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My 7 year old daughter has asked for a violin for Christmas. She has never played so just starting......and she is young. I was hoping to find a decent, used violin for her. I found a 3/4 size one that is a German made starter but the bridge didn't have much of a radius so it was easy to get on another string accidentally. The same guy (who was selling inventory from a closed music shop) and 2 more "new" 3/3 sized violins he was selling. They arent really new but have never been sold. Anyhow, one of the "new" ones was a Stephan Eastman mfg in 2002 and it sounded much better than the other 2. He is asking 1/2 of retail price for this violin which seems a little high.....but if I order over the internet I don't get to hear or play it so it could be better or worse.

Any thoughts on this brand (Eastman)? Any thoughts on the 3/4 size for a 7 yr old? (Seems the half size wouldn't fit very long, not sure) Any recommendations? I need to act quickly.

Thanks!

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

I asked my wife which size would be best for a 7 year old, (my wife is a professional violinist and now teacher), the standard measure is taken with the left arm in the extended playing position, you measure from the neck to the middle of the palm, 181/2"=1/4 size, 20"=1/2 size and 22"= 3/4 size. These are the largest sizes that they should use. Many teachers prefer the measure to be to the wrist rather than palm giving a smaller size violin, which of course you'd have to change sooner. The best age guide without measuring is 6/7 - 1/4 size, 8/9 - 1/2, 10/11 - 3/4. So, it seems that the very largest size a big 7 year old should use is a 1/2 size, too large a violin makes playing much too difficult, so that would mean that a 3/4 size would be much too large for a 7 year old and a 1/2 should last at least a couple of years.

Hope this helps.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Spot on Colin. My daughters teacher preferred the measurement to the wrist for a better fit as she put it. Check out the rent to own policy at your local store until you are sure she'll stick with it. We did that with my daughters first two violins and it was negligibly more than outright purchase plus they took them in on trade as we moved up. Plus they were better quality and less expensive than the new ones for sale in the same store.

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Bobby Masten

Yes, my wife prefers the wrist measurement as it gives a more comfortable playing position, which is critical for a child. But the palm measure will give the very largest size a child should have.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Well, locally there is a used, 1/2 size Cremona violin for sale in the $300-$350 range (can't remember which). I didn't want to spend that much but it only cost what you pay for it minus what you get out of it when your done. In that sense, a used one probably is cheaper.

Any thoughts on brands?

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

You might want to rent one for the first year, just to make sure she wants to get into it. Our 8 yr old started this fall and she's loving it. The rental was really inexpensive at $35/3 month so it's only $105 for the first year (of lessons that is). Too boot the rental violin is brand new. If she's serious about continuing, well look into getting her own.

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My almost 8-year old boy, who is tall for his age, got a 1/2 size just recently. He started with a 1/4 size at age 6, with a so-so rental from the local music school. When the time came move up one size, I bought an inexpensive one on eBay directly from China, which I tinkered it into an OK playing instrument.

FWIW, my now 12-year old daughter, who now plays a full size violin, got a 3/4 size for her 10 year birthday; also a relatively inexpensive eBay purchase, but this was a nice, century old German factory fiddle. It requred new fittings, some regluing and general TLC to be brought back to life, but it turned into a much nicer instrument than any of the ones the music school had to offer. My youngest daughter, now 4, tells me she want to play the cello. Her birthday is in April, and I'm looking all over eBay again...

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Not sure about the sizing thing Darryl but we rented until my daughter was big enough for a full size. Unless you have free time to do the horse trading down the road, for us, renting was the way to go.

Good luck and it's great your daughter wants to take up violin. I think my daughter was 7 when she decided on her own she wanted to learn violin. There was some rocky road but, at 14, she is playing really well and is highly motivated.

All The Best,
Danny

I'm thinkin, a full sized violin might be a cello for a 4 year old.

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If you can't do something well, learn to enjoy doing it poorly.

Thanks for the replies and ideas everyone! I'm not aware of a lease program in the area so I doubt that is an option.........but a great idea to check on. I called about the Cremona 1/4 size instrument on Craigs list. It sounds worthy of investigating further. Big improvement over a student violin and the bow is big step up from what is included with a student model (and the horse hair was just replaced). Also, I misunderstood the price, the price above was for both violins the lady is selling. Thanks for the advice on sizes for a 7 yr old! The 1/4 size should fit her much better. Headed to Lexington today but scheduled to look at the Cremona on Thursday when I return. Thanks again!

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......