To not want to spend an absolute fortune on my child’s hobby

[Spaghettilegga]

My daughter is 10 and plays the viola reasonably well. She enjoys it (but doesn’t necessarily want to do all the grades which we are fine with). Her current viola teacher provides a viola for her to practise and perform with, but sadly, he is going back to his native country next week. We do have a new well-recommended teacher lined up to take over BUT he doesn’t supply a viola ... so we have to buy one. Again, we are fine with this BUT don’t want to spend an actual fortune. Does anyone know (and recommend) any second hand music stores that sell violas in central London? Or, are we going to have to bite the bullet and buy a brand new one? I am prepared to be told IABU to not want to do this ... If I am, could anyone suggest any music stores in London that aren’t too shocking with prices?

When I learnt flute we rented it. There's probably lots of schemes still

There’s no such thing as a 'full size' viola - at least not in the same way as is meant by full size violin. You can get some great 15” violas.

buy secondhand then sell third hand. I have done this and bought and sold for the same price.

The thing is that you get to a stage where you need a decent instrument, and those can cost.

I’d hire one. Never mind if she wants her own. Especially if she’s not using a full size on yet.

Be wary of buying a second hand instrument off eBay or any other selling site. Your money will be better spent elsewhere.

I'd be wary of just buying anything the right size that you can currently afford. Some instruments you can buy online are well set up, others rather less so. If you can take her to one of the London shops (I bought a small violin from Stringers years ago for example), they are likely to let her play a few different instruments and may give some advice about the differences.

At 10 she will probably need a new bigger instrument in 1 or 2 years depending on how fast she grows; and potentially another further down the track. My eldest was on a full size violin age 10 but had grown early, and had she been on viola would have moved to an adult-range size later than that; but 11 or 12 is more usual for a girl to move to a full size violin and many may be later than that. Consider discussing with shops the options both for hiring and also for buy-and-upgrade.

Definitely check with your county music service. Also, depending on how good she already is, another rather different option is the Benslow Trust, which hires (at means tested rates) good quality instruments to promising youngsters.

Violas are a bit tricky, as there are far fewer around than violins (I play both). Not sure what your budget is or what level your daughter is playing at, but I've been happy with a Gliga which didn't cost a fortune (from elidaviolins.co.uk/ - I have no connection to them!).

Although string instruments can be very cheap, it's important that they are set up well. If buying off Gumtree/Facebook, getting it checked over and set up by a luthier would be a wise idea.

PS
Ebay, gumtree and preloved are all good sources of children's string instruments.

Absolutely buy her a new one - the sound will be rubbish for a couple of years (regardless of how well she plays) but once it has been played (a LOT) the tone will be great and it will be all hers - both my violin and viola were brand new and I went through all my teenage angst ridden years playing them and they actually have amazing tone now.

On a separate and totally unrelated note: I have found playing a musical instrument has been really beneficial for MH - I was a nerdy teenager who put everything into my violin, and I bought my DD13 (who has MH issues) a ukelele for Christmas - the change in her has been dramatic and I put a lot of it down to having something to obsess focus on.

Sorry - didn't mean to hijack the thread. I bought the ukelele from Amazon and they do all kinds of instruments. Next on the to-buy list is a £65 flute!

I would also second the recommendation of Elida Violins. Liz is very helpful. She also does a buy-back scheme when you move up a size, though I haven't used it yet.

I would pop along to Guivier's in Mortimer Street. They hire and sell and the quality of the instruments is decent. You don't want to pick up the cheapest shit tomato box you can.

I’m not expert on stringed instruments, but I feel if you’re going to buy an reasonable instrument, I’d also recommend gear4music. We’ve bought percussion instruments (glockenspiel, snare drum, mallets etc) from them - all fully approved by ds’s music teachers (grade 6 level)
Given the cost of music education/lessons, the instrument cost is quite low, relatively speaking.

Try not to buy new. If you get on well with the old teacher and they have the time before they go, get them to help you buy a decent second hand one (it will be a better instrument than a new one for the same price and you'll probably sell it for more than you paid for it if you have good advice to buy it). If the old teacher doesn't have time, ask the new teacher for help. Depending on how much you want to pay, consider insuring it .

I got ds's clarinet from gear4music. He will upgrade at some point but it has done well for the last couple of years and music teacher says that it is fine at present.

My DC1 is a musician. I have always bought him decent orchestral instruments second hand, and then sold them on. I've only once bought one locally (from another pupil of one of his music teachers); most decent second-hand sellers will post an instrument for you/your child to try (you have to pay a deposit for this, obviously).

A basic Google search gave me this I am sure there will be many others.

FWIW, I'd be busting a gut to encourage a musical child.

I’ve only ever seen Elida violins recommenced ononline forums.. never IRL...

Most decent violin shops will have a range of cheaper violas (properly set up). It is expected that you buy and trade in again.

Absolutely buy her a new one - the sound will be rubbish for a couple of years (regardless of how well she plays)

I don’t totally agree with this. A properly set up instrument can sound really good - especially if tone production is worked on from the start.

Northcote Music is owned by a professional viola player, whose children are seriously good musicians.

Thank you so much everyone... there is lots of helpful advice here . We are looking for 3/4 one so I will investigate some of the sites you mention.

www.thwaites.com/
Thwaites in Bushey was good when my children’s played violin and cello. Hire or buy both options.

Just to say that my parents paid quite a lot for my beautiful violin 25 years ago. Very little else I own has been used so frequently nor brought me so many new friends and experiences. I'm by no means a great player, but even being a but rubbish I've still had a great time playing it as a child and an adult. As parents, it was the single most worthwhile physical gift they could ever have given me.

That’s lovely ILoveAnOwl . That is exactly what is at the back of my mind . Thank you Marmelised - will check it out.