Expert: Michael Avagliano - 6/3/2009

Question
My very young daughter (3 years old) will not stop talking about playing violin and begs me every time I play mine.  She's a very tall kid -- above the 100th percentile in height -- and will probably need a 1/16 size or bigger violin.  While I am considering when to give her the opportunity to play on a regular basis, such as for 5 minutes a day or something, I'd like to know if you have any suggestions about what sort of instrument to buy.  I ask because I just HATE the tone produced by the vast majority of those tiny violins, and I'm just wondering if you know of a better way to go that will give me some resale value or some leeway to upgrade.  I just don't want to buy one of those horrible, crunchy-sounding violins.  What do you think?

Answer
Hello Gabriela,

I know exactly what you mean about the problems of finding a good-sounding small instrument! It's not easy, because there's usually a price barrier involved. Because small-size violins are actually more difficult to make (miniaturization isnever easy), most violins that you would feel comfortable putting in the hands of a beginner are of poor overall quality.

Your best bet is to get one not from a mail-order house (like Southwest Strings or Shar) and not from the internet (like EBay or some other "discount" site), but from a dedicated violin shop in your area. The most basic problem with small-size instruments is the setup of the violin -- the bridge, soundpost, tailpiece, and pegs. If those are fit properly, and the strings are good quality (for a 1/16 or 1/8 size, D'Addario Prelude or Pirastro Piranito strings would be good choices), then the instrument has the best chance of sounding more like a violin and less like a large cricket. And a good shop would be able to sell you an instrument that's well-set and adjusted for a lower price than buying one blind off the Web and taking it to them for fixing.

Most dedicated shops also have trade policies that are pretty generous -- for instance, I offer 100% trade value for the small-size instruments that I sell, so that the customer can step up in quality as they step up in size. Many shops offer a similar policy.

If you'd like help in choosing the right shop in your area, let me know and I can point you in the right direction.

I hope this helps!

Sincerely,
Michael