Information about my violin?

Question:Right, so I have this violin that belonged to my late father in law and it's very nice.

I am taking steps to begin learning to play it, but I have discovered that it's not a 4/4 (full size) instrument. It seems to be a few centimetres smaller than a full size one. I take it that it's a 3/4 one.

Will this make any difference to my learning to play it?

What difficulties could arise?

Would I be better off buying a 4/4 one and learning on that or should I learn on this one then buy a 4/4 one later?

What to do?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Right, so I have this violin that belonged to my late father in law and it's very nice.

I am taking steps to begin learning to play it, but I have discovered that it's not a 4/4 (full size) instrument. It seems to be a few centimetres smaller than a full size one. I take it that it's a 3/4 one.

Will this make any difference to my learning to play it?

What difficulties could arise?

Would I be better off buying a 4/4 one and learning on that or should I learn on this one then buy a 4/4 one later?

What to do?

Violins sizes vary quite a bit between makers. A few centimeters may not mean that you have a 3/4 or a 7/8.

The fractional sized violins are designed to let children with much smaller arms hold the violin properly. The disadvantages are simply that the smaller volume of air inside doesn't allow the instruments to project as well and the notes are marginally harder to find especially with bigger hands. As a beginner (with reasonable sized fingers), neither of these issues are too terribly important. However....

If you learn on the smaller instruments the distance between each note will be slightly longer on a full sized violin. People who can hear the correct pitch and have played for a while should be able to easily switch back and forth. When you are learning, a lot of the finger movements tend to be mechanical. If you switch back and forth you will get really confused.

I would say, if you are seriously interested in playing, get a full size violin and start on that. If you think you it might be fooling around a bit and are just in for a 'taster', go with learning on the smaller one. Depending on the type of music you are looking to play (Irish, Bluegrass, Gypsy, country), the bowing technique is more important than the fingering. There isn't any difference between bowing on a 3/4 and a full size.

Good Luck.

You should definitely get a full size (4/4) violin. It will make a huge difference when you play it because of how the finger patterns work on the violin. It will be to small for you. Most people grow out of the 3/4 violin when they are in late elementary school to early late middle school/early high school. The good thing about the 4/4 violin is that it is the biggest violin, so you will never have to look at another violin because of its size.

I would suggest a violin from swstrings.com. I would recommend the 110 - Klaus Mueller Etude Violin. It is a great beginners violin. It has a great tone. It is really well made. I have played it myself. I would suggest upgrading to the Arco Nouveau Round Carbon Fiber Violin Bow and getting either the Super-Sensitive Red Label Violin Strings or the Thomastik Infeld Red Violin Strings. The total package after upgrades should be around $300. This is a great violin at a great price. I have been teaching for a long time and this is a great instrument to get started on.

If you are an adult it would be best to work with a 4/4 full size violin. A 3/4 size violin is meant for children or adults with small hands.

As a violin has no frets, locating notes on the fingerboard & strings comes from repeated hand positioning, reflex, and ear training.

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