Can an adult beginner with no music experiance learn the violin.?

Question

I am 26 and me and my wife are living in different states due to work. I want to learn to play an instrument and she plays the violin and said she would give me one to learn with.

I have never played an instrument, and do not know how to read music. Can I at this age really learn this instrument? How difficult is it? Will I ever be able to play by ear?

Answer 1

Age is no boundary for learning a musical instrument.

Large hands for a violin, however can be a pain in the butt.

The best thing for you to do would be to get private lessons from an university professor on violin, or a music store as well. These people will be more than qualified and probably the best to teach you, being that you are an older 'budding' musician.

Before getting into lessons, feel free to get a hold of any beginners method book, to get a grasp of notation and fingerings you will see as well.

As for a method of instruction, the 'Suzuki' method is a great way which many string instructors will use, and is used also between other instruments as well. Further, Suzuki relies on teaching by rote, so you learn the music by ear before learning things on paper. That should help you to learn by ear tremendously

The difficulty of learning the instrument, if it is your first wont be too hard once you overcome the initial schematics of learning finger placement, strings and what not.

Best of luck.

Ohh. for your first lesson.
Your strings are going to be: (All plucked on straight beats, 4 per string)
--E: Eek, Eek, Eek, Look at all the....
--A: Ants, Ants, Ants Digging in the...
--D: Dirt, Dirt, Dirt Digging in the...
--G: Ground, Ground, Ground, all the way to...
--(Need a Cello for this one): China.

:)

Answer 2

Learning Violin As An Adult

Answer 3

I am the Drum Major of a High School Band in Texas. Trust me, I have seen MANY people pick up a instrument one day and within a week they can already play 3 different songs pretty well. Now, these songs are like Mary Had a Little Lamb and Pied Piper, but it is pretty good for someone who just started 1 week ago. As long as you have confidence in yourself, then I am almost positive that you can learn it. It can be extremely difficult if you make it that way. All you have to do it practice, and you should be fine. Yamaha makes some great beginner books for all different kinds of instruments. You should look into those to not only advance you in learning the instrument, but for a couple of popular songs that you could learn. As for the playing by ear, thats a talent that you just develop after playing a instrument for while. I have that talent, and it is really handy. But, the drawback is that it doesn't really teach you the music like the way you should learn it. Look up methods of learning to read music on Google or Yahoo!, and there a bound to be great methods on teaching you how to read music. Good Luck!

Answer 4

Learn Violin In 30 Days!

Answer 5

Oh, you are still very young. Besides, my father-in-law took up the piano at 65 when he retired and had about 20 years of total and complete enjoyment. He practiced every day. He believed it kept his mind active and I've heard that before. I played the violin as a child and loved it. I don't think it's that difficult if you bite off small chunks and set goals. A competent teacher would be very helpful but you can learn the basics on your own with books. Piano is a bit easier to self-teach. I did that later in life and didn't find it hard at all, but I really practiced a lot. I'm 60, by the way, so you can see it's never to late to learn.

Answer 6

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Can an adult beginner with no music experiance learn the violin.?
I am 26 and me and my wife are living in different states due to work. I want to learn to play an instrument and she plays the violin and said she would give me one to learn with.

I have never played an instrument, and do not know how to read music. Can I at this age really learn this...

Answer 7

How much of a beginner are you? If you have already played another instrument, it is fairly easy to pick up another. Guitar transfers over to cello particularly well, because you have the correct muscles for finger work already built up. Cello / violin / viola are relatively harder intruments to learn and sound good on quickly. You have to be able to move each finger of your left hand independently while using a swing motion to manipulate the bow with your right arm. However, they are rewarding and beautiful instruments, and not as loud as some of the other instruments, if you are worried about noise problems. I'd say go for it! It is not harder as an adult learner, and it is a great hobby to keep your brain and your reflexes in shape. Let me know if you want advice on teachers / music / etc.

Answer 8

Yes! I find it refreshing that you're picking up something new past high school!
Yes, it is very difficult. But it depends on you. It depends on how much you want to learn it, how much you want to grow with music...
If violin is something you've always wanted to play, you'll have a great time learning. Go for it!
The playing it by ear is something that is more of a born talent or not... You may be able to, you may not... that will come with time.
Good Luck!

Answer 9

These days you can learn how to play guitar over the internet. Check out Mark McKenzie's guitar video lessons here: http://www.jamoramaguitar.com The videos are very easy to follow and to my surprise extremely helpful even for advanced guitar players. For beginners I would have to say this is a gold mine.

I was able to improve my skills in just under 4 weeks and I am an intermediate-to-advanced guitar player; I've been playing guitar for the past 6 years and I was on stage with my band a lot of times.

I live in New York City, I wanted to go to a pro guitar teacher but that would have cost me over $1400 per month. Good thing with this internet, $1400 it's a lot of money for me. Good luck!

Answer 10

The violin is actually one of the more difficult to learn. I started playing an ocarina two days ago and already I know several songs. I can't read music, but I play by ear.

It's never too late to start learning a new instrument. It will provide you a lifetime of enjoyment.