How to play the violin: here are five tips

You may have just attended a classical concert and you are inspired by the sound of the violin to desire to learn how to play the violin. Or you may be considering taking up violin lessons with an experienced violin teacher. It does not matter whether you are taking your violin lesson in Singapore or in London. It also does not matter if you have a violin teacher in Singapore, or you learn how to play the violin with a violin teacher in Malaysia. In this article, I will give you five tips on learning how to play the violin.

Your first tip: Learn the right posture

Firstly, you need to master the right posture when you hold your violin and the violin bow. Whether you are teaching yourself to play the violin, or whether you are learning how to play the violin with a violin teacher, stand in front of a mirror during you violin lesson. Look into the mirror during your violin lesson to correct any bad posture. Ensure that you are standing straight.

Your second tip: Learn to hold the violin bow correctly

Remember that you hold the violin with your left hand and your violin bow with your right hand. Since you need the violin bow to play on the violin, the violin bow acts as a natural extension of your hand. If you hold the violin bow correctly, your fingers do not cramp up.

What is the correct way of holding a violin bow? You will need to position your thumb at the groove of the frog of the bow. Your little finger rests at the end of the bow. Then close the rest of your fingers around the frog of the bow.

Your third tip: buy and use a violin shoulder rest

The violin shoulder rest acts to prevent cramping of your next when you play the violin. Renowned violin shoulder rests include Kun, FOM and Wolf brands. Some shoulder rests are made for people with longer neck. Other shoulder rests are sized according to the size of the violin. As such ensure you pick one that suits you.

After you purchase your violin shoulder rest, fix it to the base of your violin. You should be able to balance the violin between your chin and collarbone if positioned correctly.

Your fourth tip: learn to hold the violin correctly

As a beginner, you need to be able to hold the violin correctly. Using your left hand, position the neck of the violin at the crook between your thumb and second finger. In the beginning, you do not need to worry about fingering the violin strings. You just need to be comfortable with the basic posture and learn the basic bowing techniques.

Your fifth tip: learn to bow your violin

Finally, bow your violin right in the centre between the bridge and finger board. Play a long up bow on one string, followed by a long down bow on the next string. Move your arm straight up and down when you bow. Remember to relax your arms so they are not stiff.

There you have it, you have learnt the basics of playing the violin.

Now you need to continue practising and look for a good violin teacher to guide you.

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