The Basics Of How To Play The Violin

If you have always desired to learn how to play the violin, you can. Naturally most people believe that it's better to get started when you are young, but truthfully, you can study how to play the violin at any age.

Start by choosing a well-made instrument. This could be pricey but it does not
need to be. There are plenty of good used violins available to purchase. And honestly they often sound better than new ones.

Next you want to find somebody qualified to instruct you. It can be a professional or a friend or relation when just starting out.

The first crucial lesson will be holding the instrument correctly. Get this wrong and not only will you be uncomfortable, you may even have a stress injury. To hold the violin correctly, you position your left arm below the body of the instrument and then grasp the neck of the instrument with your left hand, curving your fingers above the neck as you do so. Your hand and fingers will be placed over the strings and the violin's chin rest will be between your left shoulder and your chin. The bow will be in your right hand which should be utilized to bow or pluck the strings.

With the violin held the right way you can start to learn the notes. Some stringed instruments like guitars have frets. Violins do not. Instead, violin musicians literally play "by ear" until they know precisely where every note falls on the fingerboard.

There are four places on the instrument you will want to recognize. The first position is situated the furthest away from your face and delivers low pitched notes. The fourth position is the highest notes and is the furthest up the neck. Every string on the instrument is tuned to a specific note from lowest to highest. In the open position (no digits on the fretboard) these notes are G, D, A, and E. Placing your fingers on the fretboard in various spots permits you to play other notes.

There are a couple of ways to play the notes. The first is called pizzicato which is just by plucking them. The other is by drawing the bow steadily across the strings.

Learning to understand music notes will be the next item on your schedule. If you do not understand how to read music before you learn how to play, you can begin by learning music in a more basic manner, either by going to classes, having somebody knowledgeable in music instruct you, or reading on your own to a certain degree by going online and looking for various tutorials. Then buy some good violin sheet music made for beginners and you're ready to go.