Violins Fiddles: Rosin Build-Up

Subject: Cleaning the violin?

Hi, I am a new violinist and I was noticing a buildup of rosin on the violin's strings. Is this good or bad?

Any help would be great,
thanks...
Sincerely
Ronald

Greetings Ronald,

Yes, this does occur...now, you'll want to be extra careful about removing this build-up...do not use any chemicals whatsoever...it can play havoc with your bow hair.

The safest approach is to use a water-dampened cloth, and slowly clean the string with a back and forth movement...being extra careful not to touch the fingerboard or top of the violin.

I, personally, leave some build-up on my strings...it doesn't seem to cause any problems when fiddling...however, if the build-up gets too pronounced, you'll definitely want to clean the strings.

Mickey

Subject: Violin - cleaning strings?
Date: Mon, 29 Dec 2003 08:24:55 -0600

Greetings,

What a great web site! I'm a guitarist who just got his first violin.
Thanks to your site, I'm making good progress. My question - as rosin
builds up on the strings, should you routinely clean it off or just let it
go? Thanks a million!

Steve

Greetings Steve,

Yes, rosin does build up on the strings...and, yes it should be periodically cleaned...

However, you'll want to be extra careful about not using any chemicals...a damp cloth would be okay...even so, be careful that no water touches the fingerboard or the top. It's still quite difficult to clean...even so, this is one of the safest ways. Allow the string to completely dry before attempting to play...

Hope this helps, Mickey