One cause of the immense popularity of the piano is the fact that it is ready for use at a moment’s notice. With two tunings a year a good piano will stand in tune fairly well, and in these days of perfection in the manufacture of pianos, repairs are rarely necessary. Contrast this instant availability with the case of the violin, where the player has to keep the instrument properly strung, and constantly to keep tuning it. He must also see that he has strings of good quality, and that they are not false when strung on the violin. He must watch that the bridge is kept perpendicular, and the violin wiped clean and kept free of rosin after playing each day. He must also watch that the instrument is not unglued in any part, and must take the violin to the repairer to have the fingerboard leveled where grooves have been cut in the surface from the pressure of the fingers of the left hand. These are only a few of the cares of the violinist. Then the bow must be kept rosined and must be re-haired at frequent intervals; it must also have the hair tightened before beginning to play. The violin and bow are fragile instruments, and all sorts of accidents happen to them, making frequent visits to the repair shop necessary. The violinist must attend to all these details himself.
