Been a while. Making myself record in preparation for a recital. I think I may have bitten off a bit more than I can chew with this. It’s really slow compared to the marked tempo, but I’m not sure if I can play it much faster while feeling coherent.

Hello everyone, I will be happy with any tips to continue learning the violin, two videos have been uploaded together, Love Story and Godfather (I know that the pieces I chose are not very difficult, but compared to the others, I practiced these two less in order to present a more realistic situation of myself).

Another thing is that I feel that my intonation is unstable, especially for new etudes, what should I do to make it better? As a person who trains for 1.30 hours a day for 11 months, how should I be?

My friend is considering this violin for purchase. I think it is Baroque, (or maybe just in the style of a baroque instrument, not necessarily as old as an original) but my knowledge ends there. We play in a symphony together and I’m hoping to find more information on it so she can make a fair offer on it. Does anyone recognize the AS stamp? There is no tag inside. It has a very muted sound. The action is very low (due to the bridge being very short) but it is not uncomfortably low. Some of the pegs have been drilled into more than once.

I’m asking because my left shoulder region hurts, and the back right side of my neck. Also, sorry about the bad intonation, I get nervous in front of the camera and I’m not yet good at that part.

Help 😭 I’m gonna ask my teacher tomorrow but idk 🥲

Was practicing today, and heard buzzing for lack of a better word. Checked all my fine tuners, they are tight, checked chin rest, and noticed a gap between the bottom and side. (Pic 1) Upon further inspection noticed the side is bowed out, and is from what I can tell being held in place by the chin rest. (Pics 2 and 3) There is some give when I push where it is bowed. I will get to the violin doctor soon, but the closest one is 2.5 hours away. Am I ok to keep playing and get it to the luither sooner rather then later or should I make an emergency road trip on my next day off?

Thought I'd share. I was in a coma for 10 days 26 months ago and the first words I uttered after coming out of a coma was "where's my violin?" When my mom said it's at home I said, "can you bring it here? I need it". I had amnesia and had no clue why I was in the hospital but just had a strong sense that I needed my violin.

I lost all motor skills, had to learn how to eat, drink, walk yada yada. So when I actually tried playing violin in the hospital and it was distressing. Decades of progress were gone. Couldn't tune, intonation was horrid, string crossings were a nightmare let alone bowing straight. Same went for piano yet I found it easier to get back into and less embarrassing for whatever reason, maybe because I always prided violin as my primary. I learned how to play Claire de lune before leaving the hospital after 38 days verbal. A saving grace was I remembered how to read music but motor skills wise it was lost.

I was humbled after leaving the hospital because I knew I had to start back at my beginnings. Suzuki 1 lol, step by step and even improv had to be relearned. The extension of my internal voice to my violin had to be rebridged.

Currently tackling bachs chaconne and rachmaninoffs prelude. All of these pieces I always dreamed of being able to do in my early teens I'm able to tackle and not struggle... feels good man.

Hello, how are you all doing?

I would like to ask for some advice, if you don’t mind, in the area of teaching methodology. But first, I need to give some context so you can better understand the situation.

Context: I learned to play the violin at church. I’ve been playing in church since I was 9 years old (I’m 23 now). By the way, the church is called Congregação Cristã no Brasil (Christian Congregation in Brazil). And obviously, since it’s all done on a voluntary basis (in our church, no one gets paid), both for those who teach and those who play, the teaching methodology may not be the best.

Basically, we had a general violin technique book (Schmoll, Lambert, Laoureux, Suzuki) and a book with the church hymns (Hymnal). I went through all those books and a few more, mostly because I spent a long time learning. But nowadays they want to stick to the Schmoll method (they’ve made some modifications to it and added some Hans Sitt pieces — I’ll add a link below in case you want to check it out).

The general approach is to start with the method book (teaching material), and once the student begins to understand notes, they start learning hymns. Unfortunately, there are very few instructors (we don’t call ourselves “teachers” because we are not formally trained), and most of them don’t assign anything to study outside of these two sources.

Now that I’m an instructor myself, I really want to help my students in the best way I can. I teach students of all ages — from little kids who can’t even read yet to older brothers who are married with children — though most of them tend to be children and young people.

I’ve never had face-to-face lessons with a professional teacher — just a few tips here and there. I even tried online lessons, but they were too expensive for my financial situation, and the teacher would mostly just ask for videos and then reply with written feedback. It helped, but not as much as I’d hoped. Still, I was able to get an idea of what a methodology looks like, because he assigned Sevcik and some beginner-level concertos to practice.

The Problem: At church, the teaching works like this: for example, in my case, on Saturdays at 2:00 p.m., our musical study group starts. Ideally, all students should arrive at the same time, and then I go over their lessons in the order they arrive. I usually spend about 30 minutes with each one to really help them.

To avoid having them come in “cold” when it’s time to play their lesson for me, I usually ask them to do:

stretching,

a right-hand exercise and a left-hand one,

open string exercises,

then to review what they’re going to play,

and also to briefly review at church what I just taught them — to help them retain it.

But I’d like to improve all of this — I just don’t have a solid foundation to build on.

I thought about changing it so instead of doing the full 30 minutes with each student right away, I’d spend the first 10 minutes checking what’s missing in their current study and then ask them to work on that while I check on the others — and then later come back for 20 minutes to work on what’s left. But when I tried that, it felt like I ended up taking more time overall.

I’m open to any kind of advice, links, videos, books related to technique, methodology, or anything else you feel might be important.

Also, I’m about to start giving private lessons today. I have some idea of what to do, but I’d appreciate any tips on that as well.

I’m already very thankful to anyone who’s willing to help me — may God bless your life and your family!

Hey everyone! I recently dusted off my violin after a few years and left off at Suzuki Book 6. I'm gearing up for an audition for Millennial Choirs and Orchestras and could use some advice on what pieces to prepare.

I've got about 4 months to get ready, and while I don't have all the details yet, I just want to be super prepared. I'm thinking of prepping a fast piece, a slow piece, or perhaps one that shows off speed and technique, just in case they only want one piece. I'm open to anything from Suzuki or other pieces you recommend.

And another question, is it better to play a more simple piece that I can nail with near-perfection, or play something more technical and difficult but play it with a few errors?

Here's a couple I'm thinking about, let me know if you think these might be appropriate:

- Spanish Dances No. 1 - Malaguena Op. 21 (never learned)

- Theme from Schindler's List (already very very familiar)

- Fiocco Allegro (Suzuki 6) (well-practiced, but far from perfect)

- Accolay, Jean Baptiste Violin Concerto No. 1 (never learned)

Also, any tips on boosting my sight-reading skills would be awesome, since I might need to show that off too.

Thanks a bunch for your help!

Hello dear community, this is my first post here and there is some translator in it so please forgive any mistakes ;( 2 years ago I participated in an orchestra for 1 year, and then for personal reasons I could not play the violin again, I can't return to that orchestra and I want to learn on my own. I have the most basic knowledge of bowing and string playing, so I came to inquire about a book, site, or place where I can get a good guide or pattern to help me improve. I need help with that and thanks for read :)

Is this violin worth anything?

Hello all

I bought this violin, and I was wondering if it has any potential significance.

I have tried to take pictures of the writing inside the body, and it says a211/C 1976. And the engraving on the outside of the case says ‘given to Brett Aaron Arellano by Earsel Atchley’ - who seems to be a violin maker - is he a big name?

What do you guys think?

I have read and understood the FAQ

My intention is to get this violin evaluated, and start to learn unless it is a something special.

I primarily teach piano Ata nonprofit in Mexico, but I also have several violin students, I have benign tremors, primarily in my thumbs. Any suggestions for a larger grip that could help me play? I teach about 40 kids a variety of instruments, free to them. Thanks!

I have been playing violin for 7 years on and off. I've had in-person lessons for 6 months which I stopped due to money, and online video lessons after that for about a year.

I'm terribly behind. I have never felt near okay with holding the violin on my neck or in my hand. When I play a song, I will need to push the handle against my body to readjust.

However, my main focus for today's post is about holding it with the neck. I watch people online play and they don't seem to be struggling as much as I do. The violin constantly slides.

I know the shirt I'm wearing isn't the best for the example, but I have tried shirts that don't move much, and I still have the same issue. (I purposefully slid it down to show what happens eventually when I'm playing. However, I can't play loud in the house at the moment.)

I've tried putting it against my collar bone, and then other ways, and same issue.

Any advice is much appreciated. Also please let me know if you need another angle.

Thank you!

Is it normal for my left hand is getting tired of playing is it because my position is bad or is it because I am too tense

For background I am a junior in high school and have been playing violin for 7 years with the original violin I got in fourth grade. If you look inside the f hole it says Mendini by Cecilio so we call it a piece of shit Amazon violin and I knew this for all the years that I played. Even when I was in elementary I noticed that all of the other kids had better looking and higher quality violins than me and when I asked my parents about it they straight up told me it was from an Amazon outfit but I played anyway for seven whole years without getting a new one so yes, I started as a little fourth grader with a full size violin and now I'm in the top two orchestra classes, chamber and advanced chamber so I think I'm pretty good at least okay sounding and I really like to play but the quality of this violin is holding me back.

My parents say it's not beneficial or worthwhile to invest in anything to do with orchestra not even private lessons (I've never had private lessons) because they don't think I can make a career out of playing (obviously not) but I'd like to have something nice not a $70 beginner violin.

Their words are starting to take a hold on me and I don't think I should keep playing if I'm never going to step up. I stopped practicing to write this because it's the start of district week and the thought of quitting is making my mind busy when I should be focusing on my solo but does it even matter? I guess it not like this is going to be my job for life to make my living anyway.

I have been playing the violin for around ten years now and am currently a college student. I’ve been thinking for the last few years about buying an electric violin, however, I don’t know the first thing about electric violins. I’ve currently only played classical, baroque, and romantic era pieces and wish to branch out to different styles and techniques for fun. Electric guitars have always fascinated me, but I don’t know how to play the guitar (and don’t plan on learning) so the next best bet seems like the violin, which I already have experience with. So, should I get an electric violin or would this be a waste of money? (Not rich, as mentioned I am a college student)

Also, it should be known I am not pursuing a career related to the violin or music at all, this is just a passion I care deeply about.

Additionally, does anyone have any recommendations on companies that sell electric violins for a reasonable price for someone who doesn’t want to play professionally with said instrument? And what sound equipment would be needed to play?

I noticed that my face and jaw structure seemed to have developed slightly differently in areas directly utilized while playing the instrument. I just thought it was coincidental but came across this article

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9308257/

My teacher also mentioned her head is naturally tilted by default due to so many years of playing. Curious if you all have noticed any morphological effects of playing over decades.

Everything’s too easy. I’ve played Mahler, Mozart, Vivaldi, and thousands of other pieces and it’s all too easy. Convince me to keep playing violin or else I’ll be forced to leave you worms and bless another instrument with my skill.

This is my edition of the Kreutzer études. I’m a bit baffled by the why of some of the fingerings here, specifically why the editor wants me to shift on every note at the end of many of those high runs. It’s not intuitive to me at all to do it like that! I usually want to arrange my shifts so I can play as many notes as possible in that position because I’m laaaaaazzzyyyyyy lol.

But because it’s an etude I feel like they (Kreutzer + editor) must be trying to teach me something. I will learn it better if I understand what, exactly. Insights?

9:03

Hello! I have been looking for a duet to play with my dad and I am having difficulty finding pieces that have an easy part for one violin and a complicated part for the other. For context, I am a high school violinist that is about intermediate level and he hasn't played in 30ish years. I would love to be able to find a piece that is appropriate for both of our levels. Thanks!