I am a professional musician (playing bassoon), and I envy anyone with the grit to do the beginning stages of playing an instrument as an adult - regardless of what goals you have. I dont think I would have the patience to go through "sound like a fog horn" stage now. Your video put a smile on my face. Human curiosity is a wonderful thing!
I just picked up my bassoon after 20 years. My ear is slowly coming back, but I have to have a tuner resting on my music stand the entire time. It is a struggle to go through the exercises, playing in tune and focus on just that because I feel that I can play much more. All that to say I agree it is hard to start a new instrument or start over on an instrument.
Your comment made me think of this video, where a woman goes back to her elementary school recorder, asking why schools teach music on the recorder, and learns to play with a professional recorder player. ua-cam.com/video/zyZY1dq5BFc/v-deo.htmlsi=hSO_AKm2XdDcwVXZ
I don't know about "grit" but I am enjoying it. I think the most important thing is knowing that I am only learning to make myself happy. I want to play well enough not to sound horrible. When I don't sound horrible, I may try for a bigger step like I tend to do with everything. I remember that I bought a keyboard a year ago for my children to start learning. I started to learn as well. My father in law (a concert level piano player) told me that I would never likely play really well and I just turned around and told him that I didn't care. I just wanted to know I could do it and that would be enough to make me happy. The only problem with the piano is that it is big. I have to pull myself away from my desk to start playing. The violin just sits at my desk with me and I can start a video and start playing.
I appreciate your comment on e-waste. I also run my phone into the ground. To that end, I used smartphone apps and web apps to tune for a long time but eventually I got a Snark for my mandolin. It's more expensive and you have to replace the batteries every few years but if you're ever playing with people or trying to tune up in a crowded/loud environment, I find it works a lot better. It clips on and picks up vibrations of the strings resonating - meaning it doesn't need to be that loud for the tuner to pick the sound up. I can quietly tune up while others are playing. Anyway, good luck! I'm getting my fiddle in two days and it's exciting to see how people progress.
That's really great! Keep up the good work. Violin is a challenging instrument to learn but it can be very rewarding. About 5 years ago, I took up the violin as an adult learner, I'm in my 30s. While I still feel I have a long way to go to get my playing to where I would like it to be, I've been able to join an amateur string orchestra and its been really fun. I would encourage you to find a teacher that gives either online lessons or in person. They can help with the bow hold questions, tuning and help you develop good tone, bowing habits ect. Good luck and best wishes on learning the violin man!
I visited the South side of Chicago a few years ago on St. Patrick's Day. We were at a backyard party that someone was throwing, but I was drawn to sitting in the front yard. There were multiple groups musicians walking and playing through the neighborhoods. I felt it was really magical to watch how much the area came to life. That is one of my goals. I just want to walk around the neighborhood and play, my children are learning some instruments as well. One is in orchestra at school. I imagine someday they may also walk around and play, even though my son may have a problem walking with a cello.
Hey , that's really good for a month , violin is so hard in the beginning , I broke two bows , got mad & threw them @ the fireplace , it takes so much patience , you're doing better than I did , I tell people in the beginning ,practice 15 minutes then put it down go to the refrigerator , watch TV, wait 6-8 hours practice another 15 minutes , be kind to yourself . Don't be to hard on yourself . Thanks , moe
Make sure you watch a lot of videos talking about tuning, the pegs, and the bridge. You have the strings nowhere near the right pitch, I thought you had a viola here. When you start tuning the strings lots, the bridge can move and fall down very loudly, sometimes destructively, so you gotta keep an eye on that and straighten it out every once in a while. Don't tighten your bow so much. Stiff bow = stiff sound. You want the hair only tight enough that the stick don't touch the strings when you bow. Bow closer toward the fingerboard, further away from the bridge, it will sound nicer while you're learning. As you get better at controlling the bow over the next year or so, you can start trying to bow closer to the bridge. What's going on here is you get power and projection by bowing somewhat close to the bridge, but if you go just a tiny bit too close it sounds awful, and if your bow pressure and speed aren't JUST right, it sounds awful. The further away from the bridge you play, the more forgiving it is to produce a pleasing sound. If your bow goes over the end of the fingerboard, that's too far - really only for special effect. Work on keeping it sawing in a straight line just past the end of the fingerboard for starting out. Good luck! Violin is hard. I've learned a lot of instruments, and violin is one of the only ones I definitely needed a teacher for.
I watched a video on maintenance that said that I should relief pressure on the strings and bow when they were not being played. I should care more because an in tune violin would be more rewarding, but I just like to play it. I can't seem to tune it all the time. It is weird that I am laughing to myself with that thought. It has been a long time since I have done something that I enjoy while doing it rather than being sucked in like writing code. I will try to keep it tuned.
@@davesplains9400 Yes, I agree. The strings are tuned a few tones too low, and the bow is too tight. Also try to prevent your wrist from constantly touching the neck of the violin, and have it as naturally straight as possible. This prevents tension in the wrist. Try keep a straight bow when playing - parallel to the bridge of the violin. This helps with tone. Other than that, it's great to start somewhere!
@@davesplains9400 Nope, you should leave a violin tuned while it is in active service! We only relieve the tension on the strings when we plan to put the violin away (storage) for many weeks, and also for shipping. Also if you completely loosen all the strings, the internal soundpost, which is press-fit, can fall out and it's a bit fiddly to put it back where it belongs, pun intended. The violin can implode if you tune it up without the soundpost in place - it's structural. Tuning a violin up to full pitch is a scary experience, and strings do sometimes snap, so even if you do break one just understand that's not the end of the world. As long as you have a reference you can listen to (instructional videos) for what the strings should sound like so you don't overtighten them, you should be good! Yes, you do loosen the bow hairs a bit every time you are done playing. But only the bow! =]
Try setting yourself a goal like learning to play ‘happy birthday…’ which you’ll know whether you’ve got it right or wrong. Slow and steady + in tune + correct technique will get you through. Keep it up 👍
Thank you. I tried we wish you a merry Christmas and I kept getting confused and then trying to fix it only to loose myself completely and become frustrated. I think you are correct. Happy Birthday would have been better. Even Jingle Bells is harder because of the, "Dashing through the snow..., " melody that is completely different that the, "Jingle Bells...," portion. I also don't hear Christmas songs as often. I think I will learn Happy Birthday next. Thank you.
Dave, I'm almost a year into violin. I have a teacher who plays for the Macedonian Philharmonic. I live in Texas, central time zone. Would you be interested in doing some zoom meetings where we can walk through some basics to get you up and running g a bit?
Oh wouldn't mind at all. However, my middle finger is acting up. I think I mentioned this in the, "I bought the Cheapest Violin...," video (ua-cam.com/video/4fN0QlUazeY/v-deo.html). I was building a Lego Holiday set display riser for our bay window and sliced the finger with a circular saw. It was doing well for awhile, but seems to be aching more lately. I may have to do a raincheck on that until I see a doctor. I don't want you to waste your paid violin time on me while I can't physically keep up. But I do try to play as long as I can for the physical therapy it gives me. It just starts to hurt after awhile and I have to stop.
For your patting your head and rubbing your belly comment. You could try doing a leg tapping exercise where you do half notes on one hand and whole notes on another, change hands and do it again. then when you master this go to half and quarter, and continue the process. till you get to the point you have trouble. Then you can practice triplets and so forth. These are percussions exercises but they work for coordination and counting too. Eventually you will get to the point where you can focus on accents and equal sounds versus the counting. This will get your brain used to doing different things each hand and eventually even control of pressure too.
This sounded extremely interesting and yet complicated to read in a UA-cam comment form. I will try to look this up. Do you have any resources that you can add to help me make sure I get the correct idea of what you are saying? Articles or videos?
I do know it is possible. Eventually I will get it. As I am writing to you now, I am typing in a coordinated manner capable of precise movements on a keyboard. I just need to keep practicing. That is why I am focusing more on technique over actual music. My oldest started the cello, which, if you watch the video about buying the cheapest video, was the final straw about getting started. I didn't think he was getting much in his classes. How could he be, he was in a group of over 60 children for only an hour once or twice a week over the last few months. Somehow, he can now tell me what I am doing wrong and start playing music on his instrument quickly.
Aside from being a cheap violin (made in China), it is also badly set up. I could tell from the bridge that it is not properly shaped (the reason you keep on hitting a wrong string) and the strings are high against the fingerboard (you put more effort in pushing your fingers down and will eventually hurt your fingers-which is not good). I also started late playing, but a good quality violin could make a HUGE difference in your progress. This is NOT the violin you would use when you seriously want to learn the violin. Your Czechoslovakian violin (mostly made for students in the 19th to mid 20th century and mass produced-but good quality) is the perfect start. But this one? Hang it on the wall for display.
@@davesplains9400 I learned classically on a bridge flatter than that. It definitely makes things harder, but also fiddle players use even flatter bridges still.
I am a professional musician (playing bassoon), and I envy anyone with the grit to do the beginning stages of playing an instrument as an adult - regardless of what goals you have. I dont think I would have the patience to go through "sound like a fog horn" stage now.
Your video put a smile on my face. Human curiosity is a wonderful thing!
I just picked up my bassoon after 20 years. My ear is slowly coming back, but I have to have a tuner resting on my music stand the entire time. It is a struggle to go through the exercises, playing in tune and focus on just that because I feel that I can play much more. All that to say I agree it is hard to start a new instrument or start over on an instrument.
How many years did you play before you stopped?
Your comment made me think of this video, where a woman goes back to her elementary school recorder, asking why schools teach music on the recorder, and learns to play with a professional recorder player.
ua-cam.com/video/zyZY1dq5BFc/v-deo.htmlsi=hSO_AKm2XdDcwVXZ
I don't know about "grit" but I am enjoying it. I think the most important thing is knowing that I am only learning to make myself happy. I want to play well enough not to sound horrible. When I don't sound horrible, I may try for a bigger step like I tend to do with everything. I remember that I bought a keyboard a year ago for my children to start learning. I started to learn as well. My father in law (a concert level piano player) told me that I would never likely play really well and I just turned around and told him that I didn't care. I just wanted to know I could do it and that would be enough to make me happy. The only problem with the piano is that it is big. I have to pull myself away from my desk to start playing. The violin just sits at my desk with me and I can start a video and start playing.
I appreciate your comment on e-waste. I also run my phone into the ground. To that end, I used smartphone apps and web apps to tune for a long time but eventually I got a Snark for my mandolin. It's more expensive and you have to replace the batteries every few years but if you're ever playing with people or trying to tune up in a crowded/loud environment, I find it works a lot better. It clips on and picks up vibrations of the strings resonating - meaning it doesn't need to be that loud for the tuner to pick the sound up. I can quietly tune up while others are playing.
Anyway, good luck! I'm getting my fiddle in two days and it's exciting to see how people progress.
That's really great! Keep up the good work. Violin is a challenging instrument to learn but it can be very rewarding. About 5 years ago, I took up the violin as an adult learner, I'm in my 30s. While I still feel I have a long way to go to get my playing to where I would like it to be, I've been able to join an amateur string orchestra and its been really fun. I would encourage you to find a teacher that gives either online lessons or in person. They can help with the bow hold questions, tuning and help you develop good tone, bowing habits ect. Good luck and best wishes on learning the violin man!
I visited the South side of Chicago a few years ago on St. Patrick's Day. We were at a backyard party that someone was throwing, but I was drawn to sitting in the front yard. There were multiple groups musicians walking and playing through the neighborhoods. I felt it was really magical to watch how much the area came to life. That is one of my goals. I just want to walk around the neighborhood and play, my children are learning some instruments as well. One is in orchestra at school. I imagine someday they may also walk around and play, even though my son may have a problem walking with a cello.
Hey , that's really good for a month , violin is so hard in the beginning , I broke two bows , got mad & threw them @ the fireplace , it takes so much patience , you're doing better than I did , I tell people in the beginning ,practice 15 minutes then put it down go to the refrigerator , watch TV, wait 6-8 hours practice another 15 minutes , be kind to yourself . Don't be to hard on yourself . Thanks , moe
Make sure you watch a lot of videos talking about tuning, the pegs, and the bridge. You have the strings nowhere near the right pitch, I thought you had a viola here. When you start tuning the strings lots, the bridge can move and fall down very loudly, sometimes destructively, so you gotta keep an eye on that and straighten it out every once in a while.
Don't tighten your bow so much. Stiff bow = stiff sound. You want the hair only tight enough that the stick don't touch the strings when you bow.
Bow closer toward the fingerboard, further away from the bridge, it will sound nicer while you're learning. As you get better at controlling the bow over the next year or so, you can start trying to bow closer to the bridge. What's going on here is you get power and projection by bowing somewhat close to the bridge, but if you go just a tiny bit too close it sounds awful, and if your bow pressure and speed aren't JUST right, it sounds awful. The further away from the bridge you play, the more forgiving it is to produce a pleasing sound. If your bow goes over the end of the fingerboard, that's too far - really only for special effect. Work on keeping it sawing in a straight line just past the end of the fingerboard for starting out.
Good luck! Violin is hard. I've learned a lot of instruments, and violin is one of the only ones I definitely needed a teacher for.
I watched a video on maintenance that said that I should relief pressure on the strings and bow when they were not being played. I should care more because an in tune violin would be more rewarding, but I just like to play it. I can't seem to tune it all the time. It is weird that I am laughing to myself with that thought. It has been a long time since I have done something that I enjoy while doing it rather than being sucked in like writing code. I will try to keep it tuned.
@@davesplains9400 Yes, I agree. The strings are tuned a few tones too low, and the bow is too tight.
Also try to prevent your wrist from constantly touching the neck of the violin, and have it as naturally straight as possible. This prevents tension in the wrist.
Try keep a straight bow when playing - parallel to the bridge of the violin. This helps with tone.
Other than that, it's great to start somewhere!
@@davesplains9400 Nope, you should leave a violin tuned while it is in active service!
We only relieve the tension on the strings when we plan to put the violin away (storage) for many weeks, and also for shipping. Also if you completely loosen all the strings, the internal soundpost, which is press-fit, can fall out and it's a bit fiddly to put it back where it belongs, pun intended. The violin can implode if you tune it up without the soundpost in place - it's structural.
Tuning a violin up to full pitch is a scary experience, and strings do sometimes snap, so even if you do break one just understand that's not the end of the world. As long as you have a reference you can listen to (instructional videos) for what the strings should sound like so you don't overtighten them, you should be good!
Yes, you do loosen the bow hairs a bit every time you are done playing. But only the bow! =]
Try setting yourself a goal like learning to play ‘happy birthday…’ which you’ll know whether you’ve got it right or wrong. Slow and steady + in tune + correct technique will get you through. Keep it up 👍
Thank you. I tried we wish you a merry Christmas and I kept getting confused and then trying to fix it only to loose myself completely and become frustrated. I think you are correct. Happy Birthday would have been better. Even Jingle Bells is harder because of the, "Dashing through the snow..., " melody that is completely different that the, "Jingle Bells...," portion. I also don't hear Christmas songs as often. I think I will learn Happy Birthday next. Thank you.
I started late in lie also. Nothing is stopping us.
That is a very good mentality to have. We have access to so much. There should be nothing stopping us from doing anything.
You have too much tension in the bow, loosen the knob to have a slight curvature in the bow
I thought it had to be tight?
Is that only for violin's?
Dave, I'm almost a year into violin. I have a teacher who plays for the Macedonian Philharmonic. I live in Texas, central time zone. Would you be interested in doing some zoom meetings where we can walk through some basics to get you up and running g a bit?
Oh wouldn't mind at all. However, my middle finger is acting up. I think I mentioned this in the, "I bought the Cheapest Violin...," video (ua-cam.com/video/4fN0QlUazeY/v-deo.html). I was building a Lego Holiday set display riser for our bay window and sliced the finger with a circular saw. It was doing well for awhile, but seems to be aching more lately. I may have to do a raincheck on that until I see a doctor. I don't want you to waste your paid violin time on me while I can't physically keep up. But I do try to play as long as I can for the physical therapy it gives me. It just starts to hurt after awhile and I have to stop.
For your patting your head and rubbing your belly comment. You could try doing a leg tapping exercise where you do half notes on one hand and whole notes on another, change hands and do it again. then when you master this go to half and quarter, and continue the process. till you get to the point you have trouble. Then you can practice triplets and so forth. These are percussions exercises but they work for coordination and counting too. Eventually you will get to the point where you can focus on accents and equal sounds versus the counting. This will get your brain used to doing different things each hand and eventually even control of pressure too.
This sounded extremely interesting and yet complicated to read in a UA-cam comment form. I will try to look this up. Do you have any resources that you can add to help me make sure I get the correct idea of what you are saying? Articles or videos?
I do know it is possible. Eventually I will get it. As I am writing to you now, I am typing in a coordinated manner capable of precise movements on a keyboard. I just need to keep practicing. That is why I am focusing more on technique over actual music. My oldest started the cello, which, if you watch the video about buying the cheapest video, was the final straw about getting started. I didn't think he was getting much in his classes. How could he be, he was in a group of over 60 children for only an hour once or twice a week over the last few months. Somehow, he can now tell me what I am doing wrong and start playing music on his instrument quickly.
👍
Thanks for the thumbs up. Everything helps. It really is helping me to stay in a good mood during these dreary Wisconsin winters.
Aside from being a cheap violin (made in China), it is also badly set up. I could tell from the bridge that it is not properly shaped (the reason you keep on hitting a wrong string) and the strings are high against the fingerboard (you put more effort in pushing your fingers down and will eventually hurt your fingers-which is not good). I also started late playing, but a good quality violin could make a HUGE difference in your progress. This is NOT the violin you would use when you seriously want to learn the violin. Your Czechoslovakian violin (mostly made for students in the 19th to mid 20th century and mass produced-but good quality) is the perfect start. But this one? Hang it on the wall for display.
Oh good, I was concerned that it was just me. I felt the bridge was oddly shaped as well.
@@davesplains9400 I learned classically on a bridge flatter than that. It definitely makes things harder, but also fiddle players use even flatter bridges still.
Man,it is never too late,keep going👍
I plan on it and plan to keep doing updates. Thanks for the motivation.