Violin

Maintenance

Violinists carry replacement strings with their instruments to have one available in case a string breaks. All four replacement strings must be included, since they differ in thickness. Even the strings which do not break are usually replaced after about a year of use, as they tend to become "false" over time, producing an unreliable pitch that varies in an inconsistent manner. The cost of strings varies, and the quality of the strings strongly influences the timbre of the sound produced. Most commonly, a violinist has to replace the higher strings more frequently than the lower strings. The higher strings also cost less money.

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It is said that Niccolo Paganini purposefully weakened some of his strings so that in performance they would snap. He would then play the rest of the piece on the remaining strings, sometimes going into remarkably high positions in order to impress the audience.

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In the course of playing the violin, hairs are often lost from the bow, making it necessary to have it rehaired periodically.

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The violin itself usually does not require maintenance, but it should be occasionally checked by a technician and is regularly cleaned with a gentle polish. Also, the non-varnished wood such as the ebony on the fingerboard, or the wood on the neck, as well as the strings should be rubbed with a swab dipped in rubbing alcohol to eliminate grime and debris. Care must be exercised to prevent any alcohol from coming in contact with the varnished parts of the violin. The tuning pegs may occasionally be lubricated with "peg dope" (also called "peg drops"; a solution of rosin in alcohol), or "peg soap" (a soft solid cake of rosin resembling soap) when they either slide too freely, causing the violin to slip out of tune often, or they do not slide freely enough, making tuning difficult.

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For the bow, the only real maintenance is re-hairing, or replacing the old horse hair (or in some cases polyester) with new hair. Other than that, sometimes the wire lapping needs to be replaced, or the screw (which tightens and loosens the bow) is lubricated at times. When storing the bow, the hair is loosened in order to prevent the bow from becoming "sprung". There are now bows available made from fiberglass or carbon composite which are less fragile.

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