whoops, dropped the vioin...

[mycomment]

very badly out of tune or worse, and ds has no lessons for a few weeks because of hols... so he can't sort it, I can't sort it, teacher can't sort it - how can we get the thing sounding ok enough to practice? advice appreciated please!

If all else fails find a local teacher to help you tune it?

thanks ragged that's an idea, there's no way I'm going to fix this without paying someone is there

You can buy electronic tuners that help you tune them (they have a little gauge to show you how in tune it is) but if it is badly out you'll need to use the tuning pegs and they can go a bit rather wrong if you've not been shown how carefully to do them (recalls first attempt when I managed to snap not one but two strings )

Take it to a music shop that sells violins and plead?

There will be websites which will probably give you the sound of each string to 'tune to' if that's the problem...?

But agree, tuning is not easy if you're not used to it.

If you DO decide to try it yourself, you need to keep sounding the note and checking if the string is higher or lower and then moving up (or down) in tiny increments. It's when you tighten too quickly that strings pop.

Do you know anyone else who plays/has played a string instrument?

www.violinonline.com/tuning.htm

I think the music shop is a good idea. Especially if you buy something off them like a spare set of strings or something.

OK thank you all, lots of good advice, I'm going to try a music shop and yes buy some cheap strings or random bit of tat while i'm in there to stave off the embarrassment of having to ask. Maybe a very gentle go at tuning myself this eve first.

Where do you live? Maybe one of us MNers can re-tune it for you?

If all it needs is tuning, then somebody in a music shop may be able to do it, I have done that before. Or you could buy an automatic tuner and use that.
Does it just sound out of tune or has the sound post also been knocked out. (It will probably be rattling around if this has happened).

1. Relax. It's okay. You can sort this.

1. Think about all the gazillion relatives plus partners, boyfriends, girlfriends etc you are going to see in the next 3 days/weeks. At least one of them might have learnt violin well enough to tune it.

1. If 2 fails. Or while waiting for 2 to succeed. Look at violin. Are strings actually floppy? If so, slowly slowly slowly turn pegs while gently pushing them in. When you let go they may unwind again. If so, look at how the string is wound round the peg and see if gently pushing it to one side or the other might help (this is art not science). Once strings are tight enough to play, tell DS to practise bowing rhythms and playing one-string tunes, and to sing the tunes he's supposed to be learning. And of course if you have a cd to go with his tunebook, then have him listening to that 3 times a day.

Good luck.

I wonder if the bridge has moved... that could happen in a fall and would cause every string to go out of tune.
See here for bridge alignment

Thanks all again. ds and myself have just had a go at gently tuning it and mucked it up unsuprisingly, with one of the strings unravelling completely now... You're probably right about the bridge nannynick. Sorry if sounding like a real panic usuwi, I know its not a huge problem, just thought some clever types on here might have some advice - and you do, lots of useful tips! I'm definitely taking to the music shop first chance I get. And my lucky family will be spared the squeaking christmas carols violin concert that was threatened (lucky them!) Thanks again

If you're near Cambridge, pop it by and I can probably sort it for you.

I bet you've loosened a peg and unravelled the string, which made it come out of the little hole. This is easy to fix but it's also easy to snap the string, so if you can find a fiddle player to help that would be your best bet.

Have you got a piano, btw?