How To Play A Violin - The Basics - By: Ned Dagostino

If you've always desired to learn how to play the violin, you can. Don't let your age keep you from learning. True it's better to learn while young, but people of all ages can master this beautiful instrument.

The first thing you need to do is pick out a good instrument. Violins are costly but you do not have to spend more than necessary. There are plenty of good used violins on the market. And pre-owned instruments frequently sound as good or better than a new one.

Next find a decent instructor you can take personal lessons from, or you might know of a relation or friend who plays the instrument that could start you off.

Lesson one will be how to properly hold the violin. If it's uncomfortable you might give up before you get started, or worse yet, you might even pick up a stress injury. To hold the violin properly, you put your left arm below the body of the instrument and then hold the neck of the instrument with your left hand, curling your fingers above the neck as you do so. The effect will have your fingers and hand over the strings and the chin rest needs to be between your chin and left shoulder. You should use your right hand to bow or pluck the strings while holding the bow in that hand.

Once you've learned to hold the violin properly, you can begin to learn how to finger notes on the violin. Unlike guitars, violins don't have frets. That means you will have to recognize by ear where every note is on the fretboard.

For this, you will want to identify 4 locations on your instrument. The number 1 position is situated the furthest away from your face and delivers low pitched notes. Closer to your face and furthest up the neck will produce the highest notes. That is the fourth position. Each string on the violin is tuned to a specific note from lowest to highest. The strings are tuned at G, D, A, and E as "open" strings, when there are no fingers putting pressure on the strings when you play. Setting your fingers on the fretboard in other positions allows you to play other notes.

You play notes either by plucking them (called "pizzicato") or by drawing the bow across the strings in a lengthy even stroke.

Studying to read music notes will be the next item on your schedule. If you do not know how to read music before you learn how to play, you can start out by learning music in a more introductory manner either by taking classes, having somebody practiced in music teach you, or reading on your own to a certain degree by getting online and looking for various tutorials. Then obtain some quality violin sheet music prepared for beginners and you're all set.

About the Author

If you don't have the time to travel to lessons, you can study how to play the violin online. At Discount Violins we'll show you where to pick up a great online course of instruction. We will also show you where to find terrific bargains on instruments whether you are a novice or an expert musician.

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