Violin Strings: How Much of a Difference Does Brand Really Make?

Thanks!

I have noticed with guitar that my strings lasted forever, but they still weren't as expensive as violin strings (I play classical, nylon string guitar). In lessons I was told to change strings every 6 months, which I never got around to doing. In ensemble the professor confessed that he only changed strings when they broke generally. And that's about how I am.

However, one a steel string that I helped sell, I put new strings on it and just grabbed the first ones I saw since I don't know much about steel strings, and ended up making the guitar sound worse and it sold for a lot less money than it should have.

I've been playing on the nearly broken strings on my violin, but I know if I use a bunch of pressure they will snap. So I'd rather just change them now.

If no one responds on here, I guess I'll have to wait.

My nylon classical guitar strings last a very long time. Months of solid steady playing before they start to go dead. I think they cost around 20-30 bucks a set, so they are pretty cheap compared to violin strings.

For electric guitar though, I will change those every two weeks to a month if I am playing and practicing a lot, sometimes as little as once a week, or after a show if I'm gigging because they just do not hold up like the accoustic ones do. Again though, they are far far cheaper.

I almost bought the dominant strings today, but they were $29 per string where I was! I ended up going with my old favorite plus a different brand (D'Addario) for the E string since I have a 5 string violin. The music store didn't seem to have a full set in the same brand no matter what I went with.

Tomorrow morning is my first lesson, I hope it all goes well. Fixed up the violin tonight and it should be in good working order now.:)

D'Addario is the brand I use.I couldn't remember the name until I saw it in your post.I hope everything goes well with the lesson. Have fun. Talk to you later.

I ended up putting the strings on the violin, then at the first lesson didn't even have to play. For the second lesson, I borrowed my cousin's violin since she said I could when I told her I was taking violin, and I realized hers sounded a lot better than mine. Plus, it only has 4 strings so the string spacing is a lot better for me to take lessons with. The 5 string violin probably wouldn't have been the greatest idea.

I am so glad it worked out.I have only played a 4 string violin. how did it feel to play? do you feel like you will be able to play with practice?

Thanks for the best response.

I think I should be able to play with some practice. I'm already liking violin better than viola because I get lead parts in our tiny group and violas almost never get lead.

You're welcome!

That is so true. How are you at reading the music for violin? I know it is a different clef.

I'm getting better. I know where the notes are on the violin when I look at them. And I know which ones get sharps and flats in the various key signatures. But I am horrible at the note names on the treble clef. I can figure them out from where C is, but I can't really just say them instantly from looking. And I'd have a hard time bumping something up or down an octave in my head, whereas on the viola I could even transpose in my head if I had to.

At first I was concerned that fully learning another clef would mess up my memory of my other clef. But then I realized that I type in two different keyboard languages and everyone says that will mess you up, but it didn't mess up my typing so far. So I'm thinking it is possible to fully learn the treble clef, it will just take some time.

One year in highschool, my orchestra needed cellos and violas and they offered us violinists a chance to switch. I tried but it took me too long to translate the clef.I guess I was meant to play violin.So I know how it is changing clefs.So practice, practice, practice, You get it. ps Maybe this will help. The lines of the treble staff is EGBDF, or Every Good Boy Does Fine. and the spaces are FACE.

I always get more confused thinking of it that way actually, just because I can't remember if FACE is up or down and all that. I usually just go off the C or another note that I know and figure out the one that I want's name. Luckily, from playing many instruments I've gotten used to learning fingerings and knowing where each note is... I just never learned the names on that clef.

I am best at alto clef, but can also read bass clef as I used to play trombone.

You can read bass clef! That is great. Back in 1987, I tried to play the piano, so I needed to learn bass clef, or should I say tried to learn bass clef.It didn't go well.I guess I am a treble clef girl. You can play the trombone? That is great.The closet wind instrument I can play is the recorder.How many instruments can you play?

I can't play the trombone anymore. I got really bad pneumonia after I had learned it and couldn't play after that. I'm sure that I could by now, but I don't have a trombone and I'd have to relearn it.

I'm jealous about the recorder. I never could pick up the song flute in school and then I bought a recorder later on my own and couldn't pick that up either. The fingerings just never made sense to me.

I'd say instruments I play fluently are: harmonica, viola, and guitar. I've played the piano since I was 8 but I'm not very good since my visual problems don't allow me to easily see 2 lines at once... I can play anything on one hand on piano, but if I want to play with both it generally involves some memorization or some playing by ear. Instruments I'm still learning: autoharp and violin (not that I'm not still learning the others, but I'm definitely a beginner on these two). And instruments I've played for awhile but I'm really not that great at: zither and Irish tinwhistle. I think that accounts for everything.

Oops! How could I forget the melodica? I'd say I could definitely play a melodica fluently. It is one of my favorite instruments to play. I even sent in an audition to America's Got Talent.

That's funny, the two instruments you are a beginner at are the two i learned first, the violin and the autoharp.I tried playing a few and I mean a few songs on the piano about 11 years ago but I had a hard time reading both lines but not because of my eyesight. It was because of me trying to translate bass clef. After trying to play cello I just realized that I am meant to read treble clef.

What is a melodica?

A melodica is like a short piano that you blow into to make accordion/harmonica like sounds. My dad always calls it a "piano on a stick" due to how he thinks it looks while played. Some people play it with a tube so that they can see the notes as they play too.

Thanks. I have seen them but never knew their name.