Sheila

Some of the teachers here in small town Ohio charge $10 a half hour. I think it is $12 a half hour in the larger town not far from here. I have a bachelors degree and some work towards a masters and I get $8 a half hour. I pay all my taxes and so as you can see I make ... not.....much. But I do reap great rewards in my students acomplishments. I would have to go back to teaching in the public schools, if teaching violin was my only income. Oberlin is not far and a very fine music school and they do charge a lot. I sent a student of mine there for some lessons. SHEILA'S CORNER

I have a violin from the Bernadel and the Brothers Gand at Paris shop. The Frenchman http://www.bright.net/~hhelser/violins.html SHEILA'S CORNER

I hope you will find some help on this page. It is about auditioning. http://www.bright.net/~hhelser/audition.html SHEILA'S CORNER

I do not endorse using cleaners or polish however, I too have used the Shar polish and it has never hurt an instrument, yet. it is the only one I have found to be possibly safe. Be very careful about using cleaners or polish, do not use unless absolutely necessary. The best thing to do is to take it to your luthier and let him clean it. SHEILA'S CORNER

I am planning on buying a bow case for my extra bows to rest in, so I do not have to carry all of them with me, or let them sit out on a table, when I take my violin places. I have looked at a few bow cases in catalogs, but it is difficult to tell if there are any special features to look for. I plan to get one that holds 6 bows. Do any of you have any suggestions of features I should look for? SHEILA'S CORNER

One of my young students came to her lesson today and she has a dampit down inside her violin. Another violin student at school had offered to help put it in and the two of them, ages 10 years old, put it in alright.. all the way ( I tried to use some surgical forceps I have here at the house, but the violin is a 3/4 and the f holes are just too small. Even if I get hold of it I cannot drag it through. It will have to come out from the end. Do any of you have any ideas as to what I can use to get it out? I hope we do not have to have the top taken off. SHEILA'S CORNER

There is life in the wood, and resonance in the wood, and soul in the wood of a fine bow. That cannot be duplicated. SHEILA'S CORNER

I am unsure why you are cleaning your strings with alcohol so much. I only do that when I have a youngster who has gotten too carried away with the idea of putting on rosin. The strings should not be collecting so much rosin, just use a soft cloth after you play to wipe the strings with. SHEILA'S CORNER

I have had students use the approval service and to buy bows from Shar, and we have had excellent service. They also have a helpful booklet on buying a bow you can ask for when you call. SHEILA'S CORNER

Do NOT tap your good bow against a violin stand. SHEILA'S CORNER

I am just wondering. The Ebay sites posted are adds. Yet the other auction was taken off because it was considered an add. Personally I got a whole lot more out of viewing and reading about the violins and bows at this auction http://www.Tarisio.com/ than I ever have on the Ebay sites that are constantly posted. I view other luthiers sites and such and view and study their violins and bows, not because they are an add and I want to buy something but because it is nice to see what is being made. I frequently visit the Weber case site, and the Alden Lee Company just to see what new ideas are being created. It keeps me up on the latest string instrument inventions.. I even copy off on paper sometimes, some of the really fine bows or violins listed in pictures and discription on an auction, NOT Ebay, and I keep them in a notebook. It has become a wealth of pages to study the fine instruments that I would otherwise not get to view. And my students enjoy looking through the pages of instruments that they would not otherwise get to view. I am glad that someone posts some of these sites that I would not find or have looked for in a search engine. I am not activly looking for an instrument or bow, I already have several nice ones ;o) But viewing good instruments and bows is an education in itself. A board is for sharing. An add is for buying. And a site is used as the person wants.... as they say "In the eye of the beholder" Well, those are my wonderings........... SHEILA'S CORNER

I am glad it was put on. I had a great time looking at the pictures and reading the discriptions. I even saw a real LeFleur, of which my own Rodney Mohr bow I use is a copy. There are many who post here and ask how to tell this and that violin from this and that and the same with bows. Studying these pictures and discriptions is not a course in violin identification but study the details of the scrolls, f holes, shapes, varnish color ranges, might be a start in the right direction. SHEILA'S CORNER

Be sure to check out the bows. If the metal parts are now black it is silver that has tarnished. Also take them to a good bowman and see if they are straight and how much they weight and what type of wood they are. SHEILA'S CORNER

I have seen them listed at Montagnana. http://www.montagnanabooks.com/ I have all three books. If you only want to read them you can get them through interlibrary loan at a public library. I bought 2 of mine at a flea market. SHEILA'S CORNER

Stop by an enjoy it with graphics ) http://www.bright.net/~hhelser/masterstouch.html Sheila SHEILA'S CORNER