Caring for violins during extremely dry conditions
Hello my little ghouls and goblins! I hope you all have a safe and fun Halloween! Just a reminder that the studio is still open today and classes are scheduled as usual.
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| Happy Halloween! |
Violin Care during Dry Conditions
With these strong Santa Ana winds our violins need a little extra care. You may have noticed that your strings are out of tune and your violin doesn't quite sound like it usually does. String instruments are very temperamental, and extreme conditions affect our strings as well as the wood of our violins. There are some things we can do to take some extra care of our instruments during these conditions.
Keep your instrument in the case and in a room with controlled temperatures when it is not in use. You should never ever leave your instrument in your car for long periods of time as extreme temperature changes can be very harmful to your instrument. It is also a good idea to place the case away from a window or air or heater vents.
Humidifiers
You can purchase violin and case humidifiers such as Dampit. But what I do works just as well. Take a wash cloth and run it under water and then squeeze the water out so it is wet, but not dripping excess water. Then fold the wash cloth and place it in a ziplock baggie with small holes or slits. Place the baggie in the case and keep the case shut. Take extra care that no dampness touches your instrument. Recommended humidity levels for violins are between 40-60%. Some violin cases have a humidity gauge, however they are rarely accurate.
You will also want to take care of the wood on your violin as well by keeping your violin clean and conditioned. Amazon sells "The Original Hill Violin Cleaner and Polish" for around $10. It is easy to use and is safe for your violin. I use violin polish on occasion. However, I find that putting a small amount of pure extra virgin olive oil on a clean cloth and rubbing it on the wood and then wiping with a dry cloth keeps my violin conditioned well and also keeps it looking nice and not overly shiny. You do not want to use furniture polish or other polish products that are not made for instruments as they may contain chemicals that are not safe for your instrument. When polishing your violin be careful to rub very lightly and not to press on the wood as there are areas on the violin that are very delicate and subject to cracking, especially around the sound holes as the wood is much thinner there. Also, use small amounts. There is no need to let polish or oils sit or soak on the wood.
Have a fun day ... take care of your instruments .... practice .... and let me know if you have any questions.
Ms Jill
