Musical Instruments

[Orion]

I've been mulling over the idea of learning to play the violin for a few years now. A couple of years ago I had a rather discouraging conversation with two young violinists who told me that there is no point in starting to learn at age 25 because I will never achieve the same fluency that they had from learning as children. I know it really shouldn't matter but because I am completely ignorant I believed them.

I'm good with learning languages in general but I don't know the first thing about sheet music or how playing music works. Never touched an instrument in my life, but I have always been attracted to the violin. My family comes from the east coast of Canada where fiddling is very common and I grew up hearing it. All of my great uncles and aunts on my mom's side are fluent in multiple instruments, and they learned without formal lessons. They can't read sheet music but they can hear a song and duplicate it right away. So maybe I have some of that in me.

Anyway... if any of you out there have some experience and can give me some advice on how to go about all this, I'd really appreciate it!

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

I've been mulling over the idea of learning to play the violin for a few years now. A couple of years ago I had a rather discouraging conversation with two young violinists who told me that there is no point in starting to learn at age 25 because I will never achieve the same fluency that they had from learning as children. I know it really shouldn't matter but because I am completely ignorant I believed them.

I'm good with learning languages in general but I don't know the first thing about sheet music or how playing music works. Never touched an instrument in my life, but I have always been attracted to the violin. My family comes from the east coast of Canada where fiddling is very common and I grew up hearing it. All of my great uncles and aunts on my mom's side are fluent in multiple instruments, and they learned without formal lessons. They can't read sheet music but they can hear a song and duplicate it right away. So maybe I have some of that in me.

Anyway... if any of you out there have some experience and can give me some advice on how to go about all this, I'd really appreciate it!

Honestly, if you can keep a "count to 4" rhythm you can learn to play anything, with practice.

 

[justabubba]

I've been mulling over the idea of learning to play the violin for a few years now. A couple of years ago I had a rather discouraging conversation with two young violinists who told me that there is no point in starting to learn at age 25 because I will never achieve the same fluency that they had from learning as children. I know it really shouldn't matter but because I am completely ignorant I believed them.

I'm good with learning languages in general but I don't know the first thing about sheet music or how playing music works. Never touched an instrument in my life, but I have always been attracted to the violin. My family comes from the east coast of Canada where fiddling is very common and I grew up hearing it. All of my great uncles and aunts on my mom's side are fluent in multiple instruments, and they learned without formal lessons. They can't read sheet music but they can hear a song and duplicate it right away. So maybe I have some of that in me.

Anyway... if any of you out there have some experience and can give me some advice on how to go about all this, I'd really appreciate it!

it's not a competition
it's not about playing as well as they
it's about playing music
you've missed out on it for a quarter century, why let any more time pass without picking up your instrument(s)

this is a great time to buy USED instruments. get to know someone in your area or in your community of friends and family who plays violin. tell them your intent to buy the most value for whatever money you can devote to it, and ask them to help you look for a used violin (and bow)
you will find a decent instrument that you can learn on in short order

learning to play the instrument does not require learning to read music. but chances are good, once you acquire a passion for it, you will want to learn many things about music and the violin ... probably including how to read music and to understand music theory. but then, some of the musos i am acquainted with have excellent skills with very little formal knowledge
stay in touch and in tune,

bubba

 

[1069]

I play piano; I have a piano at my dad's. I took lessons at school, from one of the nuns who was an accomplished pianist.
I guess I started lessons when I was six, and continued until I was about twelve.
I'm proficient, I suppose, but have no real musical talent.
Music doesn't speak to my heart, the way it does to some people.
In truth, I dislike noise of any sort.
But I certainly understand the desire of others to make music; I'm sure it parallels my love of writing.
It's important to have a means of creative self-expression.

 

[bub]

It's not very difficult to learn how to read a sheet music, in fact it's very logical. You just need to spend some time to learn. If 7 y/o kids can do that, you can also do it! I know that some people don't need reading music sheets to play music, but I don't have a good ear and I couldn't play music without that.

As for learning violon, you should probably learn with someone who can play it and will show you how it works, because I think it's a bit more difficult than playing flute.

 

[Bassman]

I've always been a stickler about proper technique when it comes to playing a musical instrument. I play both bass and drums.

I learned how to play the neck properly on an electric bass by training on upright bass, for example. As for drums, traditional grip.

 

[Manc Skipper]

I learned to play violin as a child (3rd violin, cue viola jokes!) and even played in the regional schools orchestra, but gave it up in my teens. 40 years on, maybe I'll see if I can pick it up again. As someone said, you'll be playing for your pleasure, not an audience (at least at first!) but the fluency comes with practice.

What's the difference between a viola and a trampoline?
You take your shoes off to jump on a trampoline.

What's the difference between a viola and an onion?
No one cries when you cut up a viola.

What's the definiton of "perfect pitch?"
Throwing a viola into a dumpster without hitting the rim.

Why do violists stand for long periods outside people's houses?
They can't find the key and they don't know when to come in.

What's the difference between a seamstress and a violist?
The seamstress tucks up the frills.

What's the difference between a washing machine and a violist?
Vibrato.
etc etc etc

 

[Gipper]

I just stick to the skins, although I haven't picked up a pair of sticks in years.

Somewhere out there, Neil Peart is thankful I'm not taking his job.

 

[molten_dragon]

I've been mulling over the idea of learning to play the violin for a few years now. A couple of years ago I had a rather discouraging conversation with two young violinists who told me that there is no point in starting to learn at age 25 because I will never achieve the same fluency that they had from learning as children. I know it really shouldn't matter but because I am completely ignorant I believed them.

I'm good with learning languages in general but I don't know the first thing about sheet music or how playing music works. Never touched an instrument in my life, but I have always been attracted to the violin. My family comes from the east coast of Canada where fiddling is very common and I grew up hearing it. All of my great uncles and aunts on my mom's side are fluent in multiple instruments, and they learned without formal lessons. They can't read sheet music but they can hear a song and duplicate it right away. So maybe I have some of that in me.

Anyway... if any of you out there have some experience and can give me some advice on how to go about all this, I'd really appreciate it!

I played the violin from 5 until I was about 15, when I quit taking lessons. I still play on rare occasions.

While it's true that it's easier to learn as a child, that doesn't mean that you can't start now and get damn good at it if you are willing to put in the time and effort to learn.

If you're serious about it, I have a few suggestions for you.

1. Take lessons. You'll learn much faster with someone else teaching you and correcting your mistakes than you will trying to pick it up on your own.
2. Don't expect quick results. Expect it to take a year or two to develop a solid proficiency with it. It will be more like 5-10 years (depending on how much you practice) to get really good at it.
3. Don't buy a cheap violin to start out with. It will sound bad and discourage you. You should honestly expect to pay a few hundred dollars for a decent beginner violin/bow/case/etc. If this is a hardship, some stores offer installment plans or rent-to-own plans that will let you pay over time.
4. When you're ready to buy an instrument, I would suggest going to a store that specializes in string instruments if that's possible (Check out The Loft as an example of what I'm talking about). The people who work in a shop like that will be much more knowledgeable and be able to help you more in picking out a good instrument to start with than the people in a big chain music store that mostly sells to middle school kids starting band for the first time will.

If you decide to go for it, good luck. And if you're having trouble getting motivated to practice, just remember, most women find a guy playing the violin just for them REALLY sexy.

 

[Tashah]

Took piano lessons for about 10 years. Now I mostly play synthesizer keyboards and bass guitar. I've always loved the orchestral string instruments, especially the violin. It took me awhile, but I can now reproduce it fairly well on synth.

It's never too late to learn Orion. By the way, in most professional orchestra's violinists command the highest salary due to their heavy degree of participation which renders them more prone to finger burn-out.

 

[digsbe]

I play piano, I've taken about 8 years of lessons and I've played in competitions and for some national piano league (and scored an A). I haven't played often though, and I'm probably rusty.