It was very true. One of my friends plays the dulcimer, another one plays the guitar, and when they tried the violin, it was very difficult to say how to hold the violin. In my opinion, the violin is the most difficult instrument in the world. We should not compare ourselves with great musicians, and I know that we should very much. Be patient and love to learn violin and we have a long way to go👍
Peter Jones, Agree. When people say playing guitar, they usually mean acoustic or electric. But playing classical guitar at a master level is, I think, the most difficult task because it is such a delicate instrument. There are so many things to go wrong not to make any mistakes even in playing a simple piece.
I studied oboe as a kid, and I think that instrument has one or two things in common with the violin, making it difficult to master quickly like the violin is, but at least an oboist has keys. When piano teachers talk about "tone" issues, I always harken back to how difficult other instruments are to sound good on. Given the huge learning curve issues you've outlined here, string players are indeed a rare breed, and you're doing beginners a huge service with your school. Great video!!
Hi Julia - Your videos are an inspiration to anyone learning violin. I started learning the violin at the age of 45 (now I am 47) and I love everyone of your videos. Congratulations on posting this very required video talking about how difficult the instrument is to learn and yet with passion, commitment and hard work; anyone interested, has a chance to learn this beautiful instrument. Thanks again! Cheers.
Great video, and great advice. Bowed string instruments are seriously hard. But persistence counts for a lot. I play viola, which of course is very similar, and started late -- not technically an adult starter, but very close to being one. (I started in my last year of high school.) I now play in a semi-professional orchestra, and have performed as a soloist with an amateur orchestra (playing the Bruch Romanze). It took me 14 years to get into my current orchestra, and I'm still challenging myself and improving after playing for 22 years. My orchestra recently added a cellist who started learning as an adult; her story is also about persistence, as she has been playing for 13 years. It's possible for adult beginners to get very good at playing a string instrument, but it takes time. I think the biggest obstacle for many adult starters is that we're old enough to get self-conscious and discouraged about how slow our progress is, whereas for young children it's just something they do. It's really important to keep in mind that, even after two or three or four years, the journey is only just beginning. Oh, and even those child prodigies on UA-cam were beginners and sounded terrible for a much longer time than most people realize.
Thanks so much for commentating on my video and sharing your thoughts. I think you are right that adults are a bit more self conscious than children which is shame. But also a good reminder to have the joy of a child when learning to play it. 😊
Bravo, andrewhcit! Stick with it and keep challenging your self! I teach violin, and specialize in adult beginners, and although it's a tough road, it is definitely worthwhile!
Such an honest assessment of learning this pesky little instrument is truly violinspirational! I started learning this year and as I am 70 my bucket list includes surviving long enough to reach a standard that I can enjoy playing!
Thank you for this video Julia, it is completely on point! I think so many adult violin learners are perfectionists and your video definitely will help us relax more and not be so hard on ourselves!
I hear your Dutch accent. My mother is from Holland, town of Wassenaar. We always look forward to having Dutch bake goods during the holiday season. Salt liquorice, marzipan, stroop waffles and rusk. I can pass on pickled herring. Ha!
For an Adult beginner. Violin is very difficult. You have, however, lower the level of difficulty considerably. Thank you for your dedication not only to music but, also, to us, the beginners who also love music who happened to get a late start. Still like the hair. Greetings from Oklahoma
When I first started playing, my wife would slam doors just so she didn't have to hear the screeching. Now, she sits in the same room and she also told me that my playing sounds very nice and the notes really ring. Keep at it and you'll get there. Thanks Julia!
1) fingerboard: a) use harmonics, harmonics are like frets. b) use the frame of the hand, changing it with the left arm 2) bow: isolate the joints of the right arm and hand and understand the effect of the them on bow movements. then combine the joints to compose bow strokes. 3) tune with a tuner app on a mobile 4) use only the minimum number of muscles for one movement
THE most honest presentation of what it is to learn violin. Many thanks for your authenticity with no artificial embellishment. I have bought and sold 4 violins before feeling confident that I am going somewhere with it. Now I own a 5th one and this time I know I will not give up anymore.
As an adult beginner, the information you covered, for me is so needed to hear often to help maintain one’s sanity. Thank you. Still Love the hair up like that. Greetings from Oklahoma
Can confirm as an adult just-past-beginner of 2 and a half years in. Vibrato is the hardest and I think I'll be able to play Paganini 24 before I get vibrato to work right
@@Violinspiration Thanks! it is a passion of mine so some of both will sink in eventually (right now I'm trying to nail down Meditation and Beau Soir...the latter containing parallel octaves)
Vibrato is critical for me to do, and it IS hard. Older adult starter as well, I didn't start vibrato until 5 years after starting violin. Turning the clock forward 5 years after that, after daily struggling, perseverance and trying different approaches, I finally got it. It feels comfortable, I like the sound, depth and rate, smooth finger translations are coming along, Many notes I find harder to do than others and don't sound as good, but its coming along now, and about time too. It was my goal from day one. 10 years it took me. Unbelievable! So keep at.
Ah yes, the issues of teaching new students to play the violin! I have taught violin for the last 60 years, and many of my students have gone on to careers as violinists, but most had a seriously difficult time as beginners. I still teach, and now the majority of my students are adult students who have begun learning as adults. I can only recall one student who simply could NOT learn to play, and that was because he could not physically turn his left hand to finger the notes. However, over the years there have been a number who dropped out due to the difficulties presented by the instrument.
Adult starter too, started10 years ago (now late 50's), I had trouble turning my left hand as well, but at the time I did not know that is was the cause of big problems until years later. Now slowly over many years, I can now turn my wrist around quite alot, and because I'm aware of it now, I do stretching exercises to keep it that way. But it took a very long time to achieve that. Much patience indeed.
Thanks to you I have learned to play a lot of tunes and I only started in March 22 after a long time away since 1968. I have learned so much by watching your videos. Being left handed helps a lot. Thank you.
I am being told most of people, can performance almost instinctly. I rarely ask why around these strings , but how treating these strings. I am still naive with string instruments, what I can do, is trying to remember some shapes to get through.
I've just watched this, and it meant so much to me. I'm a returning violinist - I learned as a child, but gave up at 18. Almost three years ago, age 57, I took up playing again, and although I'm improving, it's been so hard. Improvement comes so slowly, and although I'm not a beginner, it's still just as easy to lose motivation when progress is - as usual - slower than hoped. My pro violinist friend paid to have my old violin (unplayed for 40 years) restored as a gift, and now I practise most days. She's given me occasional lessons - from which I realised that so much of my old technique was just bad, so a lot of unlearning had to come before new learning. But now I'm better than I ever was. Second position is no longer terrifying; my bow moves straighter, sometimes I can even be relaxed and controlled enough to manage a little 4th finger vibrato. I'm working (mostly struggling) on Bach, and Hilary Hahn is my idol. As an adult student I understand the process of learning so much better than I did as a child, so I can make sense of the struggles at least, and discipline myself to practise the hard parts slowly. Your comments about character and determination were a huge encouragement. Thank you.
Julia I am very thankful to you for addressing this topic as it motivates us to carry on practicing the violin and better at it day by day, knowing that the violin is a difficult instrument to play. I appreciate the way you put forth the explanation in such a simple manner. You are a great violin teacher. Best wishes to you from India.
This is such a valuable video, especially for parents who are thinking of giving their child violin lessons. I’m a cello teacher and the challenges are similar but the sound of a beginner cellist is less painful to hear! I like that you said, “The fun is in the challenge “ and that there are so many wonderful things you can develop in yourself from dedicated daily study of the violin. I had a mindset that I would look for the best teachers for my children at age 6 and expected them to continue until they were 18 despite ups and downs. They are in their 30s now and still play the violin beautifully even though it is not their main career. I think a parent needs to understand that this is a long-term commitment with huge benefits.
one of my violin teachers said the less there is between you and the instrument (key mechanisms, valves, electronics, etc) the more expressive potential the instrument has. i would add violin has nothing between you and the instrument, and the expressive potential that isn't under control is heard as wildness
Excellent video. I have been struggling for several years as a beginner adult violinist. It has been challenging on so many levels and to this day my intonation is very inconsistent. Also all the "extra" sounds from string crossings, lifting your finger too fast or at the wrong time when moving to the next note, doing slurs with the correct bow speed, and like a dozen other things that all at once make it so darn hard to make any single song sound good each time I play it. I've tried real life teachers as well as online lessons, but nothing seems to work. I'm not going to give up, but it is ahrd to stay motivated when I see such little progress.
I went through the exact same thing as you are. 'but nothing seems to work' - that what it was. Month after month after month, year after year, nothing solving the issues. Very slow progress. I persisted with daily practice even though many times I didn't feel like it. Intonation, slurs, bow hitting others strings, I still have those issues, but its better now. Vibrato is utmost importance to me, and it was so difficult, awkward, again very little progress over years and again kept trying different approaches. Finally, 5 years of struggling with daily vibrato practice I think I just got it, well I hope so. Still have issues, and ways to go, but it feels comfortable, and reasonable sounding too (to me anyway). I started violin 10 years ago (in my 50's now) and my progress was slow as I found the violin difficult to hold. So, kept at it, do stretching exercises, daily practice, it will come together. Enjoy the challenge.
Thank you, I think I needed to hear that! At 42, I started to learn the violin. I only had 3 lessons up til now but I do enjoy it a lot! I had about 10 years of piano classes up til I was 18, and I also took some years of singing classes so I wasn’t a music newbie ie I don’t need to learn to read sheet music, luckily ;) . However, even though I was prepared this would be a difficult instrument to master, I have to admit it is still a lot to take in all at once and I can feel a bit insecure when my teacher has to correct me again for something she must have explained already about 10 times. I guess she is more aware of the technical difficulties than I am since she always corrects me with the same patience ;) . I do enjoy the journey! But just sometimes I wonder if it is normal to have this kind of slow progress - or perhaps it’s actually not that slow at all but having learned to play the piano as a first instrument (which I still find a wonderful instrument to play!) has set me up with a different “frame” of expectations. I’m at Suzuki book 1, Twinkle Twinkle variations A to D right now after about a month ;) . PS I might be wrong, but I think you are Dutch … groetjes uit België! ;)
I didn't regret nor give up when the violin is hard for me. Later on I got the flow going without a bump in the road. I know 40-50 songs in my 12 years playing.
This is a very motivating video! I'm just currently learning the violin and there are times I really get frustrated and I almost want to quit. But seeing this video helps me to get motivated again. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and I hope to learn more from you. 🥰🥰
1. It's awkward and aggressively unergonomic and maintained in this state for no discernable reason. 2. They refuse to use inlays for no discernable reason -- which do not at all prevent players from making the natural tuning adjustments needed to sound good. 3. It sounds way better at a distance than it does right next to your head.
Totally agree with points 1 and 2. Point 3, after 10 years of practice, I disagree. :) I like the sound now, because I finally can do vibrato nicely (well not in all position equally yet).
Thanks for that great video! From my angle, another element that contributes to making the violin difficult to play is that the violinist must hear the note played and possibly make minor adjustments in finger position to ensure the note is correct! And yet another element that makes violin difficult is vibrato. As a violinist, vibrato is a staple of violin playing and it takes a long time to produce good sounding vibrato.
Before all those reasons, the most difficult at me in the beginning is get the violin secure under your chin. "What if I let it fall??!" Besides all, it is one of my life goals, and I am in the middle :-/
Thank you so much for saying exactly how I feel, I’ve started to learn violin about 3 months ago and I feel excited but quite discouraged sometimes Is the first instrument I’ve ever tried to learn, it is difficult but I’ll keep trying Your videos are helping me a lot as well 🌷
Think the hardest part is the playing position. In a way I think mandolin may be harder the finger board is even smaller violin with tiny frets to create unwanted noises ( I'm a bassist I have opposite problems)😅
Thank you for this. I am a beginner player of violin. One of my challenges is about tuning the violin. I already broke four (4) (E) strings..hahaha..but still continues to learn how to tune "tips" from youtube channels..etc.. It is really hard but I believe, like all skills, it all takes practice..🙂
Also people that are already very experienced to have been playing their whole lives and are very good at the professional level sometimes don't understand why you can't get it right away including teachers and they expect a lot more from you when you're not even ready but again that's the challenge that's why we love it
Excellent - explains well why each position is taken up individually because of the different muscle memory - also thank you for the comment that there is so many other things associated with music , and friendships that you learn when studying an instrument . Also in terms of comparisons , my teacher likes to say , "run your own race " 😀
I really need inspiration. My instructor left and I alway looked forward to that Thursday hour lesson .I can't get myself motivated to play.And I truly love violin.
Some of us claim that the violin family of instruments are at once the most difficult to master and potentially the most beautiful sound yet let us not forget that neither technique nor sound have to be excellent to be useful.😊
My issue is finding an in-person teacher who will take on a beginner. I will consider going back to signing up with Julia. I used her and I am sorry I stopped. I will join this week thanks for this insight.
If you're fed up with violin 🎻 and it's learning curve, but still love how it sounds, the good news is that you can replace violin with a chromatic harmonica, it produces similar sounds but much easier to play as the only thing you've to be worry about on a chromatic harmonica is mouth positioning and hand-mouth co-ordination.
Yes, violin is hard but with patience and consistency progress is made. I try to play songs that I know and also read music, it is challenging but fun, I surely respect anyone that can play well. I know guitar and piano, definitely violin is the hardest.
As an adult beginner I agree. The violin is an instrument that if you want to play really well, it is difficult, sometimes very, very difficult but not impossible, especially if there is a lot of passion and there are clear objectives to be achieved. But as adults, on the other hand, every step forward is a small, great miracle and great satisfaction. Another thing I would add is that it is quite difficult to have a good vibrato to apply at will and with easiness in each piece of music. In my opinion it is a tough but fascinating journey
"to have a good vibrato to apply at will and with easiness in each piece of music" this is my goal. Applying it at will, whether for short or long notes, whether faster or slower vibrato, whether smaller or greater vibrato depth. And to have no break in vibrato when moving from one note to the next, and for the movement to be second nature. Oh boy, I have long way to go.
@@claudio8313 Thanks. I started late. Its taken me 5 years to get vibrato alone, way too long, but I have finally got it. I had much trouble with it. It feels comfortable, I like doing it, no violin shake or muscle spasms. Just need to transition smoothly, practice higher the positions, etc. I hoping to achieve this goal in another year, well to a certain extent.
@@zeniktorres4320 I have been playing since February 2018, the first year by ear, then with a teacher. I have been very focused on intonation, sound quality and keep in time as desired by the teacher but only lately I am studying the vibrato alone, as the teacher tends to leave it out. It's true, it is difficult and it takes time not so much to learn it but also and above all to apply it in a workmanlike manner in musical pieces. But I know, like you, that once assimilated well, there will be a big step forward in sound rendering and it's worth it! From what you write I see you very determined, and this is a positive and fundamental thing to make progress with the violin. Best wishes!
Thank you for your very gentle and very patient encouragement. I will share a true story. I wish it wasn't. It will tell you all you need to know. During lock down I decided, one day, I would sit in my garden . . . With my violin! I thought that was a brilliant idea! I'd never done it before. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, the fresh air was beckoning and it offered the opportunity to actually DO something outside! Just what I needed to lift my spirits! (Thought she.) So, out I went. Sitting, poised and ready to begin (a little self conscious of my neighbours overhearing, admittedly, but so relieved to be out 'doing.' I began. . . Almost immediately my cat sprang out of nowhere, stopped at my feet, stared up at me for about 2 seconds . . . And fled! I play the piano. Violin is . . . Impossible! 😃 But I love it sooo much! (I never imagined it was possible! But I do! Yes, it's unbearable hearing myself but my little violin holds such a place in my heart now that I have no alternative but to endure the excruciating noise and consequent disappointment every time I try to play!!! One day, eh . . . 🤔 ♥️🎻🌹
Lovely video Julia, thanks so much. I'm a late starter ( started aged 72 and now after 4 years have passed grade 5 ABRSM have joined an amateur orchestra, so it is possible at any age. I play the piano which is easier because you have no fear off dropping it ! but love the violin because it can sing. I can just about manage The Londonderry Air to sound nice, but most of my music sounds pretty bad!
I have never played a brass instrument but I have seen them being played. Saxophone is brass but actually part of the woodwind instrument and I wouldn't think it very difficult because it is similar to clarinet a reed instrument and I have played a clarinet once before. I think the trombone very difficult because there are no valves on the trombone and people have to use their ears for pitch so the most difficult of the brass. The trumpet I would also think quite difficult because out of only 3 valves you have to get a lot of notes out of it. I have never played any of those brass instruments but by the look of them they certainly look very difficult.
Actually, I don't believe the violin or string instruments are necessarily the hardest to learn. I believe it is very, very individual! I learned to play the violin as an adult, and yes, it took about two years until I was comfortable with it. But that was also due to a lack of resources. I had only my teacher. Today, you would have tons of blog articles and free videos that would help you with little things such as how to structure a practice session, improve intonation, practice different aspects that your teacher might not tell you of his own accord. I have tried to learn the flute and the clarinet as well and found the clarinet much harder than the violin. The breathing technique resp. embouchure (how to blow into the instrument) was so exhausting that I could not play more that 2 to 5 minutes at a time for the entire 6 months I took lessons. So, I am really wondering if the problem isn't simply that some instruments are extremely hard for some people while others, that are hard to some other people, are easier to learn for the first group. If not for some, piano is the hardest instruments (so many keys, so very different rhythms with both hands, every finger doing something else, so much quick sight reading to do), for others, brass instruments might be the hardest (breathing/ embouchure) and for others, string instruments. I personally find percussion (drums - all these different drums and rhythms) and actually guitar (basically, from a violinist's point of view, playing chords all the time, so getting every finger just right and all in different places whereas on the violin, most of the time, you use only one finger an your strings) to look very difficult.
This video offers excellent🎖 and ACCESSIBLE advice for an adult who is an absolute beginner, to START with. The video sets a realistic backdrop of know-how around what you might expect and experience with learning the violin. I would title this video as: 'Think You Want to Learn the Violin - Start Here'. I'm an absolute beginner still working out if I want to play the violin and trying to understand my key challenges. Challenge 1: My fingertips are too BIG. Never considered I had fat fingers before, but it appears I do as when trying to hold ONE string down at the narrow end of the fingerboard using the utmost tip of my finger, I tend accidentally to hold TWO strings down.🤔 So perhaps I'll look for simple tunes with 'open notes' [no holding a string down] to start with. Which will hopefully stop me from getting quickly despondent. Challenge 2: What type of violin music is it my goal to learn how to play? Blues. Is it of any benefit learning to play the violin from the start in any 'particular or different' way to achieve this? Julia, thank you for your video and advice, it cheered me up.
I love your title suggestion. I am happy you like the video and feel it offers quality advice. I have some simple beginner tunes on my site that you may like. You can find them here:violinspiration.com/free-violin-lessons-beginners-intermediates-online/#hash_filters=df And I have 2 on Blues and improvisation too! violinspiration.com/free-violin-lessons-beginners-intermediates-online/#hash_filters=df I wish you the best of luck on your musical journey.
Though the violin ist difficult to learn it's not more difficult than orher Instruments (exept recorder). Piano and guitar are easy to start with but very difficult to truly master wheareas string instruments are difficult at the beginning but once you mastered the basics it becomes very enjoyable.
And after everything that you explained. Even if you mastered all of these basics, people still spent their entire lives mastering different techniques to be able to play various written famous compositions (concertos, sonata). I perform very well at gigs with standard compositions for quartet but still need much practice for compositions that require demanding technical skills.
Good video. It sounds like on the map of what people want out of the violin and what decisions they need to make, your advice is for people who want to be challenged and to make their playing enjoyable to other people. But other people might go to a point (on the map) where they just want their playing to be a soul-satisfying experience for themselves. I start my day with a few minutes of playing and it really helps me. But I’ve taken some shortcuts. I use a special strap to hold my violin. (I made a video about this). I only play in the first three positions. I’ve had to shift my left hand because no amount of practice will make my skin less slick. The violin is a difficult instrument but worth it. However, its painfully frustrating if someone is at the wrong point on the map.
Thank so much for sharing. Playing in three positions is a great accomplishment. Nice you were able to make a strap to hold your violin to make it easier for you. 😊
@@zeniktorres4320 I don’t think of my thumb pad as dry, it just has less friction. I’ve seen articles (and a video) that talk about the differences in skin friction. Some of it is due to the finger ridges and some of it is due to the skin itself. I guess in general the violin is not very well accommodating for a wide range of hand types.
I just love your videos , this is so so true In Every way you mentioned about the violin but I have only been playing a few months and love learning this instrument , I dedicate myself everyday to play even just a little bit and as I,m improving I’m learning more and more songs that I love I some times mess up but I’m ok with that and just get back to when I’m ready , a bad night sleep and I play horrible , it shows , I play and focus so much better when I’m alert and focused not tired etc. I got a lot to learn but I’m loving this I instrument , my only regret is I wish I picked it up much earlier in life . Big thumbs up .👍
Thanks! I am happy you like the video and that at no matter what age you started your violin journey, the fact that you started! Best of luck as you continue forward.😊
I have a tremendous amount of respect for anyone who can get a good sound of these unforgiving screech boxes. I started with violin and then punted to bass (which has its own issues, mainly hand strength and endurance ones, and… @#$%^ thumb position and soloing…) and guitar, and now i am just sort of re-approaching this with cello, which is not early as temperamental (yes, requires a tremendous amount of skills but its not quite the box of angry cats the violin is)
Yes indeed very difficult instrument. Every day before I start practicing I must tune my violin. I am still trying to get a reasonably sounding vibrato. My violin holding without a shoulder rest is my challenge and I am still experimenting with it. I believe shoulder rest adds to the mass and will affect the sound. I experiment with different positions of the bridge. Sometimes close to the neck when length of strings increase and produces a mellower deeper sound but then finger positions change. I can't stretch that long. So I shift bridge closer to the finger board, then height of strings from fingerboard increases. Like this many things to try out with violin. Trills like the way great masters play in Beethoven Cadenza which sounds like a shimmering of the tones or as in Caprice 6 is another big challenge. Looks easy but extremely difficult. For me going beyond the first position shifting, oh God many variables and many challenges. I am self taught and practicing for many years daily only max one hour now I am 82 years live in India love Paganini compositions and wish to play some phrases, trying double stops. Finally I must say violin is so useful to communicate with the soul it is a medium for meditation to stabilise the mind torn between various thoughts and feelings in the Kopfkino which is always playing inside the brain whether I like or not it keeps playing.
Thank you Julia for such amazing videos! Have been for enjoying and learning so much from your channel for the past 2 years now, in fact I just posted a little vid of my violin journey so far ☺️ and what I’ve picked up along the way. So incredibly appreciative of your efforts and willingness to share your wisdom, you are a true violinspiration!
I think is very dificult and definately on par with a flamenco guitar, comparing the two, the intonation challenge much much is harder on the violin, the bow is indeed difficult, but not as hard as the left hand approach on the flamenco, but it is much harder than the plectrum approach, as for the chord complexity, the violin is a bit easier. These in my opinion are relative easier/harder concepts, both in reality are rock hard, and I have total respect for anyone who takes of the challenge. There is something very sonorous about the violin that is missing on the guitar, given the glissando capabilities as well as the sustained tone capabilities. I agree about the first year learning curve on the violin compared to other instruments. It is a wonderful challenge, and I hold anyone who can play in high esteem
Imagine patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time. Now tap your left foot and for every one left foot tap, tap your right foot twice. Do this while walking. That’s how the violin is usually taught. The break down into individual parts and mastering each part in turn is much better. Though you rarely hold a violin for the first month
4:34 Heh, my hands shake naturally so I’ve had to find strategies around it. Usually I end up putting too much force, but it sounds better than a shaky bow.
Hi there. Sorry to hear the tuning in 5ths on the violin drives you crazy. It is a bit different from the guitar indeed! I hope you can duplicate your playing in the future with much practice. Good luck!
I picked up my violin again recently after playing a child for a year or two (over 20 years ago) but while my violin is in the shop, i also picked up mandolin. I enjoy both and make time for both but fear that not focusing on one or the other may ultimately mean i dont improve on either. Is it generally a bad idea to attempt two instruments when one is fiddle.
Violin is also hard because it requires you to know your body and how to relax while maintaining proper tension.
This is definitely true. Not just to know but to listen to it and respond accordingly. This is a challenge for most players, new and old.
"If you were to rely on youtube, you would definitely not be happy." Best quote I've heard or read for a long time. Thank you.
😊
It was very true. One of my friends plays the dulcimer, another one plays the guitar, and when they tried the violin, it was very difficult to say how to hold the violin. In my opinion, the violin is the most difficult instrument in the world. We should not compare ourselves with great musicians, and I know that we should very much. Be patient and love to learn violin and we have a long way to go👍
Maybe. But try classical guitar beyond grade five. .
Peter Jones, Agree. When people say playing guitar, they usually mean acoustic or electric. But playing classical guitar at a master level is, I think, the most difficult task because it is such a delicate instrument. There are so many things to go wrong not to make any mistakes even in playing a simple piece.
@@lpfever018 yes guitar classic is hard
@@peterjones6507 yup...but not as difficult as a violin..guitars have frets...
@@peterjones6507 Agree! I've played guitar and now I'm learning violin. However, with violin, even a children's song is difficult!
One thing that's very easy about violin is you only need to learn to read the treble clef.
piano you need to learn to read both
I studied oboe as a kid, and I think that instrument has one or two things in common with the violin, making it difficult to master quickly like the violin is, but at least an oboist has keys. When piano teachers talk about "tone" issues, I always harken back to how difficult other instruments are to sound good on. Given the huge learning curve issues you've outlined here, string players are indeed a rare breed, and you're doing beginners a huge service with your school. Great video!!
Wow, Thanks so much. I am glad you think so.😊
Best honest, clear, truthfull, demystifying, encouraging and supportive explanations possible.
I am glad you think so. :)
Thank you ☺️ for saying about being patient with yourself and you will get better at musical 🎶 instruments over time
Hi Julia - Your videos are an inspiration to anyone learning violin. I started learning the violin at the age of 45 (now I am 47) and I love everyone of your videos. Congratulations on posting this very required video talking about how difficult the instrument is to learn and yet with passion, commitment and hard work; anyone interested, has a chance to learn this beautiful instrument. Thanks again! Cheers.
So happy you like the video!
Great video, and great advice. Bowed string instruments are seriously hard. But persistence counts for a lot. I play viola, which of course is very similar, and started late -- not technically an adult starter, but very close to being one. (I started in my last year of high school.) I now play in a semi-professional orchestra, and have performed as a soloist with an amateur orchestra (playing the Bruch Romanze). It took me 14 years to get into my current orchestra, and I'm still challenging myself and improving after playing for 22 years. My orchestra recently added a cellist who started learning as an adult; her story is also about persistence, as she has been playing for 13 years. It's possible for adult beginners to get very good at playing a string instrument, but it takes time. I think the biggest obstacle for many adult starters is that we're old enough to get self-conscious and discouraged about how slow our progress is, whereas for young children it's just something they do. It's really important to keep in mind that, even after two or three or four years, the journey is only just beginning.
Oh, and even those child prodigies on UA-cam were beginners and sounded terrible for a much longer time than most people realize.
Thanks so much for commentating on my video and sharing your thoughts. I think you are right that adults are a bit more self conscious than children which is shame. But also a good reminder to have the joy of a child when learning to play it. 😊
Bravo, andrewhcit! Stick with it and keep challenging your self! I teach violin, and specialize in adult beginners, and although it's a tough road, it is definitely worthwhile!
Such an honest assessment of learning this pesky little instrument is truly violinspirational! I started learning this year and as I am 70 my bucket list includes surviving long enough to reach a standard that I can enjoy playing!
I wish you the best of luck on your violin journey, you got this!🤩
Thank you for this video Julia, it is completely on point! I think so many adult violin learners are perfectionists and your video definitely will help us relax more and not be so hard on ourselves!
Yes. indeed. I am so happy you like it, Shari. 🥰
I hear your Dutch accent. My mother is from Holland, town of Wassenaar. We always look forward to having Dutch bake goods during the holiday season. Salt liquorice, marzipan, stroop waffles and rusk. I can pass on pickled herring. Ha!
All delicious!.
For an Adult beginner. Violin is very difficult. You have, however, lower the level of difficulty considerably. Thank you for your dedication not only to music but, also, to us, the beginners who also love music who happened to get a late start. Still like the hair. Greetings from Oklahoma
You're very welcome. Thanks for your kind words.😊
..the most difficult must be not to take You into ones heart. Brilliantly in all aspects.
Thank you.😀
When I first started playing, my wife would slam doors just so she didn't have to hear the screeching. Now, she sits in the same room and she also told me that my playing sounds very nice and the notes really ring. Keep at it and you'll get there. Thanks Julia!
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing.🤩🥰🎻
1) fingerboard: a) use harmonics, harmonics are like frets. b) use the frame of the hand, changing it with the left arm
2) bow: isolate the joints of the right arm and hand and understand the effect of the them on bow movements. then combine the joints to compose bow strokes.
3) tune with a tuner app on a mobile
4) use only the minimum number of muscles for one movement
🙈
THE most honest presentation of what it is to learn violin. Many thanks for your authenticity with no artificial embellishment. I have bought and sold 4 violins before feeling confident that I am going somewhere with it. Now I own a 5th one and this time I know I will not give up anymore.
As an adult beginner, the information you covered, for me is so needed to hear often to help maintain one’s sanity. Thank you. Still Love the hair up like that. Greetings from Oklahoma
Glad you like the video!🥰
Agreed, It's not an easy instrument to play but I thank God I have self played if for one year now with the help of UA-cam teachers like Julia
😊Thank you for your kind words.
Can confirm as an adult just-past-beginner of 2 and a half years in. Vibrato is the hardest and I think I'll be able to play Paganini 24 before I get vibrato to work right
😂🙈 I wish you the best of luck learning vibrato, and Paganini 24!
@@Violinspiration Thanks! it is a passion of mine so some of both will sink in eventually (right now I'm trying to nail down Meditation and Beau Soir...the latter containing parallel octaves)
Weird, she sounds JUST LIKE my violin teacher!!! Helps so much to know I'm "normal"!☺️♥️
Vibrato is critical for me to do, and it IS hard. Older adult starter as well, I didn't start vibrato until 5 years after starting violin. Turning the clock forward 5 years after that, after daily struggling, perseverance and trying different approaches, I finally got it. It feels comfortable, I like the sound, depth and rate, smooth finger translations are coming along, Many notes I find harder to do than others and don't sound as good, but its coming along now, and about time too. It was my goal from day one. 10 years it took me. Unbelievable! So keep at.
Exactly 👍 years life time but that is the fun 🤩 part
Well said, Julia. The ones with patience are the teachers like you. Thanks for being there!
I am happy you found my video encouraging. Thanks for your support.🥰
Ah yes, the issues of teaching new students to play the violin! I have taught violin for the last 60 years, and many of my students have gone on to careers as violinists, but most had a seriously difficult time as beginners. I still teach, and now the majority of my students are adult students who have begun learning as adults. I can only recall one student who simply could NOT learn to play, and that was because he could not physically turn his left hand to finger the notes. However, over the years there have been a number who dropped out due to the difficulties presented by the instrument.
Adult starter too, started10 years ago (now late 50's), I had trouble turning my left hand as well, but at the time I did not know that is was the cause of big problems until years later. Now slowly over many years, I can now turn my wrist around quite alot, and because I'm aware of it now, I do stretching exercises to keep it that way. But it took a very long time to achieve that. Much patience indeed.
Happy to hear you stuck with it!
Thanks to you I have learned to play a lot of tunes and I only started in March 22 after a long time away since 1968. I have learned so much by watching your videos. Being left handed helps a lot. Thank you.
That is awesome!😊
I am being told most of people, can performance almost instinctly. I rarely ask why around these strings , but how treating these strings. I am still naive with string instruments, what I can do, is trying to remember some shapes to get through.
😊I wish you the best of luck on your musical journey. You got this!
@@Violinspiration I apperciate that, I am a keyboard player. If I like to ,I may try restarting again.
great video. honest and forthright! as an adult beginner who is about to step into suzuki book 6. persistence is key. you WILL learn if you try
Good luck with book 6! And congratulation on books 1-5!🥰🤩😃
Thank you for the encouragement! It does help.
I've just watched this, and it meant so much to me. I'm a returning violinist - I learned as a child, but gave up at 18.
Almost three years ago, age 57, I took up playing again, and although I'm improving, it's been so hard. Improvement comes so slowly, and although I'm not a beginner, it's still just as easy to lose motivation when progress is - as usual - slower than hoped.
My pro violinist friend paid to have my old violin (unplayed for 40 years) restored as a gift, and now I practise most days. She's given me occasional lessons - from which I realised that so much of my old technique was just bad, so a lot of unlearning had to come before new learning.
But now I'm better than I ever was. Second position is no longer terrifying; my bow moves straighter, sometimes I can even be relaxed and controlled enough to manage a little 4th finger vibrato. I'm working (mostly struggling) on Bach, and Hilary Hahn is my idol.
As an adult student I understand the process of learning so much better than I did as a child, so I can make sense of the struggles at least, and discipline myself to practise the hard parts slowly.
Your comments about character and determination were a huge encouragement. Thank you.
What a wonderful gift your friend gave you by restoring your violin. I am happy my video was encouraging to you. Thanks so much for sharing.😊
Easiest things (relatively): reading music, intonation (first position). Hardest things: shifts (1st to 3rd position, etc.), smooth, rapid bow-strokes (where needed).
Thanks for sharing!
Julia I am very thankful to you for addressing this topic as it motivates us to carry on practicing the violin and better at it day by day, knowing that the violin is a difficult instrument to play. I appreciate the way you put forth the explanation in such a simple manner. You are a great violin teacher. Best wishes to you from India.
I am so happy you like the video.😊
As a beginner,. I can really be able to relate to all the scenarios you explained in the video. Kudos for your sharing. Lots of love to you 💖😊🎊
Glad you enjoyed it!
This is such a valuable video, especially for parents who are thinking of giving their child violin lessons. I’m a cello teacher and the challenges are similar but the sound of a beginner cellist is less painful to hear! I like that you said, “The fun is in the challenge “ and that there are so many wonderful things you can develop in yourself from dedicated daily study of the violin. I had a mindset that I would look for the best teachers for my children at age 6 and expected them to continue until they were 18 despite ups and downs. They are in their 30s now and still play the violin beautifully even though it is not their main career. I think a parent needs to understand that this is a long-term commitment with huge benefits.
Beautifully said. Thanks so much for sharing.😊
Truly extremely difficult.. Tq for the video. You always motive me.
My pleasure 😊
As a violin player who is pretty good but no Hillary Hahn. Thanks for making me feel good 👍🏼. BTW, I am 69 yrs. young.
😂😊You're very welcome.
one of my violin teachers said the less there is between you and the instrument (key mechanisms, valves, electronics, etc) the more expressive potential the instrument has. i would add violin has nothing between you and the instrument, and the expressive potential that isn't under control is heard as wildness
🥰
Excellent video. I have been struggling for several years as a beginner adult violinist. It has been challenging on so many levels and to this day my intonation is very inconsistent. Also all the "extra" sounds from string crossings, lifting your finger too fast or at the wrong time when moving to the next note, doing slurs with the correct bow speed, and like a dozen other things that all at once make it so darn hard to make any single song sound good each time I play it. I've tried real life teachers as well as online lessons, but nothing seems to work. I'm not going to give up, but it is ahrd to stay motivated when I see such little progress.
I went through the exact same thing as you are. 'but nothing seems to work' - that what it was. Month after month after month, year after year, nothing solving the issues. Very slow progress. I persisted with daily practice even though many times I didn't feel like it. Intonation, slurs, bow hitting others strings, I still have those issues, but its better now. Vibrato is utmost importance to me, and it was so difficult, awkward, again very little progress over years and again kept trying different approaches. Finally, 5 years of struggling with daily vibrato practice I think I just got it, well I hope so. Still have issues, and ways to go, but it feels comfortable, and reasonable sounding too (to me anyway). I started violin 10 years ago (in my 50's now) and my progress was slow as I found the violin difficult to hold. So, kept at it, do stretching exercises, daily practice, it will come together. Enjoy the challenge.
Thanks. I am glad you like the video. But yes it takes time, and patience and Practice. You got this.
Thank you, I think I needed to hear that! At 42, I started to learn the violin. I only had 3 lessons up til now but I do enjoy it a lot! I had about 10 years of piano classes up til I was 18, and I also took some years of singing classes so I wasn’t a music newbie ie I don’t need to learn to read sheet music, luckily ;) . However, even though I was prepared this would be a difficult instrument to master, I have to admit it is still a lot to take in all at once and I can feel a bit insecure when my teacher has to correct me again for something she must have explained already about 10 times. I guess she is more aware of the technical difficulties than I am since she always corrects me with the same patience ;) . I do enjoy the journey! But just sometimes I wonder if it is normal to have this kind of slow progress - or perhaps it’s actually not that slow at all but having learned to play the piano as a first instrument (which I still find a wonderful instrument to play!) has set me up with a different “frame” of expectations. I’m at Suzuki book 1, Twinkle Twinkle variations A to D right now after about a month ;) . PS I might be wrong, but I think you are Dutch … groetjes uit België! ;)
I am glad my video was encouraging for you. Yes, I am Dutch!😊
I didn't regret nor give up when the violin is hard for me. Later on I got the flow going without a bump in the road. I know 40-50 songs in my 12 years playing.
it is wonderful your perseverance paid off!
This is a very motivating video! I'm just currently learning the violin and there are times I really get frustrated and I almost want to quit. But seeing this video helps me to get motivated again. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and I hope to learn more from you. 🥰🥰
Happy to help!
An excellent introduction. No pain, no gain!
Thanks!😃
1. It's awkward and aggressively unergonomic and maintained in this state for no discernable reason.
2. They refuse to use inlays for no discernable reason -- which do not at all prevent players from making the natural tuning adjustments needed to sound good.
3. It sounds way better at a distance than it does right next to your head.
Totally agree with points 1 and 2. Point 3, after 10 years of practice, I disagree. :) I like the sound now, because I finally can do vibrato nicely (well not in all position equally yet).
Rand Lyons, you are spot on!
Thanks for that great video!
From my angle, another element that contributes to making the violin difficult to play is that the violinist must hear the note played and possibly make minor adjustments in finger position to ensure the note is correct!
And yet another element that makes violin difficult is vibrato. As a violinist, vibrato is a staple of violin playing and it takes a long time to produce good sounding vibrato.
That is indeed correct. One must train their ears as well!🙈
The best explanation yet why it is so difficult!!!
Thanks!😊
Before all those reasons, the most difficult at me in the beginning is get the violin secure under your chin.
"What if I let it fall??!"
Besides all, it is one of my life goals, and I am in the middle :-/
Thank you so much for saying exactly how I feel, I’ve started to learn violin about 3 months ago and I feel excited but quite discouraged sometimes
Is the first instrument I’ve ever tried to learn, it is difficult but I’ll keep trying
Your videos are helping me a lot as well 🌷
I am so glad you are finding my videos helpful and encouraging. It is indeed a difficult instrument, but you got this!
Thanks Julia that was helpful!
Glad it was helpful!😃
Think the hardest part is the playing position. In a way I think mandolin may be harder the finger board is even smaller violin with tiny frets to create unwanted noises ( I'm a bassist I have opposite problems)😅
Thank you for this. I am a beginner player of violin. One of my challenges is about tuning the violin. I already broke four (4) (E) strings..hahaha..but still continues to learn how to tune "tips" from youtube channels..etc.. It is really hard but I believe, like all skills, it all takes practice..🙂
You can do it! It is indeed difficult, especially when you are just learning. But you got this!😃
Also people that are already very experienced to have been playing their whole lives and are very good at the professional level sometimes don't understand why you can't get it right away including teachers and they expect a lot more from you when you're not even ready but again that's the challenge that's why we love it
Excellent - explains well why each position is taken up individually because of the different muscle memory - also thank you for the comment that there is so many other things associated with music , and friendships that you learn when studying an instrument . Also in terms of comparisons , my teacher likes to say , "run your own race " 😀
I really need inspiration. My instructor left and I alway looked forward to that Thursday hour lesson .I can't get myself motivated to play.And I truly love violin.
Sorry to hear about your teacher. I hope my videos motivate you to keep playing. You got this!🥰🤩
Some of us claim that the violin family of instruments are at once the most difficult to master and potentially the most beautiful sound yet let us not forget that neither technique nor sound have to be excellent to be useful.😊
Well said!😃
My issue is finding an in-person teacher who will take on a beginner. I will consider going back to signing up with Julia. I used her and I am sorry I stopped. I will join this week thanks for this insight.
Please do! I look forward to having as a member of the academy.
Very well said and well analyzed!!
Thanks!
If you're fed up with violin 🎻 and it's learning curve, but still love how it sounds, the good news is that you can replace violin with a chromatic harmonica, it produces similar sounds but much easier to play as the only thing you've to be worry about on a chromatic harmonica is mouth positioning and hand-mouth co-ordination.
Thanks for sharing!
Yes, violin is hard but with patience and consistency progress is made. I try to play songs that I know and also read music, it is challenging but fun, I surely respect anyone that can play well. I know guitar and piano, definitely violin is the hardest.
Thanks so much for sharing!😃
As an adult beginner I agree. The violin is an instrument that if you want to play really well, it is difficult, sometimes very, very difficult but not impossible, especially if there is a lot of passion and there are clear objectives to be achieved. But as adults, on the other hand, every step forward is a small, great miracle and great satisfaction. Another thing I would add is that it is quite difficult to have a good vibrato to apply at will and with easiness in each piece of music. In my opinion it is a tough but fascinating journey
Thanks for sharing!
"to have a good vibrato to apply at will and with easiness in each piece of music" this is my goal. Applying it at will, whether for short or long notes, whether faster or slower vibrato, whether smaller or greater vibrato depth. And to have no break in vibrato when moving from one note to the next, and for the movement to be second nature. Oh boy, I have long way to go.
@@zeniktorres4320 If you started playing like me late, don't give up. The goal will be there, even if it may be far away
@@claudio8313 Thanks. I started late. Its taken me 5 years to get vibrato alone, way too long, but I have finally got it. I had much trouble with it. It feels comfortable, I like doing it, no violin shake or muscle spasms. Just need to transition smoothly, practice higher the positions, etc. I hoping to achieve this goal in another year, well to a certain extent.
@@zeniktorres4320 I have been playing since February 2018, the first year by ear, then with a teacher. I have been very focused on intonation, sound quality and keep in time as desired by the teacher but only lately I am studying the vibrato alone, as the teacher tends to leave it out. It's true, it is difficult and it takes time not so much to learn it but also and above all to apply it in a workmanlike manner in musical pieces. But I know, like you, that once assimilated well, there will be a big step forward in sound rendering and it's worth it! From what you write I see you very determined, and this is a positive and fundamental thing to make progress with the violin. Best wishes!
Thank you for your very gentle and very patient encouragement. I will share a true story. I wish it wasn't. It will tell you all you need to know.
During lock down I decided, one day, I would sit in my garden . . .
With my violin!
I thought that was a brilliant idea! I'd never done it before. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, the fresh air was beckoning and it offered the opportunity to actually DO something outside! Just what I needed to lift my spirits! (Thought she.)
So, out I went. Sitting, poised and ready to begin (a little self conscious of my neighbours overhearing, admittedly, but so relieved to be out 'doing.' I began. . .
Almost immediately my cat sprang out of nowhere, stopped at my feet, stared up at me for about 2 seconds . . .
And fled!
I play the piano. Violin is . . .
Impossible! 😃
But I love it sooo much! (I never imagined it was possible! But I do! Yes, it's unbearable hearing myself but my little violin holds such a place in my heart now that I have no alternative but to endure the excruciating noise and consequent disappointment every time I try to play!!!
One day, eh . . . 🤔
♥️🎻🌹
Thank you for sharing. It does take time, but you got this!🥰
thank you for posting this 😊
You're so welcome!😊
A wonderful and realistic presentation
Thanks!
It is difficult but I learned to play it at the age of 78!!
Wonderful John!
Lovely video Julia, thanks so much. I'm a late starter ( started aged 72 and now after 4 years have passed grade 5 ABRSM have joined an amateur orchestra, so it is possible at any age. I play the piano which is easier because you have no fear off dropping it ! but love the violin because it can sing. I can just about manage The Londonderry Air to sound nice, but most of my music sounds pretty bad!
That is Great, Tony! Congratulations. Well done.🤩🤩🤩🤩
Thank you so much Julia.♥
You're very welcome.😀
I have chosen the right instrument then … i love the challenge ❤
Wonderful!🎻🥰
I have never played a brass instrument but I have seen them being played. Saxophone is brass but actually part of the woodwind instrument and I wouldn't think it very difficult because it is similar to clarinet a reed instrument and I have played a clarinet once before. I think the trombone very difficult because there are no valves on the trombone and people have to use their ears for pitch so the most difficult of the brass. The trumpet I would also think quite difficult because out of only 3 valves you have to get a lot of notes out of it. I have never played any of those brass instruments but by the look of them they certainly look very difficult.
it is difficult to learn anything new, especially a new musical instrument. You are right. 😃
Actually, I don't believe the violin or string instruments are necessarily the hardest to learn. I believe it is very, very individual! I learned to play the violin as an adult, and yes, it took about two years until I was comfortable with it. But that was also due to a lack of resources. I had only my teacher. Today, you would have tons of blog articles and free videos that would help you with little things such as how to structure a practice session, improve intonation, practice different aspects that your teacher might not tell you of his own accord.
I have tried to learn the flute and the clarinet as well and found the clarinet much harder than the violin. The breathing technique resp. embouchure (how to blow into the instrument) was so exhausting that I could not play more that 2 to 5 minutes at a time for the entire 6 months I took lessons.
So, I am really wondering if the problem isn't simply that some instruments are extremely hard for some people while others, that are hard to some other people, are easier to learn for the first group. If not for some, piano is the hardest instruments (so many keys, so very different rhythms with both hands, every finger doing something else, so much quick sight reading to do), for others, brass instruments might be the hardest (breathing/ embouchure) and for others, string instruments. I personally find percussion (drums - all these different drums and rhythms) and actually guitar (basically, from a violinist's point of view, playing chords all the time, so getting every finger just right and all in different places whereas on the violin, most of the time, you use only one finger an your strings) to look very difficult.
Thanks so much for sharing!😊
Great video. I am 74 and have decided to take on the challenge of playing the violin. Never too late! 😊
Thank you . I needed to hear this
You're very welcome!
Watching this makes me appreciate that lady who covered Van Halen"s Eruption with a violin even more.
Very informative 👍, well explained.... Thank you 👍🙏
Most welcome 😊
Awesome thank you for your input👍
My pleasure!🥰
This video offers excellent🎖 and ACCESSIBLE advice for an adult who is an absolute beginner, to START with.
The video sets a realistic backdrop of know-how around what you might expect and experience with learning the violin.
I would title this video as: 'Think You Want to Learn the Violin - Start Here'.
I'm an absolute beginner still working out if I want to play the violin and trying to understand my key challenges.
Challenge 1: My fingertips are too BIG. Never considered I had fat fingers before, but it appears I do as when trying to hold ONE string down at the narrow end of the fingerboard using the utmost tip of my finger, I tend accidentally to hold TWO strings down.🤔
So perhaps I'll look for simple tunes with 'open notes' [no holding a string down] to start with. Which will hopefully stop me from getting quickly despondent.
Challenge 2: What type of violin music is it my goal to learn how to play? Blues. Is it of any benefit learning to play the violin from the start in any 'particular or different' way to achieve this?
Julia, thank you for your video and advice, it cheered me up.
I love your title suggestion. I am happy you like the video and feel it offers quality advice. I have some simple beginner tunes on my site that you may like. You can find them here:violinspiration.com/free-violin-lessons-beginners-intermediates-online/#hash_filters=df
And I have 2 on Blues and improvisation too!
violinspiration.com/free-violin-lessons-beginners-intermediates-online/#hash_filters=df
I wish you the best of luck on your musical journey.
This is a beautiful video! So true and eye opening! 😍
Glad you think so!😊
Though the violin ist difficult to learn it's not more difficult than orher Instruments (exept recorder). Piano and guitar are easy to start with but very difficult to truly master wheareas string instruments are difficult at the beginning but once you mastered the basics it becomes very enjoyable.
That is a great observation. Thanks for sharing with us!😊
From someone who's been learning for 5-6 years who also happens to be impatient, the violin is quite the exercise in frustration.
It sure can feel that way at times.
You're not wrong there.
And after everything that you explained. Even if you mastered all of these basics, people still spent their entire lives mastering different techniques to be able to play various written famous compositions (concertos, sonata). I perform very well at gigs with standard compositions for quartet but still need much practice for compositions that require demanding technical skills.
I hope my lesson was encouraging for you.
Good video. It sounds like on the map of what people want out of the violin and what decisions they need to make, your advice is for people who want to be challenged and to make their playing enjoyable to other people. But other people might go to a point (on the map) where they just want their playing to be a soul-satisfying experience for themselves. I start my day with a few minutes of playing and it really helps me. But I’ve taken some shortcuts. I use a special strap to hold my violin. (I made a video about this). I only play in the first three positions. I’ve had to shift my left hand because no amount of practice will make my skin less slick. The violin is a difficult instrument but worth it. However, its painfully frustrating if someone is at the wrong point on the map.
Thank so much for sharing. Playing in three positions is a great accomplishment. Nice you were able to make a strap to hold your violin to make it easier for you. 😊
What do you mean by 'will make my skin less slick' ? Are you saying your finger tips are dry and have a tendency to slide?
@@zeniktorres4320 I don’t think of my thumb pad as dry, it just has less friction. I’ve seen articles (and a video) that talk about the differences in skin friction. Some of it is due to the finger ridges and some of it is due to the skin itself. I guess in general the violin is not very well accommodating for a wide range of hand types.
I just love your videos , this is so so true In Every way you mentioned about the violin but I have only been playing a few months and love learning this instrument , I dedicate myself everyday to play even just a little bit and as I,m improving I’m learning more and more songs that I love I some times mess up but I’m ok with that and just get back to when I’m ready , a bad night sleep and I play horrible , it shows , I play and focus so much better when I’m alert and focused not tired etc. I got a lot to learn but I’m loving this I instrument , my only regret is I wish I picked it up much earlier in life . Big thumbs up .👍
Thanks! I am happy you like the video and that at no matter what age you started your violin journey, the fact that you started! Best of luck as you continue forward.😊
I have a tremendous amount of respect for anyone who can get a good sound of these unforgiving screech boxes. I started with violin and then punted to bass (which has its own issues, mainly hand strength and endurance ones, and… @#$%^ thumb position and soloing…) and guitar, and now i am just sort of re-approaching this with cello, which is not early as temperamental (yes, requires a tremendous amount of skills but its not quite the box of angry cats the violin is)
😊I am happy you found the instrument you love. Good luck learning cello.😊
Yes indeed very difficult instrument. Every day before I start practicing I must tune my violin. I am still trying to get a reasonably sounding vibrato. My violin holding without a shoulder rest is my challenge and I am still experimenting with it. I believe shoulder rest adds to the mass and will affect the sound. I experiment with different positions of the bridge. Sometimes close to the neck when length of strings increase and produces a mellower deeper sound but then finger positions change. I can't stretch that long. So I shift bridge closer to the finger board, then height of strings from fingerboard increases. Like this many things to try out with violin. Trills like the way great masters play in Beethoven Cadenza which sounds like a shimmering of the tones or as in Caprice 6 is another big challenge. Looks easy but extremely difficult. For me going beyond the first position shifting, oh God many variables and many challenges. I am self taught and practicing for many years daily only max one hour now I am 82 years live in India love Paganini compositions and wish to play some phrases, trying double stops. Finally I must say violin is so useful to communicate with the soul it is a medium for meditation to stabilise the mind torn between various thoughts and feelings in the Kopfkino which is always playing inside the brain whether I like or not it keeps playing.
Thanks for sharing a bit about yourself, your challenges and your love for the violins expression! 😊
Thank you Julia for such amazing videos! Have been for enjoying and learning so much from your channel for the past 2 years now, in fact I just posted a little vid of my violin journey so far ☺️ and what I’ve picked up along the way. So incredibly appreciative of your efforts and willingness to share your wisdom, you are a true violinspiration!
Wonderful! Thank you so much for your support and letting me be a part of your violin journey.😊
this video is amazing thanks :) iv played viola for 1 and a half years.
Glad you think so!😃
Leuke en informatieve video, Julia! Dikke kus vanuit Luxemburg!
Thanks!
I think is very dificult and definately on par with a flamenco guitar, comparing the two, the intonation challenge much much is harder on the violin, the bow is indeed difficult, but not as hard as the left hand approach on the flamenco, but it is much harder than the plectrum approach, as for the chord complexity, the violin is a bit easier.
These in my opinion are relative easier/harder concepts, both in reality are rock hard, and I have total respect for anyone who takes of the challenge.
There is something very sonorous about the violin that is missing on the guitar, given the glissando capabilities as well as the sustained tone capabilities.
I agree about the first year learning curve on the violin compared to other instruments.
It is a wonderful challenge, and I hold anyone who can play in high esteem
What a great comparison. I would not have thought of flamenco guitar. Thanks for sharing!😊
I agree with her.
Thanks!😃
Imagine patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time. Now tap your left foot and for every one left foot tap, tap your right foot twice. Do this while walking. That’s how the violin is usually taught. The break down into individual parts and mastering each part in turn is much better. Though you rarely hold a violin for the first month
What a great description. Thanks for sharing. 🥰
I love you teacher ❤️ if you were my mother 😘🥰
Thanks.😊
Muchas Gracias profesora, aprendo mucho de usted
You're very welcome.😊
Thank you so much for your nice speech! :))
You're very welcome!
4:34 Heh, my hands shake naturally so I’ve had to find strategies around it. Usually I end up putting too much force, but it sounds better than a shaky bow.
😊
Fantastic video! Thank you so much!
You're very welcome!😊
How difficult would it be for a guitarist? What if you could find the notes by ear?
It depends on the guitarist. Everyone is different. But being able to find the notes by ear is definitely a plus!
Another thing that has been driving me nuts is the 5th tuning. I can play lead guitar so easily but cant duplicate it on the violin.
Hi there. Sorry to hear the tuning in 5ths on the violin drives you crazy. It is a bit different from the guitar indeed! I hope you can duplicate your playing in the future with much practice. Good luck!
Thank you.
You're very welcome!
I picked up my violin again recently after playing a child for a year or two (over 20 years ago) but while my violin is in the shop, i also picked up mandolin. I enjoy both and make time for both but fear that not focusing on one or the other may ultimately mean i dont improve on either. Is it generally a bad idea to attempt two instruments when one is fiddle.
Many people learn more than one instrument at the same time.
Awesome words of truth! I play both piano and violin(or try to play 😂)
You speak right to mi heart!!!😙😙😙😙😙
🥰
@@Violinspiration ua-cam.com/video/fx6APiyHcxU/v-deo.html
Can you share on how to tune a violin?
Yes of course, This article can help. Good luck!
violinspiration.com/how-to-tune-a-violin-as-a-beginner/
Спасибо большое за эти слова! Они мне сейчас были очень нужны
Чудесное видео ❤️
You're very welcome. I am glad it helped. 🥰
Hi Julia, how do you actually build in the muscle memory ?
repetition will build muscle memory. That is why we practice slowly and consistently.