Beck asked:
I’ve been able to read music since I was 6 and I’ve played guitar and bass for 8 years. I taught myself piano, and I play drums, so I can keep tempo in my head. My only problem is that I’m not sure if I can get used to not having any frets. I refuse to buy a violin with frets, as I think its cheating, and not truly mastering the instrument. Any suggestions for a good beginning violin? I’m only 4 ft 11 in, so I have really tiny hands too. Thanks.
Tags: Drums, Tempo, Tiny Hands
Sight Reading Music
There’s no such thing as a “violin with frets.” I’m not sure what you’re referring to.
The violin is difficult, but can be learned if you have patience and a good teacher. It takes a year to get really good sound, as a rule, and about five years to master all the basics.
Regarding your size, you will need to get a fractional violin; violins come in not just the full size (4/4), but 3/4, 1/2, etc..all the way down to a 1/32.
learn to read musichttp://www.SpeedyMusicReading.com
The hard part of the violin is the right hand, or the bowing. They do make violins with frets, but they are uncommon and not recommended.
Learning how to bow smoothly take a lot of time and a lot of patience. So, yes you can learn to play the violin, but it takes longer than other instruments. If you can be patient with yourself for 4 or 5 years then you’ll do fine.
The secret: practice slowly to improve quickly.
Also, you won’t need a fractional violin. Midori is a violin virtuoso and she’s your height and has small hands and plays a full size violin. The thickness of the neck can vary on full size violins. You can find one to fit small hands. Go to a violin shop and they can find one that’s a good fit.
Good luck!
How to Read Music Notes
violin sucks
Sight Reading Music
The size of your hands doesn’t matter, if you can manage guitar you can manage the violin….as for having no frets, there are markers for violin, you can buy them at any music store that sells violins….Sam Ash for one ( I just called Sam Ash Store, in Cherry Hill, they do have them, there called finger tape or markers for violin )…..there little strips that you put across your fret board, teachers use them, especially for children just starting out on the violin…..but I’ve also seen adults use them. Go on google and type in this to see what they look like, strips for marking the frets on violin. Good luck to you, and congratulations for being able to play so many instruments !!!! P.S. I forgot to answer your first question, is the violin hard to learn, I think that every instruments has it’s difficulties…..piano seems difficult to me but you taught yourself that, I can’t imagine….that’s very difficult to do….in violin the difficulty is in the bowing not the fingering especially since you can play guitar and piano….but I’m sure that you could accomplish this, you sound like a person that has perfect pitch, not many people are able to play four instruments, and play them well, I envy you !!!!!!!!!!
Sight Reading Music
don’t worry about frets!! What they do with kids is instead of frets they have little stickers which work the same until you get used to the fingerings when you can take them off.
If you have a good teacher its SO easy to learn, especially with musical experience like you have.
Small fingers are really not a problem – if violin is a lot smaller than a guitar and loads of kids play violin!
for a beginners violin go to a good music shop, most sell them and ask them to get you one that’s the right size and don’t spend too much, you can always upgrade if you like it
good luck
How to Read Music Notes
I would say violin is one of the easiest instruments to learn, but then again, I don’t read music. I’m fairly advanced, and I learn my pieces by ear.
The hardest part for some is the posture, and the bowing~ it’s not a delicate matter, and too many people treat the bow as if it will break on contact. Don’t be afraid to bear down and learn the rhythms of movement with your bow.
I don’t think they have violins with frets- I could be wrong. It’s really not that difficult to play without frets. If anything, it gives you the freedom to correct sharp and flat notes without the slide-and-bump sound of moving across frets. Once you learn where the fingers generally go for each “1, 2, 3, and 4″ placement, variations in key become easy.
Oh, and it’s not the hand size you need to worry about, it’s arm length. You need to visit an instrument shop and pick one out, making sure that according to correct posture you can handle it.
Overall, violin is an easy instrument if you realize that it is not easily conquered without patience and earnest. I wouldn’t advice starting out by yourself. I’m not saying you’re not capable, it’s just a good idea to seek a teacher for the beginning of your education to make sure you aren’t creating bad habits with bowing, posture, fingers, or wrists.
Good luck
Learning to Read Music
Yerfavoritefiddler is right. Everybody assumes that learning to find your way around the fingerboard without frets is really hard, but actually that’s pretty straightforward. Learning to control the bow, to get a good tone and do what you want on the fiddle, is the hard part. That can take months or years, depending on what style of music you want to play.
Others here have recommended putting tape on the fingerboard to show you where to put your fingers. FWIW, I don’t recommend that as I think the tape is a crutch. It encourages you to look at the fingerboard to find the notes you want when you really should be learning your way around the fingerboard by feel, by ear, and by muscle memory, IMO. You already play several instruments so you should have no trouble learning to hear when your intonation is correct and when its off.
Go to a violin shop and let them show you a bunch of different instruments to try out and listen to. They’ll help you find one that will be the right size to be comfortable in your hands.
Sight Reading Music
It’s not hard at all. Some people have a hard time learning it but I don’t know why. There are more things to watch though, like being able to hold it in place and have good posture, having your palm curled, and keeping the bow straight. They can get frustrating but if you persist you’ll be suprised at how natural you can get in a short time. Good luck!
How to Sight Read Music
i don’t know about it being one of the easiest instruments to learn. i will say it’s not hard but it takes hard work. i think it’s true for anything and everything you want to master.
getting the right size matters especially if you’re serious about playing and developing good technique. just because shoes come in size 13 doesn’t mean we should all wear a 13. many teachers will say if you can reach the scroll then it’s the right size. now if i apply that to myself that means my full sized violin is too small for me. the right size violin for me would be a 17″ viola because my fingers can wrap around the scroll. i have a 15 1/2″ viola and even that is too stretchy for my left hand. you will have to put tapes on the violin until you develop muscle memory. you need to listen to a lot of violin music if you want to develop good ears. the book will not tell you if you’re out of tune or not. the tapes on the fingerboard will be just a guide and not an absolute one at that. find a good teacher and practice. practice makes permanent. perfect practice makes perfect.
Sight Reading Music
I have never seen a violin with frets so you will have a hard time finding one. You may have seen student violins with tape markers on them. Some beginners use this but I think it is a bad idea….same with stickers, not a good idea
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Don’t worry about having small hands ; they do make 3/4 size violins but I am sure you will be fine with a full size violin.
You will need a teacher. You cannot teach yourself the violin.
The violin is difficult ; it took me about 6 months befiore I started to get a nice sound out of it.
Do not worry about not having frets. The left hand is not the hard part ; the right hand ….the bowing is the hard part.
Be patient, you will soon get the hang of it but you must practise EVERY day.
Here is a site where you can learn about playing the violin. You can watch the videos relating to all aspects of violin playing.
Learn How to Read Music Notes
good article on buying a violin