Dear Progressions Families,
Hot weather, cold weather, dry weather, damp weather, and everything in between can make our instruments not sound their best. Very hot or very cold weather can even (permanently) break our instruments.
Now that we are coming up on very cold weather, remember not to leave your instrument in the car (or outside, or anywhere else that is very cold). It can crack your instrument. Fixing a cracked instrument is expensive, and sometimes a crack can be so bad that we cannot get it fixed. It may seem a little odd at first, but bring your instrument in with you from the car if you are running errands on the way to (or on the way back from) a lesson. Ms. Tiffany has certainly brought instruments into grocery stores, to the dentist’s office, to restaurants, and more–because violins, violas, cellos, and basses cannot stay in the car.
Be careful not to leave your instrument in a very hot or cold part of your home. For example, leaving it right by the front door, or right by a heater, could each cause damage.
It is very normal for your instrument to go out of tune more than usual. There is nothing wrong with this; it is part of the seasons. Ask your lesson teacher or Ms. Tiffany about tuning if this is something that is happening a lot and you are troubled by it. You can definitely still practice if your instrument is a bit out of tune, but we can also teach you to tune. Second year students have already started learning to tune in class, and first year students can also learn this.
As always, your student should always loosen the bow before packing up. The bow should never be left tightened when the student is done practicing. Feel free to ask about this at a lesson if you are not sure what a loosened bow should look like. Thank you for helping us to take good care of our instruments!
Tiffany Chang, Progressions Director