Keep your instrument clean

Hello Hello!

Sorry I've been slacking with the blog posts...my computer was broken and it's been midterm time so those are the most legit excuses I can give you.  Anyways...my students are playing tomorrow at the local nursing home which I'm excited about.  Should be a good time.  I also have a handful of new students who will be joining us for an event for the first time so I hope they like it.  

The posting today will be simple but still necessary to keep in mind:

The cleanliness of your instrument affects your sound.  For my violinistas out there, here's how you clean it up:

Using a cloth with NO chemicals on it (unless they are meant for violin cleaning-absolutely stay away from anything else) :

**Wipe the strings:  Don't be afraid to use a little bit of force.  They won't break.  The strings collect rosin dust which negatively effects the sound, so that's necessary to do after every time you play!

**Wipe underneath the strings AND underneath the horsehair of the bow.  Underneath the strings, in between the f-holes, is where a lot of the rosin dust ends up.  Remember, the sound comes out of the f-holes, so you want that entire area to be rosin-less.  The bow is where the rosin is applied, so naturally some of it will fall off the minute it hits the strings.  It's important to wipe the STICK of the bow (not the horse hair.) **

Once a year or so, (NOT TOO OFTEN), take your instrument to the music store and have them clean it professionally with the correct polish.  You can probably purchase some and do it yourself as well.  Just make sure it's polish that is MADE FOR VIOLIN CLEANING.  I suggest doing this before a big performance so your violin is sparkling.  

Keep your violin pretty :)  

Until next time,

Givi Girl