I've wanted to play the violin for a while, but I was going to wait until I left school so I could 'casually' teach myself (I'm in year 11 at the moment). But since going to see the Johann Strauss gala last night I've suddenly become really excited about learning now!!

One problem - my mum hates the violin ( ) and says that I can play the violin but I'm not allowed to practise at home!! Obviously this would be impossible...I plan to practise before she comes home from work until I can persuade her to like it!!

So anyway, I've never ever even held a violin before, so I don't know if I'll like playing it (or be able to - as the piano will still be my main instrument so I won't have as long to practise)...so I think it's not wise to just go out and buy one...

...my music teacher at school is going to look for a spare violin which may be hidden within the depths of the music cupboards so that I could try it out. But saying she can't find one, do you think it's silly for me to just go and buy one without seeing if I have any potential first?

Also, do you think it might be too ambitious for me to attempt teaching myself?

Here's a violin I was looking at from Dawsons...I'm looking at the cheapest one, so it's not too much of a distaster if I didn't like playing after a few weeks or so!!! Does anyone have any views on it??!!

Click here for the violin



Thanks in advance for any advice

Can't you try a friend's (at the friend's house )? Just to make sure you can get your hand/arm/head round it. Though it is unlikely you would have any problems at your age.

Other people can advise you on the Stentor. But it is probably pretty basic. Whereas if, having tried a friend's, you think you definitely want to go ahead, you could spend a little more on something better. There have been references to very good chinese ones going recent amazingly cheaply.
I think this is an ebay seller - in this case the outfit, including case and bow, was £130.

Whatever cheap instrument you get be prepared to change the horrible strings they usually put on.

My mum hated violin too and for years never let me get one.
Then last July when i earnt £100 for playing flute in a concert, she said 'yep, you can spend it on ABSOLUTELY anything you want' So i went and bought a violin
I taught myself for the first 2 months and when i got a teacher she said i could easily take grade 4 so it's defo doable to teach yourself a bit but atleast try get some lessons as you'll pick up bad habits teaching yourself.
I started off on a stentor 2... which is an ok basic student violin. That cost me £70 or £80 i think it was... from normans.co.uk. My friend has the stentor student violin you gave the link to and i was SO surprised to see that that's what it was. It looked and felt MUCH nicer than the stentor 2 i used to have. I'm not sure if she'd changed the tailpiece and stuff though... but it was an ok violin =] I'd say that's a good one to start on especially as you don't know if you're gonna carry it on and stuff.

Good luck =]]] + have fun violinning!

Definitely try to have a go on one before buying, and get someone to show you how to hold everything properly, or you'll probably get into bad habits.
If you like the feel of it and you've got a good ear, you should be able to get a reasonable way by yourself after that.

Have fun,
T.

Why don't you try renting a fiddle for a while? It's not very expensive and if you don't like it you won't have lost anything - if you do, many places will give you a discount off the purchase price if you have been renting.

Try local violin makers rather than music shops, though.

Allan

Think it might be best to get some basic lessons... If you develop bad habits (grips, bowing/fingering techniques etc.) it can be pretty hard to change them.

My music teacher plays the violin, so perhaps it would be enough just to ask her for a little help once or twice after school to begin with. I'll see what she says.



Oh that's a good idea - I'll look into it, thanks.

It's not just best, it's essential! You just can't learn without a good teacher, unless you already play a very similar instrument, and even then, I'd still get some help.

Have you considered viola instead? It's very like violin in many ways, but much deeper and more mellow. Many who can't bear violin high notes, (like me, for example), love viola. Your mum might go for that instead and, as a much more rarely learned instrument, you'd find yourself in demand when you get to a decent standard.

Some people I know who wanted to try the violin, got a really cheap one from one of these converter shops, where you could pick up a very cheap one, when they decided it wasn't for them, they just sold it back to the shop. That might be an option if you are currently unsure but you would need to get it looked at it by someone who knows what they're doing.

I use a violin mute when I play at home so as not to disturb Mr Blackbird. I think I sound loud but apparently Mr Blackbird says he can't hear a thing and doesn't even realise I've been playing, so a mute might be an option for you?

As I've said in another thread, I cannot recommend getting a teacher strongly enough, they will really help you with getting correct technique, intonation etc, bad habits are really hard to undo. You can use books and dvds to supplement your lessons but nothing beats a good teacher to get you on your way.

Hope you have fun with the violin.

There's a fair chance that the fact they gave up was related to the most likely unplayable violin shaped object they bought, though. I've looked in these places at times when I've seen a fiddle in the window and they really are horrific - bridges on backwards, tin strings, warped necks - horrid things. Cheap fiddles are best avoided, I think - reasonably priced beginner's outfits can be found nowadays so it's best to avoid these cash convertor type places, I think - what I've seen in there are really bad, old sylark models that were produced in China before the Chinese violin industry took off - they're really nothing more than ornaments that look a bit like violins.

You might get lucky of course, but it's unlikely and violin is tricky enough when you're starting out that you need to at least have a reasonable instrument to play on. Give yourself a fighting chance!

Allan