Self teaching/learning to play the violin

[srob]

Hello all.

My wife's expressed an interest in learning to play the violin. She's a bit obsessed with Irish folk music, which I think is the route cause!

Thing is, neither of us have much time free in the evenings and living relatively rurally, access to proper lessons isn't really practical. I wondered about the possibility of her learning herself, via online or books etc? She can't read music but is a very good, determined learner - she just got a first in a microbiology degree whilst working full time and is looking for something else to learn.

I've seen you can get electric violins which I assume work like guitars where you can plug it in an amp and listen through earphones? We do still have neighbours...!

Obviously she's not looking to do it for anything other than fun and a hobby and the satisfaction of learning, is this something that is possible for fun or just not worth pursuing as it'll be more frustrating than fun?

I'm always keen to encourage any new hobbies as it means I feel less guilty about being in the garage working on my motorbikes

[Arrivalist]

I’m just on my way out so very quick reply…

Yes you can self learn BUT you may fall into bad habits and develop bad/incorrect technique without even realising. A teacher will spot these and ensure that your technique is sound which is, imho, critical as you learn to play more difficult pieces.

Why not see if you can find a teacher who can offer some lessons over zoom or similar?

[elise2000]

srob said:

Hello all.

My wife's expressed an interest in learning to play the violin. She's a bit obsessed with Irish folk music, which I think is the route cause!

Thing is, neither of us have much time free in the evenings and living relatively rurally, access to proper lessons isn't really practical. I wondered about the possibility of her learning herself, via online or books etc? She can't read music but is a very good, determined learner - she just got a first in a microbiology degree whilst working full time and is looking for something else to learn.

I've seen you can get electric violins which I assume work like guitars where you can plug it in an amp and listen through earphones? We do still have neighbours...!

Obviously she's not looking to do it for anything other than fun and a hobby and the satisfaction of learning, is this something that is possible for fun or just not worth pursuing as it'll be more frustrating than fun?

I'm always keen to encourage any new hobbies as it means I feel less guilty about being in the garage working on my motorbikes

Hi.

Short answer- self teaching doesn’t work. However hard you try you will 99% develop bad habits very quickly. Even if she has a handful of initial lessons with a teacher, this will help.

Electric violins- yes, good for neighbours. Nothing like acoustics though, as almost no effort is required to make the sound. Starting on acoustic then using electric is ok, the other way round isn’t.

This is all based on being a professional violinist and violin shop owner. If you want any more advice (or to buy a violin at a good price!), drop me a message.

[srob]

Many thanks to you both for your replies. It sounds like it's not that practical at the moment then, although I could look into the online Zoom type lessons.

The nearest physical lessons I can find are around 35 mins away from home, and as she's usually not home from work until about 7:30pm during the week by the time she got there it would be too late.

I'll have another think, I do think she'd love it but I fear it wouldn't fit in with life at the moment.

Thanks again.

[Arrivalist]

Assuming there’s a teacher near her place of work, could she pop out for a half hour lesson at lunchtime?

Just a thought.

[thebraketester]

The problem with violin and many other instrument's is that the learning curve is extremely steep. Even violinists who have been learning for years can and do sound ropey. Lots of time for dedicated practice is required. It’s not like the guitar where you can learn 4 or 5 chord shapes quite easily and play 90% of the pop music out there.

[MesoForm]

srob said:

Many thanks to you both for your replies. It sounds like it's not that practical at the moment then, although I could look into the online Zoom type lessons.

The nearest physical lessons I can find are around 35 mins away from home, and as she's usually not home from work until about 7:30pm during the week by the time she got there it would be too late.

I'll have another think, I do think she'd love it but I fear it wouldn't fit in with life at the moment.

Thanks again.

Can she find someone to visit her at home? My wife is learning the cello (she already plays violin in a local orchestra) and has a teacher come round for an hour every few weeks.
She wanted a tutor instead of self-learning as she didn't want to pick up bad habits, or in the words of the tutor "look like a violin player playing the cello".

[elise2000]

srob said:

Many thanks to you both for your replies. It sounds like it's not that practical at the moment then, although I could look into the online Zoom type lessons.

The nearest physical lessons I can find are around 35 mins away from home, and as she's usually not home from work until about 7:30pm during the week by the time she got there it would be too late.

I'll have another think, I do think she'd love it but I fear it wouldn't fit in with life at the moment.

Thanks again.

Some teachers will travel to the house, but of course charge more for it. Some may also teach weekends.

[anonymous-user]

As a kid my wife was a high grade piano and flute player but said the violin was the hardest of the lot and got to about grade 4 (I think).

[ATG]

Arrivalist said:

Assuming there’s a teacher near her place of work, could she pop out for a half hour lesson at lunchtime?

Just a thought.

That's a rather good thought. Would be a nice mental reset from work.

[oddman]

srob said:

Many thanks to you both for your replies. It sounds like it's not that practical at the moment then, although I could look into the online Zoom type lessons.

The nearest physical lessons I can find are around 35 mins away from home, and as she's usually not home from work until about 7:30pm during the week by the time she got there it would be too late.

I'll have another think, I do think she'd love it but I fear it wouldn't fit in with life at the moment.

Thanks again.

Learnt violin at school and self taught guitar. Also played a fair amount of Irish folk which I would say to play well you probably need to be grade 5 or better. Children probably take their grades at maybe slightly quicker than one a year but suspect even a dedicated adult couldn't match this. Irish folk is fairy quick in tempo and uses multiple positions (up the neck) so whilst not as challenging as the classical canon is not beginner stuff. Even the slow tunes require really good intoation and technique to avoid the strangled cat effect

Difficulties with violin and why you need a hands on teacher to literally move you are
1) the way you hold the instrument is quite awkward but fundamental to using bow and pressing on strings correctly.
2) making a nice (or perhaps more accurately non offensive) sound using a bow is a level of difficulty and practise above plucking, strumming, closing a valve or striking a key
3) not a fretted instrument so intonation is difficult
4) to sound acceptable most violinists use a degree of vibrato not an easy technique especially the way the instrument is held
5) difficult to see how you could learn violin without learning to read music

Advantages of violin over other instruments
1) Not a fretted instrument -very good for ear training. This is a blessing and a curse if you want to enjoy music.
2) The way it's tuned means that scales fall under your fingers fairly naturally and I find it much easier to play by ear on a violin than a guitar.

Guitar is a bit of a PIA for scales as it's tuned for chordal playing and there's more of a stretch and the gaps between strings aren't regular. Otherwise guitar is much easier to play out of the box. Don't need to read music but it helps.

Might be worth considering a mandolin.
1) It's a folk instrument used in Celtic music and bluegrass
2) It's tuned the same as a violin so can play fiddle tunes on it
3) It's fretted so much more like a guitar to learn
4) I know I would have no hesitation learning mandolin from YT or books.
5) Also comes in a range of sizes so if you can play a mandolin, you can play the other mandolin based instruments.
6) More portable than a guitar.

Similar to mandolin, the banjos used in Irish music are relatively easy to play. 5 string banjos are a bit more challenging.

Edited by oddman on Tuesday 20th August 13:51