How long does it take ...?

[Kath]

Hi!

How long does it take to learn play violin properly - without those bad tones?

I have played just a few months so I have quite bad days - quite often still ...

But I just would like to know how long has it taken to play better?

Kath who is practising very hard

[Kath]

Andy,

in fact I have done that - and in fact when I play the scale before starting the "real playing" I get the better result!! And not so much those awful tones

I was just curious to know how quickly beginners learn to play quite well

Thanks for advice! It is just most difficult to try to play the scale first, I just would like to rush to piece and start practising it

Kath

[Toscha]

Kath: Improvement varies enormously between people. Some people progress at such a speed that they will be playing Mozart concerto in a few years. More "normal" ones will take a bit longer, and the slow ones will progress at agonizingly slow pace.

Several factors can be considered about the progress. It can depend on how much and efficiently you practice, how much you follow your teacher's advice, how good of a teacher your instructor is, how dedicated you are towards violin playing, and lastly, how much of affinity you have towards violin playing.

I don't like to talk about the last issue too much, but it does play a part of the game, because if that does not count at all, you will guarranteed to become a next Heifetz or Perlman, as long as you get a particular teacher, practice X number of hours for a certain duration of years etc. The history tells us otherwise, right?

But please don't get discouraged by my comment! As long as you enjoy playing the violin and the sound you produce makes you happy, isn't that the most important thing? I have known some professional players who do not particularly like playing their instrument, although they play well.

So, happy practicing! Don't compare yourself with others. Enjoy your progress and playing your violin. That is the most important thing.

Best wishes,

Toscha

[C.B.Fiddler]

Kath,

Run out and get "Leopold Auer Graded Book of violin playing." The entire book deals with just open strings and tone production. Commonly, students are thrusted into playing violin with too many new techniques to learn at the same time, allowing alot of bad habits to evolve ie. while looking at your fingers - bow hand locks up. while fixing your bow hand - your left wrist comes up to the neck etc.

I would just worry about getting a beautiful tone from open strings using diffrent combinations of slurs and rhythms.

Good Luck!

[Kath]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Toscha:

Kath:

But please don't get discouraged by my comment! As long as you enjoy playing the violin and the sound you produce makes you happy, isn't that the most important thing? I have known some professional players who do not particularly like playing their instrument, although they play well.

So, happy practicing! Don't compare yourself with others. Enjoy your progress and playing your violin. That is the most important thing.

Best wishes,

Toscha

---

Toscha; no, I am not getting discouraged by your comment!! I love violin playing - it is not so easy all the time (but what new thing is really easy all the time?? ) but anyway enjoy it.

Although every tone is not perfect, it is not so dangerous. Some day I can do it!

I have decided to learn to play violin as well that I can join at least city orchestra some day.

So nothing can not stop me practising, practising and practising!!

I have encouraging, nice and talented teacher, she has done long career as violin teacher. And I think I have learnt quite many things when I have been her student.

So I think I have quite good possibilities to learn to play well - I just have to work for it.

Thanks for great comments!!

Kath

[SuzanneL]

Once, I read that it takes 10 years just to learn to play badly - heh, not always true, but sometimes fun to tell people.

[Todd French]

Kathy,

Just remember, even we professional string players find ourselves disgusted by our playing every once in a while (for me, more often than I used to since I haven't kept my practicing up!). The ear develops faster than the hands, so you can always be your own worst critic, but there will be a time where you can actually listen to yourself and really, putting aside the piddly details, really enjoy your playing. Self-criticism happens to ALL of us - I remember Ian Swenson (grand prize winner of Queen Elizabeth competition) who was with me at a music festival. He couldn't find a practice room so he decided to use mine for a while. He asked me to come in and listen to him, telling him "honestly" whether or not I thought he sounded "horrible" Can you imagine? His playing is absolutely exquisite and for him to put himself down like that seemed to me simply preposterous, while to him it was only natural!

[Andrew Victor]

Kath,

Do you play the scale of the key of the piece you are working on, before you start the piece? It's a good idea to do that, so your hands learn where the notes are. And play it until you get the whole thing (at least one octave) correct to your own ears. Start with a whole bow for each note - so you can train your ears to "remember" the last note and the relationship between the successive notes. Also the whole bows give you a chance to adjust a finger to fix the intonation while you are playing the scale.

Next arpeggios in the key.

Andy

[This message has been edited by Andrew Victor (edited 05-08-2000).]

[acacio]

quote:

---

Originally posted by C.B.Fiddler:

Kath,

Run out and get "Leopold Auer Graded Book of violin playing." The entire book deals with just open strings and tone production. Commonly, students are thrusted into playing violin with too many new techniques to learn at the same time, allowing alot of bad habits to evolve ie. while looking at your fingers - bow hand locks up. while fixing your bow hand - your left wrist comes up to the neck etc.

I would just worry about getting a beautiful tone from open strings using diffrent combinations of slurs and rhythms.

Good Luck!

---

Do you know where I can find this book?

Thanks,

Acacio.

[rainyann]

CB Fiddler....

Barnes and Noble has "Graded Course of Violin, part 1". Is that the book? They also have "Violin Playing As I Teach It" both by Auer. Do you recommend those for beginners? Thanks for the info.

Renee

[Theresa]

Kath: There are a lot of students who qualify for Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra (a really good youth orchestra) by the time they're in 9th or 10th grade. These are kids who've actually started strings as late as 6th grade.

They're talented kids who've done some work--so with effort and ability, some of them make it in three to four years. And this orchestra plays from the standard orchestra repertoire.

(There's also a lot of kids who started much, much earlier, but I thought you'd be more interested in the ones who started later and still moved along pretty quickly--just to demonstrate that it is possible to move along pretty quickly with said effort and ability. I think they all study privately, by the way.)

I have Auer's book on violin playing as he teaches it, and think it's a great book to have in one's library. He has a very austere face--very intimidating--on the cover. I would have enjoyed seeing his bright side!!

Respectfully,

Theresa