Violin playing is a physical art with great traditions behind it.
Vanessa Mae
After the piano and the guitar, the violin is probably the third most popular instrument for people to learn.
It would be more popular if it wasn't such a complicated instrument. That isn't to say you can't learn how to play it, but it's not quite as accessible as the piano and the guitar.
For example, when you press a piano key, the note sounds nice (provided the piano is tuned and in good condition), and even though you could argue that the piano is a string instrument, how a musician produces a sound on it is vastly different to how a violinist makes a sound on their musical instrument.
The same isn't quite as true for a guitar, which is a string instrument, but thanks to the frets, making a pleasing note is somewhat accessible in comparison to the violin.
Just try playing a note on the violin for the first time and you'll see what we mean. The sound is so awful that it wouldn't surprise us if this put off many aspiring violinists.
Beyond the initial barrier to entry, the violin is often seen as not being as "cool" as the piano or the guitar. Many popular genres tend to favor the guitar and the piano over the violin and younger learners may feel like they need to learn a more acceptable instrument than the violin.
However, in terms of musicality, there are fewer instruments cooler than the violin and the original violin virtuosos (or virtuosi) were the rock and pop stars of their time, wowing audiences with their incredible playing.
The violin is used in so many different types of music and, despite the initial difficulties of learning to play it, it's an incredible instrument that many people should consider learning.
In this article, we'll be looking at how you can start learning how to play it and what you should keep in mind as you attempt to master it.
How to Start Playing the Violin
We've established that the violin isn't the easiest instrument to learn. If you want to start learning how to play the violin, we'd certainly recommend getting a teacher or tutor to help you.
That isn't to say you can't teach yourself to play the violin, but for the initial steps, it's much easier if you have someone there to introduce you to the violin and show you the proper technique and posture.
Study Music Theory
Once you've started getting to grips with your new musical instrument, you should also consider studying music theory and learning how to read music. There's always a debate around whether you have to learn how to read music and technically, you don't.
However, for any violinist wanting to play in groups, ensembles, or orchestras, knowing how to read sheet music will be non-negotiable.
Practice with Technical Exercises
Get into the habit of warming up and practising your technique. It might not be the most enjoyable way to play the violin, but you'll get much better at playing if you take the time to work on your technique.
Build Your Repertoire
The best violinists have a broad repertoire and while a beginner won't be expected to be able to play the entire violin repertoire, make a concerted effort to learn (and ultimately master) different pieces.
Look into Formal Music Education
You can study the violin and music theory on your own, but most orchestral instruments usually require a formal music education through school, college, or conservatories.
Again, there are routes into playing the violin professionally or with ensembles or orchestras that don't require a formal education, but this is arguably the most established and obvious way to do it.
How to Master Violin Techniques
Like any other musical instrument, the violin requires your respect and you have to take your playing seriously if you want to master playing the violin.
The very best musicians look like they're having a lot of fun when they play their instrument, but behind the effortless playing, there's somebody who takes technique very seriously.
Here are some of the ways to ensure that your violin technique is the best it can be.
Get the Right Violin
A Stradivarius will sound horrible when played by an amateur, so don't think that investing a lot of money in a good violin will make you a better violinist.
Take your time, do your research, and choose a violin that's suitable for you, your level, and your budget.
You can do plenty of research online, but with most musical instruments, you should venture into your local music store and speak to a member of staff.
[table “us_101028” not found /]Take Care of Your Violin
Even the cheapest violins are carefully made instruments and you need to take care of them.
This starts with storing your violin properly in a good case away from extreme temperatures, humidity, and direct sunlight.
Take care of your violin when using it, too. This can include washing your hands before playing to ensure that you always handle it with clean hands. You don't want oil or dirt on your violin.
You also need to clean your violin. There are products specifically for cleaning and maintaining violins and you can usually find these in music stores or specialist violin stores.
When in doubt, take your violin to a luthier or a professional.
Focus on Posture
Posture is one of the earliest things you'll learn when playing the violin, but don't forget about it once you start improving.
Every single movement starts with your posture so getting it right is an essential part of playing the violin well.
Learn How to Hold the Bow
How you hold the bow could be considered both part of your posture and technique and will dictate how every note sounds. If you aren't holding the bow correctly, you'll never be able to fully unleash the potential of your violin.
Study the Foundations
An understanding of music theory, how your violin works, and all the technical aspects of playing the violin will help you become a better violinist.
While this knowledge won't play your violin for you, musicians with a better understanding of how everything works will know what improvements they need to make to get a better sound out of their instrument and better performances when they play.
Practice Regularly
Practice makes perfect. The very best violinists will practice almost every day. Get into the habit of regularly playing your violin.
It's better to practice little and often than for a long time infrequently but it's better to do some practice than none at all.
Use a Metronome
When you play the violin on your own at home, it won't matter if your timing's slightly off, but if you have any aspirations of playing with other musicians, you need to be able to play in time.
Get yourself a metronome and play along with it when practising and doing technical exercises.
Listen to Music
You'll get much better at a musical instrument if you actively listen to music. This includes listening to the pieces that you're learning as well as plenty of other genres.
Ideally, you'll want to listen to music that features the violin, but you can also learn a lot from a broad range of musical genres and there are plenty of songs that aren't classical that feature the violin.
Record Yourself Playing
When playing the violin, your attention will be split between playing the violin and paying attention to any mistakes that you make.
Record yourself when you play so you can fully focus on any mistakes that you're making and correct them on subsequent attempts.
Ideally, record audio and video of yourself playing so you can see the mistakes you're making, including any problems there may be with your technique and posture.
If you have a violin teacher or tutor, you can also pass the recordings or footage on to them to ask for advice and feedback on your playing. Naturally, they'll offer this advice during your violin lessons, but these recordings will allow them to offer feedback on your playing outside of class.
Get Help from a Private Violin Tutor
Last but not least, the best way to master the violin is with a dedicated violin teacher. In formal music education, you'll be focusing on an established violin syllabus or curriculum and while these will offer a clear path toward playing professionally in orchestras or ensembles, they aren't often tailored to the individual.
A private violin tutor can tailor and adapt every single session to you, how you like to learn, and what you like to learn.
If you want to spend more time on a particular area of music theory, you can. If you'd prefer to practice a specific technique for a piece that you're struggling with, you can do that, too.
On the Superprof site, for example, you just need to search for violin lessons online where you live, and you can start comparing the different tutors, the classes they offer, and the reviews left for them by their other students.
You'll see that most of the violin tutors on Superprof offer the first session for free, so you can try a few of them out before deciding which one is right for you and how you want to learn.
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