whether or not I should pursue violin. I'm fifteen years old and have no string experience, and no piano experience either. I love the sound of the violin, but I'm concerned as to how difficult it is to learn violin and how much it costs. I'm in wright county, MN, so if anybody has a credible idea of what I should do, please tell me.

Violin is a very versitile instrument. So even if your taste in music changes, you may still be abel to enjoy the violin. Classical is what most people think of when they think violin, but there is also country and blue grass. They even use violins in rock music.
The violin as well as most instruments take practice. It won't come easily, you have to put effort into it. In the beginning it is hard, and you can't play anything you like. Unless you like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
I started at 50 years old. I practiced 2 to 4 hours every day for months, before I settled down to an hour in the morning and an hour at night, and maybe 4-6 hours on Sat. and Sun.
There are 4 year olds that can play Vivaldi's Spring, so I gave myself a year to learn it. It took 4 months. I travel for work so I couldn't get any lessons short of what I can get on line. I bought several lesson books, and played everything, no matter how much I didn't like it from a number of different lesson books. Essentials is good, but ABC's of Violin is the best of the books I tried. I'm on book 5 in just a year. I also tried A Tune A DAY, Essentials of string book 1 and 2, and First Lessons from Mel Bay. Other books I tried were Fiddle books. They were a lot of fun once you get out of the beginner books. Figure about 600 hours of practice for the first year, and you'll be playing well in no time. Watch and pay attention to every free violin lesson on you tube.
You don't need an expensive violin to start. Even a cheap (under $50) violin will get you going. Then if you don't stick with it you can get most of that money back selling it used on e-bay. I spent more on books than on my violin.
By the way, here's a test that I find works well. Can you rub your tummy and pat your head at the same time. If you can't, violin will be hard for you. If you can, that means that you can handle hand sepperation, as when you play the violin your hands must be doing different jobs.
Good luck, it's never too late to start, nor too early to begin. Wish I had learned years ago.
Be careful, learning violin has started me on wanting to learn a number of other instruments too. I now practice violin, mandolin and banjo every day.

You can get a top of the range violin from melodywithviolin on ebay for the price of a new pair of shoes. I went back & bought a cello as well. They are beautiful instruments made with fine aged spruce & flame maple. As for learning to play it is really a matter of regular practice. I started taking my violins out to the fields where I could make all the noise I wanted without disturbing the neighbors & that helped me learn the basics very quickly.

Please don't by a violin on ebay, I'm not suggesting that that is what the previous two authors are saying, but I've heard too many horror stories about fake, fraudulent and unplayable violins that were purchased on ebay. And be wary of the words cheap violin. I prefer the words affordable, and you can find an affordable violin for less than $200.00. As far as any other hobby, sport, or musical instrument goes the expenses equal out to be about the same. So, go for it!!! You'll never know until you try.

One rule to remember when it comes to ebay. If you DO buy a violin on ebay, look for a violin that is not a Buy-It-Now! look for an auction, and look to spend between 120-260 for a good starter violin. There are a few model violins you will find that are phenomonal for that price on ebay. yamaha AV-5 and Johannes Kohr K500. But pay attention to what they have been selling for on average and don't pay more than the average for one. I know you can purchase the AV-5 new for $350-400 at one particular store and the K500 for the same.

Also a lot of musical retail stores use Ebay pricing as a benchmark for reselling a used instrument

Hello, I seem to be in a similar situation.

I am thinking of taking up violin too as a leisure activity. So first, I have to pick out a violin. And from what I have read online, there seems to be a ton of things to look out for.

The sound, the strings etc.

I was hoping there could be some tips anyone could share when you get yours?

I love the sound a violin makes, I enjoy watching people play and now I want to try playing it. Nothing serious, just a little thing I always wanted to do for myself.

An advanced Thank you for your kind replies