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I have just recieved a violin…?

i wanted to know

I used to play the violin and even though I’m tone deaf, I still know where to put my fingers on the fingerboard. So first of all, violins can have chords but we players really don’t like to play them because they’re tricky. Easier to play one note at a time than to play several at once. Also, an A tuner for the guitar is the same note as the A string on a violin, so I guess you could use a guitar tuner to tune a violin.

Secondly, you have four strings, lowest is G, then it’s D, A and E. First position on the violin is such that your index finger on your left hand is positioned about 1-2 cm from the top of the fingerboard. Too close to the top and the note is flat, too far down, and it sounds like a natural, but of the next note.

Next finger, the big one, tends to go one step down from your index finger, so they’re a comfortable distance apart. If you slide it up towards the first finger, the note is natural. The third finger then sits quite close to the second finger (third finger being your ring finger).

It is possible to use your fourth finger (used so you don’t have to change string to play a single pure not.)

It is also possible to go into third position. This is where your first finger sits where your third finger should be. You can put your second, third, or fourth (even fifth if you’re an alien) fingers down as well in this position.

Once you’ve found where your fingers go, my music teacher used to stick white sticky dots on the fingerboard between the D and the A string so I knew where my first and third fingers were supposed to go. You might want to adopt this technique, it helps, it really does.

It’s easier to use a bow than it is to pluck because plucking is tiring. When playing with the bow, use resin to help it glide across the strings and produce a nice sound, also angle the bow towards you, it can squeak if you hold it flat against the strings. And don’t bow too hard.

Mutes are annoying and you really don’t need them, you can alter volume as I’m sure you’ll find out.

Sheet music can be bought at most instrument stores. Careful, it is a tad expensive. Books I seriously recommend buying are those that contain a few jigs and reels, as they’re what kept me playing the violin five years after I intended to give it up. Just to hear them and know that it’s you playing them is pure magic. With the Mozart and Beethoven stuff, it’s better to play with other people than on your own. It always sounds so much better as an orchestra.

Another book I recommend is ‘String Songs’. Gives nice, handy diagrams about where to put your fingers. Make sure you get the one for the violin as they do them for cello, viola (which is a much nicer sounding instrument) and also for the bass.

Piano music is also adaptable for the violin, as it’s pretty much the same, and there’s a lot more piano music available than violin stuff. I’m not entirely sure what clef the guitar is in, but the violin is in the treble clef, so really anything with a treble clef in the stave lines is possible to play with the violin.

It is also possible to photocopy sheet music from libraries. You’d be surprised what you can unearth in the music section.

Sorry my introduction to the violin is a bit on the long side, but this is actually something I know about. I only hope I managed to provide you with some useful information.

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