Can I Learn Violin on an Electric Violin?

Can Beginners Learn Violin on an Electric Violin?

If you are thinking about learning the violin, you might be wondering “can I learn to play violin on an electric violin?” While you technically could learn violin on an electric violin, I would recommend against beginners starting off with an electric violin. Why? It all has to do with learning to produce a good tone.

Before we get into the specifics about tone, let’s talk about the three types of violins: acoustic, acoustic/electric, and electric.

What is the Difference Between Acoustic Violins, Acoustic/Electric Violins, and Electric Violins?

Acoustic violins have wooden bodies that naturally resonate and amplify the sound. The wooden body of an acoustic violin acts as a resonance chamber. Electric violins don’t have resonance chambers. They require an amplifier in order to be heard. Acoustic/Electric violins have the traditional wooden body, but they also have pick-ups and usually volume adjusters.

Should I start with electric or acoustic violin?

If you are just starting to learn violin, you should start with an acoustic violin. Acoustic violins allow you to hear the tone you are producing and make adjustments. Electric violins require an amplifier to produce a sound. Even then, the amplified sound is not natural and will make it difficult to learn to produce a good tone.

Producing a good tone with the violin is one of the most difficult skills to master. It requires the optimum amount of weight and speed transferred through the bow to the strings. How do you know if you have the right amount of weight and speed? The natural resonance chamber of an acoustic violin will tell you! If something sounds bad, you’ll hear it and be able to adjust. The effects added when playing with an electric violin (such as amplification, distortion, reverb, etc) make it difficult to hear and learn how to produce a good tone. An electric violin without an amplifier is so quiet that you won’t be able to gauge if you are doing the right things with your bow to produce a good tone.

What are the Disadvantages of an Electric Violin?

Electric violins require amplification to be heard, so if you don’t have an amplifier, the electric violin will be very quiet, and may not produce a sound at all. That means you won’t be able to hear everything you need to hear on an electric violin, making it much harder to learn.

The effects of amplification can also distort the natural sound of the violin and hide mistakes with intonation and bowing.

Is Electric Violin Easier than Acoustic Violin?

No! It is much easier to learn to play on an acoustic violin. With an electric violin, it can be difficult if not impossible to learn to produce a good tone. If you are a beginner violinist, you should learn to play on an acoustic violin.

I’m worried about my neighbors. Should I learn to play on an electric violin?

Electric violins are quieter than acoustic violins since they don’t have resonance chambers and rely on amplifiers to produce a sound. An electric violin without an amplifier has a very quiet sound or it may not produce a sound at all. If you are worried about disturbing your neighbors while you learn to play the violin, you can get a practice mute for your acoustic violin which significantly reduces the sound. Beginner violinists should avoid electric violins until you learn the basics of tone production and intonation. The sound of an acoustic violin can be dampened with a practice mute, but you still have the option of removing the practice mute when you’re not worried about disturbing anyone.

I’m worried about being heard when playing with large groups. Should I get an acoustic/electric violin?

A good quality acoustic violin can actually produce a very loud sound once you learn the basics of tone production. If you need to be heard over other louder instruments or in large venues, you can always mic an acoustic violin.

Acoustic/Electric violins are usually more expensive than their counterpart acoustic violins. If you are a beginner, I would recommend putting that extra money towards a better acoustic violin rather than purchasing an acoustic/electric violin. You can always mic an acoustic violin if you need to be louder. If you regularly play at large venues, for large crowds, or with other amplified instruments, then buying an electric violin or an acoustic/electric violin is probably worth the extra money.

Purchasing your first violin can be overwhelming! Do you need more help choosing your first violin? Check out my top 10 violins for beginners.

Happy Practicing!

Buying a Violin For the First Time

Buying your first violin is a big decision. Although it might not involve as much money, it’s something like buying your first house or car. You want something suitable to your needs. Not too cheap, not too expensive. If you are looking for a beginner violin, here are some tips to help you find the perfect one.

How much money do I spend on my first violin?

That’s the question I get asked the most when new students are realizing just how expensive violins can get. Beginner violin outfits will range from $200-$500. Does the more expensive violin actually sound better? Will I progress faster? What about new versus used violins?

Buying Used Violins

Shopping for beginner violins can be similar to shopping for a car. If you buy a used car, you generally get it for cheaper than a new one since you’re accepting dings, scratches, and maybe other unknown problems. With violins, if you buy a used beginner violin (from a reputable source, not Ebay or the thrift store) the first thing you’ll want to do is change the strings (around $40 plus installation) and get the bow re-haired ($40 to $75). When you take those things into account, the used violin might not be cheaper.

Side note: I do have a student who found a very nice violin at a thrift store for $30. Finding jewels like that does happen (never to me!) but it is rare. More often, I see worthless violins at antique stores and thrift shops with outrageous price tags. These violins are usually useful only as wall decorations, so be wary!

Buying New Violins

If you are buying a new violin from a dealer or an online company, how much money is enough? Back to the car analogy. If you are shopping for a new car you have a couple options. You can buy a budget car that gets the job done just fine. But you might only make it to 60,000 miles before problems start creeping up and you either have to pay a lot for repairs, or buy a new car. Instead of purchasing a budget car, you could pay a little more and get a car that will get you past 100,000 miles so you won’t have to worry about buying another car anytime soon.

Good quality “budget” violins will get the job done but you will grow out of them quicker. If you buy a higher end beginner violin or an intermediate violin ($400-$1000) you won’t have to worry about upgrading as soon. Budget violin outfits come with budget bows. Bows on the lower end of the scale can be very heavy or have an annoying wobble when you draw the bow on the string.

You will also be able to do more with a better quality violin. Some of the upgrades you might get are better tuning pegs for easier tuning, a lighter bow or a more stable bow, and better sound production. Learning to produce a good tone on a violin is possibly one of the hardest tasks beginning violinists must overcome. Having good equipment makes it so much easier.

What’s your mission?

Another thing to consider is what you are buying the violin for. If you want to see if you like the violin, then get the budget version or rent. If you will be playing in church or performing, go for something a little nicer. Cheap violins will not project as well when performing. With a better violin, you’ll sound better without having to work so hard. Are you buying a full size violin for a child? Will the child take this violin through high school, orchestra rehearsals, auditions, and the rest of their adult life? Pay a little more. If you’re going on a long road trip, you’d want them to have a good, reliable car, right? You can’t win Nascar races with run-of-the-mill budget cars.

Getting Your Money's Worth

Another question I’m frequently asked is, “If I sell my violin, will I be able to get back what I paid for it?” That’s a very hard question to answer since it depends on what you paid for it, what condition it’s in, where you live, and what the market is like in your area. Keep in mind, beginner violins are not one-of-a-kind Ferraris. They’re more like a basic, stock, Ford Focus. Companies like Shar will be turning out beginner violins until the end of time so if you want to sell your violin, you’ll have to take that into consideration. You wouldn’t buy a new car, put 5,000 miles on it and expect to get exactly what you paid for it. Why? Because your potential buyer could go to the dealer and buy a new car for the same price.

Trade-In Policies

This is the best way to insure you’ll get something out of your old violin. Violin shops often have trade-in policies. If you buy a violin from them and later want to upgrade to a better violin, they will give you money back on your old violin as long as the old violin and the new violin come from their store. Ask your local dealer what their trade-in policy is.

If you are looking for online options, Fiddlershop has a great trade-in policy.

Until you start paying big bucks, violins aren’t really investments. If you take good care of them, they’ll at least hold their value but you probably won’t get more for a beginner violin than what you paid for it. Like other hobbies and activities you do for fun, it’s about the amount of enjoyment you get out of the violin, not how much it will be worth in ten years.

Affording the Better Violin

So you want the better violin, but how do you afford it? Ask your music store what their financing options are. Fiddlershop has a financing option as well as the option to pay in installments.

Should I Rent or Buy My First Violin?

With so many options on the internet these days, choosing a beginner violin can be a difficult task. Use this guide to make choosing your first beginner violin hassle-free! You can also check out my top picks for beginner violins here.

Violin Size

Violins come in many different sizes. The size is notated by a fraction ranging from 4/4 for a full size, adult violin to 1/32 size for young children. Choosing the right size for a beginner is essential to success. Having a violin that is not the right size can make it nearly impossible to learn the basics. The best way to find the right fit is to visit a shop and hold many different sizes. One way to determine the correct size is to have the student hold the violin in the shoulder position and extend the left arm and cup the palm around the scroll. The elbow should be slightly bent. If the student cannot reach the scroll or if the arm is straight, the violin is probably too big. Remember, it is always best to go with a smaller size if you are unsure. If you are ordering a violin online, you can measure from the neck to the left wrist for an approximate size. Here is a link with violin size charts and measurements.
 How To Determine the Proper Instrument Size

Buying vs. Renting

Since young students change violin sizes as they grow, many parents prefer renting a violin. Support your local violin shop if you can. The great thing about rentals is that you can exchange the violin fairly easily if the size is not right.

Buying a violin costs more up front, but then you always have the option of reselling it if you take care of it. It is a great idea if your student has younger siblings that will one day want to learn to play the violin as well. I once taught a family of 8 children who all played the violin. Over the years, they had accumulated every size of violin and simply passed them on to the next child when the older child outgrew them.

Is a more expensive violin better?

If you go into a violin shop, the most expensive violin might not always be the best sounding violin. Sometimes, you pay more for the violin's pedigree even if a cheaper violin sounds better. But, with beginner violins at companies like Shar and Southwest Strings, you generally get what you pay for. The more expensive violin will generally be better quality. However, when you start to get into a higher price range, don't just buy the more expensive violin, try several violins out. The sound and tone of the cheaper violin might appeal to you more. It's all about tastes and preferences!

Will a more expensive violin make me sound better?

Better quality violins will give you a better sound. You also have more room to grow musically with the violin. If you have a young child playing on a fractional size violin, you might not be ready to spend more money since you know the child will have to get a bigger violin eventually. However, if you are buying a full size violin, I recommend spending a little more money to get a better quality fiddle. As you progress on violin, you will need a violin that delivers all you're asking of it. Buying a better violin from the start gives you more room to explore and push your own limits. 

What about used violins?

If you buy a used violin let a professional look it over first to insure there are no problems with it. The first thing I would do with a used violin is put a new set of strings on it, since you don't know how long the old set has been on there. A decent set of strings will run you $30-$40. If you don't know how to put the strings on, you'll have to pay someone to do it. If there are other things damaged with the violin, you'll have to pay to get those fixed. Unless it is an unbeatable deal, a cheap, used violin might be more hassle than it's worth.

Never buy a violin from sites like Ebay and be wary of violins for under $100. These instruments are cheaply made and often unplayable. I once had a student with an Ebay violin. The pegs were plastic and therefore, would not keep the string in tune. Playing violin in tune is hard when the strings are in tune! Imagine if the strings are constantly changing. It's impossible!

What else do I buy?

Most beginner violins come as outfits with a case, violin bow, and sometimes rosin. Make sure your purchase comes with all of these. If not, buy them separately. You will also need a shoulder rest that matches the size of your violin. Buying a music stand is also essential to promoting good posture. Here's a list of things you may need.

Don’t let the process of choosing a violin be intimidating! Feel free to contact me any time with any questions you may have.

How to Have the Best Online Violin Lesson

You can ensure that you get the most out of your online violin lesson by preparing just a little bit beforehand. After teaching online lessons for several years, I’ve discovered four areas that slow down lesson progress. Internet problems, software problems, camera set-up, and violin set-up. With today’s busy schedules sometimes just remembering you scheduled a lesson can be a challenge. I understand! I’ve got some tips to make sure you never forget a lesson.Here’s my checklist to make sure you’re violin lessons are good to go!

Remembering the Lesson

Since lessons can’t be canceled or changed within 24 hours of the lesson, it’s important to make sure your schedule hasn’t changed since you booked the lesson.

• Lessonface will send you a reminder on your email 25 hours before every lesson. Make sure that you are receiving the Lessonface emails and that they aren’t going to your junk mail.

• Set an alarm as soon as you book your lesson. This is especially helpful if you are booking lessons for a few weeks in the future or if you are rescheduling lessons from your normal time.

Internet Connections

First, check your internet speed. At the very least, you want 1 Mbps up and down. Of course, more is better. If you aren’t happy with your speeds, try these suggestions.

• Use an ethernet cable. I know this might be a pain to set up but it really gives my speeds a boost!

• Discourage other family members from streaming or downloading things during your lesson.

• Turn off wifi on every other device except the one you are using for your lesson (if you are using wifi).

• If using a hotspot, check out this video.

Software Set-Up

If you are just starting violin lessons, you will need to get your Zoom account set-up ahead of time. There's no additional fee for the software, and you do not need a separate Zoom account. It's all built into the Lessonface system. You can test your set up by registering for a free account, then, in your Lessonface dashboard, going to the right hand menu accessible by clicking your circular profile image and choosing "VIDEO TEST ROOM."

If you are accessing your lessons using a tablet, simply download the Zoom app.

If a box appears asking you to ‘Connect with audio and video’ or anything similar, give your consent.

Try to schedule your first class during Lessonface office hours (are these Monday - Friday 9am-5pm ET??)  If you run into problems and can’t communicate with your teacher, you’ll have these options: (1) Use the blue ‘Help’ at the bottom of any page on the Lessonface site during their live chat hours. (2) Call Lessonface toll-free within the US at 800-211-7058 or directly at 718-577-2100.  (3) Email jess@lessonface.com. 

Audio Settings

Zoom is not particularly fond of our violins’ E strings. It often likes to mute them as well as other sounds. For the best lesson experience, please follow the instructions on this page for your operating system.

Lessonface Zoom Audio Settings

Video Set-Up

Under the video settings in the Zoom settings menu, follow these steps.

1. Check “Mirror my video”

2. Uncheck “Turn off my video when joining a meeting”

Camera Set-Up

Your camera on your tablet or computer will work fine. Finding the right angle so that you can see me and your music and I can see you while you’re playing is a little trickier. In order for me to be able to give you the most advice, it’s best if I can see your entire violin. Try to position the camera so that your video looks like this. 

In your Lessonface dashboard, go to the right hand menu accessible by clicking your circular profile image and choose "VIDEO TEST ROOM." This will allow you to check out your image without joining a lesson.

I position my music stand so it’s to the left of my scroll. Sitting is fine, but make sure you have a chair without arms so they won’t interfere with your bow. Ensure the table or desk where your computer is won’t interfere with you bow either. 

Violin Set-up

What’s great about online violin lessons is that you can have your violin tuned and your bow hair tightened before the lesson. If you are new, we’ll go over tuning in the lesson, but you can get a head start by watching an introductory tuning video.

Have all your books ready to go and have your bow tightened and rosined. If you are new, don’t worry about this, we’ll go over everything!

Here’s a few other miscellaneous tips to give you an even better lesson.

1. If you can, warm-up before starting your lesson.

2. Join the lesson early to make sure everything is working properly. Computers generally like to restart/install updates exactly one minute before a lesson starts, so make sure you don’t have any surprises right before your lesson! Sometimes I am able to join the lesson 2 or 3 minutes before it starts so we can have more time in the lesson. Keep in mind, if you join before I do, a dialogue box will appear that says: "The Host Has Another Meeting in Progress.” Don’t worry, everything is working fine. Stay on the call and as soon as I join we will be connected. (This is a good time to make sure your audio settings are set like the ones above!)

3. Review the lesson notes during the week. 

Remember, the more you put into lessons, the more you get out of them. Practice regularly and have a great online violin lesson!

Happy Practicing!

Step by Step Guide to Starting Violin Lessons

Starting a new instrument can sometimes be a challenging endeavor. There’s the struggle of finding an affordable, good quality instrument. Then purchasing the accessories you might not have known you needed. Finding a teacher that suits you and then finding a time that works for both of you. And we haven’t even played a note yet! I’m here to help you streamline this process for violin lessons into step by step guide to getting started so you can focus on making beautiful music!

1. Find a Violin Teacher

This might not seem like the logical first step, but finding a good teacher from the start can help the rest of the process go smoothly. I don’t know any violin teacher who wouldn’t be eager to help a student get started. Feel free to reach out an ask questions.

2. Purchase or Rent a Violin

This is the fun part! First you want to know what size violin you will need. I’ve got a handy sizing chart to make measuring easy. Next, decide if you want to purchase or rent. If you decide on purchasing a violin, learn how much to budget for a violin and the pros and cons of used versus new violins. Then check out my top picks for beginner violins. Most beginner violins come as an outfit including a violin, bow, and case, so you will need to purchase just a few other accessories.

3. Accessories

Once you have the violin on the way, the next step will be to purchase the goodies you will need to go with it. There are a lot of gadgets out there that supposedly make learning violin easier. Don’t bother with the majority of them. Only two accessories are necessary. A shoulder rest and rosin. Here are my top picks for shoulder rests. For rosin, I recommend Hidersine.

If you don’t have a music stand, it will make your life so much easier when it comes to posture. And lastly, it’s not necessary, but if you want a little extra help to show you where to place your left hand fingers, purchase a First Frets Decal, just make sure it matches the size of your violin.

You’ll want to purchase the music books your violin teacher recommends. Here are a list of books I use.

4. Tune Your Violin

When your violin arrives, you will find it’s pretty bad out of tune. No worries! Your teacher will be happy to help. I’ve also made a video to make tuning a breeze. Make sure you’re keeping your new violin safe and clean as well!

5. Learn to Play!

Now that your violin is in tune, you are almost ready to make music! Learn how to adjust your shoulder rest to play comfortably. Get your bow hold ready to go, and start playing! I’ve got lots of free sheet music for beginners and make sure to check out my lessons on music theory and technique tips!

Happy Practicing!

What Size Violin Should I Buy?

Purchasing your first violin can be challenging. Determining the right size violin to buy is extremely important to ease of playing. If your violin is too small, it might be impossible to NOT play over the fingerboard, which means you are going to hit other strings no matter how hard you concentrate. Violins that are too large for a player make the left hand stretch beyond what is comfortable.

Violins come in a variety of sizes measured in fractions, ranging from a full size 4/4 violin all the way down to a tiny 1/16 violin. There’s also a 1/32 size, if your child’s arm length is below 14 inches. In my opinion, 1/32 size is a few steps away from a toy. If your child needs that size, my advice would be to save your money, buy your child some piano lessons, and then purchase a 1/16 in a few months. Your child will get much more benefit out of the piano lessons since they will show up to violin lessons already having a basic understanding of music and we can focus on learning the violin.

If you are an adult with average arm length and hand size, you will probably want a full size, 4/4 violin. However, if you are an adult with smaller than average hands and arms, or a younger child, you will definitely want to measure yourself to find the right size violin. There is a size in between 3/4 and 4/4. It’s called 7/8 and it’s somewhat rare. I have pretty small hands and I’ve always wanted to try a 7/8. I recently purchased one from Gliga violins. It’s a great size for teenagers who are still growing or adults with smaller hands and fingers.

Use this chart to determine the correct violin size for you. Measure from the neck all the way out to the middle of the left hand palm.

Tuning Your Violin

Learn the ins and outs of tuning your violin

At first, it might take you a while to learn to tune your violin. As you get better, tuning your violin will get quicker. Keep in mind, violins of inferior quality may make it difficult, or impossible to tune. If you are getting frustrated tuning, it may be time to look for a better violin.

Tuning the violin isn’t difficult, but with a few tips and tricks, you can learn to tune quickly and easily.

Read the rest of the article at Lessonface.com

How to Take Care of Your Violin

Even beginner violins aren’t cheap by any means. So it’s important to learn how to take care of your violin from day one. Taking care of your violin ensures that you are getting the best possible sound your violin can offer. With a little bit of upkeep and preventative maintenance, you can catch issues before they develop into bigger problems. Follow these guidelines so your violin always sounds its best!

Read the rest of the article at Lessonface.com

New to the Violin? Here's Some Tips for Parents

TIPS FOR PRACTICING

WHEN TO PRACTICE

Try to practice right after the lesson while everything is still fresh. The longer you wait, the more your child will forget. If you aren’t able to practice right after, have your child talk through the new things they learned.

The amount of time each student needs to practice will vary with age and level. For all students, it is much better to have short daily practice sessions than to have one or two long weekly sessions. For beginners, at least 10-15 minutes a day 5 days a week is a good start. 

HOW TO PRACTICE

Students often fall into the trap of just running through pieces for their practice time. Running through a song might make it sound better after multiple attempts, but there are better, quicker ways to make something sound good. Set daily and weekly goals for yourself. I try to give students one or two big concepts to work on for the week. Think of these things while you play. Stop and ask yourself if you are doing them. Identify any problem spots. You don’t always have to start at the beginning of a song, start at the hard parts and try to understand what makes them difficult. Simplify the music if needed: pizz. the song without the bow or shadow bow it without the left hand. Make up words to songs or listen to others playing them. Finally, reward yourself for playing something well! As musicians, we are always thinking about what we did wrong and forgetting about everything we did right!

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

Parent involvement will differ with age level. For very young children, parents should be present during the lesson. Take notes and ask questions since you will be your child’s teacher during the week. Practice time for young children should be adult supervised as well. I can always tell an incredible difference with young students who have parents assisting them during lessons, versus parents who are not present during the lesson. When parents (or older siblings) help out a child during lessons, we can cover much more material, and the parent knows exactly what to work on during the week. If you can’t be present for your child’s lesson, ask for your teacher’s notes on the lesson. I leave lesson notes for every lesson so parents always know what we worked on. Use these notes as a guide throughout the week.

MOTIVATION 

Staying motivated is hard no matter how well you play. Once the honeymoon phase has worn off, parents should make sure their children still practice regularly. The less they practice, the more discouraged and frustrated they will become and the more they will want to quit. Hearing other musicians play is always encouraging. Take advantage of the internet and YouTube to find some great performances. Encourage students to also improvise on their violins. This is a fun and important part of developing the necessary aural and tactile skills.

Consider Learning the Violin Yourself

When a parent learns violin along side their child, something magical always happens. The child almost always progresses much, much faster than other students. The child will hear the parent playing their songs, reinforcing what the songs sound like. The parent serves as a role model throughout the week. The greatest benefit is the joy of sharing music together, which is priceless!