2 mins
FROM THE ARCHIVE
Pedagogue George Brayley offers a list of Violin Don’ts – possibly intended as New Year’s Resolution ideas for readers
Don’t let the rosin accumulate on your violin; it stops up the pores of the wood, and, moreover, looks slovenly.
Don’t put the bow away in the case without unloosening the hair. If it is kept tightened, it will soon be useless.
Don’t hang your violin on your music stand when you have finished playing, as it is liable to fall and be broken.
Don’t break the hair off of your bow when one breaks; cut it at each end. You are liable to pull the hair out of the bow if you pull it to break it.
Don’t try to play in public what you cannot do well at home.
Don’t keep turning the pegs in tuning till the bridge falls down. Stop and look across the violin to see if it is straight. When the bridge falls it is liable to break.
Don’t let the neck of your violin hang down when you are playing and lay your head on it. It looks as if you are going to sleep. Hold the violin up.
Don’t write to the editor of a musical paper, or any one, asking the value of a violin that has a label on the inside with an old name and date printed on it, as he can tell nothing about it.
Don’t put your violin away without wiping it dry all over with a cloth or chamois skin, as it preserves the instrument and saves strings.
Don’t let your music get scattered and torn, when you can get brown wrappingpaper to cover it. Music costs money.
Don’t get impatient with a pupil in giving a lesson. Remember you were not able to do much better yourself once.
Don’t think you know all there is about the violin, for that height has never been reached yet.
Don’t stamp on the floor with your foot to keep time; it is a disagreeable noise. Moving the right foot in your boot will answer all the purpose.
Don’t spit on the pegs of your violin to make them stick. Rub some chalk on them. If they are fitted and still slip badly, put a little rosin on them.
Don’t let any of the strings down when you are done playing, as it puts the violin out of order, and you break strings quicker.
Don’t wind your strings around the neck of your violin; cut them the right length, and put the portions not wanted in a box in your case. They dry up quickly when exposed.
Don’t put a good violin in a damp place, as it will hurt it very much, and it is apt to come unglued.
Don’t keep constantly shifting the bridge and sound post, when they have been put in their place properly.
Don’t let your violin lie around on tables and other places, as it shows carelessness. Put it away in its case when you are done with it. ●
JEAN-BAPTISTE MILLOT