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Autodidactic Polymaths

Autodidactic Polymaths

This community is about self-learners, most often those that learn in many different fields. Share resources or ideas!

192 members
Posted byayuchii_xin/autopolymaths-Jun 09, 2016 at 1:22 AM

Are there any good resources for teaching yourself the violin?

I've had a violin for a while now, but I haven't been able to find a nearby teacher. If anyone knows of any resources that would be extremely helpful :)

Comments4
  • TheStephenJun 15, 2016 at 12:57 PMΔ

    One of the most important things to learn are general musicianship skills. For that, I recommend Paul Hindemith's "Elementary Training for Musicians." It has hundreds of exercises starting at the most basic, including skills like reading music, ear training, sight singing, reading and performing rhythms, conducting patterns, etc. All of these are vital for learning music. Ear training and sight singing are particularly important for strings, since you need to learn to find pitches.

    I don't play the violin myself (I play the piano), so I can't help you much to find resources on learning violin technique. I would try the Suzuki method books, though, and would look up the following things online:

    • posture
    • how to hold the bow
    • how to use the bow
    • proper fingerboard hand position
    • intonation

    Good luck!

    • ayuchii_xJun 16, 2016 at 3:15 AM

      Thank you so much for your reply, I'm sure this will be extremely helpful :)

  • finnolearyJun 18, 2016 at 3:12 AMΔ

    ABRSM have grade books that come with CDs with playing to replicate, and a piano piece to play along to (It's classical music, if that's your thing). Most of the violinists I know have used these, however this was usually in conjunction with a tutor (For posture and such). I'd recommend recording yourself and listening to it afterwards, because you can't really get an idea of how well you can play the violin while you're playing it. One thing to check on is your bow work, you should ensure it stays steady and stays in a straight line while running across the strings and doesn't move about a lot (Unlike mine...).

    I have about zero recommendations in regards to posture, aside from if the shoulder rest digs in, you can get a pillow-type that makes it much easier. Also if you can't find a place with nobody around, buy a mute and let rip on it! Get to know how to do the loud notes (Without deafening the neighbours), and try playing as quiets as you can. You have to develop a real feel for the instrument.

    With respect to practicing I'd say that if there's a part you find extremely tricky, just practice that part of it, and slow things down to an even beat, but as slow as you can bear. Then each iteration of playing n bars of it, you speed up slowly. Then go past the 'proper' speed that you can play it at and try and slowly increase until you're playing at double speed, etc. and see how fast you can go

    One way to improve your proficiency at using the bow is to play irish folk. A fair amount of the tunes are 6 beats to a bar (Although usually played faster in sessions, and people tend to push themselves to play faster than they are able to improve), with some intricate bow work. (One start on this is https://thesession.org/tunes/49#setting26326 which is a simplistic tune but an absolute pain for bowing!)

    Oh, and learn and create some variations! It's frowned upon in the classical sphere, but one thing that actually improves your music playing ability is improvising parts of it while you're playing. Vibrato here, a small little twiddle there, etc. You shouldn't devote much time to thinking about this to be honest, just do it in the moment. After a while you get a feel for what sounds good, and you can bring some feeling to it in the moment.

    Another thing I'd recommend is you should attempt to replicate tunes by hearing them, with no written music to help you. One of the things that most violinists I've met are deficient in is the ability to play by ear. After a while of this you should be able to keep most of the regular tunes you have in your head! (Another thing most classical players I've met cannot do!). This is mainly an ability afforded in the folk scene. Nobody carries around any music because it's such a pain, so everyone either gets someone to teach it to them, or picks it up in a pub session, and will remember it enough for the next session where it gets gradually reinforced!

    Good luck :3

    • ayuchii_xJun 18, 2016 at 4:52 PM

      Wow, I'll keep all of that in mind (well, try to XD). Thanks for replying, this will definitely help me in the future :)

Autodidactic Polymaths

Autodidactic Polymaths

This community is about self-learners, most often those that learn in many different fields. Share resources or ideas!

192 members
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