Is it harder to teach yourself to play the violin?

Question:Than to teach yourself to play the guitar.
I learned to play guitar by using a kind of trial and error method over a number of years. I was wondering if playing the guitar would help a good deal with learning to play the violin? And is it really an instrument that demands formal study before anything decent can come out of it?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Than to teach yourself to play the guitar.
I learned to play guitar by using a kind of trial and error method over a number of years. I was wondering if playing the guitar would help a good deal with learning to play the violin? And is it really an instrument that demands formal study before anything decent can come out of it?

i taught myself to play the guitar but I did not even contemplate teaching myself the violin. I went out and got a violin teacher right from the start.
There is just so much more to learn about the violin and it is very important that you get everything correct from the beginning.
Just holding the bow and holding the violin are quite difficult for beginners and it is so important that you get these things correct.

Here is a site to be used in conjunction with a good teacher. It will give you some idea of the challenges ahead :

http://violinmasterclass.com/mc_menu.php

Click on the masterclass lessons and watch the videos.

PS. I did not find that playing the guitar helped all that much with the violin. Bowing a stringed instrument is so unlike anything else. If you want to play classical music then some sort of fomal study is required. You will not get anywhere by trial and error.

Good luck......enjoy the violin..

i have been taking violin privately for the past 10 years, and Im not even 21 yet. Im also in symphonies and orchestras. I think it would be impossible anda stupid mistake to try and teach yourself how to play the violin. It is a very complex instruments and needs proper instruction.

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by adam

Member since:: January 21, 2008
Total points:: 1588 (Level 3)

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as long as you can read music. you can learn. ive been playing since i was in the 4th grade. and its become second nature to me. im sure you can do just the same

if you really want to be a decent player i think you ought to get an instructor to teach you.

playing with a bow is a totally different story. it's very subtle. even if you can adopt yourself with the left hand, it's the right hand that's most difficult.

It would be infinitely easier to work with a teacher.