Confused? Yeah, this can be mysterious topic for sure. I thought I would jot down a few notes and share with you here in hopes that this will take some of the mystery out of the topic and help you to determine what are the best choices for you.
Playing Time
Playing Time
General speaking, strings will last for about 300 hours of playing time. That opens the door to the question of "How much should I practice?" which is a whole different article. But back to the point ... The math here really depends on time spent in the practice room and performing. But the hours of playing time is only a fraction of the equation. If the style of the musician is on the softer/gentler side the strings will last a bit longer than that of a player that has a heavier bow arm or more of a fast and furious style of playing.
String Care
There are things you can do also to care for your strings that will extend the life a bit. First is to make a habit of wiping the excess rosin from the strings with a clean cloth before putting the violin back in the case. Yes, this can make a horrible screeching sound. While it is somewhat unpleasant it is totally normal. You can also wipe your strings with a tiny bit alcohol to clean them if they become caked with rosin. Personally, I only do this when I know they are at the end of their life, but I'm not quite ready to change them. If you do this, you must take great caution to make sure no alcohol touches the wood of the violin as it will ruin the varnish.
Dull Tone
Another indicator that you are ready for new strings is if the tone you are producing becomes dull. Also, if you notice that your strings don't tune well and you just can't seem to find the right pitch, your strings are probably ready to be changed.
Breaking in New Strings
It is important to know that when you first put on a new set of strings it takes a little bit to break them in. They will go out of tune a lot of first until they are done stretching. This usually takes a day or two. With that being said, if you have a performance coming up you probably don't want to change strings right before your performance. I usually try to change mine at least a few days before performing publicly, or if possible a week.
Choosing a Brand
Quality strings can make a huge difference in the tone that you produce. There are a lot of determining factors regarding what string to choose ... i.e. budget, playing level, desired tone, etc. Some strings are more durable than others, and different strings produce a wide variety of tones. I will share a bit here about my own personal experience with strings. Thomastik Dominants are a very popular string. They are durable and fairly reasonable at about $50 a set. They sound good on most student violins as well as some higher end violins. A lot of professional violinists use these strings exclusively. I used to, until I purchased my current violin. The Dominants seemed to produce a very harsh sound and I wasn't happy with that. I have also used Evah Pirazzi and Evah Pirazzi Gold. These sounded awesome on my old violin; but they sound horrible on my current violin. The Evah's are a bit pricey ranging from $85-116 for a set. My current favorite is Obligato's. They are also a bit pricey as well at around $100 per set; but I love the tone they produce. It's a very warm and colorful tone. And they are fairly durable. Below is a chart that Shar Music put together that can be very helpful in choosing strings. I am also available and happy to help recommend strings that I think would be suitable for your situation. If you are a student of mine and need a string change, I am also happy to help change strings during our lesson time. I plan on creating a video tutorial as well for those of you that want to change your strings at home.
I hope you found this article helpful. Let me know if you have any questions or comments. Happy practicing!
Ms Jill
GriffinViolin Studio
GriffinViolin Studio
