Getting the Right Accessories for your Instrument (violin family)

In order to get the most out of your violin (or other members of the violin family of instruments), you need to get the right accesories. Shown below are some of the more important accesories.

Rosin

Rosin provides the necessary friction necessary to play bowed string instruments. Sound from violin is produced when a bow is pulled across the strings. Without rosin, the bow will slide across the string producing only a faint sound, or even no sound at all. Rosin usually comes in round or oblong shapes. Check out our or rosin page here.

Violin Polish

To clean your violin, all you need is a dry, lint-free cloth to wipe rosin from your strings after each playing session. Although polish is rarely necessary, there may be times when you need to clean your violin thoroughly. The layer of rosin dust that settles on the top of your violin may become hard and removing them with a mere wipe of a clean cloth may not suffice. You should never use furniture polish, or any other commercial polish as doing so may damage the varnish of your instrument.

Mutes

Mutes are devices placed upon the violin bridge to dampen or mute the sound of the violin. There are generally two kinds of mutes:

1. Mutes for passages of music which call for a muted sound (composers use these muted passages for special effects or a contrast of sound). These mutes are usually referred to as 'orchestral mutes'.
   
2. Practice mutes which significantly reduce the sound of the violin so as not to disturb people in the vicinity. These mutes are sometimes called 'hotel mutes' or 'heavy practice mutes'.

Check out out mutes here.

Shoulder Rest

Shoulder rests are accessories usually used with violins and violas, usually attached to the rear underside of instrument. The goal of a shoulder rest is to provide more comfort to the player as well as preventing the instrument from slipping.

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