Hi! I'm mainly a woodwind player who plays some guitar and piano. I've been wanting to learn to play the violin for a while now and I just have a few questions:

1. Has anyone self taught themselves to play violin? And if so, was it hard?

2. How much does a half decent student violin cost?

3. What makes of violin should I look into buying?

I've never self-taught myslef how to play violin, and Im guessing it would be hard.

A half decent violin would cost around $500 to $600 dollars

Well, for makes of violin, I personally think Franz Junger is a great brand. Any German-made violin is usually pretty good. Just try to stay away from the Chinese-made violins, even though they may be cheap. :-) Hope this answers your questions