Best gifts for violin players

Buy rosin. It is the one violin gift that needs no information at all: the same cake works on every size of instrument, it gets used up so it cannot be a duplicate, and a version with a protective case solves a real problem because loose rosin shatters the first time a case is dropped. Everything else on this page — strings, shoulder rests, cases, mutes — is tied to the instrument's fractional size, and that is why violin gifts go wrong more often than any other instrument here.

Every pick states its Starter Path band, and we have not played any of them — the method is on how we pick. Published details come from the makers' and dealers' pages, cited at the bottom.

Why sizing dominates violin gift buying

Violin is the one family on this site where instrument size is not a preference. It is set by the player's arm length, measured from the neck to the middle of the palm with the left arm extended straight to the side, and the sizes run 1/16, 1/10, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 4/4. A violin a size too large cannot be played correctly by anybody at any level, because the left hand cannot reach the end of the fingerboard with the instrument properly supported.

Because the instrument is sized, the accessories are too:

Strings are cut to a scale length. A 4/4 set on a 3/4 violin has too much winding and will not sit correctly in the pegbox or over the bridge.

Shoulder rests span the back of the instrument and clamp to its edges. A 4/4 rest simply does not fit a 3/4 body.

Cases and practice mutes are the same story.

And children change size every year or two, which means a size-specific gift for a growing player can be outgrown before it is worn out. All of which is why this page leads with the one thing that escapes the problem entirely.

The picks, ordered by how much you need to know

D'Addario Kaplan Premium Rosin, dark#ad needs nothing. Any instrument, any size, any age, and it comes in a case that stops the cake shattering in a school bag. Dark grade is the grippier of the two and the right default for a beginner whose bow arm is still light. Buy this if you know they play a string instrument and nothing else. Skip it if they live somewhere hot and humid, where light grade is the better choice.

I Can Read Music, Volume 1#ad is the other size-independent pick, and it is unusually well targeted. Joanne Martin wrote it as a first note-reading book for string students who learned by ear — which is the specific gap the Suzuki method leaves by design — and it teaches rhythm and pitch separately so a young child can do a page a day with a parent. Buy this if they are a Suzuki student, or a young player whose reading lags their playing. Skip it if they already read fluently. Our violin books roundup explains the reading gap properly.

The Kun Collapsible shoulder rest#ad is the pick once you know the size, and it addresses something outfits genuinely leave out. Kun is the reference brand, and the collapsible version is the one worth having because the legs fold flat so it fits inside a shaped case — a rigid rest gets left at home and therefore not used. Buy this if you have confirmed a 4/4 instrument. Skip it if the player is a child, who is almost certainly on 3/4 or smaller; Kun makes those as separate products.

D'Addario Prelude strings, 4/4 medium#ad are the consumable pick. Prelude is the standard student set — steel core, warm enough for a beginner, durable enough for a school bag. Buy these if you know the violin is 4/4 and the strings are old, which on a student instrument they usually are. Skip them if it is a fractional size, or if they are already on a specific set they like. Our violin strings roundup compares the student sets.

What we did not list, and why

A bow. The upgrade that would do the most for a student-outfit violin, and the one that absolutely cannot be a surprise. Weight, balance and camber are matched to the player by playing, and two bows at the same price can suit two players completely differently.

A case. Size-specific, and the case that came with the outfit is usually adequate — our page on what comes with a violin outfit concludes exactly that, and it would be inconsistent to sell against our own advice.

A practice mute. A genuinely useful object for a student in a flat and sized to the instrument like everything else. Worth asking about rather than guessing.

A chin rest. Fitted, not bought — swapping one is a luthier job, not a gift.

A violin. The sizing argument applies in full. If the goal is to start somebody, the measurement comes first and our sizing guide and beginner violin roundup are written to be read before buying rather than after.

If the player is a child

Worth its own note, because most beginner violinists are children and most of the advice above gets more restrictive rather than less.

A child on a fractional-size violin will change size, probably within two years. That makes any sized accessory a short-lived gift, and it makes rosin, a book, and a music stand the three things that survive the transition. A shoulder rest bought at 3/4 will be wrong at 4/4.

It also means the single most valuable thing you can contribute to a young string player is usually not an object at all. Lessons, or a contribution toward the next size up, outlast anything on this page — and our page on whether violin is hard to learn is blunt about why a teacher matters more on this instrument than on any other we cover.