If you don't read music, then you have to train yourself to learn how to play what you hear by sound (by ear). Find easy songs that have simple melodies and keep trying to play on the violin what you hear!
I enjoyed your video--your explanations were very clear. I am looking forward to more of your videos! I am going to share this one with my high school orchestra class :)
Geez, this information would have been useful when I was a teenager (to early twenties, cannot remember the exact date). I played with my church band, and they could play most gospel songs no problem with me following them. It wasn't until we got a guest speaker who was blind and could play the piano that I had problems. He had heard my violin and wanted to play with our band before starting his sermon. I had agreed because I mostly play by ear and did not need much directing when it came to our band. He starts his first notes, and I froze when I realized that he had completely changed the song (I don't remember what song, but it was a well-known song) to jazz. I had never frozen on stage before, not even in school when I had all the solo parts as the first chair. First time freezing, and I could not really play with him at all. I felt so embarrassed that I could not follow him as well as the others in the band when he had made an obvious statement that he had wanted to play with a violin player. He was a cool dude.
Hello Sir. I recently started noticing the beautiful sounds of the violin Do you think it's possible for me at the age of 69 to start learning to play the violin as a hobby. I really like it. Although sight reading isn't my strongest skill. However I did take lessons for a yr and completed Suzuki book one. Unfortunately instructor father died and he just totally Stop teaching me. No notice or anything. I still want to play tho. Just can't find a decent teacher. I went to the Eastman school of music when I was just starting out and for 6 months all the fale instructor did was show me how to hold the bow and the violin. I don't have to much confidence the schools anymore. I think their all about the money. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hello! It's never too late to learn the violin. The best thing to do is to find a private teacher in your area to help. You can try your local violin shops and music stores, they should be able to recommend a teacher. Good luck!
Thanks for the response back. I have a electric violin and a acoustic violin. I bought the electric one so that I wouldn't disturb my wife while playing and it helped. But I'm wondering if it's advisable to play just the acoustic one or both violins. I did notice that there was a tone and sound difference when playing them. Is it better to play just one.
Question. The Suzuki methods are ok to me but I'm more of a traditional music lover. Are there other traditional books for beginners to start out on and finish with. To me once you reach book three of the Suzuki method. It gets boring.
