Tradebit Tips: Learn to Play Violin
Learning how to play one of the most famous and well known string instruments in modern classical music is no easy task. Violin music is some of the most beautiful, soulful and technically difficult music to play. The violin is an instruments with very delicate strings, that is strokes by a bow in the correct position while fingers travel over an open fret sound board to create the notes. The following article will give you a background about the violin as a classical string instruments as well as beginner tips on how to play beautiful music with your violin.
Know the violin
Once you have purchased or rented your own violin, whether you have played an instrument before or not, you will want to familiarize yourself with the elements of the violin. A violin has four strings, tuned in perfect fifths. It is an instruments that requires the use of a bow. You will also have to learn about finger position while using the bow so that you can get the right note to sound from the bridge. In addition to the bow and the elements above, the main parts of the violin are the neck, fingerboard, pegs, bridge, f-holes and of course the chin rest.
Holding the violin
Learning how to hold a violin is a technical feat of its own. First let you chin make contact with the chin rest. Place your left hand gently under the neck of the violin, and hold the bow (after you've treated it with rosin) at shoulder-height poised and ready in an open position before contact is made with the strings. There is no 100% correct way to hold your instrument since every body is different, but you should try to stick to a classical posture which will help you play in the most open and least tense position possible. There are a number of ways that a bow can be used, and for more details on that check out bowing technique guides online as well.
Know the string family
Besides the violin there are a few other members of the string instrument family. You should make yourself aware of them, should you have an urge to play something similar with different tone quality. The viola is a deeper sounding instrument, while the fiddle is a higher sounding instrument than the violin.
Treat your violin right
The violin is a very delicate instrument, so you want to make sure that you have a professional case for it and offer it a home that has the correct temperature and other environmentally sound factors. Just as a guitar and piano can both slip out of tune, violins need to be tuned every time before they are played.
Consulting a teacher
Beginners who have an idea of how to hold the instrument will most likely need to consult a teacher from there on out. There are a few site specific places on the web that offer online lessons, but for this instrument, it helps if you not only read and listen to tips about playing and technique, but also if someone can observe you while playing. This makes you the best player possible- so consider investing in a few lessons to improve your practice and make you work toward a new level of mastery with a violin teacher.
Practice, practice, practice
What you can do on your own is practice. You don't need a teacher for that necessarily, and you also don't need years and years to perfect basic technique- unless you're one of those 3 year old violin sensations that don't need to practice and will become famous concertmaster's by the time they are 12! A little practice on your own definitely makes CLOSE to perfect with this instrument. So feel free to learn hand and bow movements, look at how you place your fingers on the fingerboard, find the best most natural way to bow for your body, and make small changes so that you can hone the most natural tone you can produce.
Music theory and the violin
Of course, the technical side of practicing does include scale work, arpeggios, attacking the bowing from start to close, finger technique, and vibrato work. For these there are in many cases free eBooks and websites designed to visually guide you through good violin technique. Article after article is written on classical music boards about good technical practice tips, many from professionals and experts themselves- all for free. You just have to search through the noise to find the good ones.
Put the effort in
Since playing the violin has such a rich historical tradition attached to it, make sure that your body goes to great length to conquer the advanced techniques of this instrument. It's easier said than done, but when you are sure that you want to master the instrument, you'll know how much effort you really need to put into it.
Dedicated learning
You may be practicing Twinkle Twinkle as the only song for the first 2 months of your playing. Then you may work just on the fingering for the left hand. Followed by rest for the left and just working on bowing in the right hand. It's not easy, but let yourself be taken in by the sounds of this special family of major musical instruments and don't give up it's potential beauty just because of the obstacles in your way.
eBooks on learning the violin
If you like what you are reading here, check out a number of book offerings that we have to view more information about how to improve your personal violin skills. You may not ever be called professional violinist, but there is a high level that you can point to and reach using online resources and teaching lesson resources. Besides books about technique, the Tradebit community can offer you different styles of sheet music to expand your repertoire, as well as a lesson via audio guide to add to everything that you have learned so far.
Taking it to the next level
Once you feel that you have used internet resources to the best of your experience, consider that a lesson in person or through our guided audio lessons on Tradebit can definitely give you an edge in your technique and style. You want just be staring at sheet music trying to figure out the bow and finger technique. Instead you will have a community of professional teachers on hand and ready to give you the full experience of learning and playing the violin.
