Prepare the Area and Hair

1. Purchase the horse hair. If the hair is too white, it may be too brittle because it is over bleached. Cream or golden color is good
2. Cut the old hair off the bow 1 inch from the frog. Remove the ring by placing a small piece of leather on it and grabbing it with pliers and jiggling it off
3. Insert a knife between frog tongue and the wedge. Gently remove the wedge from the tongue using needle nose pliers. Discard the ring wedge and purchase a new one. Take off the slide by pushing it with the thumb and tapping with a hammer. Pry out the wedge, making certain you don’t touch the slide channel
4. Clean the old glue off the frog tongue and the cavity. Pry out the tip wedge without breaking the top lining. Clean and buff the ring, back frog lining, and end button
5. Wrap the light end of the hair with a strong rubber band, leaving the rope on and pushing it close to the rubber band. Cut a 7-inch length after you have removed one of the ropes. Super glue the top end together
6. Measure the amount of hair you’ll need with the feeler gauge. Make sure that the hair is flush with the gauge as possible and cut close to the tie
7. Hold the hair in the left hand with the thumb at a right angle. Put the wire next to the thumb, leaving 3/4 inch out. Wind about 6 inches of wire. Use less for a smaller cavity. Leave 3/4 inch out at the end. Clip the wire and twist together with the first end using a pliers. .

Cutting the Hair to the appropriate Length

1. Place the frog so that the front faces the tip of the stick. Put both into the clamp, making certain that the frog cavity is directly over the clamp bolt. Tighten the bolt snugly.
2. Measure the length of the cavity and subtract 1 1/2mm. Cut the hair that length. Put a drop of super glue on it and, holding the tied end upside down, spray it with an accelerator. Fit the hair in the cavity by placing the tie on the right side and pushing the hair down with a push tool. Make certain the tie is perfectly flat.
3. Add powdered rosin on top of the tie. Place the new frog wedge on the cavity. Stab the wedge by hitting the middle with the blunt side of a knife and positioning it into place. Remove the knife and push down with a push tool
4. Hold the slide with the index finger and thumb and push it into place while pulling and twisting the hair
5. Use the bottom of an opened paper clip to string the hair through the ring. Put a drop of glue between the hair and the frog tongue and insert the ring wedge. Even the hair and tap the wedge into place by putting leather on top and using a tack hammer
6. Cut the wedge in two places, no deeper than 1 mm from the hair, using a razor saw. Bend the wedge back and forth until it breaks at the cuts
7. Put the frog on the bow stick and insert the end screw. Place the stick into a clam that is held onto a desktop with C-clamps making certain the frog does not touch. Put the bow in the clamp and extend the hair 1 inch past the tip and make a cut with the scissors 

Attach the hair to the bow

1. Take the frog off the stick. Submerge the hair in water. Don’t get the ring wedge wet. Lift it straight out, pressing the water out of the hair as you remove and wiping once with a paper towel. Reattach the frog to the stick and the stick back into the clamp. Comb the hair
2. Determine the exact length of the hair and adjust the length for the season. If it’s summer subtract 1mm length. Wet the hair again and comb
3. Wrap the end with wire as you did in Step 7 of Section 1. Crimp the wire flat and twist the end tight. Cut the wire and bend over the top of the tie. Crimp tight. Measure the cavity and subtract 1 mm. Cut the hair that length using the wire end toward the middle as the starting point. Put a drop of glue on and spray with accelerator

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How to measure arm length?

To measure what size violin best suits you, you need to know the length between your neck and the middle of your left-hand palm (when your hand is fully  extended and raised perpendicular to your body, just like holding a violin).  Some teachers prefer students to use the length from the neck to the wrist for  measurement instead of the neck to mid-palm approach. The violin size determined by the neck/wrist approach would be the size that is more comfortable for students to hold. The violin size determined by the neck/mid-palm approach would be the biggest size students should use.

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Putting Together your Clarinet:

Step 1: Just get acquainted with your new instrument. Look at the pieces and take note at how fragile it is. Your instrument is either made out of plastic or wood. Study the different parts of the clarinet and learn the names. For now you can just use this picture as a reference:

Step 2: Find the Upper Joint and the Lower Joint of your clarinet. Hold down the three finger buttons in the Upper Joint as shown in the picture. If you will watch the buttons while you press them down, you will notice a small Bridge Key on the bottom portion or the Upper Joint. This allows the Upper Joint to be connected to the Lower Joint safely and securely. While depressing the keys on the Upper Joint as shown in the picture, gently twist the two pieces together.

Step 3: Now search for your Barrel and your Mouthpiece. Twist the two together in the same way that you did the Upper and Lower Joints. Now take these two connected pieces and connect them to the top of your Upper Joint.

Step 4: Find the Bell. The only place left to put it is on the piece of cork at the end of the Bottom Joint, so gently twist the Bell on.

Step 5: Take the reed and soak it in your mouth a few moments. Be careful not to rub your tongue against the tip, because if you damage the tip, the sound you make will not be as pretty as it could be. After soaking the reed for about a minute or two, place it flat side down on the open part of the mouthpiece and slide the ligature on (The thing that holds the reed on). Adjust the reed to that when you look straight at it, you can only see a thin sliver of the mouthpiece. When your mouthpiece looks like this you can go ahead and tighten the ligature screws until they are barely tight. Over tightening will bend the ligature and your sound can also suffer from this.

Good! You’re all done! I hope you can enjoy the appearance of your new instrument, as the clarinet is one of the most beautiful instruments.

Before you Play:

Before you begin, I would like you to pay attention to a few things. Make sure you are sitting with your feet comfortably touching the floor and with a straight back. You should feel that your throat is open and that you can breath comfortably. This is the posture that you should always sit in when you are playing the clarinet, or any musical instrument.

Your First Sounds:

Step 1: Take a piece of paper and slide it in between your reed and your mouthpiece. When you feel the slightest bit of resistance, stop. This is where your lips will fall on the mouthpiece. Remember that spot.

Step 2: Curl your bottom lip over your bottom teeth. Place the Reed on top of your lip and gently bite down on the top with your bare teeth. Your lips should be resting on the mouthpiece about where the paper stopped, and they should be firmly surrounding the mouthpiece with no gaps left for air.

Step 3: Keep your tongue in the bottom of your mouth, not constricting your airflow, and not touching the reed either. Strike it lightly against the upper part of your reed a few times. Breathe through the instrument and strike the reed a few times to interrupt the airflow. Remember how this feels because it is a very big part of the music making process.

Step 4: All right! This is the big one! Take a deep breath and try to think about filling up your stomach and not your chest. Gently force the air through your mouthpiece until you hear a sound. The vibration of the reed causes this sound. It is very important that the only time this vibration is interrupted is when you are flicking the tip of the reed with your tongue. This is called tonguing and is used to create rhythms and different note lengths.

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What do I need to start learning the violin?

At what age should I start?
As early as you can, when a child enters kindergarten is usually the best time to begin violin lessons.

Where can I buy a violin with good quality and reasonable price?
There are many choices on the internet, but I strongly recommend this site. Click here

How much should a student violin cost?
For beginner entry level violin set which includes a bow, rosin and a case should cost no more than a $100. Because most people cannot tell the differences in quality many student violins are sold at two to five times over their actual value.

Are there different size violins available for children?
Violins generally come in the following sizes: 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 4/4 (full size). Children in their early teens are usually big enough to play a full size violin. Good advice is crucial for fitting the right size for the child, and they should be present when purchasing the intrument.

What else do I need besides a violin?
Equally important as the violin is to have the appropriate shoulder rest and music stand.

What about rent a violin?
The cost of student violin is so affordable that rental is not a wise move in my humble opinion.

How to locate a teacher?

1. Contact the Suzuki Association of the Americas.
2. Post your request on a String-related Listservs.
3. Check Teachers’ Directories such as Teachers’ Directory, Violinist.com, Suzuki Teachers’ Directory, Music Staff, Violin World, Music Teachers’ List.

READ BEFORE USING YOUR NEW VIOLIN:

• New bow must be rosined for at least ten minutes before use, otherwise it will not make any sound on the violin
• Bridge should be in place, in line with the imaginary line between the middle points of the two F holes
• Strings must be tuned before playing

Pegs

The pegs should fit firmly into the peg holes (push inwards with a little force if necessary). If they slip often, it is a good idea to invest some money in buying some “Peg Dope” or grind some rosin dust from the included rosin cake and apply it (better with a little bit moist) onto the peg.

Strings

• When tuning, always loosen the string first, then retune it. If you don’t loosen the string before tuning it, the likeliness of string snapping is a lot higher.
• Tighten only 1 note higher on one string at a time. Then tighten the next. Do not tighten one string all the way to the desired pitch.
• After tuning your wooden pegs up to relative pitch, you can fine tune the violin with fine tuners located on the tailpiece.

Bow

• Your bow must be tightened before you use it. Be careful to not over-tighten your bow.
• Your bow should be rosined enough so that the strings can make vibrant sound. A new rosin cake might be too slick to apply to the hair. You can roughen the surface with sandpaper or scratch it with a small knife.
• Your bow should be only played in the area between the fingerboard and the bridge. After your practice is over, be sure to loosen your bow.
• Wipe off all the rosin dust and dirt from your violin after each time you play.

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