Violin Forum/Message Board

[high12]

Hello, I am 19 years old and I want to start learning violin, but I was wondering what size violin I should get. I checked online for the sizes and it always talked about arm length and age. My arm length is alright for a full sized violin, but I have small hands, I can only hit 8 keys on the piano comfortably and 9 if I stretch as much as possible. So what size should I get?

[Amalia]

Definately a full sized violin ( 4/4 size). Even with "small" hands you will be able to play a full sized violin if you are an adult (even some children play them) and full sized violins ALWAYS sound better than a smaller sized one. That said, even with full sized violins there is some variation in length and shape so one might be a tiny bit smaller than another. If you are just beginning, it won't matter much, but later, if you get to the point where you want to invest in a better quality violin, have someone go with you and help you select one that has a more delicate/smaller "feel" to it. That might suit your small hands better.

[high12]

Thank you for your answer, so that means that I will be able to play each position comfortably right? like I can hit the first note on the E string and the last note on the G sting without having to make a little jump right? because i have a full sized cello that I was told would be alright but then i couldn't even do first position on it because it was too big of a stretch and I constantly had to jump.

[Amalia]

Well if you can play a cello at all, then you can certainly play a full sized violin.

Remember that part of the equation is holding your entire left arm in the right postion. Usually beginners don't bring their elbow over to the right far enough, thus making the G string notes much harder to hit. Most beginner also do not kept their wrist joint straight. Instead the collaspe it inward toward the body of the violin. This make reaching the notes played with the 4th finger almost impossible unless you have very long fingers.

My 14yo is small for his age and has small hands and he just move up to a full sized violin and is having no trouble reaching all the notes.

I believe the Midori has very small hands.

[Amalia]

There is such a thing as a 7/8 size violin if you can find one.

The width of the violin will also matter when reaching for notes, but not so much in first position. Once you start playing in higher positions and perhaps want to move up to a better violin, be sure to keep the width in mind as well as the length.

Oh, and some neck are a shade narrower than others. I like that.

[high12]

how far can your 14yo reach on a piano do you know?

[Amalia]

I just had him check (he plays piano) and he can play an octave comfortable and can do a 9th if he stretches, so he's the same as you.

However, I really don't think the size of your hand is that important on the violin. If you were wanting to play viola then I would recomend a smaller sized viola perhaps, but a full sized violin should be fine for even a small adult.

[high12]

Thank you so much, you were a great help.

[miamia]

I can barely play an octave, much less try octave +1. Was told that I am on the border of a 4/4 but the tone and practicing on a "standard" size is worth it. I have a hard time stretching, placing all 4 fingers down on the finger board in first position - even though I'm a newbie to the violin, my hands are already stretched out from being an advanced pianist.

[Amalia]

Even if your hands were really small and you couldn't play with all four fingers down at once, you would still have the option of using some "viola" techniques to reach those notes. Violas are up to several inches longer than violins and you can still play them if you have a normal sized hand, you just use a few different techniques. I don't know much about viola techniques, but I'm sure you'd start by not even attempting to keep all four fingers down at once. Just lift up the first, or whatever is needed, to enable you to reach the 4th.