You're Never Too Old To Play The Violin. Ever! Really! /How to "Really" Play The Violin Supplemental
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- Опубликовано: 3 окт 2024
- No matter how old, or how hard of hearing you are, don't give up. You can learn to play the violin.
Note: This is a re-posting of this video. Somehow the original was deleted.
I don't receive anything for saying this, but, for those who are hard of hearing and really do wish to play the violin, you will need to purchase a Peterson StroboPlus HD tuner. This is a direct link to amazon.com The price was $125 prime the last time I checked:
www.amazon.com...
5:21-6:11 "My Country 'Tis of Thee" Samuel Smith 1831
I tried to learn the violin my self it was a struggle I went a whole week without being able to play anything, I was about to give it up I tried one last piece a very simple tune by bethoven called ode to joy, it just clicked and I could play it. Right now I’m playing solo concertos in front of large audiences and playing one of the hardest violin pieces: Ernst last rose of summer. It really was worth giving it the try initially and then persevering.
did you ever see a teacher after that initial frustration? I‘m currently on the journey of self teaching but am a little discouraged by the information overload. Do you have any recommendations for a certain roadmap to learn things and good resources?
I have gathered a few but still am choked by the fear of wasting time or doing things wrong or not optimized enough. The main issue for me is the feeling of running out of time (being 22 years old and full of dreams regarding creating great art one day.
not particularly being a violinist but on a high enough level to express yourself and innovate in your own way)
I know instinctively that there is plenty of time but this crippling feeling tends to hinder my progress in any area ironically.
I would love to hear your experiences and your own doubts & challenges etc.
@@seeNoEvilhearNoEvil_ There is a clear and unambiguous answer to this. Buy Simon Fischer's books "The Violin Lesson" and "Basics". In my experience they are far and away the best resources on the violin, and many seasoned teachers agree with me.
But don't have any illusions - I've learned a number of instruments over the years, and the violin family is much the most difficult. Unless you have unusual talent, you will need to put in a lot of work before you can reach a decent level. The problem is, once you fall in love with the violin, everything else seems limited and uninspiring!
I am 47 with seemingly nothing to look forward to but work and taxes. I started to play 3 days ago and having to learn my self. My 6 year old wont stop talking about it.
Your talk was wonderful. Thank you.
Jerry, the key is comfortable posture. Achievable 💯 percent! The key is to trial with chin rest, yet best of all take it all out. Good luck 🤞
Your encouragement brings back dignity to those that are ahead in the road to Eternity.
What I love most about your wonderful lessons is the passion, the joy, the compassion, love and generosity which are the things which make life worth living and the aspiration to make a joyful noise so much fun! Thank You. Like so many other people I'm grateful and happy to have found you.
Passion is the key of the Violin, even before the G one. Bravo, bravissimo!
I know some of us watch this because we want confirmation for our decision, but this was pretty inspiring. I mean there is some truth to this, in comparison at 40 I probably even have the time to be pretty good in like 10, or even 5 years, for a hobby violinist. Last week I joked to my teacher that after these 4 months I feel things are going pretty good with my playing except my right and left hand. I mean when I struggle to play an etude at half tempo and it's hard, for 8th/16th notes I have to really really slow down and after doing it 30 times still don't feel I can speed up much and I wonder how can others have that much agility in their fingers that I don't have? I concluded it's likely not as much physical, I have healthy hands and brain as far as I can tell so probably there's some sort of magic involved. Bouncy bow, after 4 months, just comes especially during music lessons and if I try to get rid of it it just becomes worse. I do have a lot of doubts and wonder if others have it this hard as well they just hide it well or I'm just really not that capable? I learned in the past that I am capable of things I wouldn't have thought possible, so no one, even I can't tell where are the limits of my capabilities until I really try. I don't really have much else but to think of this. Which is incredibly hard as an engineer, being used to understand and explain with diagrams and or operation guides. Music is so different from everything that I do or the way I think, maybe the biggest difficulty lies in not the physical part but changing my mentality and get used to not knowing things very exactly.
p.s. after describing it this way it sounds like I'm talking about faith. Guess it's something like that, just believe and keep going and care less about the measurable, current proficiency level.
LOVE the message! Started at 36. Bowing sometimes makes me want to punch myself in the face, but when I do hit some good sounds its a joy.
And I LOVE your attitude. Keep with the "good sounds" though, before you give yourself a black eye. :)
@@kevinleeluthier Thanks. Lol My bowing isnt bad for being a month into the process. Its just building that finesse over time with the bow grip/wrist movement as well as the transition with the elbow and shoulder mid bow. Finesse has never been my strength, but I feel like Im doing ok.
Keep up the good work Greg
You’re right. Older people CAN learn to play the violin. I started when I was in my mid-58. I practised with great enthusiasm for 2-4 hours a day. Was accepted into a string ensemble on my 60th birthday and had played in a public concert with them since. I have music background in voice and piano so that definitely helps accelerate the process of learning 😅. The most important step is to start.
This Great inspirational message touched my Heart! I cry as I type this... Thank you!
You are always kind. Thank you.
I just rented a violin to start learning. I'm 66 years old. And I can't thank you enough for this very inspiring video. It's not my first instrument - piano and guitar being my main ones, and a bit of clarinet and saxophone. But, for some reason, I've always wanted to start to learn to play the violin. The most difficult part at first is to avoid playing too flat or too sharp. But I'll practice, practice, practice "with the excitement and imagination of a child" as you said.
Thank you Kevin. I’m so grateful to you for posting this. You’ve totally validated me, a 70 yr old beginner.
Fantastic! I am honored to have your comment.
P A R
How's it going
I used to hang out with a guy who lost three of his fingers. He could roll a joint with more skill than I ever could.
I am 37 years old now, it is my second year of learning. Recently, I am preparing Grade 6 exam. I really hate teachers always said "you are too old to learn violin." "You should learn it when you are a child." AND I always told them, it is not my fault that I haven't have a chance to learn it when I was a kid.
I started learning violin one year ago at age 49. Thank you making this video. You provide inspiration and hope to many.
You are an inspiration. Thank you for your comment.
I've started in my 60s, and am loving every minute. I had the advantage of playing the cello as a kid, so could make a decent sound from the outset. But I've been surprised at the progress I've been able to make, and am becoming more ambitious in my practice and goals. I've even had some paid gigs playing traditional music.
But you do have to be realistic - it's arguably the hardest instrument of all, and it will take a good deal of intelligent and diligent practice if you want to advance much beyond the Twinkle level. So you have to have a true passion for the violin - otherwise you might be better taking up an instrument that will give you quicker results.
This is one of the best videos I ever saw. Thank you in the name of the mankind
Thank you so much!
I'm 66 years old. Picked up the violin about 3 years ago for the second time in my life and have been playing practicing a lot since then. I've gotten a lot better though I know I will probably never be famous for playing I enjoy it immensely. I know I do everything wrong I've never had a lesson in my life I just love to hear the violin playing just about any kind of music classical or folk music. My playing leans more toward the Bluegrass folksy kind but I enjoy hearing it all. Your words are so encouraging and uplifting. I just wanted to thank you for that. Thank you so much!
Thank you for your inspirational words. About 3 years ago I started to self-teach myself playing the violin. I admit that I have not been practicing as much as I originally intended. Still, by now I can pretty much play any of my favourite Irish tunes somewhat in tune. I will probably never have the chance to perform Tchaikovky's Violin Concerto, but your video has strengthened my resolve to pick up my violin again and see where passion might take me. If I could make a suggestion, I would love to see a video about vibrato from you.
It's about 4th down on my lessons list, but it is coming!
Indeed my first tune was Happy Birthday which i played with my 6yo son on the birthday of my daughter last month. Indeed one can play many beatiful tunes as simple as that. Thank you for your chanel. Self teaching really works.
Thank you so much for your comment, and for making the world a better place.
Some of the best motivational speeches done right by master Kevin :)
Thank you so much.
I started learning to play the violin a year ago wile assisting my young son in practicing, I am mid 50"s and this channel has inspired me in so many ways. Love everything about it and the fact that you have kept your style of teaching and encouraging new players for such long time. the humores and historical quotes give you such edge, awesome job!
Thank you. I appreciate the time that you have taken to make this video.
Muchas gracias por sus conceptos. Tengo 77 años soy de Argentina, y recuerdo que dejé los estudios infantiles de violín desde los 6 hasta los 13 años. Lamentablemente no tuve un maestro de jerarquía y la maestra de mi barrio no me impulsó entusiasmo. Luego los estudios regulares me complicaron, hasta la universidad graduandome de médico. Pero hace 3 años, me di cuenta que me llamó aquella experiencia infantil impulsada por mi padre, y comencé a tomar lecciones con un maestro joven pero de calidad.
Hoy me doy cuenta que eludí con el violín la consulta psiquiátrica de esta vida tumultuosa, y pienso que si de niño hubiera dado con alguien superior como maestro, mi vida hubiera sido más plena. Pero lo que usted afirma yo lo puedo reafirmar, no hay edad para hacer muchas cosas incluso estudiar violín, solo hay que estar dispuesto a ir más allá de nuestros límites.
I just found you this week, wow, have I been missing out! I've been doing the bow exercise ever since I saw your video. Two days! And I can reach the tip without straining! Thank you.
This video is so encouraging. I'm 64 and took up the violin 3 years ago. I love it but my progress seems so slow. I've been on the verge of quitting so many times, I even did quit for about 3 months. When I got back to a teacher, I couldn't even remember hold find the notes on my violin. I suppose that makes my arrival in the middle of the first Suzuki book all the more amazing. Almost 13 weeks ago I committed myself to daily practice. I want to play from our church hymnal, and I have set a long term goal to play Meditation. Thank you for your inspiration. And now I need to practice.
I have played guitar for 40 years and hardly think about coordinating the left and right hand but...bowing is much more difficult. I am making great progress over the 3 months of pratice.. i even busked the othar day and made my first dollar playing Twinkle Twinkle...lol...from a 7 year old...she was loving it!!!!
Yes, when it comes to the violin bowing is where it's at. What an inspiration!
@@kevinleeluthier i agree totally...i work on the 10 basic strokes most of my pratice time. My Peterson strobe tuner arrive last week and i was generally intonating pretty good! Thanks for that great recommendation!
I so love this message thank you
Thanks Maestro! Very inspiring!
Thank you so much for your comment.
MY favourite person...😁
I will do my best to live up to your comment/expectations.
Hi Kevin. glad you re-posted this video. Absolutely one of your best works. I wish I could learn. I lost a lot of feeling in my left arm when I had bypass surgery in 2009. I do practice on the keys though for some therapy and I still do a lot of physical work to try to keep in shape. My dream would be to make one of those beautiful violins like the Tangled. As Oscar put it "If I could produce only one beautiful work of art" etc etc. Of course it's not going to happen in this lifetime..
Kevin, will you ever do a video on Jacque Francais? It would be amazing to hear.
Oh..., if I could only visit with Jacques again, even for one day, and take my video camera. He was such an inspirational wonderful mentor. Sadly almost everything I have that could be made into a video is copyrighted by others. Yet, maybe I can work it out with them someday.
@@kevinleeluthier That would be great if you could. He was certainly an interesting character and it must have been one of your best moments to have that certificate.
I feel the same way about Herb G. I only knew him for the last year of his life.I'd love to meet up with him again.
I wonder what the connection between him and Jacques Francais was like?
Goodkind was also an appraiser although nowhere near the caliber of Francais. I think for Goodkind it was more of a hobby and the book ( as he put it) "a labor of love") ( and I see one for sale on Amazon right now ( a rare find at a rare price).
As always, Thanks again Kevin for your valuable time and great info!
There was an older fellow who learned to play the keyboard. He learned to play the melody and three note chords while reading it, and play in different keys. Then I suggested he might like to upgrade to four note chords and more exotic chords which he usually simplified instead to basic major chords. But after making all that fantastic progress he was resolute that he was "too old" to learn more advanced chords with a fuller more satisfying sound, which was just a simple little step compared to what he had done so far. Very strange...
Sorry to hear the original upload was lost
Yes, it was very mysterious/strange. Thanks for your comment!
Thank you. Excellent video
You are so welcome. This topic is truly dear to me. Thank you for your comment.
I blame the infatuation with child prodigies, where are my senior citizen prodigies at ?
I started at 36 .been a year, learned a few songs and scales, I still struggle with techniques though.
I have fallen behind on these lesson videos, but I should be able to continue this series of lessons for "older" students/prodigies very soon. :) Thanks for watching and commenting.
@@kevinleeluthier you are most welcome.
Maestro, I'm only 61 years old. Do you think I'm too young to attempt the violin? :)
I'm struggling. I've been learning for a while and can read music etc,. I can play well slowly, but can relax bowing arm to get a good tone when playing fast. Any advice? It makes me feel so down, sometimes the more I practise the worse I sound.
I'll try to cover this properly in a video, but for now:
Every few minutes, STOP, put your violin down, smile, take a deep breath, stretch and relax, and when everything is relaxed and loose, continue.
If you only tense up when playing fast, one of the old 'tricks' is to take away the stress by acting and mentally pretending that you are the greatest = lift your nose slightly as though you are conceited, and play with an "I don't care" attitude. It worked for Heifetz.
Other answers are concerning playing techniques like learning to use your fingers and wrist more and not sawing so much with your arm especially while doing crossover passages (string to string).
@@kevinleeluthier funnily enough… today I watched a whole load of your videos. I have a teacher who has been trying to help and it’s frustrating as I have a good ear, pick tunes up fast but struggle with the bow. I watched your arm move like silk and you mentioned the importance of my third finger so tonight I decided to really bend my fingers and… suddenly noticed a change in tone. The bow felt very smooth too. I’m not quite there yet but for the first time felt I might have made progress. I have a lesson tomorrow where I will check this new way (I’m almost frightened to play again in case I’ve forgotten it). It feels like I might need to step back a bit until I’ve fully incorporated it but I’m hopeful! I’ll let you know how it goes and if I crack it, it’s down to your videos. I’ve played piano all my life and as you suggest always have a vision in my head when I play, hopefully once I have technique in place I can transfer this over to fiddle. And then? Ah so much to learn, relaxed left hand and vibrato to start with! But thank you! I won’t forget this day.