laurafiddler

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Sorry for any confusion!

Links for fiddles & accessories!

None of these businesses have sponsored me, they’re just products that I use and/or recommend often enough that it’s easier to just make a list!

If any of these links are broken, please do me a huge favor & let me know! Thanks! 🙂

Instruments:

I recommend renting for the first 6 months, so you can wait to buy until you know what you like. However, if you don’t want to rent, don’t have a rental store near you or are ready to buy, these are reputable places to find a decent playable instrument.

I don’t recommend Ebay or Amazon instruments. Often the instrument itself will be fine but the setup will be bad enough to make it unplayable, and it may cost as much as the instrument is worth to get it properly set up. Craigslist can be ok if you know how to check for playability and cracks.

Adults will need a full size or 4/4 instrument. Kids’ sizes will vary depending on the kid, please ask!

Shar Music

One of my students recently ordered the Danube, it’s very nice!

Southwest Strings

Also reliable instruments.

Ifshin Violins/Jay Haide

A bit more expensive, my personal favorite for intermediate/advanced students.

Shoulder rests:

You’ll need a shoulder rest! Make sure it’s the same size as your violin.

Please don’t buy a Resonans, they’re terrible IMO…

You can also find all these shoulder rests on Sharmusic.com and Amazon – I just linked to Southwest Strings because it has free shipping.

If you are human and tend to let your fiddle slip down your shoulder, I highly recommend the Bon Musica. It’s pricey but definitely worth it. It’ll help keep the violin in place, which means your bow is more likely to find the correct string.

A cheaper but still functional alternative is the Resonans brand, which also comes in fun colors.

Again, make sure the size of your shoulder rest matches the size of your fiddle!

Fingerboard stickers:

If you are taking lessons over video chat rather than in person, you’ll want one of these!

If you have never played before, please order the beginner one! It’s called “first frets” or “first position.” The advanced one will just be confusing, so do yourself a favor and keep it simple. If you want you can order the advanced one as well and swap it out once you need it.

Just like with a shoulder rest, make sure the size you order matches the size of your instrument.

Here’s the link.