The Ultimate Violin Beginner's Course

Developing a proper bow hold is vital for tone production, comfort, and the ability to perform different types of bow strokes.

Here's how to learn to hold the bow:

Hold the bow out in front of you with your left hand so that the bow is parallel to the floor. This allows you to focus solely on making the correct shape with your right hand without having to hold the weight of the bow.

Step 1: Place thumb nice and bent halfway on the hair and halfway on the silver metal. Thumb should make contact with the bow on its side, near the nail.

Step 2: Middle and ring fingers wrap around frog and cover white button. It's important these fingers don't creep up the bow.

Step 3: Wrap index finger around the stick, touching between the 1st and 2nd knuckles. Index finger should not be pointing out.

Step 4: Place pinky on the inside corner of the bow nice and curved.

Important note: If you find that your pinky is straightening out when you play, it means that you need to develop your pinky strength.

Why do we start with the thumb on the outside of the bow?
There are two reasons. First, it is easier to tell when the thumb is not in the ideal position. Second, the bigger space is easier for our hands to grab at first.

You know you are ready to move the thumb inside the bow when your thumb no longer straightens out or changes positions while playing.

To do this, move the thumb inwards, directly parallel to its previous position, so it rests between the frog and the grip.

Practice making at least 10 new bow holds a day and only work on pieces you know well for at least a week to get used to the new position.

Practicing while standing up allows us to produce the best posture possible. Feet should be hip width apart, knees should not be locked, and we should be feeling a low center of gravity in our stomach.

To hold the violin, start by placing it on your collar bone while supporting it with your left hand. Next, turn your head to a 45 degree angle (so nose is pointing towards the strings) and press down just firmly enough so that the violin is supported. Shoulders should not raise at any point. If you feel uncomfortable in any way, reevaluate your shoulder rest set up (and chin rest if absolutely necessary). You should be able to hold your violin hands-free for the duration of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Place inside of thumb directly across from first finger tape. Next, allow the base of your index finger to rest against the violin across from the first finger tape, and fingers stick straight up.

What is the reason for practicing the Twinkle rhythms?

To correctly develop our bowing technique.

When bowing, our elbow should open and close while the shoulder stays completely still. These rhythms allow us to practice that motion with concise bow strokes in a variety of different ways. Practicing long bows should come after perfecting these rhythms, as long bows are more difficult.

Steps for practicing:

Saying aloud

Clapping

Shadow bowing

Bowing on shoulder

Playing on open E and A strings

Find sheet music for these variations here.

Order of the rhythms:

Mississippi Stop Stop

Ice Cream Sh Cone

Down Pony Up Pony

Strawberry Blueberry

Mississippi is a River

In this video, we'll practice bowing each of the Twinkle rhythms 4 times on the E and A strings.

Being able to maintain a straight bow throughout our bow stroke is vital for producing an even tone. If our bow is sliding around, the tone will be uneven.

To produce a straight bow, our hand is not going to move in a straight line. Instead, it will be moving in a crescent moon shape. At the frog, start with the bow slightly angled inwards, with your wrist and elbow up. As you draw the bow to the middle, bring your hand slightly inwards. As you draw the bow to the tip, push your bow outwards.

It's important to note that when performing this, we must be careful not to overdo the motion and make our bow crooked. Watch yourself in the mirror to make sure your bow stays straight.

String crossings are simply moving from one string to a different string. When moving from a higher string to a lower string (like from E to A), the wrist and hand lead the motion, and the elbow follows. When moving from a lower string to a higher string (like from A to E), the elbow leads the motion and the hand and wrist follow.

In this video, we'll practice straight bowing together on all four strings.

When placing fingers down, here are the things we need to remember:

1. Place finger on the tip.

2. Knuckle should be standing straight up, not collapsed.

3. Wrist remains completely straight (in line with elbow).

4. Land directly on the tapes (builds muscle memory and accurate intonation).

5. Thumb should not be squeezing.

The first finger placement that we will practice is with our 1st finger on the E string. Practice landing and picking up this finger without the bow at first.

Our first song: Flower Song

Notes: E F# E A

Practice without the bow at first (always a good idea to separate the hands when practicing a new skill), and then practice with all Twinkle rhythms.

Flower Song (our first song) and Monkey Song (our second song) make up all the building blocks of an A Major Scale and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Monkey Song is played on the A String. Practice without the bow first, placing 1st finger down, then 2nd finger, and then 3rd finger. Be careful that each finger remains on its respective tape at all times.

Now we have learned all of the fingers we will need for the beginning of our violin journey.

At their simplest, a scale is a sequence of notes where you don't skip any notes and that starts and ends on the same note. Recognizing scales in music makes them easier to play, and practicing scales helps you hone your technique.

In this video, you'll learn how to play a 1 octave A Major Scale. A Major has 3 sharps: F#, C#, and G#, which means that any time you play one of these notes, you must play it sharp (one half-step higher).

In this video, you'll learn how to play Hot Cross Buns, using just fingers 1 and 2 on the A string.

In this video, you'll learn how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. This tune uses fingers 1, 2, and 3, and both the E and A strings.

The fourth finger is notoriously the most difficult finger to play with. This is because our third and fourth fingers (ring and pinky) share a tendon in our hand, making it harder for fourth finger to act independently.

Placing the fourth finger down in first position produces same note as the string above it (4th finger on A string is E, 4th finger on D string is A, and 4th finger on G string is D). For this reason, fourth finger and open string can be used somewhat interchangeably.

Make sure you have a fourth finger tape on your instrument for proper placement.

Steps for learning to play with your fourth finger:

1. Start by simply tapping your finger at the tape on each string.

2. Next, pluck each string with your 4th finger at the tape. The point of these exercises is to develop some pinkie strength.

3. Then, practice placing fingers 1, 2, 3, and 4, down on each string without the bow.

4. Practice the exercise shown in the video.

5. Practice pieces you already know well and use 4th finger instead of open strings.

Take each of these steps at your own pace, and don't move on to the next step until you have mastered the previous one.

When placing the fourth finger, your wrist should not be sticking out or collapsing in, and the finger should be as curved as possible. If you're having trouble reaching your fourth finger, swing your elbow in towards your body (covered in the lesson titled "Elbow Swing".

In order to properly place down our fingers on different strings, the position of our elbow must change slightly.

On the E string, the elbow rests directly underneath the violin. As we move to the A string, the elbow slightly comes in towards our body, and if you are having trouble reaching up to your fourth finger tape, swing the elbow in even more. As we move down the instrument to D and G strings, continue to swing the elbow inwards so that all fingers can reach comfortably.

This elbow swing becomes even more extreme as we shift up and down the violin.

There are two main instances when a violinist or violist may choose to use their fourth finger:

1. To avoid string crossings

2. To avoid playing an open string (especially common with the E string)

The D Major scale is the same as the A Major scale, just on the D and A strings instead of A and E! D Major has two sharps, F# and C#.

If you choose to use the fourth fingers, you can play this tune all on the D string!

This is such a classic and fun piece to play! In this tune, the 4th fingers are optional but I do recommend trying to use them so that you get better and more comfortable with them!

This piece is perfect for practicing slurs!

This is sure to impress friends and family! In this version of the tune, you'll use your fourth fingers and practice a few slurs, and there's a surprise twist at the end!

In this video, you'll learn about the low 2nd finger. The low 2nd finger is placed next to the first finger, and gives you the notes G natural (E string), C natural (A string), F natural (D string) and B flat (G string).

In this scale, you'll use the low 2nd finger on the E string and A string and 4th fingers on the way down the scale. We'll practice the scale with 1 note per bow, 2 notes slurred, and 4 notes slurred.

This piece is in a new time signature: 3/8. This means that there are 3 eighth notes per measure. Additionally, there are a few ties in this piece. Ties look exactly like slurs (a curvy line), but can only connect 2 of the same note name (ie 2 Cs or 2 Es). The tie means to hold that note out for the combined value of both notes.

In this video, you'll learn about the high third finger. The high third finger creates the notes A# or B flat on the E string, D sharp or E flat on the A string, G sharp or A flat on the D string, and C sharp or D flat on the G string.

Anytime can be Christmas time! This version of the tune is in the key of A Major, so there are 3 sharps, F#, C# and G#. This is also a great opportunity to practice using your 4th finger.

In this video, you'll learn about the low 1st finger. To play a low 1st finger, move your finger back towards the scroll. This produces the notes F natural (E string), B flat (A string), E flat (D string), and A flat (G string).

This piece is in the key of G Major, so there is 1 sharp, F sharp. In addition to the low 1st finger, this piece also has a few high 3rd fingers, and slurs.

There are 3 types of minor scales: natural, harmonic, and melodic. Natural minor simply means to play the key signature. Harmonic minor means to raise scale degree number 7 (note number 7 in the scale) by one half step. Melodic minor means to raise scale degrees 6 and 7 on the way up and lower them on the way back down. Violinists typically play melodic minor scales.

In this video, you'll learn about the low 4th finger. This finger placement is in the same place as the high 3rd finger, but we tend to use the high 3 for sharp notes (ie G sharp), and the low 4 for flat notes (ie A flat).

There are three main reasons that you would choose to shift:

1) to play a note that you can't play in the position you're currently in.

2) to avoid string crossings.

3) to evoke a different tone quality or character.