h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Okay, as a fairly experienced musician in both...

Violin - older violins tend to be better than brand new ones. The sound becomes mellower and more matured (a bit like cheese). Don't fork out a load of money for a Stradivarius... a nice 50-100 year one is good, but each person has their own favourite... The best strings to get are real gut strings, but Dominant strings are the best artificial gut to get, even though they are a bit expensive (£20 for a set)

First things first... when holding the violin in the correct position, never rest your elbow on the side of your body. It is bad practice, looks like you're a bit of a slacker and hurts your wrist and lower arm as time goes by. It will be tempting to put your arm in this position, but with a lot of practice, your playing will be better with your elbow away from your body.

Second... your wrist must not hug the underside of the violin neck. It will hurt, reduces flexibility and is again, extremely tempting to do. The only way you can get those high notes is by sliding your hand up the neck, and without a free, supple and flexible wrist, it will be impossible and painful. It is the same with your thumb... it must make a circle with the neck.

When bowing, bow in the middle of the strings, between the fingerboard and the bridge. Don't bow the strings on the fingerboard... you get resin there and it looks hideous. If you bow between the bridge and the tailpiece, you make a hideous sound. So please bow in the correct place for a nice sound!

Bow with the horsehair, not the wood. Rarely even do violinists bow col legno 'with the wood', and only for short periods. Horsehair is the general rule. Also, put resin on the bow by rubbing a solid piece up and down the horsehair. Do not tighten the horsehair so it bends the wood of the bow.

For preventing noise pollution in your home, why not use a mute? A common mute is a small rubber circle with a little hook. YOu hook this on the bridge, between the D and A strings, and hey presto! The sound is quieter, but not by much. Good mutes are around £5-10.

And now... the piano!

Piano - Again, there's nothing between than a seasoned grand piano. However, many of you will not have enough space to house a grand piano, so don't fret! A slim upright will suffice, and plays almost just as well.

Don't worry if you have small fingers... Mozart had tiny fingers... and look at him! Your muscles will be trained as you practise and aiming for those octaves will be much easier!

Don't thump the pedal. It damages the piano. A nice up-and-down fluid motion is good.

I will come back with more for the piano... but someone else needs to use the computer

Okay, I'm back...

Try and aim for a fluid motion of your fingers and wrists, and make sure your wrists don't drop or rise as you play. It damages your style, and is frowned upon.

Have lots of feeling in your playing. Work out what the piece means, how it emotionally feels. It's great that you can play it technically, but without feeling, it sounds drab, boring and mechanical.

If you mess up... just carry on. Don't try and do it again... if you make the same mistake it becomes hideously more obvious

Okay, I'll think of some more as I go on...

Don't buy a Chinese one. They look great but produce very little sound and occasionally fall apart.

There are plenty of very nice pianos around. I can personally recommend Yamaha upright pianos.

When trying a piano out, be sure to play really loud as well as soft. Don't be afraid to make a noise. It should play both types of music well. If it's a second hand piano, have a look inside and check it all looks ok, that the strings are not rusty and that there are none missing. In an upright piano, make sure the soft pedal (the left one) moves the hammers closer to the strings. Some pianos use a crummy substitute for this, putting a sheet of felt across the strings - this should be avoided.

Alternately, an ordinary clothespin attatched to the bridge of your violin can work as a suitable mute in a pinch.

You might not find it easy to practice intonation and working on general sound production if you always practice with a mute. Also, it is a good idea to find a violin teacher to help you. If you learn it right in the beginning you can avoid many bad habbits and a lot of frustration later on. Trying to learn to play the violin from a book is not a good idea.

Definately, make sure you get a good teacher who know's about how to hold the violin and bow when you first start. My first violin teacher wasn't very good on the technique needed, and it took me years to get out of the bad habit of letting my wrist rest against the violin.