Wednesday 29 May 2019

Top Maintenance Tips for Piccolo



What is that one difficulty you find when you own a piccolo? The maintenance can be quite a daunting affair in case of the instrument. You will see that though the sound is perfect, there are times when the tuning does not seem so good, and you ought to manage the instrument, and make it work properly. The care for piccolo should not be a one-time affair; instead, make sure you invest some time and energy into maintaining and servicing the piccolo so that it enjoys a long life.

The question remains, how to service the piccolo while at home, without any professional's interference. Here are a few tips that should help you.
  • The first part of the process is assembling the instrument. You ought to be careful about the whole process, and what goes where. When assembling the instrument, there are a few things that you ought to take into account. Here we will detail the same for you.
    • You will first need to be sure that the tenon cork is smooth and lubricate. You ought to use the cork grease for the purpose. The reason being this lubrication will ensure the smooth and easy fit of the cork in the instrument
    • Next on, you ought to hold the wood above the assembly mechanism and the headjoint from below the embouchure hole in order to piece them together. Twist the two in order to make the fix properly. Make sure you don't insert the finger while putting the two together
    • Make sure you don't apply too much pressure while joining the two ends. If you are unable to squeeze them together, then connect with a professional
  • The next part of the process involves cleaning the Piccolo. You will need to clean and swab the insides of the Piccolo clean. Here are our favorite techniques to help you with that
    • Use a silk oboe swab connected with a string, and use the weight to remove the condensation from within the instrument. You should ideally perform the swabbing after every use of the instrument. This way you will increase the life of the instrument, and reduce the maintenance needs exhibited by the instrument
    • Make sure you keep the Piccolo protected from the temperature extremes in your surrounding environment. This could affect, specifically if you move from a warm building into a cold temperature. It can crack the wood of the instrument. You should ideally insulate the instrument within a case so that it remains protected.
    • The headjoint should be ideally warmed up before it is blown into the embouchure hole. This way, you can avoid the cracking of the headjoint or other parts of the instrument. The headjoint has a thinner piece of wood, and is more prone to the cracks
    • The fingerprints on the instrument can be removed with the help of a cotton cloth that is dampened in water. You should ideally not use cloth that are infused with the cleaning chemical. It is not recommended to use silver polish on the instrument to complete the cleaning. When not in use, keep the instrument within the case, safe and protected. Make sure you clean, and oil both the wood and mechanism of the instrument at regular intervals. The headjoint should be oiled more frequently, at least 3 to 4 times a year.
It is understandable if you can't maintain the instrument thoroughly off your own. You ought to invest in a good Piccolo insurance in that case. It will help you manage regular servicing as well as maintenance of the instrument on a regular basis.

Friday 24 May 2019

A Complete Guide to Buying Fiddle Insurance Online



The fiddle, a more colloquial term used for violin, is often one of the grandest instruments you would be purchasing. It is expensive, especially if you are planning a vintage one. The bow and the strings have an additional cost and maintenance attached to it. At this point, you ought to plan on investing in fiddle insurance that can support your cause. The main question, however, is what kind of insurance you should buy, and how to look for the ideal insurance solution? Here we will take you through the insurance buying process.
  • The choice, whether you want to opt for online shopping or offline purchase is made early on. This is related to convenience and how much you trust the online world when buying something as important as an instrument. There are obvious pros and cons attached to every choice made by you, and that's precisely why you need to think through this point before moving on.
  • Once you have decided whether you want to go online or offline with the purchase, the next step is to choose the sellers. There are limited choices offline; just the shops in your location. However, when it comes to choosing a seller online, there is no geographical limit. If someone chooses to ship the instrument to your location, you can choose them as your seller. The criteria are they should be able to ship the goods, they should be reliable and they should sell the instrument that you have been planning to buy.
  • It is important to have a budget in mind when you go to the store to buy the fiddle. Of course, research into the available instrument sellers and how much they sell the instrument for can always help you with setting the budget. However, if you don't have an idea into the actual budget, you can always ask for help from people who have bought it or from the instructor who teaches you how to play the instrument. They will be able to guide you through the actual price for a second hand as well as a new fiddle. They would also tell you what is the best choice for you.
  • Once you have followed all these steps, it is time to check on the seller. Are they as good as they claim to be? If you are looking to purchase online, you should check for the reviews and ratings posted for the seller by the various buyers. If not, then you might want to go for references. There would be many people who have bought from the seller you are planning to buy from. Check with them how the customer service is and other details.
  • The insurance is an important deal! Don't forget to buy it along with the instrument. The fiddle insurance should be a well-thought purchase with a well-defined scope and requirement list. Make sure you buy the insurance from a trustworthy party for better customer service and support for your instrument.

Tuesday 21 May 2019

Investing in Good Guitar Insurance Will Give Long Life to Your Guitar



Are you a guitarist or a musician with an inclination towards the instrument? Either way, you have experienced the high amounts of maintenance that goes into the instrument. While the instrument is amazing and offers you good quality music at all times, there are things about it that you cannot miss out on. For instance, your guitar takes up a lot of your time in maintenance and care. Apart from regular practice, you need to make sure the place where the guitar is placed and other related things are protective enough for the instrument.

You need to balance the whole work-guitar as well as the maintenance for a long life of the instrument. Here we will talk about how the environment plays an important role in ensuring your long relationship with the instrument.
  • Making guitar accessible: For instance, you won't feel like playing the guitar if it is far away from you, locked inside a cupboard or within a guitar case. Though it is essential to keep it safe and sound, if it is not accessible, you will not feel like it. When a lot of efforts are included in playing the guitar, you simply tend to avoid it. You don't need to keep the guitar out all the time. Just get it out on days when you feel the effort is too much.
  • Comfortable environment: Make the environment-friendly enough to get started with your guitar practice. It may seem like basics but, having a good environment will help you play like a pro. The organized environment always helps make you comfortable and removes all the mental barriers. Before you start playing, you should ideally clean up your room. This would fill it with the right energy. This would also drive away from the distractions and create a perfectly balanced musical environment for you
  • Digital support: Set up your computer to support you in your music practice. For instance, setting up the right tracks can help you get started with the guitar practice instantly. If you need to connect the wires and get the speakers to start working, you may not possibly get started ever. The best way to handle it is to have everything set up beforehand. Having a music stand is also a good idea, as that would create the music environment for you
Along with having a good environment and the balanced aura, you need to invest in guitar insurance. This will help you ensure your guitar is safe to come what may. You won't need to invest money or efforts in case anything goes wrong with your guitar
  • When you invest in insurance, you are actually investing in care for your guitar. For instance, you travel and something happens to the guitar, you can easily take care of it without spending the money
  • You can also insure the guitar against robbery and other mishaps that can cause damage to the instrument, and add replacement cost to your overheads
  • You can even add the medical insurance and other inclusions to the insurance you have bought
Setting a routine is important to guitar practice, make sure you have a daily time table that is set around your need to improve your way with the instrument.

Wednesday 15 May 2019

Things to Consider When Investing in Saxophone for Beginner



Are you at the beginner level with the saxophone? The idea is to keep practicing in order to master the art. The only way you can continuously practice is by buying the instrument and playing it regularly, in the class as well as at home. However, when you are a beginner, you don't have much idea about the instrument, and you are not sure what kind of instrument will get you the best results.

The saxophone has a completely different set of needs and requirements. You need to know what kind of instrument will work for your needs. for one, the posture that you need to maintain while playing the saxophone is defined and so are the hand positions. You need to invest in the instrument that complies with the posture and the hand position and allows you to maintain the same. There are quite a few details that you need to pay close attention to when buying the instrument. It is important for you to pay attention to breathing, articulation, relaxation, hand position and manual dexterity, which will help you play it the way you want.

For the saxophone players, concentration is important and integral. If you are beginner, you might face difficulty producing the low notes or the bell tones or even the high notes.

Few pre-requisites that will help you learn the instrument in a better way
  • Perception of sound is a must for the beginners. If you can perceive the sound, and understand the notes well, you are on your way to excelling the saxophone
  • You will need to improve your embouchure, breathing and articulation to improve the art of the instrument. For this, you will need to go through a process of trial and error, till you hit the right combination.
  • It is important to listen to others play the instrument, if you want to improve the art in a good way
The ideal way to improve your tones and notes is practice, obviously. For this, you will need to an instrument, which will help you keep up with practice regularly.

Here are a few things you might want to consider when investing in an instrument

If you are beginner saxophone, alto saxophone is where you need to start. The literature for classical saxophone has been exclusively written for the alto, which makes it easier for you to learn. If you have learnt the embouchure for alto Saxophone, you have learnt it for the others as well. It is easy to replicate your embouchure as well as the angle of airflow from this saxophone to the others. The air requirement for alto is preferably less as compared to the tenor saxophone.

Points to consider when choosing a saxophone
  • What stage of learning are you in? A beginner can easily adopt the alto saxophone before moving on to tenor or the others. It is important to get the instrument that allows you to stay comfortable in your learning stage
The premium amount is defined for instrument insurance. When investing in saxophone insurance, make sure you have checked the budget you have set aside, and the amount of money you need to invest in the insurance.

Friday 10 May 2019

Need Cello Insurance When Planning to Buy Low Cost Cello



Are you at the beginner level of cello instruction? The music instrument is known for the quality sound and the soothing music it gives you. As a beginner musician, the instrument also soothes your mind and soul. Whether you are a beginner or one level higher with your instrument learning, you need to practice regularly in order to gain confidence with the instrument.

Owning a low-cost cello should help you get through the beginner level and ensure a commitment towards the instrument. It will also save a lot of money in the long run. However, low-cost insurance may require a lot of effort from you, in terms of maintenance.

Here are the many things that might call your attention towards the increasing cost associated with the instrument.
  • Let's say you are traveling with the instrument to your classes. Chances are the instrument gets damaged while you are on the road. A slight scratch to the cheap instrument can cause major damage to the pocket
  • The material used in the instrument may not survive the repairs you make or damage the instrument further. This is the negative side to buying the cheap instrument.
  • The precision with which the cello plays can also be hampered if your instrument is not tuned properly or, has been constructed the wrong way. This can cause issues in your learning
  • The damage repair costs are higher than the cost of buying the cheap instrument. This combined with the classes you are taking to learn the instrument cost you a lot more than you had initially planned for
  • Most repair shops avoid repairing cheap instruments that can be broken with a slight touch. You may not find anyone investing time and effort in your hobby
If you don't want to fall prey to the rising costs associated with the musical instrument, then you should consider investing in a good cello insurance solution. Here are all the details that you need to in order to procure one.
  • The first thing is to set a budget. A good budget helps you know what you can get and what you cannot
  • Once the budget is fixed, you need to start looking into your insurance requirements. Yes, you may want to fix that as well before you start looking for sellers. The idea is to keep the checklist ready when you get to buying
  • Now start looking for the sellers who offer this insurance. You may want to make a list of all the sellers and their insurance cover.
  • Once the list is ready, compare it with your checklist. This will help you know which sellers meet your requirements
  • Once this is done, you might want to compare the list with the budget requirements set by you
  • Before making the final purchase make sure you check the reviews of the seller
It is important you invest in cello insurance before you own the instrument. This will help you pay for the repairs and manage the costs and other maintenance aspects of the cello.

Tuesday 7 May 2019

Things to Consider When Choosing Violin String



Violin works best when you have attached the perfect strings to it. Yes, the strings are very important when you are dealing with a string instrument, whether it is a violin or a guitar. It is very important that you care for the strings, maintain it, and make sure to change it when required with high-quality ones.

We will talk to you about the things to consider when choosing the violin strings, how to know whether they are in good condition or not, and finally why to invest in violin insurance.

Things important in a string
  • The string's length is the factor that tends to determine the frequency of the sound, which will, in turn, affect the pitch. If you have a short string, they tend to produce a higher pitch while longer strings produce a lower pitch.
  • Thinner strings that lack mass tend to vibrate slower than the strings that come with a greater mass
  • The strings that are tight tend to produce a higher pitch
Things to consider regarding tuning strings
It is not enough to invest in a good string, you need to keep in mind how best to tune the strings.
  • You will first need to study how the strings are wound around the peg. When you turn the peg away from you, then you are tightening the string perfectly. When you move the strings are moving towards you, the strings tend to loosen up
  • When there is friction of wood on wood, the pegs are tapered and they are kept in a single place. If you want to tighten it in a better way, then you ought to push and turn it in simultaneously.
  • If you are purchasing a violin that has steel strings, you ought to get fine tuners along with it. The fine tuners will be present along with the tailpiece of the instrument, where the strings are attached. If you turn this tuner clockwise, you tend to tighten it along with the instrument and place it in a better position.
  • In case you need to tune the pitch of the instrument, you should use the peg. It helps adjust the pitch with the fine tuner.
Have the strings worn out?
  • The type and brand of the material used to build the string determine whether or not it will wear out, and how soon it will happen. The strings made of gut are indeed good from a music point of view but, they lack the strength that comes with the steel strings. If you want something that lasts longer than you should invest in steel strings
  • When you play an instrument too often, then there is mild wear and tear that you can experience. That's the case with string instruments especially the violin. You need to get violin insurance just to make sure your instrument's tear is taken care of without investing too much money into it
Finally, you need to know about the insurance solutions that can help you keep your instrument in check. The violin insurance will save you from all the repair costs and help you maintain the instrument and give it a long life.

Thursday 2 May 2019

Why Musicians Coverage is Important to The Instructor



Are you a music teacher or the owner of a music studio? Do you play music for recreation or, is music your only source of earning? The reason behind these questions is to make you aware of the similar kind of care you need to take, irrespective of how you treat your music. You need to own a musicians coverage if you want to take care of the instruments and ensure good health as a musician.

While it is important for all the different types of musicians, the instructors should invest in it as soon as they can. The reason being, it will help them when the payday goes missing or, when they have an illness that does not allow them to work.

However, before becoming a music teacher, there are several things that you need to take care of. You need to own the whole role as an instructor and should be able to justify yourself in the role. Here are a few factors that will help you know if you are a good instructor or not.

#1 Understand the voice of music
The music teacher who understands music and wants to impart their knowledge to the students has a keen and sharp mind and connects at an emotional level. You feel the respect oozing out of them. When you show them respect, you get some back too. They don’t teach just what they ought to, they teach you something that remains untold about you. They identify your special skills, help you recognize them, and then help you learn it in detail. Sometimes, vocals is not someone’s strong suit. This is where the instructor will help the person identify what really works for them, and then teaches it accordingly. They empathize with the students and don’t let them feel they cannot do it.

#2 Make students comfortable
There are teachers or schools that make the students happy and comfortable. however, the happiness is short-lived if the student cannot achieve what they have set out to. The instructor that brings the students out of their comfort zone, and makes them aware of what they can do is the one the students can learn maximum from. The instructor will not simply teach you an overview into music; they will actually help you understand the nuances of music, and make you stretch out yourself before you wrap your head around the sound.

#3 Improve the learning of the students
There is a way to guide students; a way in which they will be able to get maximum learning with minimal guidance. This is an efficient way to teach a student. An instructor who understands this will be able to give optimal lessons to the students and make sure they have learnt well. They will make their guides effective and plan their lessons in order to make sure the student learns everything they want them to

#4 Go with the basics
The basics are often ignored in many cases. But, if your music instructor has a love for basics, don’t leave them. They will teach you everything you want to know about music, and prepare you from the base. Once you know the basics, there is nothing that will stop you from being at the top

If you have these qualities, then you simply need to invest in a solid insurance. This will help you protect your music and safeguard your lessons.