Violin

[Toastedlightly]

Where would i start?

 

[FoBoT]

at the beginning

 

[bootymac]

So you want to learn violin eh..

 

[Fenixgoon]

i too am looking into learning violiin. renting one would probably be your best option. it doesn't cost much, and if you don't like it, you don't have to pay for the whole instrument. private lessons aren't too too much (at least where i live, $30/hr i think)

 

[cressida]

no you don't.

Edit: Played the violin for about 6 years when I was younger. How I started out was through middle school then played a few years in high school. You can buy a decent one for about 400 (don't get one too cheap) and they have private lessons, about 20 an hour. It will take a lot of dedication and practice to become intermediate.

Hopefully you don't live in an apartment. Depending on your age, I would recommend looking into learning the guitar if you are interested. You'll meet lots of people that you can jam and practice with.
You'll also be the center of parties if you are good ^_^. But my opinion.

 

[Viper GTS]

Don't bother renting one, buy a used instrument (not from a reseller) & if you don't like it you can sell it.

You can get reasonably decent (well, for a student instrument... In the grand scheme of things they're crap) violins + bow/case for around $200.

Viper GTS

 

[paulney]

First you need a circumcision.

 

[Toastedlightly]

Originally posted by: paulney
First you need a circumcision.

got that

I am just looking for an instrument that nobody plays but that could be fun, but hard. Also, i see different sizes 4/4 3/4 2/4 1/4. What one would i want if i were to get one?

 

[cressida]

Originally posted by: Toastedlightly

Originally posted by: paulney
First you need a circumcision.

got that

I am just looking for an instrument that nobody plays but that could be fun, but hard. Also, i see different sizes 4/4 3/4 2/4 1/4. What one would i want if i were to get one?

full grown adult (unless you are a small person) will more than likely be a full size (4/4)

 

[paulney]

Oy, vey! Now we are talking!
If you want a cool instrument that not many people play, but that sounds darn good in a solo - try saxophone.

 

[Toastedlightly]

pfff.. know many people (i am still in highschool yo!) and no, not guitar, not bass, not drums (me into older music)

 

[paulney]

Uhmm.. I don't know. I played clarinet for a while, but got tired of that. Now that I look back at it, I should've chosen sax.

 

[paulney]

Correction: now that I look back at it, I should've chosen _sex_!

 

[tfinch2]

violin is fun

 

[DaveSimmons]

Violin might be fun, but sadly I just listen to music, and can't play anything. If you go through with this, check out Celtic music (Irish & Scots) and the Appalachian flavor of country music. Fiddling isn't just for Vivaldi and Mozart.

Some random nice fiddle in pop/rock, in no order:

Damien Rice - "Volcano" (O)
Waterboys - "Fisherman's Blues" (Fisherman's Blues)
Tanita Tikaram - "Consider the Rain" (The Sweet Keeper)
Kate Bush - "Jig of Life" (Hounds of Love)
Heather Nova - "Ship Song" (CD-single from South)

 

[TechBoyJK]

Want to learn violin? take the approach i did to guitar. I took lessons on how to teach myself. That way I only had to take limited lessons, and I also watched tons of videos and read books. After about a few months of studying the instrument and learning how to practice and teach myself things, I just started doing that. After about 10 solid years of it, I can almost play anything...... If you practice diligently, lke an hour a day, and you focus on working your fingers at all angles instead of just songs, you will be really good in less than a year.

Don't lie to yourself when you practice. Focus on drills to expand the uses of your hand. Don't worry so much about songs at first. Worry about getting your fingers to do what you tell them. If that means playing very repetative motions, very slow, then do it! its worth it imho. You can either spend your practice time playings songs, and when you play for your own enjoyment, what your hand can do will be limited to what you taught it to do while learning those songs, or you can learn how to walk the entire neck of the instrument, and when you play, play whatever you want, however you want.

JK

 

[cchen]

Originally posted by: TechBoyJK
Want to learn violin? take the approach i did to guitar. I took lessons on how to teach myself. That way I only had to take limited lessons, and I also watched tons of videos and read books. After about a few months of studying the instrument and learning how to practice and teach myself things, I just started doing that. After about 10 solid years of it, I can almost play anything...... If you practice diligently, lke an hour a day, and you focus on working your fingers at all angles instead of just songs, you will be really good in less than a year.

Don't lie to yourself when you practice. Focus on drills to expand the uses of your hand. Don't worry so much about songs at first. Worry about getting your fingers to do what you tell them. If that means playing very repetative motions, very slow, then do it! its worth it imho. You can either spend your practice time playings songs, and when you play for your own enjoyment, what your hand can do will be limited to what you taught it to do while learning those songs, or you can learn how to walk the entire neck of the instrument, and when you play, play whatever you want, however you want.

JK

Ummmm..... no. Guitar you can learn yourself, violin you cannot.

 

[Semidevil]

just remember, as for any other instruments, dont just learn songs. Technique is the most important...

as someone above mentioned....learn the finger techniques. scales are boring, but if you can do all the scales w/ no problem, and other variations, you will be the master....

 

[CarpeDeo]

One big note on learning violin . . . DON'T GET FRUSTRATED.

I love the sound of the violin . . . but it takes years and years of practice before you sound decent. Beginners, intermediate, even some "advanced" players sound horrendous. But in the end, if you stick through with it, you'll create some of the most beautiful sounds from that wooden box.

Unlike a guitar where you can learn a chord in just five minutes, violin takes precise intonation and technique. Actually- the string family and the trombone are the only two widely used symphony instruments that require the player to have intonation. Every other instrument is like pressing buttons (okay- a bit more complex than that).

This is why I gave up the violin and I now play guitar.

 

[puffff]

i have a violin appraised and insured for $10,000. it's a shame i dont play it anymore. wanna buy it?

 

[BespinReactorShaft]

Depending on your taste, this may help also.

 

[esun]

Holy crap puffff that's awesome. It is too bad you have such a nice violin and don't play it (I'm using a $3,000 violin right now in college). To the OP, if you really want to learn the violin, get one (obviously) and try to find a teacher. Just about any teacher will get you through the basics. Let me tell you right now, the violin is not something you can pick up and learn in a month, or even a year (unless you already have significant musical talent and experience), so it won't be a fast process at all. It can also be hard to really dedicate a lot of time to it. Basically, if you really want to learn, you can do it. Otherwise, it will probably just be a waste of your time.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: cchen

Originally posted by: TechBoyJK
Want to learn violin? take the approach i did to guitar. I took lessons on how to teach myself. That way I only had to take limited lessons, and I also watched tons of videos and read books. After about a few months of studying the instrument and learning how to practice and teach myself things, I just started doing that. After about 10 solid years of it, I can almost play anything...... If you practice diligently, lke an hour a day, and you focus on working your fingers at all angles instead of just songs, you will be really good in less than a year.

Don't lie to yourself when you practice. Focus on drills to expand the uses of your hand. Don't worry so much about songs at first. Worry about getting your fingers to do what you tell them. If that means playing very repetative motions, very slow, then do it! its worth it imho. You can either spend your practice time playings songs, and when you play for your own enjoyment, what your hand can do will be limited to what you taught it to do while learning those songs, or you can learn how to walk the entire neck of the instrument, and when you play, play whatever you want, however you want.

JK

Ummmm..... no. Guitar you can learn yourself, violin you cannot.

Once you learn proper posture/form, you can start mastering the technical aspects (quicker/more accurate fingering, shifting/gliss, all the variations of bowing). After that, everything is art and comes from the soul. The only thing you really need to be taught is the first part (which is how I learned it). Then I just practiced for a few years.

 

[tfinch2]

i remember when my first cheapy bow broke...and i bought a real wooden bow with real hair...it was like 400 dollars. my dad freaked out.

 

[TechBoyJK]

Originally posted by: cchen

Originally posted by: TechBoyJK
Want to learn violin? take the approach i did to guitar. I took lessons on how to teach myself. That way I only had to take limited lessons, and I also watched tons of videos and read books. After about a few months of studying the instrument and learning how to practice and teach myself things, I just started doing that. After about 10 solid years of it, I can almost play anything...... If you practice diligently, lke an hour a day, and you focus on working your fingers at all angles instead of just songs, you will be really good in less than a year.

Don't lie to yourself when you practice. Focus on drills to expand the uses of your hand. Don't worry so much about songs at first. Worry about getting your fingers to do what you tell them. If that means playing very repetative motions, very slow, then do it! its worth it imho. You can either spend your practice time playings songs, and when you play for your own enjoyment, what your hand can do will be limited to what you taught it to do while learning those songs, or you can learn how to walk the entire neck of the instrument, and when you play, play whatever you want, however you want.

JK

Ummmm..... no. Guitar you can learn yourself, violin you cannot.

UMMMMMM. YES. Maybe you cant teach yourself, its a matter of desire and effort. Thats why i said take lessons on how to teach yourself. BTW, i can play violin, cello, and upright bass, all of which I tought myself.