The Beginning
Wayne always loved music. As he grew, he enjoyed examining his mother's clarinet, his brother's trombone, his sister's flute, and another brother's trumpet. During his favorite pre-school class his teachers opened a piano and showed how the piano worked.
As a child, Wayne often crept into the living room to watch the blind piano technician tune his family's piano. He watched for hours, trying to make no sound. The tuner either heard him or sensed his presence, because after some time, the tuner always began to talk with Wayne.
When Wayne turned eight, curiosity and love of music prohibited him from returning to his cub scouts den. During his first den meeting, his Den Mother showed the cubs her family's antique violin. She left the room to answer a phone call and told the boys not to touch the violin. While the violin was unharmed, let's just say that Wayne was grateful for another good Den Mother who allowed him to participate in her Cub Scout Den.
At age 9, Wayne participated in a musical production. His "father" in the play was a master of wood work. Wayne's mother arranged for the "father" to became Wayne's 4H instructor for woodworking and wood carving.
In 1988 Wayne began working with a state-renowned piano technician in Idaho. He loved the experience of having a blind piano technician "show" him so many things he'd never before seen. This gave Wayne the ability to tune and repair pianos.
Two decades later Wayne began to link his woodworking and musical loves together. A local luthier invited him to learn the art of making string instruments. The first violin Wayne made was a pocket fiddle. Wayne now loves to use his artistic, technical, and musical skills to build and repair a variety of string instruments.
Instrument Care
Temperature and Humidity
String instruments are very fragile. Continuous exposed to changes in temperature and humidity changes, eventually causes the instrument to break.
Perhaps the most dangerous place to leave your instrument is in a car, especially on a dry cold winter's day - or a boiling hot summer's day!
Store your instrument in areas that have consistent temperature and humidity levels (avoid an unheated basement or an attic).
Cleaning
Wipe the instrument, with a soft cloth, after every time it is played. Rosin left on an instrument will become difficult to remove, and can stain an instrument.
When your instrument needs more than a quick dust, you may use a violin cleaner or polish (or even a damp cloth quickly followed by a dry cloth).
Strings
There are many different string brands sold. You teacher may require a specific brand, check before you purchase.
Avoid cheap strings which can cause extra tension on an instrument, resulting in cracks, warping, or other damage.
Keep a spare set in your case along with your rosin. See Guide to Choosing Strings.
Pegs
If your tuning pegs aren't turning smoothly you can buy peg compound to help, use it sparingly.
Good Storage
When your instrument is not being used, keep it inside a good quality case to ensure protection.
Most instrument damage happens because of the owner's neglect, such as placing it in areas where it's more exposed to possibilities of damage (i.e. near the sink or behind a bedroom door).
Go to a Luthier
If you notice a slight damage on your instrument, don't wait. Go to an experienced luthier immediately. Most damages that start out little become huge (not only to your instrument, but also to your wallet).
Bow Care
Use
Use the bow for playing only. Do not point with it while talking, and never applaud by tapping the bow against a music stand.
Always store the bow in your case to avoid damage. Leaving a bow on the lip of a music stand is especially dangerous in orchestra situations.
Clean the bow, letting rosin build up, will affect the sound as well as damage the varnish.
Camber (curve of the bow stick)
Do not over-tighten the bow hair. The distance between the stick and the hair in the middle of the bow should not be much wider than a pencil for violin and slightly wider for a cello, and there should still be plenty of camber.
Loosen the tension of the bow after each playing session, the bow can lose some of its camber if you do not.
Hair
Avoid touching the hair. Your skin oils counteract the gripping effect of the rosin.
If a hair breaks, use scissors to cut it from the bow. Pulling the hair will loosen the knots that hold the hair in the tip and frog.
Rosin
There are two types of rosin: Light Rosin - best suited for warm climates, it is harder and not as sticky. Dark Rosin - best suited for cool climates, it is softer.
Rosin the bow as needed for the desired consistency of sound. Without rosin, the bow hair will slide across the string without producing any sound.
If a lot of white dust can be seen on the instrument after playing, you are probably using too much rosin. Too much rosin can stain the instrument.
When putting rosin on a bow, cover the ferrule (the metal ring where the hair enters the frog) with your thumb so the rosin will not hit the metal, which can chip or break the rosin.
Helpful Websites
Learn the basics of your instrument. Links include tuner, theory, recordings, and exercises.
Free (legal) sheet music. Music variety includes beginning to quite difficult.
- MakingMusicFun.net
- free-scores.com
- capotastomusic.com
- score-on-line.com
- JustSheetMusic.com
- 8notes.com free, or subscribe (at $20/year) for more options
Free music writing software.
- Finale
- NoteFlight.com Transpose music to an easier key, or transpose a violin solo for cello or bass (requires that you set up an account).
