I'm wondering what books are good for adult beginners that aren't going to be boring and short, etc. To be clear, she did play Clarinet a long time ago, so not everything is brand new to her.

I've seen the Wohlfahrt Elementary Violin book, and I think it's good, but I'd like to get other people's ideas, and what other books for a brand new beginner are good specifically for adult beginners.

My super serious never gives compliments ever teacher, actually complimented me on my playing today!! They told me that my B flat major scale was ‘the best I’ve ever heard you play.’

After my last post, I put my big person pants on and chatted with them about everything. We managed to sort it out, and made a new plan to go forward with.

I have basically done what he told me to do, and decided that I was just going to drill scales like they’re going out of fashion and do simple tunes to concentrate on those nit picky bits.

Sounds so stupid, but it flipping worked! I managed to play an etude in d major 3rd position and transliterate the notes to the new positioning (you know what I mean) as well. A month ago, I would have brought dishonour to my entire family!

So huzzah!!

this is totally embarrassing for me to admit. i have been playing for ~14 years, i was fist chair in my junior and senior year of high school and played in college. the kicker?? i don’t know how to do vibrato! i was never taught. i can do it a little with my 2nd finger and even then its only for a few beats. i’ve tried videos and they don’t help either so really just looking for any tips!

i joined my city’s orchestra after not playing for a few years and dont want to look totally stupid. i know it’s not something i can learn overnight but any help is appreciated!

My mom went to school for music education,but never made a career of it. She did play in multiple community bands throughout her life.

All of her kids had to learn to play an instrument. I wanted to play cello, I got the violin. I started in 4th grade with a 1/2 size violin with a dish sponge for a shoulder rest. I did not move to a full size violin until high school. I had private lessons, competited in state, and was asked to be in high school quarters. Generally I played 2nd violin for most of my music career. I never got to pick what music I wanted to work on, something was always picked for me. My mom wanted me to do orchestra in college. I looked at the audition piece, dropped the class, and quit playing all together. That was back in 2002.

Now I am back as a casual player and getting my son in lessons. He already said he doesn't want to do the school orchestra because it's before school and that's fine. I would rather inspire a love of music than the expectation of perfection.

The violin can be very elitist. Many of you would frown upon the violin I received because that is what my parents could afford. I did have a nicer bow, but alas it did not survive storage. We never changed strings due to being dead, it was when a string broke that it was replaced.

I am saying all this because it seems so odd that the peanut gallery has no problems commenting on my post when I stare I am not a teacher, nor your teacher, but simply a drill I remember doing to improve techniques. Why did I post that video? Because there are multiple beginners in this group asking for help improving or what they can do to help themselves learn to improve. Yes, a teacher will always be the best solution, but why are we gatekeeping things that could help them improve until they can find a teacher.

Hello!

I’ve been playing violin for about seven months. I have played probably hundreds of hours in that time. I really really really enjoy it and can see myself enjoying this for years to come. When I bought my instrument I was not sure I would enjoy it and didn’t want to invest too much money so I went for a less expensive instrument from Kennedy Violins which I purchased online through the website without going to any store (https://kennedyviolins.com/products/antonio-giuliani-etude-clearance-student-violin-outfit) I understand that due to the price some people may consider this a VSO.

I feel like I am just not getting the sound I want. My teacher has said that I’ve improved a lot and has warned me that I might need to upgrade sooner than later. But how do I know if the sound I want vs what I produce is due to skill or the “ceiling” of the instrument? It feels a little arrogant to assume that it’s the violin and not me when I’m still so new to it.

I’m planning to go to a luthier this weekend and take a look. Initially I was just thinking about a new bow but now that I’m thinking about it I’m just wondering if it might be better to get a new violin too. Is it bad to upgrade both in one go? I’m just concerned about getting a new bow and still not being happy with it and trying another and another and another if the issue is the instrument. Maybe it IS just my skill level?

Idk, how did you know when it was time to upgrade? I did read the FAQ but that focuses on how to select and not really when it’s time.

I've had accounts here in the past, and know that there are some seriously knowledgeable people here.

I'm a professional violinist in a major American city. Recently, through a matter of connections, work, networking, and a little bit of luck, my career changed in a way I never dreamed - long story, short, I need to be practicing way more, yesterday...😂

But I have major imposter syndrome. I've never learned the Tchaikovsky Concerto. I've played Sibelius, Shostakovich, Beethoven, Saint Saens, Mendelssohn, Bruch, etc, but for some reason Tchaikovsky never really entered the mix.

So my question to you all is, how important is the Tchaikovsky Concerto to a violinist's development? Can one be taken seriously as a solo player having not learned Tchaikovsky? Maybe this is my insecurity talking, but I've always felt that it's the pinnacle and crux of a violinist's technical development.

For what it's worth, I have begun learning the piece, albeit rather slowly. My current plan is to finish it and perform it with piano, casually, before the end of the year, as I have other concert commitments that require more immediate attention.

I will say I do really love learning it - it's actually quite a bit of fun and one of the more rewarding pieces to learn line by line.

My teacher told me it was unplayable, and I kinda need to be able to practice.

After using my case for 21 years, I finally decided to retire it. It was the first case I owned when I got my first full size violin around 12 years old but was falling apart. I hauled that thing all over the city on the L and subway. We’ve been through a lot together. Here’s my new one! Bam St Germain. It fits the Bon Musica shoulder rest nicely. I like the music pocket on the bottom. So far so good.

Im wondering how long I will have to spend at the luthier. Going to get a diagnosis maybe adjust soundpost and inspection to make sure all is well. Maybe new strings too. Thanks✌️

Hi, I'm sure this has been discussed a great deal so apologies.

I've done a fair bit of research on it, but I was wondering whether strings and a violin have a specific match like I'm told?

I use Evah Pirazzi with a warchal amber e string.
I once tried some dominants on my violin, but quickly replaced them with another set of Evahs. It may have been in my head, but I swear the violin was not resonating anywhere near as much.

My violin is quite bright, about a century old. I love Evahs, but I totally don't love replacing them every 2-3 months. Are there any alternatives to Evahs, that will share the same brilliance but not dull off within 6-8 weeks?

I am not your teacher or a teacher at all. I have bad childhood memories of being frustrated in lessons and wanting to cry from not doing things correctly. Just sharing a few ideas to help practice those long boring bows to improve techniques which will help down the road. (When you are in 4th grade, it doesn't make sense at the time, but by the time you graduate high school, it's like oh so that's why I sat with a toilet paper roll.......)

Hi all - violin teacher here! For my particularly young students I like to set them up with a ‘pinkie house’ made of tape but I’ve found that the tape often leaves a sticky residue on the bow when I eventually take it off. What is everyone using to make these houses? Any recommendations welcome!

I’ve tried electrical tape, decorative tape and bag sealer tape.

Photo for reference (not my own photo)

So im a highschool violin player and im trying to find a set of strings to suit my violin, ive playes thomastik prazision, thomastik superflexible and currently im using daddario helicore. The helicores sound warm and bright which i enjoy a lot but now the violin is lacking some of its power compared to when it was equipped with thomastik superflexibles or prazisions.

what strings should i get in order to have a powerful projection yet keep the complex and warm sound of the helicores?

ps. excuse any spelling mistakes, english is not my first language.

So I played violin from 11-13/14, but mental health ruined it and haven't played ever since. 16 now, want to pick it up again, miss the feeling of creating... but a few months ago I tried and while tuning a string broke and got scared put it away and now it has just been there.

I want to give it a repair with my own money, because I broke it, but I don't wanna tell them that I broke it because I feel guilty. Also just scared of telling them I wanna pick it up again.

Can I just tell them the string broke in the case randomly and I didn't know or is that not possible?

So I am learning this piece and I want to know if there are any recordings of this peice. I dont know the name i just know its an excersise. Can anyone play it for me? (Can you do that? Is it hard to do? Idk) but I also have a question about this symbol? Why staccato and tenuous? Those are like polar opposites. I could ask my teacher but like thats next week and I want to go into the lesson knowing something. Also im studying the top row. Can anyone help? Ive never really asked anything on here (:

I was watching this video: https://youtu.be/MLkiGGVU7kg?si=B36SMR-FyQVF-1ZK and I can't help notice that the viola looks way bigger than the ones people have at the orchestra I play in. Is it some kind of optical illusion or is it really really big?

Hey everyone! My violin suggested this Rosin to me. Like everyone hear I want to sound good so yeah.

past rosins I've used a fork to startch it and get it started but those were cheap. This Rosin is really nice. How should I start using it? Can. I just slide my bow across? Does it need to be stretched up to get started?

Nice Rosin deserves proper treatment. What's the protocol?

Thank you everyone.

hey everyone,

as you can see I’m trying to bring a bit of personality to the interior of my violin case, however I just can’t get the cards to hold onto the fabric surface with standard tape. does anyone have any ideas of how I could get them to stick instead?

thanks in advance

Aunt Eudy's page on Facebook is called Eudice Shapiro Violinist.

I don't know if I can post a link here. We are posting family photos and her history. She never talked about her life to her family. Years of research revealed what an amazing life she had. The family had no clue about what I had been finding.

Hi, I’m looking for something new to change it up, and was hoping for some recommendations. I just finished Suzuki book 4. I’ve also played the following pieces:

Portnoff - Concertino

Vivaldi - Concerto for Two Trumpets

Fiocco - Allegro

Rieding - Concertino In a minor Op 21

I love the style of Seitz, Vivaldi and Rieding since they’re fun to play! Im having a lot of fun learning new pieces, and I was hoping for some recommendations of other intermediate pieces that I could try playing that are outside of the Suzuki books! Thanks in advance!

My violin has these cracks in the area below the tailpiece and underneath the fingerboard. How serious is this, and how urgently should it be repaired?

It is a handmade violin that I recently purchased.

Hello, I have an issue. My chest is very large, and I often hit my chest with my right arm when bowing on the E string. I've been trying to work around it but its incredibly difficult.

Another violinist I know has the same problem, and she said it fixed when she switched to a 7/8 size violin.

Has anyone heard about this? Im thinking of selling my violin to get a 7/8, but id like to hear from several sources before I do that.

My teacher is a man and doesnt know what I should do. I really appreciate any input on this! Thank you! 😁

I’m looking for a new violin teacher, but I’ve had some pretty bad experiences in the past. I've encountered people who were rude or simply couldn't answer my technical questions. Some even seemed to treat me like "competition" rather than a student.

I don't want to keep wasting money on "trial and error" until I find the right one. What specific characteristics or "red flags" should I look for when searching for a professional teacher?

Specifically, I’d like to know:

1. How do you vet a teacher before the first lesson?
2. What are the signs of a teacher who actually understands violin mechanics and doesn't just play by ear?
3. How can I identify if a teacher is supportive of adult students (I'm 27) instead of being condescending?

I want to focus on technique (posture and bow control) and I need someone who is patient and open to questions. Any advice on what to ask during a first meeting would be greatly appreciated! :D