Hey everyone. I'm back to writing on here and now I'm going to finish up on what you need for the violin to play and that's the rosin. With the rosin you'll be able to make the bow stick to the strings and get the sound out of them. If you try to play without rosin then the bow will slide across the strings and you'll get nothing.
So, what rosin do you choose?
There are three different rosin types: light, dark, and jade. The differences between them are rather straight forward.
Light Rosin: This is a harder type of rosin primarily for violins and violas. It's also a better fit for playing in warmer temperatures.
Dark Rosin: This is a softer type of rosin and works better in cooler climates. It's usually used on cello bows and not recommended for violins or violas. If used in a very warm weather it could get extremely sticky and cause a lot of problems while playing.
Jade Rosin: This is more of a "catch all" rosin. It can be used with violins, violas, and cellos alike. So, if you play the cello and the violin or viola you might want to get this one just to save yourself some money.
Now, I've used both light and jade rosing for my violin and I personally prefer the light rosin. It seems to let the bow grip the strings better than the jade does but it's still a good rosin none the less.
I like to use Pirastro Goldflex Rosin:
For me, it just seems to give a better sound than the jade rosin I used. Of course it's all up to personal preference.
When you apply the rosin you might (key word there: might) need to scratch the top of the rosin a bit to get it to stick to the bow hairs better. If you put the rosin on a brand new bow you'll need to go across the hairs slowly and a number of times. Once your bow has had rosin on it for several sessions then you'll only need to go over the hairs three times for the following session.
Next time I'll give you a heads up on the Suzuki and Rubank methods. All of my teachers have had me use the Suzuki method but the Rubank seems a bit more methodical. I'll get into that next time. Have fun making some noise with your newly rosined violin bow.