STRINGTELLIGENCE

ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS. Children's ears and hands need children's E-strings.

Our youngest musicians have special requirements for E-strings.

Children's strings should

• have a low overtone range – both because of children's ears being a lot more sensitive and so that the string feels comfortable when pressed by delicate children's fingers
• hardly whistle
• be particularly resistant to corrosion
• provide an easy sliding feeling
• be inexpensive and have a long lifespan

We’ll explain why!

KIDS ARE ALL EARS!

On average, children hear in a range of up to 22,000 Hz. In comparison, a 30-year-old only perceives – depending on previous exposure – frequencies up to approximately 14,000 Hz on average, a 70-year-old sometimes only up to 5,000 Hz ... a dog up to 50,000 Hz, a dolphin even up to 150,000 Hz. This means that children have extremely sensitive ears. E-strings with a high overtone range or E-strings that have a tendency to whistle are usually very uncomfortable for children's ears.

This is why children need E-strings with a lower overtone range and less tendency to whistle. E-strings generally have a tendency to whistle, but they whistle even more before the bow has been mastered. It’s natural that beginners have not fully developed their bow handling and do not apply adequate pressure to the bow, which is why children need E-strings with a minimal tendency to whistle, even with an immature bowing technique. 

In addition to the right choice of strings, the correct rosin and well-maintained bow hair also make a significant contribution to improving the response and thus reducing whistling. Using a sleeve on the E-string makes it sound warmer and reduces high-pitched overtones, which are unpleasant for children. It can also minimize or increase the whistling. Just try it out! All of our E-strings are equipped with a sleeve upon delivery.

WHEN YOU BREAK A SWEAT

The sweat of children and adolescents during puberty is much more aggressive than that of adults. Therefore, music strings for children's hands must be particularly corrosion-resistant in order to give young artists long-term trouble-free enjoyment.

PRESS AND SLIDE

Last but not least, string texture plays a big role for delicate fingers. The string should feel comfortable under the fingers (string tension feeling) and the fingers should be able to slide easily over the strings (string sliding feeling). When you press an E-string, it often feels like the string is cutting into your finger. Contrary to expectations, this feeling of hardness has little to do with the string diameter, but more to do with brilliance and overtones. The rule is: The more overtones, the more reflection at the bridge and the harder the string feels – even with the same string tension and the same string diameter.
Combining all these properties into one string requires excellent materials and complex manufacturing methods. Therefore, quality music strings for children are just as expensive to produce as those for more experienced musicians.

 

Our E-string solutions for children are shown below!

BALL VERSUS LOOP

In their early years, children often tend to overtune strings. That can lead to E-strings with loops breaking off at the fine tuner. In order to avoid that, we recommend using strings with ball ends instead of loops.

WOUND, TIN-PLATED OR BLANK. A COMPARISON.

1. Aluminum-wound E-strings respond very well, sound warm and reduce the very high overtones that are unpleasant for children's ears. They have an excellent frequency range for children's ears. Their corrosion resistance is right in the midfield, but they are sensitive to mechanical damage, e.g. if an inexperienced string player hits the string with their frog. These strings are expensive due to the complex and time-consuming manufacturing process.

From the Thomastik-Infeld range

Children’s size 3/4

• Dominant No. 130 3/4 | medium

Children’s size 1/2

• Dominant No. 130 ½ | medium

Children’s size 1/4

• Dominant No. 130 1/4 | medium
• Vision No. VI01 1/4 | medium

Children’s size 1/8

• Dominant No. 130 1/8 | medium
• Vision No. VI01 1/8 | medium

Children’s size 1/10

• Vision No. VI01 1/10 | medium

Children’s size 1/16

• Dominant No. 130 1/16 | medium
• Vision No. VI01 1/16 | medium

 

2. Chromium steel-wound E-strings have a very high corrosion resistance and are less sensitive to an accidental collision with the frog. They have a very good, albeit slightly less direct response compared to aluminum-wound E-strings and therefore tend to whistle a little more than the aluminum-wound alternative. Chromium steel-wound E-strings also have a nice, warm sound and a very good frequency range for children's ears. Chromium steel-wound strings are in no way inferior to the aluminum-wound option. However, chromium steel is an expensive material and the production of these strings is also very complex. This leads to chromium steel-wound E-strings being more expensive too.

From the Thomastik-Infeld range

Children’s size 1/16

• Superflexible No. 8 | medium

 

3. Tin-plated E-strings respond well, but are slightly slower in response than chromium steel-wound E-strings. They also have a higher brilliance range than the wound alternatives, so tin-plated E-strings are often not as pleasing to children's ears. They barely react when colliding with the frog.  However, they are less expensive because they are not wound.

From the Thomastik-Infeld range

Children’s size 3/4

• Vision No. VI01 3/4 | medium
• Spirit No. SP01 3/4  | medium
• Alphayue No. AL01 3/4 | medium

Children’s size 1/2

• Vision No. VI01 1/2  | medium
• Spirit No. SP01 1/2  | medium
• Alphayue No. AL01 1/2 | medium

Children’s size 1/4

• Vision No. VI01 1/4 | medium
• Spirit No. SP01 1/4 | medium
• Alphayue No. AL01 1/4 | medium

Children’s size 1/8

• Alphayue No. AL01 1/8 | medium
• Precision No. 48 | medium

Children’s size 1/16

• Alphayue No. AL01 1/16 | medium
• Precision No. 49 | medium

 

4. Blank chromium steel E-strings (without winding) are fully corrosion-resistant, perform perfect fifths for a very long time, have an exceptionally long lifespan and barely react when they collide with the frog. However, these E-strings are more prone to whistling than the alternatives mentioned above.

From the Thomastik-Infeld range

Children’s size 3/4

• Dominant No. 129 3/4 | medium

Children’s size

• Dominant No. 129 1/2 | medium

Children’s size 1/4

• Dominant No. 129 1/4 | medium

Children’s size 1/8

• Dominant No. 129 1/8 | medium

Children’s size 1/16

• Dominant No. 129 1/16 | medium

 

COMPARISON

	Aluminum-wound	Chromium steel-wound	Tin-plated	Pure chromium steel
Best response/lowest tendency to whistle	+ + + + +	+ + + +	+ + +	+ +
Corrosion resistance	+ + +	+ + + + +	+ + +	+ + + + +
Tonal and mechanical lifespan	+ +	+ + + +	+ + + +	+ + + + +
Range of brilliance	+	+ +	+ + + +	+ + + + +
Price	+ + +	+ + + +	+	+
comfortable string pressure feeling	+ + + + +	+ + + +	+ + +	+
easy sliding feel	+ + + + +	+ + + +	+ + +	+ + +

How to read this table: + = least/lowest, + + + + + = most/highest

 

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