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Parent's Guide

How To Know If Your New Violin Is Set-Up Properly

When you invest in a new violin, whether you're a beginner or an advanced player, the setup of your instrument is crucial to achieving the best possib...
Is It Better to Rent or Buy a Violin?

Hey everybody, this is Joel Kennedy with Kennedy Violins. Today I want to discuss the advantages of renting a violin. For the most part, kids are ren...
What Size Violin Does My Child Need?

Finding the right size violin for your child can be a challenge, but it's crucial for their comfort and musical development. In this article, we'll ex...
What is the Difference Between a Violin and a Fiddle?

One question that frequently comes up among string instrument enthusiasts is whether there is a difference between a fiddle and a violin. It's a topi...
What is a VSO?

The term VSO refers to items passing as violins, but not functioning as them. This earns them the name "Violin Shaped Object." While a VSO may look exactly like a regular violin, it won't sound like one! You can find VSOs at cheap prices, but don't be tempted by the low price point—as the old saying goes, "you get what you pay for!"...
Instrument Demonstration and Comparison Videos

We have a helpful collection of video comparisons. Listen to performances on our instruments and compare some of our most popular models! Here are links to the demonstration playlists on YouTube....
How to Switch From Violin to Viola

Hi there, this is Joel Kennedy from Kennedy Violins, and today we're diving into a topic that has intrigued many: switching from violin to viola or ev...
Types of Violin Mutes: A Comprehensive Guide to Quieting Your Instrument

Whether you're a professional violinist looking to explore different tonal colors or a beginner trying to practice without disturbing the neighbors, a...
How to Stop Violin Pegs from Slipping: A Comprehensive Guide

Slipping pegs are one of the most common issues violinists face, regardless of their skill level. This problem can be both frustrating and problematic, leading to unstable tuning and affecting your performance. In this guide, we will explore the reasons behind slipping pegs and offer practical solutions....
Make Violin Pegs Turn Easier: A Guide for Violins and Other Orchestral Instruments

Having trouble tuning your violin due to stubborn pegs? You're not alone. Difficulty in turning pegs is a common issue faced by violinists, both begi...
How to Buy a Violin for Beginner

So, you've made the exciting decision to delve into the world of the violin. Whether it's for yourself or your child, the prospect of learning a musi...
Which Guitar Is Best For Beginners: Classical Or Acoustic?

Choosing Your First Guitar: Classical or Acoustic? Choosing your first guitar is a pivotal moment in any budding musician's journey. The decision betw...
The Ultimate Guide to Finding the Best Beginner Violin Lessons

Today, the internet is flooded with queries like "best beginner violin lessons." As a professional musician, teacher, and a parent of two budding mus...
What is the Difference Between a Beginner Violin and an Intermediate Violin?

Understanding the difference between beginner and intermediate violins can often be a bit confusing, as it's somewhat subjective. This guide will clar...
How Much Does a Violin Cost for a Beginner?

Understanding the Cost of a Beginner's Violin Choosing your first violin can feel like stepping into an ocean of unknown depths. However, understandi...
The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Right Violin Size for Beginners

When embarking on a musical journey as a beginner violinist, choosing the right violin size is crucial. A well-fitted instrument not only ensures prop...
Exploring Bow Materials—Choosing the Best Bow for Your Violin, Viola, Cello, or Bass

By Joel Kennedy When choosing a bow for your violin, viola, cello, or bass, the material it's made of plays a significant role in the sound production...
Should My Child Learn Violin?

In today’s video, Joel will talk about the reasons why many parents start their kids on violin and why he started his children with the violin. Many p...
Why is Violin So Hard?

In Today’s video, Joel Kennedy talks about why it is so hard to learn the violin and what the difference between learning the violin and other instrum...
Can Adults Learn Violin?

Can adults learn to play the violin is a common question that I hear fairly often. The simple answer to this question is YES, adults CAN learn the vio...
What to Look For When Choosing a Violin for a Beginner

What to look for when buying and choosing a violin? It can seem like a very daunting task, and if you don’t know a lot about violins, it can seem impo...
Difference Between Cheap and Expensive Violins

There are 5 main tiers of violins that you can buy. 1. VSO violins (usually below $200) Otherwise known as Violin Shaped Objects. These violins repres...
What Bow Should I Buy?

Learn about the different kinds of orchestral bows and what you may decide is best for you. The purpose of this video is NOT to offer an exhaustive li...
Should You Buy a New Instrument?

Today, I’ll be talking about some of the factors involved when you are deciding to buy a new stringed instrument. Generally speaking, there are a f...
How to Read Sheet Music for Violin—Open Strings

Here are the first steps in reading violin sheet music, which is reading open strings. Watch the video for more tips! Memorizing how your open strings...
How to Write Fingerings in Sheet Music

Today’s video is about how to write fingerings in your sheet music. There are many benefits to writing fingerings in your sheet music whether you are ...
How to Use a Mute on an Orchestra Instrument

Here are the the differences between the many types of mutes you can use on your instrument. During my younger years and when I played professionally,...
How to Put Fingering Tape on Your Violin

Hello everyone, Today I’m doing a short video on how and why to put fingering tapes on your violin. Many people who first learn the violin wonder why ...
How To Prepare for an Audition

Hello everyone, today I wanted to talk about how to prepare for an audition. It's all about two main things: Preparing the music and preparing your mi...
What happened to EBONY?

Hi everyone, today I'm talking about the use of Ebony on stringed instruments. I talk about why Ebony is used and the fact that we are running out of ...
How to Find the Right Teacher

Hello everyone, Today I’m finishing up my series on raising musician children and I’m talking about how to know if your violin teacher is a good mat...
How to Practice with Your Kids

Let's talk about how to practice with your child. However, I think that the effectiveness of any advice that I can offer is heavily dependent on the r...
How to Practice

Today I’m talking about how to practice. A lot of people focus on how much time they practice and while that’s important, it’s arguably much more impo...
How to put on a shoulder rest

Watch Joel Kennedy from Kennedy Violins show you how to put on a shoulder rest. This video features a Portland Gold Shoulder Rest....
Difference Between Violin and Viola

Hi everyone, in this video I explain the differences between the violin and viola. The differences can be explained in 2 different ways: physical an...
The Fine Art of Tuning

In high school, at the beginning of each concert, like all orchestras, we would take some time to tune.  Once the squeaking and squawking settled into...
How to Return to The Violin After Years of Not Playing

By Joel Kennedy Introduction At Kennedy Violins, we get calls all the time from people who want to get back to playing after taking a hiatus of severa...
Beginner Basics: Where to Get Started

Your child just came home from school and announced that they want to join orchestra. But you have never touched a stringed instrument! How can you decide which instrument is best for your child. And, how can you decide which size instrument they need?...
Practice Makes Perfect

By Joel Kennedy Everybody knows that if you want to be better at anything, you need to practice. Most people would also agree that while practicing is...
From Frog to Tip: How to Choose a Bow

When choosing a bow, you’ll typically want to try it (such as with our in-home trial program!) to test the bows comfort for you as a unique player. Consider factors such as weight, balance, bounciness, response, and even length, which can vary (especially for bass bows). Try different bow strokes such as spicatto, staccato, and long tones to assess the bows quality and comfort in your own hands....
How to Purchase a Violin

If you don't play the violin, how can you test one? What if you don't have a violin store in your area that has a large selection of violins? Perhaps most confusing of all is the fact that most violins all look the same and when you look at one to another, the price ranges are huge and the price differences seem to be nebulous and random. How can you be sure you're not getting ripped off? How expensive of a violin do you need to purchase for your child, especially considering they may be a beginning student?...
How Do You Find a Violin Teacher For Your Child?

Where do I find a suitable instructor for my child? Once parents decide that they want their children to learn a stringed instrument, they are faced with this often challenging question. It's difficult to know where to start. find a teacher who will not only show them proper technique, but also instill a joy for music....
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