By Ken WilsonA violin can be an intimidating musical instrument – it’s beautiful to look at and listen to but a violin requires an extraordinary amount of education and discipline to be played properly.
If you’re thinking of taking violin lessons but feel anxious about it, familiarize yourself with the instrument. Here’s an introduction to the art of playing the violin.
As you probably know, a violinist rests his or her chin and left shoulder on the conveniently named “shoulder rest” of the violin and sounds the instrument by plucking the strings and/or drawing a bow across them.
One reason a violin is so much more difficult to play than a guitar or other stringed instrument, is there are no frets. A violinist must finger a string ever so precisely.
A violin player uses his or her left hand to pluck the strings; beginners might want to put pieces of tape on the instrument to show where notes are located, so they can place their fingers in the correct spots.
Moreover, for purposes of learning proper hand placement, a person’s index finger is labeled “1,” and his or her pinky finger is as expected, “4” – in most instructional booklets, the notes to be played are accompanied by numbers for suggested fingering.
There are then various positions of your left hand that you will learn; you will most likely start at first position.
But what do you use your right hand for? And what about the bow? Basically, your left hand creates the pitches, while your right hand or bow is responsible for the tone, rhythm, dynamics, and articulation of the music.
Once you understand how to read violin music, you can then learn all sorts of ways to pluck the strings, as well as multiple bowing techniques. Soon enough you’ll be ready to experiment with the different styles of music, like classical, jazz, and folk (or fiddling).
Learning to play the violin is a rewarding hobby. Lots of people can play the piano, and even more can play the guitar. But how many people can say they are a violinist?
Ken Wilson for http://www.violin-resource.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ken_Wilson
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Sunday, March 2, 2008
Free Online Violin Lessons
By Leah Megiel Have you always dreamed of learning how to play the violin? I know there are many things that could be stopping you from learning, not the least of which could be time and money!
It is now easier than ever to learning how to play the violin with free online violin lessons. It is incredible to realize that virtually for free, you can pursue you dream of learning how to play the violin.
Many web sites are available that will provide free lessons. The first thing you should do is research. Different sites and teachers have different styles so as you are researching potential sites, make note of what you like and dislike about each site.
These notes will help you decide on a winner after you have completed your research. The greatest thing about this is you are able to choose what fits your learning style best.
Another benefit of free online violin lessons, is that you can practice as much or as little as you like. Remember how the time factor was keeping you from pursuing violin lessons? Well now there are no timed lessons so practice time can be fit into your schedule any way you like.
Use whatever works for you, but still allows you to learn and grow. This may be one of the biggest advantages of online violin lessons in addition to not having to drive to a lesson, now you can take the lesson any time of the day.
Because the online lessons have no maximum time limit, you can easily review whatever you want to, as many times as necessary until you master that skill. Because you have no one watching over your should, you can feel free to practice any skill you like for as long as you like. With online lessons, you are free to move at your own pace, you can learn as fast or as slow as you want and you have total control.
A lot of the time, the cost of violin lessons keeps many from pursuing the violin. Violin lessons can be expensive and often people, especially those with a family to care for, find it cost prohibitive. But now, with online course and many of them are free online violin lessons, you have the opportunity to at least find out if you enjoy play.
You may even find that if you give it a try you can decide if you like it enough to look for a violin teacher in your area.
Leah is a Mom and proud owner of http://www.student-violins.com, a place for parents of student violinists.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Leah_Megiel
It is now easier than ever to learning how to play the violin with free online violin lessons. It is incredible to realize that virtually for free, you can pursue you dream of learning how to play the violin.
Many web sites are available that will provide free lessons. The first thing you should do is research. Different sites and teachers have different styles so as you are researching potential sites, make note of what you like and dislike about each site.
These notes will help you decide on a winner after you have completed your research. The greatest thing about this is you are able to choose what fits your learning style best.
Another benefit of free online violin lessons, is that you can practice as much or as little as you like. Remember how the time factor was keeping you from pursuing violin lessons? Well now there are no timed lessons so practice time can be fit into your schedule any way you like.
Use whatever works for you, but still allows you to learn and grow. This may be one of the biggest advantages of online violin lessons in addition to not having to drive to a lesson, now you can take the lesson any time of the day.
Because the online lessons have no maximum time limit, you can easily review whatever you want to, as many times as necessary until you master that skill. Because you have no one watching over your should, you can feel free to practice any skill you like for as long as you like. With online lessons, you are free to move at your own pace, you can learn as fast or as slow as you want and you have total control.
A lot of the time, the cost of violin lessons keeps many from pursuing the violin. Violin lessons can be expensive and often people, especially those with a family to care for, find it cost prohibitive. But now, with online course and many of them are free online violin lessons, you have the opportunity to at least find out if you enjoy play.
You may even find that if you give it a try you can decide if you like it enough to look for a violin teacher in your area.
Leah is a Mom and proud owner of http://www.student-violins.com, a place for parents of student violinists.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Leah_Megiel
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