The violin is the most commonly used member of the modern string family and the highest sounding instrument of the group. It is the soprano member of the string family which includes from highest to lowest. The violin, like the viola, is held under the chin and rests is on the player’s left shoulder. The neck is on held by the left hand which is used for fingering, while the right hand holds the bow. The wider end of the instrument is placed between the player’s left shoulder and chin, while the left hand encircles its neck, the fingers stopping the strings to produce the various pitches. The sound is produced by drawing the bow across the strings to make them vibrate or by plucking the strings.
The violin is a non- transposing instrument and has four strings. The overall length of the violin averages about sixty centimeter (60 cm). When playing the violin, the left finger press the strings in order to control the vibrato and pitch and to create effects such as artificial and natural harmonics. When you perform using the violin, the right hand draws, strikes, or bounces the bow across the strings, shaping the movement to the required effect.
When playing the violin, its goal music is beauty and power and often it is harder to play than it sounds since it requires time and practice to make it perfect and master on how to play the violin. The violin performance takes more strength and concentration to play and is rarely improvisational and easy to learn on how to play than other music strings.
Today, the violin is very popular probably because it can do so many things. A violinist can play slow, sad, smooth melodies and dazzling fast scales. The violin has a vary large range. Its tone is sweet and clear, and the sound is good in solos because it can be easily heard.
So now that we know what a violin is and the beautiful music it provides, is it really hard to play?
I thought this would be a good post to show you exactly how a violin is made. It is truly an amazing process and one that should be shared with others.
Violin Making Process
From the selection of which wood is used.
Why this type of wood is used.
All the intricate tools involved in crafting the violin.
How the shaft wood is different and why.
The tuning and how the music is created.
How the selection of the strings are done and what is material used.
The bow creation and what is involved.
The delicate craftsmanship expert and much more.
Watch this video and see it all done before your eyes.
Violin is one of the most rewarding and beautiful instruments to play when mastered by someone. But just like any other instruments, the time to practice or to learn the violin is a long one and one must be sure that he or she is ready to take the practice and must have a discipline and commitment to her or himself since it is a difficult technique.
Although one can play the violin by plucking the strings, for most music it is also necessary to be able to use the bow. At first it can be difficult and a little bit awkward, but after some practice one should be able to learn to make some music in their own with the violin and bow.
To play the violin, you should tighten the bow by turning the end screw until the space between the hair and the stick at the middle is big. Next, rosin the bow. If you use a new bow, have the shop or your instructor rosin it for you. Renew your bow every few days but it also depends on how often you practice in playing the violin. Then hold the bow correctly by gently laying your index finger on the grip between the first and second knuckle. Rest the violin on your collar bone, fully supported with your arm and held in place by your jaw. Place then the bow approximately halfway between the bridge and the fingerboard. You must tilt the bow slightly toward the scroll and your tone will be more focused, producing a more professional sound. When you master this, practice playing the open strings. Open means not pressing down on the strings with the fingers of your left hand. When you done practicing playing with open strings practice then in playing the scales. A scale is series of notes that ascend and descend in a predetermined pattern of whole and half steps. When you execute all this step, practice it everyday.
When practicing on playing the violin, do it heartily and with discipline in yourself if you want to master it in a short period of time. But just as stated it is a little difficult but if you play it everyday, you can easily get all the steps on playing the violin.
When you pluck a note on a guitar string, there isn’t very much that can go wrong. One may not play the right note at the right time, but a single note will always come out at the expected pitch. And when a beginner tries to play a violin, things are much more difficult. When a bow is drawn across a string, the result might be a musical note at the desired pitch, but on the other hand it might be an undesirable whistle or a screech maybe.
So why is it difficult and hard to play a violin than other music strings? Learning to play the violin yourself as it is meant to be the most difficult instrument to learn. Even as an adult wishing to learn the violin where the challenge is even greater. To learn to play this instrument, one must need to develop or have a pretty good ear to play the violin.. Like many instruments, it will take time and effort to be able to learn on how to play the violin.
Since the violin is known to be an instrument that is hard to play, then how do these people accomplish the level they display in their playing. Believe it or not, part of their secret is something that you already have and that is the desire to learn. And now you can see that the reason you want to teach yourself the violin is because it is something you have a strong desire to do.
So by having the desire and once you start learning, you will begin to have feelings that you have never experienced. When trying to explain these sensations it is very hard. But you will find when taking up that bow and starting to produce beautiful music the very first time that you will have a great achievement in your life.
Now that you have the desire to play, it is time to learn exactly how to play a violin.
Who Am I
Hello, I'm Victor Bourget. As a child I had a burning passion, to one day play an instrument I heard, it created such beautiful music, the violin.
I created this website with the hope that others with the same passion will learn as I, and one day play the beautiful music of the violin! .
To all your passion for this beautiful instrument, my best wishes.
Victor
