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.

Violin making is an ancient craft, dating back centuries. It is a traditional craft deeply rooted in European musical and woodworking history. The craft is called lutherie from the French word for Lute and it encompasses both making and restoration of stringed instruments. A guitar maker is a luthier as is a violin maker but in today’s world, we distinguish between the two. A. Stradivari was a luthier who made both violins and guitars, although is mostly remembered today for his violins.

What is a Luthier?   What is a Master Luthier?

Lutherie was governed historically by the ancient guild system of Europe and at one point there were guilds for various aspects of lutherie. Scroll making, for example, was once a distinct guild from violin making. Today, bowmaking and violin making are the only distinctions. 

In Europe today, the craft guilds no longer exist but, as a holdover, the title “Master Luthier” has a defined meaning and reflects a certain amount of schooling, apprenticing, journey work and master accreditation---much like Master Electrician in the USA. It is now possible to be a luthier in Europe without membership in the guilds, but credentials are helpful in establishing a reputation.

The USA has no such certification. Anyone can call themselves a luthier, or a master luthier, so the term is more individually defined, and being a Master Luthier is a subjective honor, based on reputation and self-confidence! 

The American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers is the closest thing we have in this country to an old-world guild. Membership is by juried application and requires submission of work to be evaluated by current members for consideration of inclusion. It is not necessary to be a member of the Federation to be a luthier or to work for any shop.  It is not a “union” and there is no licensing, accreditation or other requirements to work as a luthier.

How Do You Become a Luthier?

There are essentially two tracks towards becoming a luthier. Some shops offer apprenticeships and welcome novices in to help out with projects and learn the craft along the way. Some lutherie work requires only good tool sense and handwork and can be quickly learned. These are good places to start, develop knowledge and skills both from hands-on work and from the interactions and observations of the projects conducted by more senior luthiers.

This route is by far the hardest route as it avoids formal training. How much you learn, how good the training is, and how diverse the resulting skill set depends entirely on the shop you align with. The shop is clearly looking for free help, so many hours will be spent on low-level instruments and how many transferrable skills you develop truly depends on the shop and luthiers you are working with.

There are several excellent schools for violin making in the world today. These programs, which can take three years or more to complete, are generally excellent. Starting with tool-sharpening and moving through all the elements of violin making, students learn a comprehensive skill set in all aspects of violin making from wood selection to plate carving, building forms, graduations, purfling inlay, scroll carving and varnishing.  Students come out of these schools having completed a collection of first instruments, built entirely start-to-finish, by the student…usually including a cello. 

Attending one of these schools requires a deep commitment: both of time, money, and energy.  They consist of long hours and high tuitions, but if your heart is in it, truly, these will be surmountable challenges…and the long hours eagerly embraced! 

And when you have completed the course, you will only be just beginning!  The programs offer very limited training in repairs and restoration and set-ups, so a shop hiring will still need to do a lot of training!  If you attend one of these schools, take advantage of every opportunity to learn restoration and bow – repair techniques…these will be a valuable part of your resume! The dominant US schools are The North Bennett Street School, the Chicago School of Violinmaking, and the Violinmaking School of America.

If the commitment to a full-fledged school is not possible, there are other, shorter training schools that can help get you started. 

The Redwing Program of the University of Minnesota offers a nine-month intensive in violin repair which teaches a beginner’s overview of foundation topics in violin maintenance: bridge carving, peg shaving, fingerboards, etc.  Students leaving Redwing are passionate and dedicated and we have been generally very happy with the graduates we have hired. As with any program, much training remains after completion, but it is great not to be starting at ground zero!

Many universities and colleges (the University of New Hampshire is closest to us) offer short, often summer programs for amateur training and these can be a great way to get started to see if this is something you want to pursue further.

How Long Does it Take to Become a Luthier?

Well, you never stop learning!  We only hire luthiers that have at least a few years of schooling or working in an established shop. Learning even the most basic skills takes time. For example, setting a soundpost will take weeks to learn to do at a rudimentary level. 

Lutherie is a commitment, like any artistic craft. Initially, it requires a significant investment of your time, and the immediate rewards come slowly. Your development will be fueled by your passion…lack passion and you won’t make it! It has to be what you truly want to do…and you have to have some natural talents in woodcraft. 

The ability to play the instruments is obviously pretty important too…but being a great player is not necessary.

What Does a Luthier Do?

If you complete a program, you’ll need to decide whether you want to work independently or for an established violin shop, general music store, or independent luthier. As with everything, there are pros and cons. A shop will offer opportunities to grow your skills and steady employment.  Depending on the size of the company, you may be relegated to maintaining a rental fleet initially or be a part of all aspects of the workshop activities. Work independently, you’ll have more control over your schedule, pay rates, and perhaps more direct contact with clients. But you will have to promote yourself and seek out independent opportunities to learn new skills and suffer any downturn in your business.

In our workshop, when we hire a new junior luthier (someone recently graduated from a school or program) they will anticipate spending about 90% of their time working on projects that we feel are within their comfort zone. 10% of the time will be involved in higher-level repairs or projects designed to push and expand limits. Everyone in our workshop spends some time with our rental instruments and our instrument-making activities. The more valuable repairs are performed by our senior staff. We also believe in outside training too, so whenever possible, we send our luthiers to outside programs, like the Oberlin College Summer violin programs. 

In the USA, there are three dominant schools for violin making:

Violin Making School of America, Salt Lake City

Chicago School of Violinmaking

North Bennett Street School, violin-making program

The University of Minnesota at Redwing

University of New Hampshire Summer Craftsmanship Institute

Mohr and Mohr Training