Learning To Play The Voilin

violin is a wonderful four sting instrument;play with a bow it's played by many people around the world. The music that comes from the violin can create all kinds of emotions some of joy, some of sadness, some of delight, and some of pain if you hit the wrong note. That's why if you want to play the violin you need to take violin lessons.

There are some people that have a talent to play any instrument they put there hands on, but most of us need lessons.Many of the great violinists started when they were children, some stay with it and some stopped. Learning to play the violin is not easy. Mastering the violin is a complex job that requires intensive training. The violinist must be able to transmit his or her emotions to the audience. While feeling perfectly comfortable with his or her instrument. This requires a good teacher, one who can teach them how to play the violin and give the right type of violin lessons that make it fun to learn for all levels and ages.

The violin is played by musicians in a wide variety of musical styles including classical, jazz, folk, traditional, and rock and roll. In all the styles of music there is a place for the violin, that's just my opinion. The violinist is sometime called a fiddler and the violin called a fiddle. This is mostly by those who play blue grass or country western music.

Violin lessons can be very expense and finding a really good teacher that you can afford can be a job as well. Some start out in school to get the basic violin lessons. That is good place to start with, but to really master the violin you need to learn from a master. There are many music schools that have very good instructors, many are ex musicians. But can they teach that is the question.

You want to make sure that you find someone that has professional experience. This person will have the skills and the knowledge to help one learn this delicate instrument. They would be able to teach the different styles and techniques that can fit all levels for all persons. Maybe you started and stop or you didn't have the money or maybe it was a time issue, but if you want to learn how to play the violin I suggest that you check out this site it may be just what you or looking for. http://walt55.VIOLINMAS.hop.clickbank.net In concert and has a solo instrument the violin has proven itself.

Electric violins

Main article: Electric violin

An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electric signal output of its sound, and is generally considered to be a specially constructed instrument which can either be:

• 
  
  
  an electro-acoustic violin capable of producing both acoustic sound and electric signal


• 
  
  
  an electric violin capable of producing only electric signal
  

To be effective as an acoustic violin, electro-acoustic violins retain much of the resonating body of the violin, often looking very much like, sometimes even identical to, an acoustic violin or fiddle. They are often varnished with bright colours and made from alternative materials to wood. The first specially built electric violins date back to the late 1930s and were made by Victor Pfeil, Oskar Vierling, George Eisenberg, Benjamin Miessner, George Beauchamp, Hugo Benioff and Fredray Kislingbury.

Since electric violins do not rely on string tension and resonance to amplify their sound they can have more strings. For example five stringed electric violins are available from several manufacturers, and a seven string electric violin (with three lower strings encompassing the cello's range) is available[17]. The majority of the first electric violinists were musicians playing jazz and popular music.

Fiddle

Main article: Fiddle

When played as a folk instrument, the violin is ordinarily referred to in English as a fiddle (though the term "fiddle" may be used informally no matter what the genre of music). There is technically no difference between a fiddle and a violin. However, some folk fiddlers alter their instruments for various reasons. One example may be seen in American (e.g., bluegrass and old-time) fiddling: in these styles, the bridge is sometimes shaved down so that it is less curved. This makes it easier to play double stops and triple stops, allowing one to play chords with less effort. In addition, many fiddle players prefer to use a tailpiece with fine tuners on all four strings instead of only using one on the E string as many classical players do.

Folk music and fiddling

Like many other instruments used in classical music, the violin descends from remote ancestors that were used for folk music. Following a stage of intensive development in the late Renaissance, largely in Italy, the violin had improved (in volume, tone, and agility), to the point that it not only became a very important instrument in art music, but proved highly appealing to folk musicians as well, ultimately spreading very widely, sometimes displacing earlier bowed instruments. Ethnomusicologists have observed its widespread use in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

In many traditions of folk music, the tunes are not written but are memorized by successive generations of musicians and passed on, in what is known as the oral tradition.

Popular music

Up to the 1970s, most types of popular music used bowed strings. The hugely popular Motown recordings of the 1960s and 1970s relied heavily on strings as part of their trademark texture. Earlier genres of pop music, at least those separate from the rock and roll movement, tended to make use of fairly traditional orchestras, sometimes large ones; examples include the American "Crooners" such as Bing Crosby. This carried through into 1970s disco music such as "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor and "Love's Theme" by Love Unlimited Orchestra.

The rise of electronically created music in the 1980s saw a decline in their use, as synthesized string sections took their place. However, while the violin has very little usage in rock music, it has some history in progressive rock (e.g. The Electric Light Orchestra, King Crimson, Kansas) and has a stronger place in modern fusion bands, notably The Corrs. The fiddle has also always been a part of British folk-rock music, as exemplified by the likes of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span.

The popularity of crossover music beginning in the last years of the 20th century has brought the violin back into the popular music arena, with both electric and acoustic violins being used by popular bands. Dave Matthews Band features violinist Boyd Tinsley. The Flock featured violinist Jerry Goodman who later joined the jazz-rock fusion band, The Mahavishnu Orchestra. Yellowcard featured the instrument with a role equal to the guitar in many of their songs. Blue October are well-known for their violin-based Music with Master violinist Ryan Delahoussaye James' Saul Davies, who is also a guitarist, was enlisted by the band as a violinist. For their first three albums and related singles, the British group No-Man made extensive use of electric and acoustic solo violin as played by band member Ben Coleman (who played violin exclusively).

Independent artists such as Owen Pallett, The Shondes and Andrew Bird have also spurred increased interest in the instrument. Indie bands have often embraced new and unusual arrangements, allowing them more freedom to feature the violin than their mainstream brethren. It has been used in the post-rock genre by bands such as Sigur Rós, Zox, Broken Social Scene, and A Silver Mt. Zion. The electric violin has even been used by bands like The Crüxshadows within the context of keyboard based music.

Indian and Arabic pop music is filled with the sound of violins, both soloists and ensembles.
The newest addition to the popular music scene for the violin is Diana Yukawa, Currently working on her third album due for release in October 2009. Her final recording will take place at Abbey Road, where The Beatles famously recorded.

Classical music

Since the Baroque era, the violin has been one of the most important of all instruments in classical music, for several reasons. The tone of the violin stands out above other instruments, making it appropriate for playing a melody line. In the hands of a good player, the violin is extremely agile, and can execute rapid and difficult sequences of notes.
Violins make up a large part of an orchestra, and are usually divided into two sections, known as the first and second violins. Composers often assign the melody to the first violins, while second violins play harmony, accompaniment patterns or the melody an octave lower than the first violins. A string quartet similarly has parts for first and second violins, as well as a viola part, and a bass instrument, such as the cello or, rarely, the double bass.

Continuous pitch instruments such as violin family instruments have the ability to play any pitch within their range, which, in the hands of great players, leads to wonderful range of harmonic colouring, making it possible for the instruments to be very expressive.[neutrality disputed] This ability is at its finest in the string quartet literature[neutrality disputed] where seamless changes from key to key and chord to chord create a kind of perfect harmonic world where even thirds ring with full resonance.[dubious – discuss]

Bows

Main articles: Bow (music) and Violin Construction (Bow)

Bow frogs, top to bottom: violin, viola, cello
A violin is usually played using a bow consisting of a stick with a ribbon of horsehair strung between the tip and frog (or nut, or heel) at opposite ends. A typical violin bow may be 75 cm (29 inches) overall, and weigh about 60 g (2 oz). Viola bows may be about 5 mm (3/16") shorter and 10 g (1/3 oz) heavier.

At the frog end, a screw adjuster tightens or loosens the hair. Just forward of the frog, a leather thumb cushion and winding protect the stick and provide grip for the player's hand. The winding may be wire, silk, or whalebone (now imitated by alternating strips of yellow and black plastic.) Some student bows (particularly the ones made of solid fiberglass) substitute a plastic sleeve for grip and winding.

The hair of the bow traditionally comes from the tail of a "white" (technically, a grey) male horse, although some cheaper bows use synthetic fiber. Occasional rubbing with rosin makes the hair grip the strings intermittently, causing them to vibrate. The stick is traditionally made of brazilwood, although a stick made from this type of wood which is of a more select quality (and higher price) is referred to as pernambuco (both types are taken from the same tree species). Some student bows are made of fiberglass or various cheap woods. Recent innovations have allowed carbon fiber to be used as a material for the stick at all levels of craftsmanship.

Tuning

Violins are tuned by turning the pegs in the pegbox under the scroll, or by adjusting the fine tuner screws at the tailpiece. All violins have pegs; fine tuners (also called fine adjusters) are optional. Most fine tuners consist of a metal screw that moves a lever to which the string is attached. They permit very small pitch adjustments with much more ease than the pegs.

Fine tuners are usually used with solid metal or composite strings that may be difficult to tune with pegs alone; they are not used with gut strings, which are more elastic and do not respond adequately to the very small movements of fine tuners. Some violinists have fine tuners on all 4 strings; most classical players have only a single fine tuner on the E string.

To tune a violin, the A string is first tuned to a standard pitch (usually 440 Hz), using either a tuning device or another instrument. (When accompanying a fixed-pitch instrument such as a piano or accordion, the violin tunes to it.) The other strings are then tuned against each other in intervals of perfect fifths by bowing them in pairs. A minutely higher tuning is sometimes employed for solo playing to give the instrument a brighter sound; conversely, Baroque music is sometimes played using lower tunings to make the violin's sound more gentle. After tuning, the instrument's bridge may be examined to ensure that it is standing straight and centered between the inner nicks of the f-holes; a crooked bridge may significantly affect the sound of an otherwise well-made violin.

The tuning G-D-A-E is used for most violin music. Other tunings are occasionally employed; the G string, for example, can be tuned up to A. The use of nonstandard tunings in classical music is known as scordatura; in some folk styles, it is called "cross-tuning." One famous example of scordatura in classical music is Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre, where the solo violin's E string is tuned down to E flat to impart an eerie dissonance to the composition. Another example would be in the third movement of Contrasts, by Béla Bartók, where the E string is tuned down to E flat and the G tuned to a G sharp.
In Indian classical music and Indian light music, the violin is likely to be tuned to D#-A#-D#-A# in the South Indian style. As there is no concept of absolute pitch in Indian classical music, any convenient tuning maintaining these relative pitch intervals between the strings can be used. Another prevalent tuning with these intervals is F-B♭-F-B♭, which corresponds to Sa-Pa-Sa-Pa in the Indian carnatic classical music style. In the North Indian "Hindustani" style, the tuning is usually Pa-Sa-Pa-Sa instead of Sa-Pa-Sa-Pa. This could correspond to B♭-F-B♭-F, for instance.

While most violins have four strings, there are some instruments with five strings,[14] six, or even seven. The extra strings on such violins typically are lower in pitch than the G-string; these strings are usually tuned to C, F, and B flat. If the instrument's playing length, or string length from nut to bridge, is equal to that of an ordinary full-scale violin i.e., a bit less than 13 inches (330 mm), then it may be properly termed a violin. Some such instruments are somewhat longer and should be regarded as violas. Violins with five strings or more are often used in jazz or folk music.

Sizes

Children typically use smaller string instruments than adults. Violins are made in so-called "fractional" sizes for young students: Apart from full-size (4/4) violins, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/10, 1/16, and even 1/32-sized instruments exist. Extremely small sizes were developed, along with the Suzuki program, for violin students as young as 3. Finely-made fractional sized violins, especially smaller than 1/2 size, are extremely rare or nonexistent. Such small instruments are typically intended for beginners needing a rugged violin, and whose rudimentary technique does not justify the expense of a more carefully made one.

These fractional sizes have nothing to do with the actual dimensions of an instrument; in other words, a 3/4-sized instrument is not three-quarters the length of a full size instrument. The body length (not including the neck) of a "full-size" or 4/4 violin is about 14 inches (35 cm), smaller in some 17th century models. A 3/4 violin is about 13 inches (33 cm), and a 1/2 size is approximately 12 inches (30 cm). With the violin's closest family member, the viola, size is specified as body length in inches or centimeters rather than fractional sizes. A "full-size" viola averages 16 inches (40 cm).

Occasionally, an adult with a small frame may use a so-called "7/8" size violin instead of a full-size instrument. Sometimes called a "lady's violin", these instruments are slightly shorter than a full size violin, but tend to be high-quality instruments capable of producing a sound that is comparable to fine full size violins.
Violin sizes are not standardized and dimensions vary slightly between makers.

Learn to play the violin

You are going to learn how to play Violin from the violinist of the Manhattan String Quartet. For more on the Manhattan String Quartet, take a look at this google searchAre you ready?If you are looking for a complete solution to learning the violin, from start to finish, this is your answer. ViolinMasterPro is here.

ViolinMasterPro is your complete, online video package to learning how to play anything on violin.
Welcome to ViolinMasterPro.com, the official site for Eric Lewis Violin instruction.Here at ViolinMasterPro, the complete Eric Lewis method is available for beginners, intermediate and advanced players, as well as young players who have never picked up the instrument before.Learn how to play sonatas, solos, concertos and more.The Eric Lewis method is an incredibly complete solution to mastering the violin and is easy to apply. All you have to do is download the videos and mp3s in a step by step instructional sequence.
About the master himself: Eric Lewis has been teaching violin privately for over 40 years and at institutions of higher learning everywhere he goes, enabling young violin players to forfill their violinistic dreams. Prof. Lewis is the world renowned first violinist of the Manhattan String Quartet of 40 years. He has toured the world since the 1970’s across North and South America, Europe, Russia and the far east concertizing and teaching.
Please listen below to samples of me playing Violin.

The course began in 1988, while Prof. Lewis was conducting youth and university orchestras.He designed a new method that would enable players of all ages to expand their horizons and play incredibly difficult pieces of music in a shorter amount of time. He accelerated the learning curve for young string players to produce concerts of Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky.

Instrument Care

Tighten your bow before playing by gently turning the tension screw. Avoid making the bow hairs too taut---the separation between the bow stick and hair should be about the width of a pencil.
Put a small amount of rosin on your bow before playing. Hold the rosin in your left hand, place the bow hairs flat on the rosin and slowly move the bow back and forth on the rosin.

After playing the violin, gently clean it with a soft cloth to remove rosin build-up on the strings.
Polish is rarely needed, and when necessary, only a commercial violin polish should be used. Cleaning the violin with furniture polish and/or water could damage the varnish and acoustics of the violin (water could also cause the violin seams to open).

Loosen the hair on your bow before putting it back in the case.
Do not store your violin in extreme hot or cold locations.
If you live in a dry climate, you may want to consider using a humidifier made for violins (excessive dryness can cause cracking or the seams of your violin to open).
Sticking or Loose Pegs

Humidity or temperature changes can sometimes cause wood pegs to stick or have difficulty turning. If you experience this, you may want to try an inexpensive product called peg compound (also called “peg dope”). Peg compound will not only lubricate the peg, but will also provide enough friction so the peg will not slip. When using peg compound or any other product to help with sticking or loose pegs, use it sparingly because a residue can build up over time (some violinists avoid these products).

To apply peg compound, remove the string from the peg, and slide the peg out of the pegbox. Apply a small amount of peg compound on the part of the peg that contacts the pegbox and reinsert the peg. Turn the peg a few times to make sure it turns smoothly. Wipe off any excess peg compound before restringing the peg.
If your pegs are too loose and keep slipping, try pushing the peg in securely while turning the peg firmly. If this doesn’t work, some violinists use either peg compound or another product called peg drops to stop pegs from slipping (peg drops, also known as peg grip are used solely for slipping pegs).

To apply peg drops, remove the string from the peg, slide the peg out of the pegbox, and apply one or two drops to the part of the peg that contacts the pegbox. Reinsert the peg and try turning it to make sure the peg sticks before restringing the peg.

If you need a temporary quick fix for slipping or tight pegs, some violin teachers use these tips: for sticking pegs, pull the peg partially out, and rub pencil graphite on the sticking part of the peg. For loose pegs, pull the peg partially out, and rub birthday candle wax on the peg to help it stick (some teachers recommend chalk or rosin to help pegs stick, but these substances can be abrasive). If you’re still having problems with your pegs, you may need to take your violin to a violin maker or instrument repair person to reshape or replace the pegs.
Visit our Music Store for a sampling of Violin Acessories

How to Hold the Violin

Violin Placement:

The violin is held horizontally (parallel with the floor) and is angled to the left of a straight forward position.
Place the violin on your left collar bone (some violinists prefer the soft spot just behind the collar bone), and rest the left side of your jaw on the chin rest.
Many violinists find shoulder rests helpful to hold up the violin, and there are a variety of shoulder rests available. Some violinists use round make-up sponges (attached with rubber bands), and others use shoulder rests that feel most comfortable to them. Visit our Music Store - Violin Shoulder Rests for sample styles.

Left Hand Tips:

The elbow should be under the center of the violin.
Keep the wrist gently rounded.
Avoid resting the wrist against the violin neck.
The thumb should be opposite the first or second finger.
Maintain a curved, open space between the thumb and index finger (a backwards "C").

Posture:

When standing, stand straight with feet shoulder width apart, and with relaxed knees. Some violinists recommend sliding the left foot slightly forward.
When seated, use a chair with a firm base, and sit up straight (soft sofas aren’t recommended). Some violinists sit towards the front of the chair, and prefer placing the left foot slightly forward.

Violin

The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello and bass fiddle.

The violin is sometimes informally called a fiddle, regardless of the type of music played on it. The word "violin" comes from the Middle Latin word vitula, meaning "stringed instrument";^[1] this word is also believed to be the source of the Germanic "fiddle".^[2] The violin, while it has ancient origins, acquired most of its modern characteristics in 16th-century Italy, with some further modifications occurring in the 18th century. Violinists and collectors particularly prize the instruments made by the Stradivari, Guarneri and Amati families from the 16th to the 18th century in Cremona.

A person who makes or repairs violins is called a luthier, or simply a violin maker. The parts of a violin are usually made from different types of wood (although electric violins may not be made of wood at all, since their sound may not be dependent on specific acoustic characteristics of the instrument's construction), and it is generally strung with gut, nylon/steel composite, or steel strings.

Someone who plays the violin is called a violinist or a fiddler. He or she produces sound from a violin by either drawing a bow (normally held in the right hand) across one or more strings (which may be stopped by the fingers of the other hand to produce a full range of pitches), plucking the strings (with either hand), or a variety of other techniques. The violin is played by musicians in a wide variety of musical genres, including Baroque music, classical, jazz, folk traditional, and rock and roll. The violin has come to be played in many non-western music cultures all over the world.

Musical styles

Jazz

The earliest references to jazz performance using the violin as a solo instrument are documented during the first decades of the 20th century. The first great jazz violinist was Joe Venuti who is best known for his work with guitarist Eddie Lang during the 1920s. Since that time there have been many superb improvising violinists including Stéphane Grappelli, Stuff Smith, Regina Carter, Johnny Frigo, John Blake and Jean-Luc Ponty. While not primarily jazz violinists, Darol Anger and Mark O'Connor have spent significant parts of their careers playing jazz.

Violins also appear in ensembles supplying orchestral backgrounds to many jazz recordings.

Popular music

Up to the 1970s, most types of popular music used bowed strings. The hugely popular Motown recordings of the 1960s and 1970s relied heavily on strings as part of their trademark texture. Earlier genres of pop music, at least those separate from the rock and roll movement, tended to make use of fairly traditional orchestras, sometimes large ones; examples include the American "Crooners" such as Bing Crosby. This carried through into 1970s disco music such as "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor and "Love's Theme" by Love Unlimited Orchestra.

The rise of electronically created music in the 1980s saw a decline in their use, as synthesized string sections took their place. However, while the violin has very little usage in rock music, it has some history in progressive rock (e.g. The Electric Light Orchestra, King Crimson, Kansas) and has a stronger place in modern fusion bands, notably The Corrs. The fiddle has also always been a part of British folk-rock music, as exemplified by the likes of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span.

The popularity of crossover music beginning in the last years of the 20th century has brought the violin back into the popular music arena, with both electric and acoustic violins being used by popular bands. Dave Matthews Band features violinist Boyd Tinsley. The Flock featured violinistJerry Goodman who later joined the jazz-rock fusion band, The Mahavishnu Orchestra. Yellowcard featured the instrument with a role equal to the guitar in many of their songs. Blue October are well-known for their violin-based Music with Master violinist Ryan Delahoussaye James' Saul Davies, who is also a guitarist, was enlisted by the band as a violinist. For their first three albums and related singles, the British group No-Manmade extensive use of electric and acoustic solo violin as played by band member Ben Coleman (who played violin exclusively).

Independent artists such as Owen Pallett and Andrew Bird have also spurred increased interest in the instrument. Indie bands have often embraced new and unusual arrangements, allowing them more freedom to feature the violin than their mainstream brethren. It has been used in the post-rock genre by bands such as Sigur Rós, Zox, Broken Social Scene, and A Silver Mt. Zion. The electric violin has even been used by bands like The Crüxshadows within the context of keyboard based music.

Indian and Arabic pop music is filled with the sound of violins, both soloists and ensembles.