Q&A for How to Play a Violin As a Beginner

Use a measuring tape or stick, and measure from the side of your neck, along your extended arm, to the middle of your palm (face up). You can look up a violin size chart to determine which size you need, based on your arm length.

It certainly is. Practice regularly and push yourself to learn new, more challenging music each time you plateau at an easier level. Attend all of your lessons and ask the teacher for advice on improving, and be sure to act on that. The absolute key is practice, and plenty of it.

Colored violins are okay for practice or for personal time. Most orchestras will be reluctant to have your colors violin, however, because it will stand out among the others and cause a distraction.

Yes. However, a teacher is recommended. If you are insistent on teaching yourself, purchase a workbook.

Call a music store, or a place that repairs them. Describe the damage, or bring it in. If it's repairable, compare the repair price to the price of a new one. If repairs are more expensive, purchase a new violin. If they are cheaper or your violin is sentimental to you, get the repairs.

It depends on your arm length; they are usually determined by the violinist's age. If the violin suits your arm length, you can use it. If it is too long/short, you will need to buy a smaller/larger one.

You should be just about able to curl your hand around the scroll, or the top part. If you are going to grow a lot more and you don't already have a full size, use caution in buying a violin. It can be a considerable expense to buy a small violin and then switch to a full size later.

They have more of a rock sound, are much louder than acoustic ones and can be used with effects like distortion and delay.

You must be putting your fingers on the strings or playing fourth finger because your fingers are holding the strings down to make noise.

I've had mine for three weeks and I can play only two songs. Not quite Lindsey Stirling, but I'm making music.

The notes of the strings on a violin are named E,A,D,G, from right to left.

The bow should not be curving at all. If you notice a curve in the wood, that means the hair tension is too high, and you should loosen your bow. The space between the bow hair and the stick should be index finger width at most.

Make sure the bow isn't drifting around on the strings or too close to the bridge. It should be about centered between the bridge and fingerboard.

It is never too late to learn. If you already play two instruments it will probably come easier to you since you have a musical background.

Yes it is possible to learn without a teacher, but a teacher is recommended.

It can get hard at times, but it's worth it. The more you practice and stick with it, the easier it will become to learn new things.

A private teacher is still recommended. Even in an orchestra, the conductor's main focus is more on the group rather than the individual. A professional one-on-one instructor is advised for students of all levels so you can grow individually as a student and move higher up in your orchestra.

Practice, practice, practice. If you can afford it, start taking lessons. If you can't, purchase a workbook. I recommend Sound Innovations:Violin, Book 1. Even if you can get a teacher, still get the workbook for private time.

Yes, you can.

You can teach them by giving them music lesson books. I recommend Essential Elements 2000 for Strings.

I hold mine with my thumb and index finger at the black rubber piece, with the screw thing touching my hand, and the rest of my fingers a bit below. I think the last part is mostly personal preference, so try to figure out what works the best for you.

You simply let your fingers vibrate on the strings. You can also push your finger up and down very lightly. You should have 5+ years of experience before you start learning vibrato.

You will use many of the same techniques (like holding the viola/violin and holding the bow), but the strings and notes are not the same, because the violin and viola, although similar in appearance, are two different instruments.

Start with the open strings, which are E-A-D-G. Starting from any of those notes, see if you can work out where a whole step, half step, three half steps, etc. are relative to the open string. Your teacher will probably help you with this.

Search 'violin lessons near me' in Google to find a teacher close to you.

Make sure not to push down on the strings too hard. Keep your fingers on the correct strings. Make sure the strings are in tune. Keep the bow not to close to the bridge, and not to close to the fingerboard. Posture! There are many ways to keep your violin from squeaking. Other ways can be found on YouTube, and other websites, but those are the 5 main things that keep your instrument from squeaking.

The thickest string is the "G" string. In first position, you can play from G, A, B, and C.

Turn the violin upside down, then flip it so that the bridge is pointing out from you. Then, sit down and hold the violin with your thighs. Grab your shoulder rest (that’s what it’s called) and turn it so that the indented part is on the left side, then slide it down the bottom (now top) of the violin.

If the intonation is off, try tuning the violin. If you mean the sound quality is strange, maybe your fingers aren't pressing down hard enough on the strings. Also, make sure your bow is in the correct place and is being pressed down hard enough on the strings.

A decent student violin currently costs about £150 GBP. Better violins for amateur players cost about £500 GBP plus. Violins for professional players can cost thousands of pounds.