About a third of violin players acknowledge leaving their instrument vulnerable to theft, a large portion of them in cars. Which is a very, very bad idea.

In most major cities in the developed world, it’s a pretty common truism that leaving something on a car seat is an invitation to thieves. Something so worthless as an empty paper bag might be tempting enough for a smash-and-grab, just on the chance it contains a wallet or smartphone.

The cavalier among us might joke, “Heck, it’s not like I’m leaving a Stradivarius violin or something on the seat!”

Except, there have been Stradivarius violins left on seats of cars and in taxis. And they’ve been stolen or at the very least lost for days if not years. These losses are not limited to fine violins. Musicians have even had fine violas, fine cellos, and fine stringed instrument bows taken.

How is that possible? An informal poll conducted by Violinist.com in 2008 asked respondents if they had ever left their instruments somewhere by accident. The results were stunning: 36 percent (93 players) said yes, they had. The largest portion of them were in classrooms (18 percent), followed by restaurants (16 percent), cars (12 percent, plus another 3 percent in taxis), practice rooms (12 percent). A small cohort, 2 percent, admitted to leaving them in bathrooms.

Among the most valuable of violins recently left in a car and lost was the 1710 Amati II, valued at the time (December 2020) at $700,000. It is owned by an art dealer, Rowland Weinstein, who lives in Lost Angeles. Ironically, he was moving the violin to a more secure location when he parked his car, unlocked, in front of his own house. He left the violin in the vehicle for just a few minutes, only to discover the car was stolen when he came back outside – the violin still a passenger. In all likelihood the thief was most interested in the vehicle and lacks the skills and contacts for selling the fine and rare violin. It has yet to be recovered.

Another loss occurred in Los Angeles in 1967, when a Stradivarius (the 1732 Duke of Alcantara) was either stolen from a car or it fell off the roof. Yes, possibly the violinist left it on the roof. It resurfaced in 1994 after a hazardous journey involving someone finding it, storage in a closet, passing on to relatives through two different divorces, casual play by amateurs, and finally surfacing when it went into a violin shop for repairs. The owner, the University of California at Los Angeles, regained possession. The player who lost it lived to see it returned after years of remorse over his carelessness.

But even if a violin of lesser value is left in a car and not stolen, it might still suffer. Cars left parked have poor temperature control. Inside a vehicle on a summer day, the temperatures can go as high as 115ºF in 30 minutes. Simply warm weather can affect the bow-on-strings friction and expand the wood, which changes the tension on the strings. At an extreme, heat can melt the varnish, loosen the glue, and wood can even crack. In the winter, anything below 60ºF will impair the sound of the violin. Leave it in a car and the pegs will loosen, but just as importantly the dryness of winter air affects the entire instrument.

So for that 16 percent of people who leave their violins in cars, plus the 3 percent who thoughtlessly leave them in taxis: might we suggest some kind of leash? You ARE the type to leave a Strad on a seat. It’s a hostile world out there and your violin is defenseless without a little more protection.

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There is more time to learn things in the pandemic. So this age of at-home learning is perfect for taking up or refreshing musical skills on an instrument.

When the coronavirus shut down much of the world in mid-March 2020, in-person music instruction failed to meet the criteria for “essential work.” But musical instructors and institutions wasted no time in launching online music education.

And that education came in a broad range of types of music instruction. It is possible to teach just about any instrument, as well as voice, via an online format. The same goes for seminars on selected music education topics. There are classes in composition, concerts with panel discussions with Grammy-winning artists, master class series with professional musicians, and webinars from entertainment industry players who discuss career and educational topics.

Insofar as learning and advancing instrument playing, recorded lessons and one-on-one instructions are readily available. But there is a school of thought that the technology is best suited for beginner-level musicians and less so for those who are more advanced. Why? There are several reasons:

Beginners and intermediate students – First timers and those with less than two years of instruction can learn the fundamentals of playing. For example, on string instruments (violin, cello, viola, bass, guitar, harp, etc.) learning the basic techniques of fingering, how to physically hold an instrument, basic rhythm and harmony, and of course how to read music, are easily taught in the online format. The same applies to wind, keyboard, and percussion instruments.

Advanced students – Students paying university tuition – and playing on fine stringed instruments – are losing out on what it means to play in an orchestra. But even with one-on-one instruction, online lessons means technology, with all its flaws and failures, can get in the way of learning and experience. Hearing the sound as it should be is always going to be compromised; what the student produces on his or her violin will not sound the same to the instructor, and vise versa. Other nuances of playing and learning are often lost through this method.

Ensembles – One of the biggest losses when schools and universities go to an online format is the loss of playing in orchestras, quartets, and chamber groups. There are layering apps that make it possible, however it does require additional technology and the savvy for how to use it – by all participants. And it’s simply not the same as being gathered together in one place, where in-person cues truly shape the music sound, timing, and overall artistry.

Alas, this is what it is for the time being. If the extra time that children and adults have during the pandemic inspires them to try learning an instrument, this could be a very fortuitous time – for them and their instructors. But for prodigies and budding professionals, the challenges are clearly much greater.

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