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Thank you for all that  Yeah it's full size 4/4 violin, and I'm not like massive (5'9" or like that) but it's more transitioning from guitar and piano to violin is just a bit of a trip haha.I bought it from a well respected store who went through all the care and maintenance stuff I needed to do and it does feel fun to play, I think the sound is largely because, well, I just started learning. I also have a scheduled appointment next month for a free service to make sure everything is going well, which is cool. Now that Christmas is over I'm going to be getting an actual teacher. Luckily living a couple minutes away from a university with a music school and a lot of music postgrads who need money helps there. I don't have any goal except "make fun sounds" and it's been a lot of fun learning and slowly improving. It'll be a long, long journey but then again every instrument is really. Viola seems fun as well, but so does saxophone and a tonne of other instruments, so I'm trying to focus and get at least decent with what I have right now lol
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Jan 8, 2024 04:55
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Totally understand. I have a bias towards string instruments but there's tons of crazy poo poo out there, like 5 and 6 string versions of most classical instruments. The one true benefit of string instruments is they make a nice sound from the getgo even before you figure out the basics. Making fun sounds is always what makes it fun in the future, anyway. For early stuff playing the Addams family theme song was always a fun one to me as you can kinda tap your instrument for the claps and people usually recognize it. Usually that sort of maintenance means they can check tuning, rosin on the strings as needed, etc. For violin some people are picky about the chin rest and so know there are inexpensive options if you don't like whatever one it comes with or some people put a paf on their shoulder etc.
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Jan 8, 2024 05:54
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Trip report a few months later, violin is very fun and rad. I had stickers on briefly because I thought I was insane for not finding the right points on each string, then took them off when I realised the bridge was angled too much, and got it fixed. Ended up with a new chin rest and shoulder rest and slightly better strings than the generic ones that were on it already (went with Preludes because eh). The comfort is a lot nicer, and feels a lot easier to play. When I picked up my violin from the shop I tried out a viola (16") and holy poo poo that resonated so much with me, so I guess I want one of those too lmao. I also tried some nicer bows and violins, and there was a distinct improvement in feel, both with my bow on the nicer violins, and the nicer bow on my violin, and even more with the nicer violins and bows. Buuuut I don't have AU$2k to throw at an instrument right now or any time soon. Interestingly, I played some more expensive models and while I'm sure you could argue that I'm just too new to notice how much better they are, I felt like above AU$2500 they started feeling very minute in any improvements. Ultimately I kept coming back to the sound and feel of the $2k violin, not the others. Organising proper lessons too, because while noodling and learnding is fun I don't want to learn too many bad habits to have to unlearn, and more than that I would like proper direction. I'm also finding bowing the hardest part of anything I'm doing right now. Finding the right spots for the notes I want hasn't been much of a hassle, altho working on getting intonation spot on is a perpetual practice point. I've been finding that the different positions (second, third, fourth, etc) aren't really bothering me, or shifting to and from them. For whatever reason that seems to be something that has carried over from guitar. Bowing tho, that poo poo is hard. It's like first learning string skipping combined with economy picking at once, or rhythmic fingerstyle. Just a very foreign experience, and a big reason I am organising a proper teacher for lessons. I don't think I could brute force learning good technique, and wouldn't trust whatever developed if I did.
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Mar 20, 2024 06:20
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syntaxfunction posted:Trip report a few months later, violin is very fun and rad. Bridge angling can be caused by using the fine tuners too much, always try to tune with pegs as close as you can before doing fine tuners just to the point of being overloose. I have had to replace bridges from this. That's part of learning about maintenance. My daughter has now been playing violin about 2 years. Chinrest change made a huge difference on her perspective and for her mood. Bowing on string instruments has 5-7 distinct skills or aspects that are dictated by how you want to sound. 1: for violin & viola, keeping consistent elbow height and not raising it to the sky when playing higher strings. This is both a habit and arm endurance. Watch yourself in a mirror or record yourself! I can show you some videos from my lessons for my daughter on this if you'd like. Playing cello thirty years has comically given me an exceptionally strong right arm as a requirement of playing. 2: angle control - this is tied to #1, in learning to keep the bow in the middle as much as possible between the neck and the bridge. 3(or 3-7): speed control: specifically, fast, slow, and how much and when and why? This is absolutely far far more nuanced than people understand until they play string instruments. For example: Are you playing something very pianissimo? You might be playing near the tip of the bow but moving very quickly but also very soft pressure. Are you playing forte? You might be moving quickly with light pressure still. Playing something staccato? Probably fast short bows with more pressure. An example of the latter is Vivaldi hitting all the variations from summer. Worth watching some YouTube videos to get ideas as it's also somewhat simple to play but also complicated with a great and recognizable sound! Fast songs are fun and will represent your comfort level. 4: Pressure control: There's times for pressure and times to avoid it depending on what you're playing. 5: hand position and thumb position: there's a proper form for every string instrument and it's partially universal but it's something to learn and get used to. You can tell a real musician vs a fake through their bowing: if the bow is moving rhythmically but you don't hear any sound you know they're faking it. also known as : every movie scene of an actor "playing an instrument".  Since it all takes practice, focusing on one of these a time to incorporate is normal.
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Apr 2, 2024 01:01
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