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
I agree. Don't go 'cheap' with a violin. YOu really don't want a "half decent" violin. You want a nice sounding, well set up instrument. And... it's certainly not necessary to have something shiny and new looking. Many of the older instruments are very nice.. and probably in a price range that isn't too bad. If you can... get a violinist or fiddler to play the instrument for you... listen... see what kind of tone you like... ask them for opinion on playability, etc. The better set up the instrument.. the easier it will be for you to get started playing it.
Self-taught is difficult on the violin. See if you can't at least get a violinist or fiddler to give you some position pointers, both left hand (violin) position.. and especially bow hold and bowing.
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