Any fiddle/violin players out there. My wife bought one yesterday. We can hardly get it to make a noise at all. How should the bow be adjusted? Any fiddle 101 tips would be greatly appreciated.
I’m a onetime cellist, but have you tried adding rosin to the bow?
Yes and it helped. Still seems to take too much effort just to get a note. Most of the time the bow goes across the string and nothing… How much pressure should be applied when playing?
Thanks!
Scott
Hi, I played violin for about 10 years. There should be no need to apply any downward pressure on the strings via the bow. Provided the violin is of decent quality, and you have rosin or resin on the bow, holding the bow in the correct position and drawing it across the strings should produce a clear, singing note. No significant pressure required. If this is not happening, then there’s something wrong with the violin or the bow, or the violinist hasn’t been taught how to bow correctly.
When you tighten the bow there should be about 3/8" between the hair and the stick. The stick should still be bowed-in slightly; if the stick is straight then you’ve adjusted it so it’s too tight. My best guess is that the hair doesn’t have rosin on it. If you visit a music store I’m sure they’d help you get started gratis. If you don’t already have one, I strongly suggest buying a guitar tuner to tune the fiddle properly and to help learn where your fingers go on the fingerboard. Good luck!
Try and see if you can chat with one of the accomplished violinists in your area. Hopefully they can show you a few tricks here and there that you might miss from a method book or even some teachers.
When I was playing cello in the school orchestra, the teacher couldn’t make it for whatever reason and scheduled for some friend of hers who was a cellist in a church orchestra. I learned more from her in that one day than I did all year, honestly. She saw that our bows weren’t rosined well enough, and boy, did she correct that! She dug a rather used brown chunk out of her cello bag pocket that hardly resembled our pristine, wood-encased bricks of rosin and proceeded to rub down all our bows to perfection. She introduced us to the concept that not all charts are written with pristine notes but instead with hasty sketches of such, in the interest of time. She saw that many of us were holding our bows and instruments wrong, and she corrected that! I even recall that she said (perhaps as a joke?) her teacher taught proper sitting posture by taping a thumbtack on the back of the chair. Her overall influence has stayed with me even today as I am well beyond my cello playing days.
So, talk to as many violinists as you can. You will definitely learn. 
Thanks to all. I did apply rosin but way too little. Now we have applied an ample dose and like magic the instrument is making noise! We thank you, the dog doesn’t, (he’s appalled). Anyone recommend any good fiddle books?
Scott
I can’t vouch for the quality, not being an actual violinist myself, but there is the You Can Teach Yourself (insert instrument here) series available at Barnes & Noble, Border’s and such. A friend of mine taught himself Blues Piano with that version, with good success. If you are indeed after learning Fiddle and not Violin, they have a book for that.
…Fiddle and not Violin…
For those who might wonder, the differences include the type of music played, certain techniques, how it is approached, etc. The instrument is the same (with sometimes minor differences in adjustment).
If you don’t know how to read music, I recommend the All for Strings series by Gerald E. Anderson and Robert S. Frost. If you can read music, the Suzuki books would be a good choice. I also strongly, strongly recommend some type of weekly lesson. There are many tendencies to certain incorrect positions, and a teacher will ensure that you are fixing those and are not hurting yourself in the process.
It’s wonderful that you and your wife have started a new hobby. Enjoy it!