Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Ways To Answer The Quandary Of What Size Violin Should I Buy For My Child

By Robert Scott


The day has come. Little Johnnie has a wish to take up the violin. As a parent, you don't know the first thing about the instrument and your head repeatedly demands an answer to the question what size violin should I buy for my child. Relax. This is easy. All that is required of you is a device to measure your child's arm span.

To begin, get as accurate a recording of the length of the arm from the neck to the wrist. Measure the distance again, this time from the base of the neck to the palm centre. While you are doing this, ensure that the arm is straight and perpendicular to the body.

When you have these two measurements and an average, check through the information below to find the appropriate length. Bear in mind that violins for small people come in fractions of one that is full sized. Using a miniature version will ensure that that bow and instrument length is correct and that the child does not have to struggle to play.

For our purposes here, we will start with the tiny tots. In the age group between three and five, a fourteen inch measurement means that the best buy will be an instrument at one sixteenth of the full size.

Kids who are five and four and who have recorded anything around fifteen inches will suit a tenth. In the six and five year category, sixteen and a half inches of arm will hold an eighth well, and for the hopeful would-be musician who is seven, six or five and has a span of twenty inches, a half is the correct type.

Going up the scale, with the nine to twelves with measurements of between twenty one and a half and twenty two, best fit will be a three quarter. There is also a seven eights instrument which fits those who have petite hands and a span of twenty two inches.

Eleven year olds and above who notched up twenty three inches or more should be absolutely fine with a full sized instrument. So there you have it. No more need to listen to the phrase what size violin should I buy for my child go round and round in your mind. Pretty soon, you could be listening to your own in-house violinist soothing all your cares away and wondering what all the fuss was about.




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