How to Take Care of Your Instrument?

There is one rule for all musicians to follow: Treat your instrument with respect and care. Here are some ways to protect it from harm.

Always handle it by its neck and chinrest. Try not to touch the varnish and handle your instrument by its neck and chinrest instead. This will prevent cracks coming from finger pressure. Never lean your instrument against the chair or anything to put it in danger.

Keep it clean and place it in a case. Clean your instrument with a soft cloth. Use special cleaners and polishes which are made for the violin and viola. Place the instrument in its case. Put desiccant inside the case to help protect it against changes of weather and humidity. Wrap your instrument in a cover, which can protect it from other accessories inside your case.

Be careful with your strings. Take one string off one time when changing to a new set of strings in case of bridge movement. Make the tuning easier by adding some graphite to the nut groove with a soft pencil, which is effective to extend the life of your strings.

Be gentle with your pegs. Never force the pegs during tuning, otherwise you may end up breaking a string. Try to put on some peg paste to your peg when it gets stuck. Apply only a little at the spot where the peg touches the pegbox.