Hello readers! Are you intending to learn the violin? As an ‘intermediate’ violin learner, here are 5 frustrations I encountered on the journey.
1. Don’t know where to start
The violin is a difficult instrument, if you can learn by yourself, it’s good. But most of the time, I suggest taking classes.
Your beginner violin should’t be too expensive, the price should range from $100 to $200.
Taking care of the instrument is also essential, after using, you should use a dry cloth to wipe the resin off or it will hardened. Loosen your bow after using, don’t tighten your bow too much, the hair and the bow shouldn’t be parallel or it might snap! Put your violin in the case, don’t put it in a humid place for too long to avoid damaging the strings and wood.
2. Can’t hold the bow, violin properly
Unlike other instruments, the violin is held by using your left cheek and shoulder only. A lot of the times, I used my left hand to hold the violin, as it is very hard to keep the violin in place when you first play. It’s good for beginners, it helps them stabilize the instrument and work on the right hand. But as you move up, you also need to vibrate, which requires your left hand to freely move, so it can’t be holding anything.
And for the right hand ✋, you have to hold a bow. And holding it is freaking complicated. Thumb there, pinky there, not there… My god! I used to cry every time I come to class. It took time to hold you instrument, so now you know how hard it is.
But don’t worry too much though. Relax and breathe is the key to hold the instrument properly. The violin shouldn’t be held too tightly or too loosely. Keeping fixing your posture, look at the mirror, you should be sitting comfortably like normal. Put the right and left hand as instructed. You may suffer neck pain or bruises, that’s when you need to relax your neck, don’t tense 😬.
3. Classical is not my taste
The violin is ment for classical music. Learning the violin, you will have to practice, play a lot of classical music. Personally, classical music is not my cup of tea, but I’m fine playing it. I know a lot of you hate it, if that’s you, don’t worry, you can always play pop or others genre with the violin. But with my experience, playing pop on the violin is pretty boring, some songs, one note is repeatedly played, and that’s boring. Really, you should try classical music.
There are also some modern songs that I find interesting to play:
- Waltz for John and Mary – from Sherlock series
- Who you really are – Sherlock series
- Merry-Go-Round of Life – from Howl’s moving castle
- Voilà – Barbara Pravi
- Tout l’univers – Gjon Tears
You can easily find their music sheets online or you can go to musesore.com
4. Problems reading music scores
Simple scores are quite easy to read, even play it with only hearing (if you are familiar with the violin, and that piece is easy) but with pieces like this:
You should go learn music theory, it will help you to read the score and know the rhythm better. Also, in pieces written for violin like this, there are some Italian words, so…
Even with me, some time I find it hard to navigate on the score ’cause the notes are so tiny. If you use a device to present the score, I suggest using a tablet.
5. It is so hard, I give up
A lot of the time, you just can’t play anything, your hands are tired, your neck is aching… You have practice for so long, but you cannot play a piece. Don’t worry, learning the violin is a life-long journey. Don’t give up, practice at least 1 hour a day, every day. Don’t shy sharing your problems on forums, communities, there are people like you, stressing out with the violin. It’s important to keep motivated, and taking rest is too.
Of course, there are so much more difficulties. But don’t worry, the result worth it.
Half-conscious 