ok ...im 18 years old and i woke up and realized i wanted an instrument that i could spend my life on. i play the guitar and ukulele and djembe im ok at all of them. but i want somthing i can focus my time one and have it be my only instrument
i have been in love with the violin for a long time and i belive i can play it
butim kinda in a bad spot...mi 18..which means im pretty old for an instrument like the violin
there isnt a violin teacher within 500 miles
and im going to college...which means i have NO money
i just rented a violin today..and the internet is gonna be my only teacher..until i can find one
i would like to learn to read music and...everything really

if anyone has advice, resorces i can use, or anything about buying lower lvl violins
it would help me out alot
thank you all very much

Re: "there isnt a violin teacher within 500 miles"

Are you quite sure? Where do you live anyway?

Re: "and im going to college"

Presumably this is a college without a music department. Still, no violin teacher within five hundred miles of a college town? It`s hard to imagine.

Re: "...which means i have NO money i just rented a violin today"

What are you paying to rent? What institution did you rent it from? Most music stores offer lessons.

Re: "..and the internet is gonna be my only teacher..until i can find one i would like to learn to read music and...everything really"

It`s not a bad thing to fool around a bit first. My advice is to spend a month attempting to practice at least one half hour every day. If you are successful, then you should begin lessons (and you can be looking for a teacher in the mean time). Your teacher will advise you about what to do for a violin.

As for the Internet, everything there is there because someone happened to put it there, and as often as not that someone doesn`t know what the hell he`s talking about. Do NOT attempt to use the Internet as teacher. Buy a book or two or check some out from the public library. When you begin lessons, your teacher may recommend others.

About lessons: Don`t approach them thinking that your teacher is molding you into a violist. Approaching them thinking that you`re teaching yourself to play the violin and your teacher is helping you.

Re: "Don`t approach them thinking that your teacher is molding you into a violist."

Or for that matter a violinist.

you totally DONT NEDD to buy a book and all that - its the same as playing the bass except you bend the strings differently and the strings sound different - its EASY!!!!!! the people in here are just SNOBS! who want everyone to think there like masters of somthing unmasterable - its improvising i wanna know about!!! try playing twinkle twinkle little star until you can do it perfect!lol and learn the chords - playing the songs is easy - learning the tricks isnt as easy - but still easy - improvising?? cant do that yet! good luck!

Re: "its [sic] the same as playing the bass except you bend the strings differently"

This is what I mean about not knowing what the hell he`s talking about. Violinsts do not "bend strings" at all.

Ok, all I have to say is that, sanzenkoan, you are on crack. I have never heard of such a stupid comment about the violin. Scotch is right, you have no idea what you are talking about. As for your other post in which you tried to fret the violin, that is just sad. The violin isn`t meant to be fretted. We`re not talking about a guitar here (I play both by the way). Besides, the very fact that you even tried to fret a violin shows that you are the worst musician I have ever heard of. Any way, back to specialk`s question.
Here`s the thing, it`s really kind of too late to start playing the violin when you`re already 18. At this stage, it is just EXTREMELY difficult to become decent. You are just basically past the point of being able to become good, not because I know you won`t work hard, but because physically and mentally, a person just isn`t able to at 18. Most of my friends of whom I consider to be decent/good started between the ages of 3 and 7. I started playing the violin when I was 5, and I`m 18 now, and I`m still struggling in certain areas. So to answer your question short, I definitely encourage you to try it, but just don`t be too disappointed if you aren`t getting huge leaps in improvement. It`s important to point out the violin isn`t like the guitar. The guitar is much easier to play than the violin, and someone who takes up the guitar at age 18 can definitely master it if they work really hard. But with the violin, it`s different.

i know you dont bend the strings YOU FOOL - im obviously talkin about the vibrato effect!!! im just trying to show some common effects - 18 is a perfect age to start playing because you learn much faster - and you would have more patience - you learn sssllloowww when you young because you dont know what the hell you are doing! and i CAN play and it only took me like a week or two to learn!LMAO i cant believe there are people out there who claim to love an instrement yet when people ask "hey do you think i could play" they come out with rubbish like "no its impossible for MERE MORTALS such as yourself! you must be a GOD LIKE GENIUS like me!lmao"
thats rubbish!!!!! you can learn any time - and theres no reason why you cant learn at a later age! - have childeren got some kind of divine innocence that you need to play the violin that adults dont have or somthing??LMAO!!!! you fools!! SNOBBERY PURE SNOBBERY!
if you wanna play and youve got some basic understanding of music and a lot of patience - BUY A VIOLIN AND GO PLAY!!!!!LMAO

I RULE!

still cant improvise tho!

id also like to say! lol
the reason i put frets on my violin was so i could learn fast - once i could play i bought a pretty NONE fretted violin LOL - i dont see why there would be anything wrong with that - and this...

but because physically and mentally, a person just isn`t able (to learn ) at 18. Most of my friends of whom I consider to be decent/good started between the ages of 3 and 7. I started playing the violin when I was 5, and I`m 18 now, and I`m still struggling in certain areas. So to answer your question short, I definitely encourage you to try it, but just don`t be too disappointed if you aren`t getting huge leaps in improvement. It`s important to point out the violin isn`t like the guitar. The guitar is much easier to play than the violin, and someone who takes up the guitar at age 18 can definitely master it if they work really hard. But with the violin, it`s different.

jesus! - this post makes me so angry - i think im going to eat my hand!LMAO
you say physically and mentally a person cant learn at 18 - HOW???WHY NOT??WHAT ARE YOU ON???LMAO
where the hell do you get this idea from you mystic SNOBB - i cant believe how some people think???lmao

Instead of constantly laughing your ass off in your own ignorance, why don`t you use some common sense once in a while. I`m just simply trying to speak the truth. Here`s an analogy. Learning the violin is like learning a new language. Sure, when you`re older, you can learn a language. But wouldn`t you agree that a young child who learns a language will become much more proficient and fluent, while an adult, no matter how hard they try, will basically not be able to be as fluent as the young child? Same with the violin. Younger kids have brains that are more malleable, so they learn faster, and learn things better. That`s just a physical fact, and you can`t argue against the reality of that.

Also, back to special_k, since he asked the question. As I said before, I encourage you to play. I simply wanted to point out the reality that it`s just basically not possible to play the instrument truly proficiently, since you`re starting at such a late age. That`s not to say that I don`t think it`s wonderful that you want to start it up, since I myself really enjoy playing the violin.
Also, sanzenkoan, I don`t appreciate the fact that you seem to show a complete disrespect for people who have worked hard to play the violin. Hard work in general isn`t something to disrespect. Although I disagree with the way that you play the violin, if it makes you happy, then that`s what`s important. But please don`t try to somehow make yourself seem better than others who have put in countless hours of hard work.

special_k - do not listern to this guy - hes one of an army of violinists/musicians who act like theres some kind of mystery behind playing to make themslves feel special and unique - the violin aint that hard to play at all - and once you can play you can play! end of story!
i think its great!lol
i just wann be able to improvise like i can the guitar!
K.O

OK, here`s the deal. At 18, it`s probably too late to expect to ever be the best violinist ever - most people with that ambition have a 16-year head start. However, there`s no reason to think that you won`t ever be able to play. I picked up a violin for the first time 2 years ago, at 23, and am now playing with a professional symphony - not a big name one, but they pay us, and I did have to audition. So playing with a college group or local symphony is not out of the question, and that`s a reasonable ambition, even for some people who major in the violin in college.

However, it does require a lot of hard work and dedication. Don`t expect to pick it up over night, or even to sound decent for a few months, depending on how fast you progress and the quality of the instrument you`re working with. I think the poster above me may have a slightly exaggerated view of how good they sound after two weeks. It`s to be expected - the violin is a loud instrument, and it`s right up against your ear - you may not be able to hear how bad you are. Trust me, others will.

I could play the guitar and piano fluently before i started so i picked it up fast! and i did sit for weeks watching tv and playing the violin at the same time!lol playing ave maria over and over and over again - lol - until i could bow and get the vibrato perfect - then i just started to learn other songs and played them over and over again - i would say eri`s opinion is pretty much what im sayin tho - GO LEARN!moi!

S: Since most television shows and commercials are accompanied almost continually by music, unless you had the mute button pushed or were playing with that music (which is unlikely since you say you were trying to LEARN the instrument), the result was necessarily cacophony--which probably explains a lot.

Everyone else: You should do the opposite of what this clown says, does, and claims to do--but you knew that already.

I dont even need to return the insult after that statement!LMAO
Have a nice day scotch lol!!