How much should a beginner practise?
Fifteen minutes every day beats two hours on Sunday.
Caring for a violin in Chennai’s heat and humidity
Where to keep it, how to clean it and what to do about loose pegs and strings in a humid coastal city.
Chennai is hard on violins. The air is humid for most of the year, and rooms swing between sea breeze and air-conditioning. Wood swells and shrinks with moisture, and violin strings respond to every change. A few habits keep your instrument playable.
Keep it in its case when you are not playing, and keep the case away from windows, the kitchen and the direct blast of an air-conditioner. Do not leave a violin in a parked car, even for half an hour; the heat inside can loosen the glue. A silica gel sachet in the case pocket, changed every month in the monsoon, helps with damp.
After every practice, wipe the strings, the fingerboard and the top of the violin with a soft cotton cloth. Rosin dust builds up quickly in humid air and becomes sticky. Loosen the bow hair a few turns before putting it away, so the bow keeps its curve.
Pegs slip often in humid weather, so the violin goes out of tune between classes. Our teachers will show you how to tune with the fine tuners and turn pegs gently. If a peg keeps slipping, or a seam opens with a buzzing sound, do not glue it yourself; bring it in and our violin teacher will check it or send it to a repairer in Mylapore. Strings should be changed every six months for regular players. Violins on loan from us are checked free at the end of each month.
