Music And Dance

Posts Tagged ‘How To Play The Violin’

Discovering how to play the violin is a wonderful but sometimes frustrating experience. You will not master it overnight and there will be times that you feel like giving up because you think it’s too difficult. Don’t worry we all go through days like this, as I am sure Paganini did when he was a beginner!

An ear for music:

Since there are no frets on a violin neck then you will need to use your ears in order to pitch each note. When you play an instrument like a piano, you hit the right key, you get the right note. On the violin it is a little more refined than that. You have to place your finger in the exact right place otherwise your note could be slightly too sharp or slightly too flat. Listen to each note you play and make small adjustments to become more accurate.

The right instrument:

I must say or write about this several times every week. Getting the right instrument is essential. Many people do not spend enough money! I know as a beginner you don’t want to spend too much, especially if you are buying for a slightly unsure child but if you don’t buy a good beginner instrument then you are starting on the wrong foot anyway. A poor quality instrument will be hard to play, wont produce a good tone and can leave the player bored and frustrated. if your ear is excited then you will want to play, practice and learn more, right?

Getting the right lessons:

One of the best ways and a method of learning that is growing rapidly is to learn with video lessons. These can be purchased online and have many benefits.

Many are given by world class players making them a unique privilege.
-They have an incredibly low cost.
-You can replay a video lesson as often as you want.
-No traveling to a teachers house.
-Nobody looking over your shoulder as you play and practice
-Backing tracks to play along with are often included in the best online violin lessons
-Many features such as books, documents and PDF’s are included.

Learning how to play the violin should be fun and rewarding and if you select the right lessons you will be able to make good consistent progress.

The violin is a bowed instrument with 4 strings tuned in perfect 5ths.G-D-A-E with G being the lowest string found just below middle C. Th violin is also an orchestral instrument and this is where it is most commonly heard and played yet due to it’s massive repertoire it can be found in all kinds of bands, ensembles and genres from classical to country to rock.

Here are my top 7 tips on learning to play the violin:

1.Firstly tighten your bow. Turn the screw end clockwise but don’t tighten it too much. The bow strings shouldn’t touch the bow itself but shouldn’t be loose either.

2.Add some rosin to your bow. When you first purchase your bow, ask theshop owner to demonstrate this. Repeat every few days or if you practice a lot do this everyday.

3.Learn how to hold your bow correctly. For me to detail this I would need another article so for now, check with your teacher on this one.

4.Tuck the violin underneath your chin whilst it rests on your shoulder. An important but often overlooked part here is to keep a good posture. Many people begin to bend their back which can cause all kinds of problems.

5.Begin practicing using the bow with both upstrokes and downstrokes. This should be done halfway between the bridge and the fingerboard. Apply a good amount of pressure to ensure that you make a warm and whole tone not a scratchy sound.
Stick to playing on the open strings. Using the left hand is quite a way off yet.

6.Focus on the bowing technique, tone and begin to read some of your first pieces of music but again only with open strings.

7.Practice everyday! Yes I am afraid that repetition is the mother of all learning. And remember the hardest thing about practice is getting your violin out of its case. So once you have done the difficult part start playing and having some fun.

Learning how to play the violin is a very rewarding experience. Yes it can be a little tricky to start with but just keep persevering.