[Page 4] - Remarks concerning the violin, &c.

REMARKS CONCERNING THE VIOLIN, &c.

How the Violin should be kept.
The Violin is a very delicate and brittle instrument, and requires the utmost care to prevent its being damaged. The best method of keeping the Violin
is to put it in a cloth bag lined with silk, and packed into a trunk, which should be laid in a dry place, and not left hanging up or lying round the room
exposed to the air and dampness. Whenever the Violin has been used, always accustom yourself to wipe the rosin and dust from it, as they not only dis-
figure the instrument, but obstruct the vibration, and attract humidity.

Of the Violin Bow.
A good Violin Bow should always be stiff and springy, and perfectly straight - if warped it is good for nothing; and when unscrewed, the hair should
touch the stick near the middle, which should always be done after it has been used, to preserve its elasticity. The hair should be large and even; and in
width it should be spread from three-eighths to nearly half an inch. The Bow should be fastened in the case; if left lying about, it will be bent.

On Stringing the Violin.
When the scholar has ascertained the size strings that best suit his instrument, he should be particular to get that size - as too often shifting them may
be injurious to his Violin, as well as to his playing. Good strings are of a glassy color, transparent, and very elastic; old and poor strings are easily
known by their dull, yellow color, and want of elasticity. The distance from the nut to the bridge, on a common-sized Violin, should be thirteen inches.
The finger-board must be straight, and considerably rounding. The strings on the nut must be placed an equal distance apart, and about twice the thick-
ness of thin writing-paper from the finger-board. They must also run an equal distance on the bridge, and just high enough so as not to jar on the board
when put in full vibration. The right side of the bridge is somewhat lower than the left, and should be kept perpendicular, with the feet adhering close to
the top of the instrument. In order to ascertain which kind of bridge will produce the best tone on a violin, it is necessary to try a number of different
heights and thicknesses, and of soft and hard wood. The sound-post must be moved to different places when the different bridges are tried - as a different
bridge may require the post to be moved to a different place.

Of Rosin.
As there is as much in having good rosin on the bow in order to produce a good rone as there is in having a good instrument, the scholar should be par
ticular to get that which has been prepared expressly fot that use. Good rosin is generally of a light brown color, and transparent; there is a good quality
which is yellow, and not transparent. That which has been prepared for the bow comes in small boxes, or paper rolls, and is generally found at music
stores. The unclarified, or cask rosin, is not fit for use, as it is too gummy. When a bow is new, or first haired, the rosin should be finely pulverized, and
rubbed in. In applying the rosin, it should be held in the left hand, and the bow in the right, drawing the hair across it from one end to the other a few
times, as occasion may require. The dust and rosin that stick to the bow must frequently be wiped off with a dry cloth; the rosin that flies off the bow
while putting it on, should also be wiped off the fingers before taking hold of the instrument, as it would have a tendency to gum up the strings.

On Repairing the Violin.
When the scholar finds it necessary to have any repairs done to his instrument, he should be careful to address himself to a person of known experience;
and, if possible, see to the repairs himself, as every one has some peculiarities of his own about his instrument. The old saying is, (by those who have no
knowledge of the instrument,) "that after a violin has been broken all to pieces and patched up again, it is the better for it." If the scholar has a good
violin, I should recommend him not to try the experiment, as I think there was never a violin broken without its being some way or other more or less
injured. If breaking a violin improved the tone, the manufacturer could easily do that when he made it. Scraping and varnishing old violins are alike
detrimonial to the tone.