It’s true that most violin players start studying the instrument when they’re young—sometimes before they’ve even started school. (It’s admittedly pretty amazing to see a preschooler playing a ...

Violinist Andrew Bird answers the internet's burning questions about playing the violin. What is the secret to vibrato? Why are violins so expensive? Is there a trick to properly tuning a violin?

Violin makers, aka luthiers, traditionally learn from hands-on experience how to craft parts and select materials to shape an instrument’s final sound. MIT engineers hope to streamline that ...