Our quick guide to measuring your child for a violin
What size violin for my child? – is one of the most common questions asked by parents of young learners who are either starting lessons or have grown taller over the summer holidays! Lots more questions about violin sizes answered here.
Violins come in full size (4/4) and seven common fractional sizes, usually starting at 1/16 and working up through 1/10, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 7/8.
A properly fitting violin will be easier to hold and to play so it’s important to choose the correct size for your child. With so many sizes available, it may be tempting to buy a bigger size than needed, so that your child can grow into it, but a violin that is too large will be too heavy and its size and weight will make it difficult for your child to use.
A rough guide:
Here is a rough guide by age to give a general idea of what size your child will need.
Age 2 – 3 1/16 Age 3 – 5 1/8 Age 5 – 6 1/4 Age 7 – 8 1/2 Age 8 – 9 3/4 Age 10 – 11 7/8
Many children from age 10 onwards can handle a full size violin. But you might want to consider a 7/8 size violin for early teenage years.
An exact guide:
Similar to buying shoes, there is no easy rule about children’s ages and violin sizes, it’s best to measure to get the correct size for each child. If you have a tape measure or long ruler, you can measure exactly what size your child needs. Have your child stand with their left arm outstretched with their palm facing upwards. Measure from the left size of their neck to their wrist. Check the size in cm or inches with the chart below:
Measuring to the wrist is a method favoured by Suzuki teachers and will normally give a slightly smaller size than when measuring to the middle of the palm, another method. Therefore it may be ok to choose the bigger size here, if your child’s wrist measurement comes very close to the next size up.
Now you know what size your child needs, you are ready to choose a violin for them! To see all our children’s violins in one handy page, read our guide to choosing a violin for your child.
Rhoda Barfoot is a violinist and experienced strings teacher and is Director of The Strings Family. Think of Rhoda as your personal shopper for the stringed instruments world! If you have a question about stringed instruments, music study or related topics, check with Ask Rhoda on The Strings Family website.