First time poster, long time forum reader.....hope someone might be able to offer some advice....I have been playing violin (on and off) for about 3 years. I started as an adult beginner and am really enjoying it.

I replaced the strings on my violin on Saturday and got a set of dominants fitted at the violin shop where I bought my violin. Since saturday, the e string has gone really flat - it sounds more like a C or C# when the open string is played and I can't get it up to pitch. Have tried moving the peg and the fine tuners on the string but it just won't go above a C# and I'm afraid of breaking the string....it seems like the peg won't turn any further!!..any advice? Thanks!

Sounds like you need to oil your pegs. Ask your luthier or shop to fix this up.

If its that flat the adjuster will not get it sharp enough so you will need to do it from the peg. First though wind the adjuster a long way out (more flat) so that once you get it in tune with the peg you still have plenty of room go sharper with the adjuster if you see what I mean.

Get the peg moving by turning it to slacken the string first. That way you you can apply strength without worrying about it slipping and breaking the string, also you are not fighting the tension of the string as well as trying to move a sticky peg. Then turn the peg sharper until you get the string to pitch. Try to do it in one movement listening to the string then stop just as you get to pitch if possible. It is much easier to turn it when it is moving than to restart it moving once it has stopped. This is how you should always tune with a peg in fact. Even if it is already a bit flat you tune it down first then when it's moving bring it up to pitch in one movement if possible.

Thank you. That makes a lot of sense. I'll try that this evening. A friend of mine replaced her strings last week and is having similar trouble with the A so we'll try and sort it out together......is it normal for the e string to be wound pretty tight to be at pitch.....

I should have replaced the strings before now - sorry to be asking such basic questions but my lessons don't start again till mid September and I am anxious to get plenty of playing in before then! Thanks again for your help. I'll let you know how I get on.

I guess so. What is tight? I suppose you get used to it and it seems normal once you get confident about putting them on. You've done quite well to go 3 years with one set of strings before having to replace an E string, although you should notice a big improvement now you have replaced them.

done quite well?? or perhaps not played enough!!!

For one of those years I worked shift work and didn't get to lessons all that regularly. Very keen to get going with it properly now this term. Hoping to take Grade 3 in November and also looking at Grade 4 for Easter 2008 as I am working on both sets of pieces and scales at the moment! Thanks again for commenting.

Yes, the E is remarkably tight at correct pitch. That's when turning the peg just another couple of millimetres can make the difference between in an tune string or a broken string!

That's reassuring - feeling more confident about getting this right tonight. Thanks!

Thanks for all your help today. The violin is now happily in tune with the new dominant strings......took the advice to slacken the string and then bring it up to pitch ....and I started by loosening the adjuster before I did anything else. It seems easy now that it's worked!! I pushed the e peg in a bit too to stop it from sliding and it's all good.....

My friend's electronic tuner made the job a bit easier too - must get me one of those....anyone any idea how much a decent but cheap one would set me back??? Thanks again.

Glad you managed it ok. I don't use an electronic tuner but I think £12-£15 should get you one. I've heard of Korg mentioned as a make some people use. Search for "chromatic tuner" on google

I use an electronic Intelli tuner for speed to tune student violins at the beginning of a lesson. This clips onto the neck of the instrument and so is less affected by background noise. I don't think they're particularly more expensive than other makes, but in my experience they are much better!

And that's my greatest fear! I tend to stop often where the E string is concerned because breaking like 3 so far in my career has given me a bit of a phobia with them. You'll probably only find one cringing violin teacher in Malaysia when it comes to the E string.

Any ideas how to get over this fear? My last breaking of the string has my student shirking from tuning her own violin too. Ugh. I have tried to encourage her saying it's not often it breaks, but she is even more timid than I am.

but I have to admit that this happens less often with dominant strings. That's why I use them Although the evah pirazzi E string works a like charm on my violin.

Lol, I broke a D string in helping a friend tune her dad's old violin and I replaced it. I broke the A on my previous violin but that hasn't been changed yet. Funny thing is, I've never broken an E before even though everyone, including my teacher, says that it breaks the easiest. Reassure your student that it doesn't happen very often if she's careful enough. It is very scary to break a string while tuning especially when it is so close to your face.

Perhaps you could start with helping her tune her violin a little by little and show her it doesn't break that easy. Then gradually get her to tune it. With little fears, it's often better to desensitize the person to it so they get over it.

My experience is that strings break when the tension is unevenly distributed - ie not sliding smoothly at bridge and/or nut. You can avoid this by stretching the string as you tune up viz: Start to tension the string. Grab the string in the middle between finger and thumb and wobble it about. Tighten it up a bit more. Wobble it some more. Repeat till satisfied.

If you break a lot of strings you may need to have a look at the nut (the usual suspect) and make sure the slot is not snatching the string. Anyhow the wobble method above should relieve some of your student's fears (and maybe even yours!).