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What kind of maintenance should be performed daily, weekly, and monthly?

Furthermore, what products would be best for things such as cleaning?

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A comprehensive list may be difficult for my tired brain, but here's a start.

Daily/Weekly:

  • Tune the instrument. At least test it every time you take it out. Don't defile yourself and others by playing an out-of-tune violin!

  • Rosin the bow by rubbing your rosin cake up and down the length of the bow several times, and the gently wiping the excess rosin off with a soft cloth.

  • Wipe rosin dust off of the varnished wood of your violin with a micro fiber cloth. This protects the varnish.

Monthly/Yearly:

  • Change strings about every six - eight months, although some people stretch this because strings are flipping expensive. The rule of thumb is if when you play the full length of your bow and lift it up at the end so as to allow the string to ring, and it doesn't ring, it's time to change.

As I think of more, I will edit to add them. I believe this is a valid question because there really is an exhaustive list, at least of things I do daily/weekly/yearly, so there's no "infinite loop" problem.

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  • With the 'string ringing' test, does it have to be full length? How fast should the bow be?
    – marcellothearcane
    Sep 10, 2017 at 17:23
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    @marcellothearcane Respectively: No, and fast enough! Think about the motion it would take to cause the string to ring slightly assuming perfect condition. If it doesn't work, the string needs to be changed.
    – General Nuisance
    Sep 10, 2017 at 20:40

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