Learning adult violin: myths, patience and orchestras

Myths about violin and age

The sound of the first months: well-directed patience

At the piano, the note sounds good if you press the right key. At the violin, the sound depends on three things at once: the weight of the arch, its velocity and the point where the string plays, between the bridge and the diapason. If one fails, the famous squeal appears. That's why the first few months sound bad, even as you do most good.

The good news is that patience can be directed:

• Long Arks with an air string: A few minutes a day, looking for an equal sound from his end to his heel.
• Mirror: check that the arch goes parallel to the bridge.
• Weekly recordings: Your ear gets better before your hands, and the recordings show you advances that at the moment you don't notice.
• Filling as a support, and not as a crutch: Use it to check, but try listening first.
• Guide tapes at the diapason: Many teachers use them at first to place their fingers and remove them after their ears have been taken care of.

To sharpen the strings at the start of practice, you can use the [online violin tuner]](/herramientas/afinador/violin)And as the arch grip deserves his own attention, check how to hold the violin's bow.

A violin adjusted to your body

A grown man arrives with years of posture habits, sometimes with neck or back problems by work with his computer. The violin holds between his jaw and shoulder, so the adjustment matters:

• Log: his height depends on your neck's length. If you have to lower your head or put your shoulder up to hold the violin, it's bad tipped.
• Mentonera: there are different models and the right one will let you support your chin without tightening.
• Size: Most adults wear violin 4 / 4 and some people with short arms or small hands feel better with a 7 / 8.
• Left thumb loose: Don't tighten the mast as if it's going to fall.

Do shortcuts every time and gently shake arms and shoulders. If you have an injury to your neck or shoulder, check with your doctor before you start and tell his doctor about it. Some adults, for comfort or for pleasure, end up choosing viola and we tell you about the differences in [violin or viola].](/blog/violin-o-viola-diferencias).

To practice in an apartment without cackling his neighbours

The violin's listening to a great deal, and in a building that can end up as a theme for co-owners' assembly.

• Section of practice: from rubber or metal, put onto the bridge and greatly reduce the volume. Use it for scales and exercises, and not for everything, because it changes the instrument's response.
• Reasonable hours: agree with your neighborhood fringes to practice without satiga.
• Electrical or silent violin: It allows to study with hearing aids, useful if you practice at night, though the sensation under the arch is different.
• Curtains and cover: They get something from the sound and they get better how you listen to yourself in the room.

Amphibious adult orchestras and assemblies

To play as a group is one of the great rewards of violin. In Colombia there are orchestras of amateurs at universities, cultural outreach programs, churches and independent communities, as well as camera groups that are built up with friends. Some have an audition and some have an audience and some have an audience with a few who read and play with certainty.

What do you need to get in?

• Read score with reasonable fluidity.
• Play with first place and tuning your instrument with no help.
• Counting silent jobs without missing.
• Keep a stable tempo, something that trains with the [metronome]](/herramientas/metronomo).

Ask your teacher to prepare you with simple orchestral fragments and first-glance reading exercises. Many adults come in as second violins, where the part usually gets less acute and more accessible. Playing with others usually greatly improves tuning and sense of rhythm.

A Realist Plan for First Year

1. Stage 1: posture, bow grip, air ropes and sound alike.
2. Stage 2: first fingers of his left hand, simple scales and short songs.
3. Stage 3: first reading, more agile string changes and first accompanying pieces.
4. Stage 4: initial level repertoire, dynamic work and perhaps your first assembly.

Each person goes through these phases at his or her best and for an idea of terms, read how long it takes to learn violinWhat's repeated in all cases: a teacher who fixes his posture from the first day prevents months of unlearning. [violin classes]](/clases/violin) can be at home or virtual, depending on how you get comfortable.

Frequently asked questions