The Value of Quality: Why Rental Matters
Parents often express concern about the cost of learning the violin. Lessons, instruments, orchestral fees, and audition fees can quickly add up. But is it truly expensive?
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Why Carbon-Fiber?
“Why should I choose a carbon-fiber bow?”
“Isn’t a wood bow the standard, especially for a wooden instrument?”
Whereas wooden bows have been used on strings instruments as early as the Islamic civilization in the 10th century, carbon-fiber bows only began to appear a few decades after high-tensile strength carbon-fiber was invented. CodaBow founder Stan Prosen had developed some of the earliest carbon-fiber parts with inventor Dr. Roger Bacon and had found in his early research a profound resonance in the new material. After years of testing and creating prototypes, early CodaBow bows had entered the market, and other music companies had begun developing their own versions to compete. Today, dozens of companies produce carbon-fiber bows in a large range of styles, price ranges, and instruments. With so many options on the market…
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5 Things to Consider When Buying a Violin or Viola Case
Looking for a new case for your instrument can be overwhelming. There are so many styles, brands, accessories, protection levels, and color choices that you might not know what you’re looking for. Gone are the days of the standard thermoplastic cases. Today’s string instrument cases are stylish, protective, and more affordable than ever!
When looking for a new case, we recommend planning ahead and deciding exactly what you need based on the following 5 factors.
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A Brief History of Baroque Bows
Although the modern conception of the violin has been pretty firmly in place for over a century, there was a significant era of innovation in violin and bow making in the early 19th century. During this period, music was changing dramatically, moving out of the early Baroque era into newer forms of music which put new demands on the instruments and the bows. A need for more power and response, eliciting fuller voices became essential, and violins were evolving to meet this need. Bows were now being charged with more legato, long-note playing, and the music was written to accommodate the larger opera houses being built throughout Europe.
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The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Going Electric
Electric instruments are everywhere in today’s music scene. You don’t have to look far to see an Indie band with an electric cellist, a punk rock band with an electric violinist, or even hip-hop using electric violins (looking at you, Black Violin!) Electric string instruments are being used in concerts by the Wu-Tang Clan, Kanye West, Katy Perry and more surprising artists. Going electric is a portal for a string musician into the entire world of genres outside of classical and traditional music. Electric instruments give string players flexibility to change not only their volume but their entire sound by adding filters, effects, and more to their set up.
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Why should I go to a contemporary music concert?
I have played some pretty crazy music as a violist. Music that looked more like a scientific analysis on the page than notes. Music that used my bow as a percussive instrument rather than a string instrument. Music that asked me to make sounds I’m pretty sure my instrument will never do again. As a performer it was fun, challenging, exhilarating! But if I were asked to sit in the audience – would I have sat in that audience? What was the goal? Why would I want to go to a contemporary music concert as a parent of a string instrument student – and should I take my child?
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