Hey, I have just got a violin for my birthday and don`t really have a clue about them, (but I have a book and can read music) but I was wondering, how exactly do you apply the rosin to your bow?

Luv Nikki

first of all, the violin is a fairly difficult instrument to begin learning, so i would strongly recommend you find a teacher, even if you only take group lessons. there is a lot involved with the violin, and a "book" will really not do you much good at all.... chances are you will not be able to learn to play the violin without a teacher
rosin is applied by rubbing it back and forth on the bow. the first time it is applied to a new bow or newly rehaired bow, this may take ten or twenty strokes, but after that, 3 or 4 should do the trick. it may also help to slit the top of the rosin in a crosshatch the first time you use it, or it may be very hard to get to come off

violinluvr, i personaly disagree with what u said because ive been teachin myself the voilin for not very long( about 2 months maybe, i dont get to practice ever day though) and i wouldnt say that im good at all, but ive learned pretty much the basics. My band teacher has a violin so i went in her room 1 day durin lunch to see if i was learnin right and she said i was goin good i was playin everythin right and i held it right and i didnt sound toooooo bad. she said that i was just as good as the ppl she teaches(as a private tutor) and that i probably wont be exceptional and the best voilinist in the world, but withb practice i could get pretty good. I see ur piont on why u should get a teacher, but i guess it just depends on ur musical talent and ability and how much u really want to play it.

BTW uo there i wrote that im not good at all, i mean tot write that im not great but not that bad, what i wrote sounds like im awful or sumthin.

Thanx, I taught myself to read music at the age of 4 when I got a recorder for Xmas, so I`m hoping I`ll be OK, I pick things up pretty fast. I don`t want a teacher though at the moment cos I`m in year 11 at school and I don`t want lessons to clash with my GCSEs, but I know a few people who play the violin and I`ll get them to push me in the right direction.

yeah u shouldnt have things get in the way of school, but its good that ur lerning the violin. Wow u taught urself how to read music at the age 4???????????? thats amazing, im sure other ppl have learned to read music young too, but still thats amazing. keep playin and ya never kno, u could be the best voilin player in the world

When rosining a bow, I read somewhere you should hold the rosin in your left hand and run the bow over it, from point to frog, as if bowing an upstroke - then repeat. This is supposed to damage the hair less and prolong the life of the bow hair. Can`t see why it should, but I`ve got into the habit of doing it this way.

You should gradually rotate the rosin, assuming you have a cylindrical block of rosin, to ensure even wear. Otherwise you can end up wearing a groove in the block and end up wasting much of the rosin.

You don`t need to rosin the bow every time you play, half a dozen strokes once a week is usually sufficient. However like pretty much everything to do with violin culture, this varies with each individual and you`ll get used to how much rosin you need after more playing.

It`s a good idea to wipe your violin`s body and fingerboard down with a soft cloth once a week, or every time you play if desired, to remove excess rosin powder before it hardens on. This white powder can eventually build up, and it can eat into the varnish and mar the violin surface, and ultimately value. On the other hand, some people like the look of the "well played" fiddle.

shawnie,

Then how do you know your strings are in tune? How do you know you are going the right speed?

How do you know what countless musical terms mean? How can you have musicallity in your playing (since, as a beginner, you have no sense of how music "flows" yourself)? I dont mean to sound cruel, but these are the types of things teachers are there for. They teach you things you dont understand yet.

ok u guys, first of all i kno what musical terms mean i kno how music flows, ever think to wonder that maybe, just maybe i play other instruments? i kno what speed to go in, i kno when the strings are in tune, i dont kno how to tune them casue i dont wanna break them, but im only playing just to play,i never said i was goin proffesional or sumthin, so if i play a song a little too slow or if i dobnt do sumthin perfect its not gonna matter if im playin for fun

Another tip when applying rosin - keep your thumb slightly over the edge of the frog, to prevent chipping the rosin on the metal edge.

Just because you play other insturments doesent mean you know how VIOLIN music flows. If you play a wind/brass insturment, its completly different IMHO.

shawnie,

So in other words, when one day your strings become lose if not already, then you will never play the violin again? Practicing is worthless if your violin is out of tune. Tuning your violin is one of the most important things you have to do, because if your violin is out of tune, then so is your playing. In other words, learn to tune your violin!!!!

ok, so there are ways to kno how violin music flows and a teacher doent really need to tell u that, aslo yeah it would be good to kno how to tune the violin, but u dont need a teacher for that either. Just ask sum1 who knos how to do it right, then there ya go, u kno how to tune the violin. also, have i not mentioned it enough, im just playin for fun. im not goin proffesional, i dont play for ppl, dont u have an instrument that u just play cause u enjoy it?????????

hi guys all i want to kno is what does IMHO mean, Ive seen it on other posts and I asked, but no one told me. Please tell me, i just want to know what it means, oh and I think its possible to teach yourself the violin Shawnie, dont listen Sean and Andrew, they`re just trying to discourage you.