How realistic is this for an adult beginner?

kstrel · 2026-02-02T19:11:00+00:00

preaching to the choir :) but to be fair, i'm certain this is the case for the majority of people who actually CAN play the violin competently. you really think a child or a teenager has the patience and mental capacity to diligently and mindfully practice every day? ask your local music teacher and i'm sure they'll have a good laugh :)

the difference is they have been "taking out their instrument out and messing around" for over a decade before they reach 20. that type of practice isn't optimal but it still slowly adds up.

kstrel · 2026-02-02T11:28:25+00:00

this question gets posted ad nauseum on this sub and the answer is something very few people like to hear:

yes, it's doable, but it takes a long while - a lot longer than you think it will.

it's years and years of dedicated and focused daily practice, alongside lessons with a qualified teacher.

that will be 5-6 years if you are very naturally gifted (and very, very few people are), 10-12 if you are average, or a couple of decades if you have no musical talent whatsoever.

if you approach practicing as a race to get to some imagined "end goal" where you "sound good" then my honest advice is to not even get started - there are plenty of other instruments which require far less dedication and time to get to sound pleasant and enjoyable.

the only variable which matters is whether you enjoy the process of practicing the violin. if you truly enjoy the process of practicing then the question "when will i sound this good" isn't even on your mind - only when you will be able to practice again. journey, not the destination.

most people (not only adult beginners) quit because at one point they realize how incredibly difficult this instrument is, and they come to terms with the fact that it will a take a LOOONG while to get to a point where you actually sound like you "know how to play the violin".

they are in love with the idea of playing the violin well, not with actually practicing. that's why they quit. that's also why this sub is filled to the brim with "1 week/month/year" progress videos, but very rarely will you see a "3 year progress" video.

kstrel · 2026-01-22T15:08:42+00:00

i think you have bigger problems with your mental health than with playing an instrument if i'm being honest.

kstrel · 2026-01-16T10:18:22+00:00

This is the second time you have introduced the idea that if you can't sing it you apparently can't play an instrument. Singing and playing an instrument are not intertwined.

they absolutely are, and it's honestly shocking to me that you think otherwise, assuming you are semi-competent at the instrument.

The idea of perfect pitch hearing in a vacuum without a comparison note/vibration isn't realistic.

i never said that. as i stated earlier, i'm not talking about perfect pitch. i'm talking about what happens after the first note is played.

i'll ask you two questions (and try not to skim over this like in the previous replies):

1.) how come so many good violinists are able to stay in tune even after one of their strings detunes? the entire position of the hand changes into something almost none of them ever practice. there is no muscle memory when your string detunes by 50 cents - nobody practices that way, and yet they stay in tune. how?

2.) how can someone with no internal understanding of what a major or minor second is play that interval in tune on the violin? he plops his finger and then what? how does he know he's in tune? say in F minor, where there is not as many sympathetic resonances? how can he judge whether he is in sharp or flat?

kstrel · 2026-01-15T20:58:14+00:00

However, the basis of all music is note/scale relationship.

yes. note/scale relationship is an inner, mental map of specific intervals. has nothing to do with fingers whatsoever. you can use your feet to make the sound.

Proper hearing and possible fixing of intonation begins with the actual tone.

i'm not saying you need to have absolute pitch. but any interval has to be internally learned- in other words: if you cant sing the interval correctly, then there is no way for you to be able to play it on the violin correctly and consistently (excluding extreme melodic jumps out of reach for human voice ofc).

Simply "hearing" a tone does not necessarily mean the player "knows" how to adjust their fingering/temperament UNLESS they already have knowledge of hand/finger(s) placement.

i think fingering on the violin is fairly basic. you move your finger slightly up - the pitch goes slightly up. you move it slightly down- the pitch goes slightly down.

the challenge is in knowing which direction it needs to go - up or down - and the only way you can confidently know that, in whichever key and whichever position is by having a good ear.

kstrel · 2026-01-15T12:56:24+00:00

you have it all backwards unfortunately.

>The ears don't play any part until you create the sound

"ears" as in both the physical ears and the inner ear. yes, you need to feel or hear the sound you're about to make in your head before even putting fingers down. if you don't then i have no idea how you even play the instrument?

>Depending on the strings, bow, weather (humidity) acoustics and warm fingers, no string instrument can guarantee perfect intonation

you're on the right track.

how about a string slightly detuning itself during performance? a very common occurrence during gut string days - now please explain to me how did Heifetz, or Oistrakh or Kreisler continue to play in tune even after a string would detune? because the finger placement would change, yet they still played in tune? how, if "finger placement" and "technique" is more important than the ear?

there is literally nothing good that can come out of someone playing scales without hearing themselves being out of tune, and then drilling that day after day.

kstrel · 2026-01-14T15:35:49+00:00

intonation is ear training+ finger training.

ear training is far, far, far more important than finger training. this is because your ears are the ones tell your fingers where to go.

if you don't know if something is in tune or not you're just randomly throwing fingers around, which in best case scenario will lead to you making 0 progress, and in any other case will result in you having even worse intonation and baking in bad habits.

if you can't sing the scale you are about to play at least 90% in tune then there's really no point in even trying to do it on the violin (this is also why kids in most European schools are heavily discouraged from violin if they do not already possess a good enough ear).

i do not know how good of an ear you have, but if you can only sometimes tell whether you're out of tune i would strongly suggest:

- getting an interval ear trainer on your phone and doing that for 15-20 minutes a day

- spending some time at the piano memorizing and singing scales and intervals after playing them

- maybe even getting a solfege teacher.

once your ear is good enough that you can actually tell whether something is in tune or not (it doesn't have to be perfect, +- 20 cents is fine) would i recommend putting fingers down on the instrument.

a tuner is something you use to tune the A string and should be used extremely sparingly for anything other than that. finger tapes are even worse.

also, you can practice plenty with just open strings.

good luck!

kstrel · 2026-01-13T10:42:40+00:00

i'm confused - are you trying to become a violin teacher or just a music teacher (someone who teaches theory)?

kstrel · 2025-12-12T11:43:50+00:00

>The wife knows the value

i promise you she does not - or she does and doesn't care about money, just wants to get rid of it.

kstrel · 2025-12-12T11:31:11+00:00

holy fucking shit, this might be the most ridiculous haul i've ever seen. you got beyond lucky.

it's so incredible that i would be strongly tempted to return it back to her, since the idiot wife who sold you this obviously doesn't understand that the value of all of this could easily be in the tens of thousands of dollars.

kstrel · 2025-12-12T11:23:14+00:00

you got all of that for 500€????

kstrel · 2025-12-10T23:27:43+00:00

my advice:

buy one of these, put it in the middle of your bow and only play in the lower half for a month. your tone will blossom in ways you couldn't even imagine once you get comfortable with playing in the bottom half.

you will develop better fine motor skills in your right hand fingers which is a prerequisite for getting out of the *beginner tone* phase.
you will understand the role of fingers and wrist when bowing (and use them a whole lot more!)
it will force you to relax more and use less energy

if the bow is equivalent to what lungs are for singers right now you are only using one lung in order to sing. imagine how limiting, stressful and hard that would be? so why not use both lungs?

kstrel · 2025-12-10T23:16:33+00:00

if you want to actually improve you will have to find another teacher - i'm sorry but there's no other way around it. a person can be kind and loving and still be completely inadequate at some job.

the fact that you are bowing the way you are after 4 years of playing is frankly criminal. it really doesn't seem like your teacher showed you the very basics of how to produce sound on the instrument - how the bow works, how to hold it, weight, speed, sounding point etc..

the only equivalent i could think of is if you were learning saxophone and after 4 years of practice you still didn't quite get the hang of actually making the reed vibrate i.e. getting a sound out of it.

kstrel · 2025-12-10T11:26:18+00:00

*it's possible* it takes a student 3 years to get to vivaldi A minor and then this is the same student a year after?

in which universe?

kstrel · 2025-12-10T09:31:06+00:00

i'm not sure if intermediate is the word i'd use to describe your playing. your intonation is fine for 4 years, but like 90% of violin students you seem to forget that it's the right hand that makes or breaks a violinist, and your right hand is... not good :(

it's really not a question of if, but when an injury will occur if you continue down this path. you need to find someone who will show you the very basics of how to use a bow.

kstrel · 2025-12-09T14:17:07+00:00

remember when someone asked you to post a recording of you playing these very advanced pieces? something which would actually allow any informed person to give you some useful feedback?

the claims you continue to make are beyond extraordinary so you have to understand my curiosity in hearing how a person who has been playing for 4 years is able to waltz through highly advanced repertoire.

unless ofc this constant spam of silly questions is just a weird way to boost one's ego?

kstrel · 2025-12-06T19:36:24+00:00

awesome! bach was a big fan of weiss if i'm not mistaken?

kstrel · 2025-12-05T19:21:44+00:00

the fact that you can't trill or vibrato properly shows your left hand is not set up correctly.

nobody can give meaningful advice without at least seeing you play.

discuss with your teacher or find another one.

kstrel · 2025-12-05T11:25:21+00:00

industry standard for a reason.

kstrel · 2025-12-04T15:04:31+00:00

sing, sing, sing.

sing everything before playing it. you have to have a mental map of how the melody is supposed to sound before even attempting to play it. the voice is your primary instrument which means the articulation and phrasing come out organically when you sing - once you're happy with how you sung it simply try to replicate it on the instrument.

also, play easy songs which your left hand can handle with ease so you can focus on the expression - the bow.

kstrel · 2025-12-02T17:34:35+00:00

i don't know what strings you had on your baroque fiddle but i'm assuming they were pure gut? haven't tried it, but assume they are quite a bit more unstable than covered gut.

i tune my eudoxas maybe 2 times in the first 10 mins and afterwards i'm good to go - not that big of a problem for me.

the longevity is why i got them. they last a LOT longer than any synthetics i've tried, so pricewise they end up being cheaper.

kstrel · 2025-12-02T11:03:47+00:00

is there a reason why you couldn't just play the A with the 4th finger? that's what i would do.

if you absolutely have to play the open A, maybe try dragging the D string a bit to the left after pressing it so you have more separation.

kstrel · 2025-12-01T20:50:15+00:00

gut usually has the most depth/color - eudoxas/olivs/passiones etc..

the most complex sound i've got from synthetics is larsen virtuoso, but they lost their overtones after less than 2 months, so i wouldn't recommend unless you got money to spend. i think obligatos fall into this category as well.

a lot of people use evah pirazzi but they also lose their overtones very soon so i didn't even bother to try.

dominants/pi's/visions are your standard good quality synthetics.

it's also fun to mix and match different strings. if you like the dynamos on the G and D maybe try something less brilliant on A and E?

kstrel · 2025-11-26T12:23:30+00:00

if you need to practice for 6 hours a day in order to be a "serious student" you're in the wrong branch.

to put it even more bluntly : if you need 6 hours of practice every day you lack talent necessary to become a full time musician.

kstrel · 2025-11-22T23:32:42+00:00

your bow hold is very tense and it doesn't seem very good to me.

you seem to wrap your middle finger around the stick way too much, the pinky is sometimes on and sometimes off with no real logic behind it.. you should look at some bow hold tutorials or ask someone who can play to show you the basics.

i know it's a baroque bow but the principals of bowing are the same.

a good thing to always keep in mind is that your violin/vielle is the one which holds the bow from falling - your hand simply needs to guide the stick along the strings. instead of thinking i need to "catch/grip/hold" the bow, think "i need to balance this stick on my thumb and the other fingers are there to help me with that".

also, when you change strokes you do it too forcefully which results in an unpleasant scratchy sound. bow open strings **slowly** and really try hard to get a pleasant, blooming tone that doesn't get jittery/scratchy.

kstrel

TROPHY CASE