Shaw Strings: Holiday Gift Guide for String Players

The holidays are upon us! I’m sure I’m not the only teacher who starts to hear quiet requests from parents, asking for good ideas for gifts while their student unpacks in the lesson room. I thought I’d whip up a quick little post here to share some of my tried and true gift ideas– Take a peek and see what would be a good fit for the string players in your life! 

Instrument Accessories

I realize might not be the flashiest gift idea, but this is a great way to help musicians care for their instruments! Most sets come with a cleaning cloth, cleaner or polish and possibly some rosin or a humidifier system of some kind. This is particularly important as we go into the winter months, when the air becomes dry. If instruments are left in low humidity for an extended period of time this can lead to cracks in the instruments and expensive repairs down the road. The cleaning materials also help to break down the oils and dirt we transmit to our instruments in the course of playing them day in and day out. Our instruments are an investment, so we want to make sure we take care of them! 

  • Strings: 

Now might be a great time to splurge for some nice or different strings than what you or your student is accustomed to. While regular string maintenance includes being changed at least once a year, this might be a wonderful opportunity to experiment with a new or pricier brand. For more information about strings please check out this chart from Shar Music and for demonstrations of different strings, check out this great video from Australian string shop, Whitehorse Music. 

  • Fancy Bow:  Colored bow hair offerings

Wondering how to encourage your student to focus on their bow use more closely? These days you can find bows with hair in any color you can imagine! While their school’s orchestra may not want them to use it for a concert, if it helps a student be more excited about playing more or practicing, I doubt they’ll complain too much. You can find bows with this hair already in or rehair a bow your student already owns with a new color. Since bows should also be rehaired at least once a year, this might be a great way to help with the upkeep of your instrument as well. Potter Violin Company is available to assist you if you’d like to try out colored bow hair!

  • Mutes:  

Con sordino. It’s a term many of my students see for the first time when they join an orchestra – And then they panic! Little do they know it’s a simple accessory they can add to their instrument near the bridge that creates a beautiful and textured depth to their playing. You can help students be prepared for that moment by purchasing a mute for them beforehand. There are plain tourte mutes, which is admittedly what I prefer. But there are others that have crystals to adorn their mute or come in different colors. They even make mutes that are designed to allow violinists to practice into the night called a practice mute – Which come in rubber or metal! I’d recommend saving the metal practice mutes for students who are particularly careful with their instruments, but this is an important and useful accessory for their instrument that makes for a great stocking stuffer as well! 

Music Ideas

  • Holiday Music:  

I love the idea of gifting books with popular holiday tunes to students because it provides students with music to play when family and friends are around the home! They can choose their favorite songs or perhaps pick a song specially because they know someone who would love to hear that song when friends and family are gathered together. Either way, it encourages your students to share their music and all the hard work they’ve been putting into learning their instrument. Some of my favorite books are:

  • Duet Books: 

This is a great idea for musicians who are friends with other musicians! They can play duets with each other for hours, which helps develop the ability to play with others, sight read and more! Some of my tried and true favorites are: 

  • Other Solo Ideas: 

As you might guess by now, there are tons of music options for students looking for more solo music to try. For students interested in pop music you can look for a top hits collection For students more interested in learning fiddle tunes, they may want to look at Fiddler’s Philharmonic. Take a look at what unique interests your musician might have and I bet there is a book of music they would love to have that matches! Think popular movies, TV shows and more to help you get started. Here are some of the tried and true books I’ve seen students in my studio receive and love! 

Experiences and Learning

  • Books: 

I know many of my students are also voracious readers and I’m sure there’s a book out there for a variety of reading levels and ages. Here are some titles that might be worth looking at in order of books for the youngest readers to the oldest readers.

  • Magazines:

Some other readers prefer a short read that comes in a monthly dose. These titles could be great for those musicians! 

  • Concert Tickets: 

Take a look at upcoming concerts that might interest the student in mind! Any musical group can help foster their education and excitement towards their music studies, but you certainly get bonus points for including their chosen instrument! It is so important to see others who are better than you perform – This allows students to see things they are doing right, things they could do better and gives them an ultimate goal for what they could be capable of on their instrument! These can be a local venue for a night out on the town, but for my students in western MD, it is also a possibility to plan a weekend trip to Washington D.C. , Baltimore or New York City! Putting together an occasion like that for your musician can be a memorable and unique experience they’ll look back on fondly. 

I hope this helps give you some ideas to get started on the holiday shopping for the musicians in your life! As you shop using these links, some do allow me to gather a little commission at no cost to you. Let me know how it goes or if there’s anything you think I should add to this list. I’d love to keep it updated for my students and their families!

For Parents, For Teachers, For StudentsRenee ShawComment