Learning violin if I already play guitar?
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 at
4:22 pm
I got this nice violin sitting in it’s case collecting dust that my sister used to play. I already play guitar and wanna pick up violin.
How would my guitar skills effect violin; such as finger strength, chord shapes, and the like?
I’ve heard that an orchestra teacher from a friend of mine said that violin would be easy to learn for guitar players.
Use it as a weapon in your raid on downtown LA.
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Filed under: learning violin
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Pretty much any instrument is easier to pick up once you’ve learned another because you already are familiar with chords, reading music, etc. For example, I played piano for a long time, viola for a short time, and had a really easy time picking up guitar. I’m sure your guitar skills will prove useful in learning the violin. Good luck!
References :
It’s been a long time but, I believe that the first four strings of the guitar are the same as the four strings of the violin.
Chords are not played on the violin as far as I know.
The big change is the lack of frets means you have to remember where the note is.
References :
First of all, the string set is exactly opposite of the bottom four strings of your guitar. E – A – D – G <> G – D – A – E which means that you will be in perfect fifths instead of perfect fourths.
Second, you will be putting your fingers exactly where the frets would be if your instrument was fretted. I would go to that orchestra teacher and ask him or her to put tapes on your instrument for the first few months that you play. It will give you some idea as to where your fingers go until your ear and muscle memory take over.
Third, your watchword will be perpendicular, or straight across. Your fingers will not go straight across perfectly, but try to get them as straight as you can. You bow should go in the middle between where the bridge and the fingerboard is. Start with long straight bows and long full tones. don’t be afraid to more your fingers a bit if the sound isn’t quite right.
Finally, in order to sound good, you must first be willing to sound really bad. Violin is not easy for anyone. It is a challenging instrument and it is very finicky, meticulous, and quixotic. You will get to the point where it sounds decent and the next time you pick it up you will feel like you are starting all over again. It’s a lot like falling in love that way.
Get together with other players, take lessons if you have the time and the resources, go to websites like:
http://www.stringskills.com/
http://www.violinonline.com/violinbasics.htm
http://www.theviolincase.com/index.shtml
http://www.theviolincase.com/music/freeviolinsheetmusic.htm
http://www.fortunecity.com/greenfield/panda/13/mmst/less1.htm
http://www.expertvillage.com/video-series/503_beginner-violin.htm
I hope this gets you started. If you have further questions, don’t be afraid to give me a shout and I will do what I can. Remember, it’s more important to play every day than to play for hours a day. We only practice on days that end with a "Y" and we only play on days that we eat! Feed the body, feed the mind, feed the soul!
The most important thing to do is to find something you genuinely love to do with the Violin. If you are not getting some joy out of it, it’s just a chore. Most of us have enough chores already.
References :
I play both, though I did it the other way round – started violin then took up guitar. Yes, your hard fingertips will help you to push the strings down although you have to remember that you are making the note not using a fret, so your positioning has to be spot on. You don’t really play chords much except for 2 note ones, but yes, it will definitely be worth doing.
Hope this helps
References :
Guitarist for over 45years. fiddler for around 30 having gone back to it after giving it up
Use it as a weapon in your raid on downtown LA.
References :
Personal Experience