- Temperature - Don’t leave instruments anywhere you wouldn’t leave a baby. Cold or hot cars (or trunks) can make stringed instruments come unglued.
- Cleaning – Wipe rosin off instruments with a soft cloth after playing.
- Bows – Loosen before putting away or the camber (curve) will be lost.
- Polishing – Use a separate cloth. A little polish goes a long way and don’t use polish on the bow, fingerboard or strings. This can be done before concerts.
- Tuning – Cold, dry winter weather can make violins, violas and cellos go completely out of tune. Don’t turn the black pegs unless you actually know how to tune a violin, viola or cello. A quarter inch too far will break the string. I will be happy to meet with parents who would like to learn to tune. If you play guitar, this would be easy for you! Just contact me. If an instrument is completely out of tune and unplayable, the students should “air play”. This way they can still learn the fingerings for their tunes.