What would be a good way to judge whether one's violin skills were above or below average?

Question

What determines whether a violinist is "ahead" or "behind" the pack when a beginner? How long does the average student take to play fancy, complex pieces? How would one know if they would EVER BE CAPABLE if merely a beginner?

Answer 1

Anybody can be a great violinist. Everyone will learn at a different pace, though, and for some it will be much harder. Some will be much more determined, and for some it will just come naturally. So you can't really determine how fast a person should be learning. The important thing is that you are progressing.

Answer 2

Generally, I think asking your teacher would be the best way to get a good indication; they are likely to have had a fair bit of experience of other beginners, and also a better appreciation of your strengths and weaknesses than perhaps you yourself have.

I don't think anyone can accurately judge your long-term potential when you are still a beginner. You have to at least get up to some sort of decent standard and assess from there whether you're near your limits or not.

I disagree with the first answerer in this repect. I don't believe that everybody has the capability to be a great violinist (or great flautist, or great physicist, or whatever). I do believe that with sufficient time and perseverance, most people should be able to reach a fairly good standard. But there's a big difference between that and greatness.

I'm not going to try to answer the second question, because I don't know specifically for violins and because your definition of "fancy, complex" pieces may be substantially different from mine.