Violin Lesson: Beginner Blues Lesson for Violin
by David Bruce
You'll be amazed how easy it is to make some cool-sounding blues on the violin. To take this lesson you need to be able to read a few notes in the treble clef,
but the good news is you won't find any notes that move beyond first position!
To begin with though we'll introduce the first three of those notes, which are all played on the D string:
Let's start with just these three notes and see if we can get a feel for the blues.
Playing these three notes in a mixture of quarter notes and eighth notes. Listen to the example below to get the idea. I've included the music as well purely for those of you with a phobia for improvising! On the whole you should find it much easier to pick the style up by listening rather than reading the music, so be brave - don't follow the music! Try to make up your own example which sounds similar in style but doesn't copy our example.
The good news is that these three are in exactly the same finger position as the first three - just a string higher.
Now try playing these three notes in the same way as before:
Practice the two three-note patterns separately for a while, and when you're ready, come back for the next lesson, where we'll put them together!
Next move on to Beginner Blues violin Part 2
The First Three Notes
We're going to be using a 6 note scale - F G A C and high D.To begin with though we'll introduce the first three of those notes, which are all played on the D string:
Let's start with just these three notes and see if we can get a feel for the blues.
Playing these three notes in a mixture of quarter notes and eighth notes. Listen to the example below to get the idea. I've included the music as well purely for those of you with a phobia for improvising! On the whole you should find it much easier to pick the style up by listening rather than reading the music, so be brave - don't follow the music! Try to make up your own example which sounds similar in style but doesn't copy our example.
The Next Three Notes
Now we're going to do the same with the next three notes. These three - A C D are all on the A string:
The good news is that these three are in exactly the same finger position as the first three - just a string higher.
Now try playing these three notes in the same way as before:
Practice the two three-note patterns separately for a while, and when you're ready, come back for the next lesson, where we'll put them together!
Next move on to Beginner Blues violin Part 2