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Choosing What Instrument to Learn #5: Violin/Fiddle (part 1)
By Rick | September 11, 2008
First off: fiddle and violin are the same thing. Just different words for the same instrument.
So, as I may have mentioned, this is my new obsession. It’s also the hardest thing I’ve tried to play so far. That said, there are loads of reasons to learn to play fiddle…In my case, fiddle is appropriate because it is used in many of the musical styles I like: Celtic, bluegrass, old time, folk. It is a natural addition to my limited-competence armoury of guitar, tin whistle, mandolin, tenor banjo and bodhran.
However, a quick visit to Fiddleforum.com soon shows that there is plenty of scope for fiddling outside the genres I listed above. Jazz is another obvious niche (ever heard the late Stephane Grappelli play?), but violin turns up in rock and roll too. Electric violins are getting to be really popular. They add a whole new sonic dimension to any band - s well as a touch of novelty. That’s a mission you’ll notice here - I encourage people to learn more than just guitar, bass, drums and keyboards. Everyone and his dog learns one of the standard rock band instruments. Learn a more obscure instrument and there will be fewer people better at it than you to make you look bad!
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Anyway, back to the fiddle. Shall we do the bad news first? OK, but promise you’ll read the positive stuff that follows the doom and gloom?
Downside 1) More than any other instrument I have tried, with this one you really will benefit from a few proper fiddle or violin lessons. For a start, if you don’t master the correct ways of holding the instrument and the bow, you’ll not only never get nice music out of it, you can really cause yourself some joint and muscle problems. There are also a few issues that nearly all beginners encounter that really do need input from a teacher to correct.
Downside 2) Early progress at violin is usually slower than the equivalent degree of advancement on a guitar, mandolin etc. For the first few months the bow will bounce and slide all over the place, the instrument will squeak and squawk and your arms and neck will ache because you’re too tense. It can disheartening.
Downside 3) It isn’t easy to find stores who stock decent, low-priced instruments. It is quite easy to find stores who stock cheap, crappy violins, but that is so not what you want. The £39 violins you sometimes see in supermarkets are not, in fact, violins at all - they are cunningly shaped lumps of firewood that should be avoided at all costs.
Downside 4) More than any other instrument I have tried, violin simply begs its player to learn to read music (I am told the same is true of piano). Although you can learn to play without reading music, you’ll learn more and learn it more quickly if you learn to sight-read notation.
Downside 5) This thing doesn’t have frets! Guitarists and mandolin players around the globe recoil in horror! It’s true - you have to learn finger positions by feel and by ear.
Downside 6) Decent violins can be expensive. The double ouch is that a good bow can cost as much as a vioin! For example, I have a £175 fiddle, but my bow cost me £200!
I’m short of time just now, so forgive me if I do this article in two parts.Don’t be put off, because once I list the positive aspects to taking up the fiddle you’ll all be hanging up your guitars and basses and heading off to the violin shop!
Read Part 2 - The GOOD Things About Fiddle/Violin.
Topics: Acoustic, Amplified, Getting Started, Instruments, Uncategorized |