How to Make a Violin Stay in Tune

A violin that won't stay in tune, for whatever reason, can be annoying and discouraging. There are a number of tricks to make sure that your violin holds its tune better so that you can concentrate on your own playing being in tune without having to worry about the violin.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Tune your violin daily. This will make sure that the violin stays in shape and can help with problems. If you have new strings this is necessary until the strings are stretched enough so that they will stay in tune.

2. Check the violin's bridge. This piece of the violin may cause tune and sound issues if it is warped. Check the bridge from the side to make sure that it is perfectly straight.

3. Make sure the bridge is positioned correctly. To do this, take a piece of paper and line the paper up with the middle of the F hole. There will be small indentions or v shaped additions to the F hold for this purpose. Use the inside indentions to line up your paper. If the bridge is lined up correctly, the paper should touch the edges of the paper. If this doesn't occur, loosen the strings and move the bridge to the correct location.

4. Check the end button. This is located at the base of the violin and holds the tailpiece and strings in tension. This should fit solidly against the violin. If it is warped, replace it with a new tail button.

5. Check the pegs. In some cases, the pegs may be too smooth and may slowly slip and release the tension on the strings which makes the violin go out of tune. The easiest way to remedy this is to release the pegs from the violin by unwinding the string and removing the pegs then rubbing them with caulk. This will give the pegs more grip in holding the strings in tune.

6. Check the strings. If the strings, or a particular string is damaged, it could slowly cause the violin to become out of tune. If there are damaged strings, replace them immediately since there is a risk of a string snapping under the tension of tuning.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have taken all these measures and your instrument still will not stay in tune, take it to the dealer you bought it from or a violin repair shop. They will be able to look at the instrument more closely to discover the problem.

[heathermars]

on 9/22/2008 CAULK? Like to seal a bath tub? Are you sure? I dont want to try this until someone answers. My tuning pegs are always sliding out of tune and this would help, but I am wary....