Discover Our Exquisite Range of Violins

The violin, also known informally as a fiddle, is a wooden string instrument in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and highest-pitched instrument in the family in regular use.

Smaller violin-type instruments are known, including the violin piccolo and the kit violin, but these are virtually unused. The violin typically has four strings tuned in perfect fifths and is most commonly played by drawing a bow across its strings, though it can also be performed by plucking the strings with the fingers (pizzicato) and by striking the strings with the wooden side of the bow (col legno).

Violins are essential instruments in a wide variety of musical genres. They are most prominent in the Western classical tradition, both in ensembles (from chamber music to orchestras) and as solo instruments and in many varieties of folk music, including country music, bluegrass music, and jazz.

Electric violins with robust bodies and piezoelectric pickups are used in some forms of rock music and jazz fusion, with the pickups, plugged into instrument amplifiers and speakers to produce sound. Further, the violin has come to be played in many non-Western music cultures, including Indian music and Iranian music. The name fiddle is often used, regardless of the type of music played on it.

The violin was first known in 16th-century Italy, with some further modifications occurring in the 18th and 19th centuries to give the instrument a more powerful sound and projection. In Europe, it served as the basis for the development of other stringed instruments used in Western classical music, such as the viola.

How much is a good violin?

There are plenty of beginner violin price options in the range of $150 – $300. However, I wouldn’t consider purchasing a violin in this price range. Instead, renting a violin is the most economical solution until you can afford to spend at least $650 – $850.

The intermediate level violin price range will largely depend on your first purchase and playing ability. Generally speaking, intermediate level violins will cost between $1,000 – $3,000.

For many, the previous violin price range is enough to satisfy all musical desires and needs. Above the $3,000 mark and you’re entering professional territory.

At around the $3,000 level, your violin will most likely be crafted by one person from start to finish.

Antique violins can start as low as $7000 and go up too as high as $10 million for certain models.

Can you teach yourself the violin?

Yes, you can learn to play the violin, or near enough any instrument, with enough time, patience and practice – teacher or no teacher. But in our experience, the thing that really falls short on many instruments, but especially the violin, without a teacher is proper technique. Without decent tuition, you’ll in all likelihood end up holding the bow wrong, the violin wrong, using your hand rather than your chin to support the weight, and so on.

The main big problem with this isn’t that it causes major issues straight off – because it doesn’t. At least, not noticeably major issues. This is in fact the big problem because you can go on with a bad technique for years before you start to notice it becoming an issue, but when it hits it’s going to really hit, and it’s going to be incredibly difficult to un-teach yourself and gain the right technique, even with a proper teacher. Sure, it’s possible, but it’s damn hard.

For example, without a balanced bow hold, it’s nigh on impossible to get a good, fluid staccato, and could really cause your arm to ache after a while of hard playing. You’ll struggle to get a smooth, constant sound as well. A bad violin hold will make shifting positions much harder (again, something you don’t do when you first start) and make tuning much more inaccurate. You’ll also struggle to move your fingers quickly and accurately if you’re supporting the weight of the violin too.