Learning Violin, Can't Read Music?

ball

Hi,

As above.
I've just bought a violin but I can't read music.
I'm trying to teach myself by ear.

Has anyone done this before?
If so, how did it go?

Dord

Well, get learning.... it's gonna be pretty difficult otherwise. If you want to use any books to learn then they are going to use written notation. I'd recommend you get a teacher as they will help you and will most likely teach you music along side learning how to play.

Malice

ball wrote: »

Hi,

As above.
I've just bought a violin but I can't read music.
I'm trying to teach myself by ear.

Has anyone done this before?
If so, how did it go?

I played the violin for Junior Cert Music and I couldn't (and still can't) read sheet music. I used to get the teacher to write the names of the notes below the music notation so that I'd end up with something like this: "D D D A A A D D A C". Maybe that would help in the beginning? I wouldn't recommend this approach longterm though.

Lyre61

To try and learn by ear alone is possible, the Suzuki method is usually reserved for very young children. But if you can take the time and learn how to read music at this stage it will open a lot of possibilities for you as you move on. you will pick up the basics in a couple of hours. there are lots of books that bring you through the theory one step at a time.

Seoid

Surely it would be very difficult to teach yourself violin by ear without a musical background because the notes aren't specifically set. I mean, there are no frets so you need to know exactly where to put your fingers to get the right note.
What sort of music do you want to play? Trad musicians often don't read music but for most kinds of music I really think you'd be better off learning to read music. You should be able to find a teacher who can teach you by ear and teach you theory/sheet music at your own pace.

crosstownk

Try a book called "A Tune A Day" for violin by C. Paul Herfurth. I used it when I was in school and found it quite helpful.

dan_d

There's a LOT of technique involved in the violin....holding the bow, how to use the bow properly etc.You might be able to manage teaching yourself by ear for a while, but I'd imagine you'll need a teacher to eventually show you position changes and things like that, otherwise you'll have a limited enough repertoire??Course it depends on how much you want to learn too.

cedomination

I played violin for 8 years and still haven't bothered learning to read music.

johnnysmack

sorry to highjack the thread but i just bought a violin today also. the guy in the shop said to rub the roslin onto to bow to get sound but doesnt seem to be working. what am i doing wrong?

johnnysmack

never mind, figured out what was going wrong.