HELPFUL TOPICS - BLOGS

Discover the convenience and precision of clip-on tuners at Vermont Violins, where we've honed our craft for generations. From enhancing your practice sessions with accurate tuning to aiding in developing your musical ear, our range of quality clip-on tuners ensures your instrument sings its truest notes in any setting.

Bridges in violin making are not just pieces of wood; they are meticulously carved to exact dimensions, with varying levels of quality affecting their resonance and tone transmission. Each bridge is a testament to the artistry and precision of luthiers, reflecting hours of craftsmanship to ensure every violin sings in its finest voice.

Join Vermont Violins on a 30-year musical journey! From humble beginnings in 1994 to navigating global changes, we celebrate diversity, craftsmanship, and sustainability. Explore our evolving story!

With the new limitations on Pernambuco import/export, bow owners must take extra precautions to ensure that their bow is both legally and ethically made.  Pernambuco, an endangered wood species, is the most frequently used wood in bow making . The high prices this wood earns for this niche manufacturing and artisanal craft is largely responsible for the woods current significant decline in its natural habitat, Brazil. -It’s a little more complicated, yes, it is hard to plant elsewhere, but the Brazilian government does not allow the export of Pernambuco seeds/saplings either.

You’ve heard great things about them….but you can’t figure out which one is for you!  

We can help!

One of the hallmarks of the Vermont Violins Rental Program, is the equity accrual terms.   With our rentals, you are not only renting a fine instrument, but actually building an equity pool for yourself with which to purchase one when you are ready to move past rental into ownership.

Vermont Violins is tremendously proud to rent instruments that are beautiful both visually and tonally. Having an instrument that looks good and sounds good will help motivate us to play and will foster better care of our instruments.  

‘My home and my violin shop are completely destroyed’: a call for help from a Mariupol luthier

A Ukrainian violin maker whose livelihood has been devastated by the ongoing Russian invasion is calling for help.

This is an unabashed plug for a string-oriented music camp if your child plays a bowed, string instrument. Here is why:

1) Maintaining fine motor skills.

2) Expanding the student’s peer group

3) Having fun with music

So…You Want To Be a Luthier?

Vermont Violins is almost always looking for more luthiers to join our team – we thought we might offer a few thoughts on what we look for in new team members and how you can launch a career in violin making, repair and restoration.

Can Music Ever Be Centrally Controlled?

I was surprised to read (The Economist, 12/21) that it was Chile's short-lived President, Salvador Allende, that first tried in 1973 to implement a computer-driven HQ for managing a complex economy. He brought in a Super-Computer (probably similar in superness to today's calculator), built a command center to house it (apparently borrowing features from the Brig of the Starship Enterprise, but adding a minibar) and got to work planning and controlling the newly nationalized economy. His regime was overthrown by the brutal Pinochet regime before he could make much of a start on it...and Pinochet preferred the tried and true old fashioned ways of rule: torture, suppression and fear.

How Can I Safely Ship a Stringed Instrument?

Can Violins or Cellos be shipped safely? Absolutely. At Vermont Violins, we receive and ship instruments almost daily and in the many years we have been doing this, we have only seen damage twice and both times the damage was the fault of the packing. While twice is a very, very, very low number, we know how tragic this event can be so we wanted to share some instructions on how to pack an instrument safely so that it can land at its destination in the same condition as it left.

What Should I Do If I am Travelling with My Instrument? Tips for Safe Travels!

Are you moving across country? Going on a long-distance vacation? Can’t bear to be without your trusted violin or cello? Taking your instrument to a new place can be fraught and nerve-wracking, but with some care and precaution, travelling can be perfectly safe.

We travel routinely with our instruments: we rarely step onto an airplane without a violin or cello. But we take care to make sure that our precious cargo arrives safely. Here are some carefully considered tips.

What is Fiddleheads?

Fiddleheads is a program of Young Tradition Vermont, hosted by Vermont Violins and the Burlington Violin Shop. It is dedicated to bringing kids together to learn and enjoy traditional music in all its forms in a low-key, non-competitive, session. Kids of all levels are invited to join a monthly play-together, led by a master fiddler or musician recruited from the professional traditional music community of Vermont and her neighbors.

Yamaha Electric Violin Demonstration