Looking to Buy a New Set of Strings?
Finding the right strings for your violin, viola, cello, or bass doesn’t have to be guesswork. Shar Music’s String Sound Charts map popular strings by tone and character, so you can narrow down your next set with confidence.
The Bow Guide: The Most Common Bow Materials
A bow can transform your playing, but which material is right for you? This part of our Bow Guide series explains the most common bow materials, from brazilwood student bows to pernambuco and carbon fiber, so you can match your bow to your level and budget.
Bärenreiter’s Groundbreaking Interpretation of Brahms
Bärenreiter editor Douglas Woodfull-Harris explains what makes the Bärenreiter Urtext editions of Brahms so valuable, drawing on scholarship by Clive Brown, Neal Peres Da Costa, and Kate Bennett Wadsworth. Find out what these editions reveal about Romantic-era performance practice and why serious Brahms players will want them.
A Letter from Harry Wimmer
A heartfelt letter from Harry Wimmer following the passing of his wife, beloved pedagogue Shirley Givens, author of the Adventures in Violinland series. Harry and son Kevin pledged to keep all twenty-four books in print with Shar Music’s help, and the post celebrates Givens’ remarkable teaching legacy, whose students included children of Perlman, Zukerman, and Stiller.
The Pros and Cons of Online Violin Lessons
Online violin lessons put teachers within reach no matter where you live, but are they right for you? This honest guest post weighs the advantages, wider teacher selection, no commute, lower cost, recordable lessons, against real drawbacks like limited posture correction, connection lag, sound quality issues, and distractions at home.
“Michael” from In the Key of Strawberry
Arnold Steinhardt of the Guarneri String Quartet remembers his colleague and friend of 64 years, violist Michael Tree, who passed away in 2018. From their student days at Curtis to 45 years of quartet life, Steinhardt recalls Michael’s phenomenal playing, his humor, his tennis matches on tour, and the dark chocolate viola sound no one else could produce.
Curious About Our Sheet Music Difficulty Ratings?
Ever wonder how Shar Music rates sheet music difficulty? This guide explains our 1-6 scale: beginner levels 1-2 (first position, simple rhythms, aligned with Suzuki Volumes 1-3), intermediate levels 3-4 (higher positions, spiccato, complex rhythms), and advanced levels 5-6, spanning Bach solo works and Mozart concertos up to Paganini caprices and the Brahms concerto.
5 Reasons Why Your Child Should Be Playing a Carlo Lamberti®
Has your child outgrown their beginner instrument? The Carlo Lamberti® series from Shar Music is a smart step up, and here are five reasons why: a warmer, fuller sound (especially in fractional sizes), bigger natural volume, quicker response, resonance that supports better intonation, and excellent value. Eligible models can even be tried at home through our In-Home Trial program.
The Bow Force: A Bowing Guide for Young Violin and Viola Students
Teacher Becky Fields explains how she came to invent the Bow Force, one of Shar Music’s most popular teaching aids for young violin and viola players. Rooted in her study of the Suzuki Method, this sturdy, easy-to-use bow guide helps beginners maintain proper bow position and develop the fluid, relaxed bowing arm essential for a pure tone.