is tricky.
@@MD-zm6sn I retired from teaching in 2014 but I do make videos from time to time. I need to make more but it seems that I've covered just about every area I can think of. In regards to guitar/violin students, I've only seen that it'll be "easier" for you than a lot of people playing other instruments or none at all because of the similarities between guitar and violin but it probably won't seem "easy" to you because the violin is just so darn hard in the beginning. The biggest complaint from guitar players is usually how there are no frets and the lack of a tuning mechanism. It's just some of the fun of the violin. Good luck!