Any violinists in here?

Flipsnake · #1 10-09-2010, 08:24 PM

Alright, so I want to venture into the higher end of the pitch spectrum.
After 9 years of separation from this beautiful instrument, I want to get back into it.
Since this is the only good musical forum I've seen, I'll take a shot in the dark to see if we've got some violinists around who can help a newbie.

I'd like to know:
1) Where I can get some solid beginner's violins online (I've heard that it's possible)
2) If there's a good online violin community that even approaches TalkBass in brofessionalism.
3) Essential composers/violinists that newbies should get familiar with. (like Jaco or Jamerson to bassists)

Marco A. Mayer · #2 10-09-2010, 08:43 PM

I'm not a violinist in any means, but I know that one of the violin gods is Didier Lockwood, check his solo work and his live album with the french avant-garde/fusion/prog rock group Magma, called Live/Hhai.

bassteban · #3 10-09-2010, 08:51 PM

I picked this up at a garage sale for $20, put $130 into it & promptly ran out of time to learn it. I sat in on my son's lessons a bit & know the most basics of how to hold it & play a couple of scales. Call this a vaguely curious/interested bump...

1Bigolbass · #4 10-09-2010, 09:00 PM

The violin is a beautiful instrument under the right persons chin. I on the other hand have to wait until no one is home to practice.I have a tone like a cat in a vacuum cleaner. I unfortunately will be of no help finding an instrument of finding a good on line violin community. I do have a good (in my opinion) recommendation for a Jaco like violinist Gilles Apap. He has been the soloist with the local symphony but he also play gypsy jazz and blue grass. Maybe he is more of a Edgar Meyer than a Jaco but well worth a listen.

MalcolmAmos · #5 10-09-2010, 09:09 PM

I too never got all the cats out of my fiddle. Found quickly this instrument was going to take more effort and time than I was willing to give it.

I did learn one thing very quickly - forget about Internet lessons get one on one instruction and plan on spending years with this instrument.

I gave it to a friend. He had the same cat problem. I'm sure he has given it away by now, he never mentions it one way or the other.

Good luck.

Infidelity · #6 10-09-2010, 09:15 PM

I would recommend getting suzuki method and start with book 1 then go get the other books when you progress.. Me and my GF are violinist but she's far advance than me cause I focused on bass than violin.

Rule of thumb go get a teacher.

Good luck and have fun!

MKoby · #7 10-09-2010, 09:18 PM

Pop violinists?
I'm a bit out but:
Rock/ Fusion Jean Luc Ponty, Robbi Steinhardt (Kansas), Jerry Goodman (Mahavishnu Orchestra), David Cross (King Crimson)
Alex DePue & Ann Marie Calhoun (Steve Vai Band)

I'm not current on an entire generation of players in Manouche, Klezmer, or NewGrass; beyond the Pop crossover Alison Kraus (sister of bassist Viktor Kraus).

Pop players of other generation, Joe Venuti, Stephane Grappelli, Eddie South, Stuff Smith, Juan Tizol, Johnny Frigo (who also played electric bass most of his career), Svend Asmussen, Michael Urbaniak

Linky http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_jazz_violinists

Infact linky http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_violinists

OmnitzGarima · #8 10-09-2010, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flipsnake

2) If there's a good online violin community that even approaches TalkBass in brofessionalism.

Is "brofessionalism" a pun or a typo? I can't always tell.

This is a cool place. I don't know of a violin equivalent. I played off and on for 20 years. I might dust it off again. Good luck.

suspicious · #9 10-09-2010, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Infidelity

I would recommend getting suzuki method and start with book 1.

Rule of thumb go get a teacher.

+ 1. I used suzuki method too. It's great if you like playing by ear.

Flipsnake · #10 10-09-2010, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OmnitzGarima

Is "brofessionalism" a pun or a typo? I can't always tell.

This is a cool place. I don't know of a violin equivalent. I played off and on for 20 years. I might dust it off again. Good luck.

Broseph, a brofessional is a professional who always follows brotocol without fail.

And I do plan on spending years with this instrument.
Though I'm giving myself a trial period.
A local music store apparently has rental rates of $4/day, $8/week, or $16/month for some entry level violins.
$16 CND to wank around with this sexy thing for a month?
Aww yeah.

I'm going there as soon as their doors open on Monday.
But I'll have to wait 'til Tuesday if they're closed because of this blasted Canadian Thanksgiving.

catyak · #11 10-09-2010, 10:52 PM

I've been taking lessons on the violin for almost two years and a year on the cello before that. After all of that time, I can read music but I wouldn't claim that I can play. I'm still working on rhythm (that's why I picked up the bass).

Learning to play the violin will take time. You can learn it on your own but it will take longer than with a good teacher. Personally, I could not have done it without a teacher. It's terribly good at giving feedback - if you're not close on the hold, the weight, the pressure, the position, the speed, you'll hear pretty horrible sounds. And, being just a few inches from your ear, you'll hear them pretty well.

Shar Music and Johnson Strings are the two places that I've worked with online. I wouldn't buy a violin on-line, though, because it's too iffy. I'd go to a local music shop and try a few out. Even at the beginner level, you'll hear differences in tone, how well the G string responds and how well it resonates.

Flipsnake · #12 10-09-2010, 11:05 PM

Yeah. I can't really afford lessons. I'm planning to record myself as I go along, to see where I can improve. It'll be ruthless, and I can only fix the mistakes that I can hear...but I won't mind.

And I'll try to look at the huge cache of info on the internet. Hopefully, I can snag some useful tutorial vids, or just find some inspiring pieces...

MAN I CAN'T WAIT TO PLAY ONE AGAIN.
All this talk about its difficulties make me want to test myself.

catyak · #13 10-10-2010, 08:24 AM

I forgot to mention that there is a Yahoo! group called BAVS (Beginning Adult Violin Somethingthatiforget). There's a strong contingent of people that are there just for the community, there are people that are there to get better, there are people there to help sell their product and there are people there that are interested in the science of the instrument. You'll find fiddlers and violinists as well as people that play by ear and and people that can only play from notation. What you won't find is the volume of this group or people arguing about picking versus fingering or if Gene Simmons is the greatest bass player since Paul McCartney. And absolutely no conversations on TAB v Notation. Instead you'll get lots of discussion on learning by ear versus from notation. Oddly, everyone seems to think that the method that they're most comfortable with is the best and greatest

If you're going to record yourself, use video with a good microphone. You really need to see how you're moving the bow and make sure that your body shape doesn't resemble someone living in a bell tower. Failing that, practice with a mirror.

There's a guy on YouTube called Professor V. He helped me through the first couple of months. Then I bought a DVD series by Clayton Haslop. Pricey, but I've found it to be a good complement to the the lessons. These are better than books because you can see what they're doing, and *hear* the noises that they're making.

fdeck · #14 10-10-2010, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suspicious

+ 1. I used suzuki method too. It's great if you like playing by ear.

The Suzuki method has evolved. The kids learn the first couple books of tunes by ear, and by the time they are in the fourth book, they're reading. Note that progress in Suzuki is measured by which book you are in.

My kids are both in the Suzuki program, and are becoming good readers.

About a violin, keep an eye on your local Craig. Just like upright basses, there are cheap violins that are absolute crap. Unlike upright basses, violins are not prone to self-demolition if they aren't made right. So I think it's a bit easier for a player to shop for their own instrument.

Eastman is a good maker. "Nagoya Suzuki" is crap. Look at the pegs. Are they well fitted and do they work right? In my observation, the quality of the pegs tells you a lot about whether or not skilled hands made the fiddle. And a lesson that I learned myself: Only buy an instrument that is in need of no repairs other than strings.

Now, a good violin may come with a cheap bow. The new carbon fiber bows are quite affordable, and play like a dream. There are multiple string players -- all serious amateurs, not symphony players -- in my family, and everybody has switched to CF bows.

Richland123 · #15 10-11-2010, 11:33 AM

I took violin lessons for six years from the concertmaster of our local symphony from the age of 23 to 29. It was one of the best things I ever did as a musician and it sure helped my bass playing as well. I learned so much about fingering, precision, reading music, and other things that it definitely paid off. The downside was that I was working a full time job, a part time job, playing in one of the premier bands in the region that worked a lot in the late 70s and early 80s, and I had a child and got married, so I did not have the time to dedicate to learning how to play well enough to play it in a band situation. I wish I would have been able to have gotten much better than I did. I still have two violins but never play them.