Too late to start with Violins? - Page 3

Always ALWAYS ALWAYS work on basics. It is unexplainable (yet awesome) how much better you sound when you've warmed up on slow passages and scales, and how much worse you get when you haven't after even a single day. You will not notice the improvement yourself (and probably won't be able to recognize it until you have decades of experience), but your teacher and other experts will. If, for some reason, there is a day when you simply do not have any time to practice, get up 20 minutes early and play some slow intervals and scale patterns. Your technique is like a fragile muscle, and not using it at all for even 24 hours can put you back weeks.

On August 23 2011 02:41 PenguinWithNuke wrote:
Ok, as someone who plays violin, I'll give you some advice:

First off, how far do you want to go with this? Are you just playing casually (like a guy who does only teamgames in SC), or do you want something more? If you want to do something more (like say, a concerto competition, or something like joining an orchestra and wanting to be the concertmaster), I can give you more advice on that.

If you're going to be very casual, only practicing a couple of hours per week, then I'd suggest getting a lower-end violin and bow. I think music stores sell stuff like that in a package (case, bow, violin) for a couple hundred bucks. It might be more, because you need a full-size violin and bow (you're not dwarf, correct?). They include rosin (necessary, start off with something cheap), and you also need a shoulder-rest IMO.

When you're starting off, here's something I STRONGLY recommend. There is no such thing as a fret on a violin, so you're going to have to learn everything from muscle memory. Get someone (a friend or a teacher who is good at violin) to help you find all the fingerings for first position. Get pieces of tape, and mark the basic fingerings. Here's a pic of what I mean. + Show Spoiler +

If you really want to get good (or good enough so that you don't sound like crap), then practice every day for at least an hour. You'll get good in no time if you practice like this.

Another thing that I consider necessary is a good teacher. There is no substitute if you want to improve rapidly and have good technique. Make sure that you do get a good teacher who will teach you proper technique, because having good technique makes it soooo much easier to play well.

When you're starting off, I recommend the Suzuki Method books. It's good for starting, but after you improve, start doing other stuff. Because it gets boring.

Above all, make sure that you enjoy playing the violin. It's a beautiful instrument, and you can really express yourself.

PM me if you have any specific questions, atm, I'm kinda strapped for time.

My credentials: + Show Spoiler +



edit: (also because I have a potty mouth and you're 14)
Oh btw, forgot to mention. You're going to suck at the beginning. Really hard. But push on. You won't regret it. It'll take a week or so to stop sounding like absolute crap. Don't get discouraged Press on.