Tips for the Beginning Violinist

I am so happy and honored to collaborate with Charlotte's blog, Howdy Homeschooler (http://howdyhomeschooler.blogspot.com/). Charlotte is a very talented, spirited, and creative writer; I am so grateful to be able to feature her article. Don’t forget to make the extra click and visit her blog, where you can view her posts and those of her extremely gifted Howdy Homeschooler team. Hope you enjoy!

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        I have been playing violin since I was six years old. (I didn’t really start to improve until I was about eight; I’ll go into that a little bit later.) I remember my mom had signed me up for a recorder class at a music co-op. I walked into the room filled with six and seven-year-olds abusing their instruments (I felt like I was surrounded by elephants making that loud noise with their trunks), and I immediately knew it was not for me. I still wanted to take a class, though, so my mom and I went into the second level violin class, and I listened. I knew it was what I wanted to do. Even though it was just Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, I was still convinced. Here are some of the tips that I have learned over the years, which have made me a violinist who enjoys her craft. I hope these help you, too!

     Always do private lessons. My first two years as a violinist didn’t result in any improvement. I even had to repeat the level one class. Why? Because I was in a group class. You can do group classes, but while you are doing private lessons. I never got the attention I needed. I never learned the correct technique, and I ended up developing bad habits. I was embarrassed sometimes because of how I sounded while I was around a bunch of other kids. After those first two years, I have always taken private lessons. It has given me the correct technique, skills, my own style, and confidence in my ability.

     Keep your violin out (in a safe place, of course). I got a violin holder for my wall. It used to be tedious to have to pack and unpack my violin constantly, and having to do this made me not want to practice more than once a day. Having my violin out encourages me to play whenever I want, and I don’t feel pressure to get my whole practice time for the day out in one spurt. I can play a couple ditties at different times, as long as it adds up to my goal (another good tip is to split up your practice time).

     Rent your violin until you’re full grown or until you know that you love it. This will end up saving you a lot of money. Since I started when I was six, it wasn’t wise for us to buy a ¼ or ½ size violin when I would be growing more. Instead, we waited until I was ready for a full size and until I was sure I loved violin to buy one.

     There are plenty of other things you should know before you start violin, like, rosin your bow (without rosin, it won’t make any sound), tighten your bow, how to pack your violin, and much more, but all of these things I’m sure the person you are renting or buying the violin from (or your teacher) will help you with, so don’t despair! I hope these tips will give you a head start into being an amazing violinist. Play on!