Play the Violin for Beginners
Edited by Toradze, VisiHow, Eng, Doug Collins
- 1 Overview
- 2 The Anatomy of the Violin
- 3 Hold the Violin Correctly
- 4 Hold the Violin Bow Correctly
- 5 Hold the Violin and the Bow Together
- 6 Tune the Violin
- 7 Apply Resin to the Violin Bow
- 8 Learn Basic Violin Finger Positions
- 9 Make a Good Sound on the Violin
- 10 Play Multiple Strings on the Violin
- 11 Comments
Overview
You're watching VisiHow. This is video tutorial series on how to play the violin.
Steps
- 1She is a violinist. For the following 36 videos, we are going to show violin techniques, expressions, dynamics, and bowing. The videos are grouped within three major articles:To the left of me, I have my colleague Tako, who is a student at the Tbilisi State Conservatory.
- "How to Play the Violin (for Beginners)", which is this set of videos;
- "How to Play Scales and Songs on the Violin";
- "How to Practice Advanced Violin Techniques".
- 2There are such tutorials as holding the violin and the bow, trills, fingering, C major scale, fingering at C chromatic scale, and different types of bowing expressions followed by ponticello, col legno, con soletino or mute, con arco, pizzicato, staccato, legato, sul tasto, detache, portato, spiccato, martele, vibrato, tremelo, tuning the violin, understanding the anatomy of the violin, up and down bowing, dynamics from piano to forte, and different sample songs.Our violin videos contain a large number of tutorials.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about any of the following videos, please leave them in the space provided below. Thanks for choosing VisiHow as your source for learning about instruments!
Video: Play the Violin for Beginners Overview
The Anatomy of the Violin
This is a video tutorial on how to understand the anatomy of the violin.
Steps
- 1The violin is made of the upper bout and the lower bout.
- 2On the top, you can see the neck of the violin.
- 3On the very top, you can see the peg box and the scrolls, which serve as the head of the violin.
- 4In the lower part of the violin, you can see the fingerboard, the bridge, and the F-holes.
- 5The strings are laid over the bridge.
- 6They are attached to the bottom side of the violin.Below the bridge, there are the tailpiece and the chin-rest.
- 7It is very important as it gives the full support for the shoulder; otherwise, the violin will fall out of your hand.Behind the tailpiece and the chin-rest, there is the shoulder rest.
- 8The F-holes develop the resonance of sound.
- 9When you play these notes, the vibration from the strings enters the F-holes and gives the sound a very beautiful acoustic tone.
This has been a video tutorial on how to understand the anatomy of the violin. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about understanding the anatomy of the violin, please leave them in the space provided below.
Video: Play the Violin for Beginners The Anatomy of the Violin
Hold the Violin Correctly
This is a video tutorial on how to hold the violin correctly.
Steps
- 1In order to hold the violin, first you must ease your hand, your wrist, and your shoulder.
- 2At this point, bend your elbow to an angle and turn your fingers to point directly at our eyes. The fingers should be parallel with one another as if you are holding an apple, which is directed at your face. You are about to eat the apple, but you, of course, do not.Remember that everything should be completely relaxed and free.
- 3You should tilt your head a little and be careful not to press your chin down too hard on the chin rest.Place the violin against your chin.
- 4Your whole arm should be relaxed.Your left hand should be at ease and facing down.
- 5You must place your fingers like you are holding that apple that you have had at your face. You fingers should not be pressing on the handle. They should be relaxed.Then, lift up your hand and place your fingers on the violin.
- 6You must feel as if there is a little window between your fingers to create a proper hand position.
- 7Then, place your fingers on each string.
- 8We will do it as an exercise a couple of times just to master this basic technique.This is how we practice it.
This has been a video tutorial on how to hold the violin correctly. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about holding the violin correctly, please leave them in the space provided below.
Video: Play the Violin for Beginners Hold the Violin Correctly
Hold the Violin Bow Correctly
You're watching VisiHow. This is a video tutorial on how to hold the violin bow properly.
Steps
- 1Once we hold the bow, the thumb and the second finger should be joined together in this position, forming a ring.The right hand must be relaxed and at ease.
- 2The thumb must be placed at the bottom of the bow as you place the second finger on top of the thumb on the bow creating a ring with the thumb.
- 3Then, you place the first and the third fingers down.
- 4The fourth finger must always be firmly placed in line with the other fingers to create the balance between the first and the fourth fingers.
- 5You can do different types of exercises to learn to hold the bow properly.
- 6Remember that the bow should be well balanced as the fingers should be parallel with one another.
This has been a video tutorial on how to hold the violin bow properly. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about holding the violin properly, please leave them in the space provided below.
Video: Play the Violin for Beginners Hold the Violin Bow Correctly
Hold the Violin and the Bow Together
You're watching VisiHow. This is a video tutorial on how to hold the violin and the violin bow together.
Steps
- 1Once you place the violin on your shoulder, tilt your head a little and note that you should not press down too hard on the chin rest, as it will cause discomfort after a while.
- 2Once you place the bow on the string, the bow must be between the fingerboard and the bridge.
- 3This is known as "con arco".
- 4The left wrist should assume a curled position upon the strings.The arm must be bent at a 90-degree angle.
- 5The bow must remain straight in order to maintain its optimal level of performance.The most important thing is that the bow doesn't wave or bend in any direction than parallel to the violin itself.
This has been a video tutorial on how to hold the violin and the violin bow together. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about holding the violin and the violin bow together, please leave them in the space provided below.
Video: Play the Violin for Beginners Hold the Violin and the Bow Together
Tune the Violin
You're watching VisiHow. This is a video tutorial on how to tune the violin.
Steps
- 1Tune the violin using the tuning pegs located on the head of the violin.
- 2The lower tuning pegs are know as fine tuners and they are used to tune half steps.The upper tuning pegs are used for whole tones as well as half tones.
- 3When you tune the peg up, a string gets a higher tone and becomes sharper.When you tune tuning pegs down, the string gets a lower tone (it gets flatter).
- 4The left side includes D (re) and G (sol).The right side of the tune pegs includes A (la) and E (mi).
- 5The fine tuners basically help tune the violin a lot better, like in the example in the video.
- 6In this video, the violin is placed on the shoulder; and the fine tuners are used.Please watch closely.
- 7You may need to tune it up to get a higher key.When you turn a tuner to the right, you get a lower key.
- 8Check if they are in tune. In this video, the violin is in tune.The rest of the strings are tuned the same way.
This has been a video tutorial on how to tune the violin. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about tuning the violin, please leave them in the space below.
Video: Play the Violin for Beginners Tune the Violin
Apply Resin to the Violin Bow
You're watching VisiHow. This is a video tutorial on how to apply resin to the violin bow.
Steps
- 1The bow is composed of the frog, where the fingers are placed.
- 2Another component is the head, which is the end of the bow.
- 3The hairs of the bow, also known as a ribbon, stretch from the bottom to the top.
- 4The hairs are loosened or tightened by the bottom screw.
- 5Otherwise, the bow will have a different form and will not produce a great sound.Remember that the screw should not be too tight.
- 6All bows have a slight curvature in the ribbon for playing.
- 7Then, it will play very smoothly.You must apply resin to the ribbon in order to lubricate it.
- 8Begin using the resin from the bottom all the way to the top.
- 9You need to apply resin to all parts of the bow as it helps lubricate and protect the ribbon from damage.
- 10When taking care of the bow, you should resinate every time you play to avoid damaging the ribbon.The resin helps create a smoother sound when playing the violin.
This has been a video tutorial on how to apply resin to the violin bow. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about how to apply resin to the bow and help protect the ribbon, please leave them in the space below.
Video: Play the Violin for Beginners Apply Resin to the Violin Bow
Learn Basic Violin Finger Positions
You're watching VisiHow. This is a video tutorial on basic violin finger positions.
Steps
- 1The basic ones include from the first to the eighth positions because getting up to the highest notes is very difficult.Note that there are fifteen violin finger positions including all of the half tones.
- 2Position changes depending upon the finger placement (in the particular example in the video, upon the notes we will be currently playing).Most of the arrangements are written from the first to the eighth positions.
- 3Once you begin, you must place the finger on a note that you want to play, because it is very difficult to begin playing first and then placing your finger on the note.
- 4Please follow the example in the video to help you play the first to the eighth positions.Then, you must change the note with the slide technique.
- 5You must place your finger very firmly and be sure of the note you are taking when you are playing it.Now, go back and use the same technique.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about basic violin finger positions, leave them in the space provided below.
Video: Play the Violin for Beginners Learn Basic Violin Finger Positions
Make a Good Sound on the Violin
You're watching VisiHow. This is a video tutorial on how to make a good sound on the violin.
Steps
- 1You should not press the bow down too hard, or your playing will sound bad, like in the example in the video.In order to get a decent sound on the violin, you must have excellent bowing technique.
- 2Your playing should be soft and light for a good sound. Your hand should be at ease and flexible. It should not be stiff.Remember that pressing on the bow too hard interferes with the sound.
This has been a video tutorial on how to make a good sound on the violin. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about making a good sound on the violin, please leave them in the space provided below.
Video: Play the Violin for Beginners Make a Good Sound on the Violin
Play Multiple Strings on the Violin
You're watching VisiHow. This is a video tutorial on how to play multiple strings at the same on the violin.
Steps
- 1The bow must touch every single string at the same time. When you want to play different notes, the same process is necessary. First, try out the note that you want to play; then, the second note; and then, play both at the same time. Let us play an example. This is how you play two notes at the same time.You can play two to four notes at the same time on the violin, but this mostly depends on the bow.
- 2The first string is played in the video.Let us play each of the notes separately so that you can get the feel for each one of these notes.
- 3The second string is played in the video.
- 4Both strings are played in the video.
- 5In this situation, you have to bend the bow in order for the bow to strike the three notes. First, put your fingers in the position and try out the notes like in the following example. Then, play all of them at once.You can also play three notes at the same time.
- 6You must never start playing your notes from the very bottom of your bow; otherwise, you will mess up the notes.For the first two notes, you must place your bow at its bottom (at your hand).
- 7The same process is necessary for four notes, as you did previously in case of three notes. The four strings split into two parts: the first two strings and the last two strings. It should not sound like the example in the video.Play the first two notes and harmonize the third to create a chord.
- 8The first two strings must sound a little shorter than the last two strings but must be equally as musical as the last two notes.
- 9If you don't do this correctly, you will run out of bow movement.The last two notes are played with a longer part of the bow to fill all four notes together.
This has been a video tutorial on how to play multiple strings on the violin. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about playing multiple strings on the violin, please leave them in the space provided below.
Video: Play the Violin for Beginners Play Multiple Strings on the Violin
If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.
Comments
Article Info
Categories : Music
Recent edits by: Eng, VisiHow, Toradze
