Learning violin?!
Question: when i was young, i rly wanted to learn to play a musical instrument so i picked up a violin but the thing was my parents (especially my father) were very unsupportive for ex. they wouldn't give me a tutor, wouldn't let me practice in the house and they wouldn't even come to my school concerts...
it was very depressing so i just quit, but now i feel like taking it up again! im currently sixteen but idk what to do but i'd like to know if there was a way i could learn the violin by myself??? like practice with music or sumtin idk ne suggestions guys?
Answers: when i was young, i rly wanted to learn to play a musical instrument so i picked up a violin but the thing was my parents (especially my father) were very unsupportive for ex. they wouldn't give me a tutor, wouldn't let me practice in the house and they wouldn't even come to my school concerts...
it was very depressing so i just quit, but now i feel like taking it up again! im currently sixteen but idk what to do but i'd like to know if there was a way i could learn the violin by myself??? like practice with music or sumtin idk ne suggestions guys?
Wow, I think it's really impressive that you're willing to try and learn how to play an instrument on your own. I've always found that encouragement (from any source: parents, friends, teacher, my neighbors when I was living in an apartment) was critical in helping me persevere through times when I was not making any progress and motivating me to try harder.
But never mind that...if you're determined to stick with it, things will work out.
And, just out of curiosity, where are you at in terms of level of playing? It's kind of difficult for me to figure it out from your question...if you've played at school concerts, you must be able to read music and play in tune, yes? (which, if you've learned without a teacher, is pretty darn amazing) What is the most difficult piece you've played?
But what you should think about now is where you want to go with this. Do you just want to reach a "moderate" level where you can play most melodies? I'm talking about those tunes you can just hum along to. I personally like playing melodies from random pieces in any genre, such as movie soundtrack, rock, pop...even metal! (....on a side note, there is an awesome violin-cello-drum string metal group I'm a fan of. hehe) If it'll end here, all you need are recordings, time and patience, and, if you get tired out by playing by ear, maybe some sheet music salvaged from online. You can easily do this by yourself. You sit down with the violin, listen to a 10 second segment of a song, try to imitate it (rewind, play, pause...rewind, play, pause...jot down notes if you need to), and learn it by ear.
Now, I've been playing for about 9 years in the classical vein. I don't know if that's what you want to do (maybe you can clarify for me?) I can tell you right now that trying to learn classical violin on your own is going to be very, very frustrating. Not only are there techniques that's impossible to learn through books (like vibratos. took me months to get it right...ugh.), but with a teacher, you'll get invaluable advice on tone, pitch, what you're doing wrong...etc that would take you many times longer to figure out on your own. For instance, I'm trying to learn Irish fiddling on my own right now, and I can tell there's something I'm doing wrong with the playing style, but I don't have someone to tell me exactly what I can do to fix it. So, I'm probably going to be experimenting for the next couple months, trying to figure it out on my own. But I think playing classical violin has been the best thing for me, however, because I love being in a symphony orchestra and in small string ensembles. There's a thrill in playing these insanely difficult pieces and making it sound really good...:) And it's opened a lot of doors in my high school years.
But, really, where do YOU want to go with the violin?
(Feel free to email me for further correspondence if you wish~)
some non-specific advice: find a violin-playing friend (of maybe 5+ years of experience...?) or a mentor. You guys can hang out, play songs together, you can go to their place or anywhere else since you can't play at home...
you could go buy a book on how to play the violin or get in orchestra at your school
Hi, from one Brian/violinist to another. LOL
The violin is very difficult to teach yourself. Here is a website that you might find useful. Click and watch the videos :
http://violinmasterclass.com/mc_menu.php
You really do need a a teacher. Do you know anybody at school that could teach you ? Even somebody who has been playing for 5 years is better than nothing.
Could you afford to hire a teacher yourself ? They usually cost about $25 per 30 minute lesson.
Continue to look for somebody to help you but in the meantime I hope that website is of some use to you. I have found it extremely helpful.