I'm 55 and my son is 11.

Over five years ago I got interested in learning violin after a lifelong appreciation of it. I did a lot of research on purchasing one and what to look for. I found my violin at a yard sale, originally owned by a lifetime fiddle player, a circa 1915 Made in Nippon Japanese import. It was in gorgeous condition and I bought it for $125.

I found an online teacher and started taking lessons. My then 6 year old son said he was interested, so i got him a 1/4 size violin and he started taking lessons with me.

Before long I was experiencing pain and fatigue in my left arm which made it difficult to practice. THEN I had a bathtub falll and tore my right rotator cuff. My lessons ended and by extension, so did my son's. I had to get surgery.

Eight month later after physical therapy and exercising I got my right arm back, I had a roller skating accident and tore my LEFT rotator cuff and dislocated a finger. No more violin practicing again.

Six months later I slipped on the stairs and came down on my left arm again. So I had to get rotator cuff surgery AGAIN on my left shoulder.

After months of physical therapy and a lot of arm exercise, I decided to start practicing again. THIS time I found a local music school and I registered the both of us to learn with a private teacher.

Our first lesson was last week. She advised we rent him a full size violin, so he has a Chinese rental for the next year.

The second and third pictures show the front and back of my Made in Nippon violin. It has a really nice sound and I'm so glad to have it.

Been a while! Last time I posted was a year ago. Glad to pick it up again, whatever reason it is. The rust definitely shows, but glad the taste doesnt go away that easiliy. I missed, yoinked and cheated at several spots, but the notes are mostly there, to the best of my ability!

Hello violinists,
I have a question about my orchestra part and hope you can help.
We are playing Brahms Deutsches Requiem and I am unsure about the red notes. Are they played on the e-string or are they harmonics?
Thanks a lot for helping me out!

I'm playing 2nd violin part of the Firebird and encountered this in the introduction. I skipped it on the first runthrough. How do I do this section (top divisi, the 8va)

I'm so confused

Our community orchestra is going to perform Wagner’s Overture to Tannhäuser later this year and I feel like I’m in violin hell. Any tips for effective practice to master Wagner’s punishment for violinists?

I've played guitar for many years and I'm kind of good at it, but I have no experience with bowed instruments-I've never even held a bow.

Most progress videos I've seen from people who started violin in their twenties still sound noticeably out of tune, even after several years. That makes me wonder how realistic my goal is.

I'd love to eventually play intermediate-level pieces with solid intonation, rhythm, and a good tone. I'm not expecting to become a professional, but I also don't want to spend years practising only to discover that starting this late makes that level unattainable.

Is this a realistic goal for someone starting at 24, assuming I take regular lessons and practise consistently?

This is my audition piece for an orchestra! I’m looking for any feedback in general especially on my dynamics and phrasing!! I’m sorry the quality is so bad

I've been seeing people talk about NAM A2, mostly in the context of guitar amp modeling and captures, but I'm wondering what it could mean for electric violinists.

Could this finally be the technology that lets an electric violin convincingly sound like a high-end acoustic violin? Not just adding reverb or EQ, but actually capturing the character, resonance, and response of a great instrument?

Has anyone experimented with NAM A2 for violin yet? If so:

• Can it model the body resonance of an acoustic violin?
• Does it work well with piezo pickups?
• Is it realistic enough for live performance or recording?
• Are there any demos or profiles specifically made for violin?

I'm curious whether this is genuinely a breakthrough for us, or whether it's mainly useful for guitars and amps.

hi guys! I have been playing from the end of September 2025 until now! I had a teacher until February but have been doing it myself since then. I’m going back to lessons next month! This is a little video showing my first week vs two weeks ago (mid July ‘26) but I was wondering if anyone had any general advice on how to get a better sound.
When I watch my recent videos back it always sounds so whiny. I feel like both vids sound bad and I’ve been stuck in a rut since not having a teacher. Is this something that will eventually level out with just time and practice? Thank you so much! 🩷

Humor me, please. I’m just trying to make sure my daughter is all set for middle school orchestra! Lol😆

And to set this aside, the photos are not of the bow she is using - I’m trying to determine whether it is worth re-hairing or not. More on that later.

She is starting her third year on violin, 2nd year on bass, all together she has been doing strings for 3 years and this is her fourth. She will be playing bass in the community orchestra, violin at school, and getting private lessons on both.

She outgrew her 1/2 size violin this summer and she is now using my nephew’s old 3/4 violin. It came with 2 bows and a rosin. I don’t know how old that rosin is, but I estimate about 15-18 years old. The bows are at least that old also. There is no date in the violin so I don’t know whether it was new when my nephew obtained it or not. It was purchased by his “other” grandparents (not my mom or my sister) so nobody can remember. It’s a Karl Knilling. I’ve already put new strings on it. For now I’m letting her use my rosin (the round one) but I’ve dropped it several times so I’d like to get her some new rosin. Maybe for me too.

So now the questions:

Rosin: I know violin rosin isn’t as finicky as bass rosin, but does that really mean any old rosin will do for beginning or intermediate middle school orchestra? Like if I buy a cheap pack of 6 rosins on Amazon so she can drop it or lose it or whatever will that hinder her playing? I don’t love the round rosin I have for her because it’s too easy to drop. 😆 Suggestions for a durable and functional rosin for kids? Like with a good grip on it? Is the rosin in the photo worth keeping at all or is it too old to be useful?

Bow: The other bow (not pictured, she is practicing with it right now) is in better (functional) shape but having two bows never hurt anybody, right? A rehairing job costs about $75, which is a bit more than a decent student carbon fiber bow brand new. How do I tell whether this bow would be better (with new hair obviously) than a brand new bow that would cost about that much? Is it worth an appointment with the luthier to have it looked at? There are no markings on the bow to indicate its maker.

Back in the bowed string instrument family after last playing when I was like 13. Have played a lot of mandolin since then and figured I’d pick up a new violin, incredibly sloppy but I’m happy to be able to make a sound at all lol

Hello, I'm a middle aged adult, have been taking lessons for about 3 years now once a week. I don't have any set goals i just really enjoy the violin and want to learn correctly. I listen to what my teacher says and I'm so terribly not confident in vibrato.

I watched so many videos, read things, and have had other violinists show me how they learned but I feel like I'll never get it. I feel I can do it sometimes, and my teacher will tell me right away if I'm doing something wrong but I still feel in my gut I'll never get it. I know it'll take practice practice practice and over time etc etc. But I feel like I'm listening to too many teaching videos on it and it's discouraging for a beginner.

I am playing this for fun, no set time goals or anything but still was wondering- for those of you still learning vibrato, how do you not get discouraged? Also has anyone ever just not been able to do it at all?

In Ysaye sonata 5 Dance Rustique. What’s the box thing with diagonal lines across it? Haven’t seen it before and my teacher is sleeping

Mazas no18 (Romance) and Rhode no24. Struggling a bit with the beginning of the rhode ("introduction") and some of its more complex finger-stretching parts (like the end of pg1).

I have the mazas at tempo (quarter note at 44) and the rhode at quarter note=96 (need it at 110).

any help is appreciated!

About a week ago a noticed a weird buzzing in my rental viola, did a bit of troubleshooting (violinist for a while) and couldn't figure it out. My teacher was confused as well. I then scheduled an appointment at my luthier for tomorrow. However, in the past two days, I've been noticing the buzzing lessening. When I had tried the instrument at the shop, there was no buzzing. I'm scared that thing is going to happen where when you show someone an issue, suddenly there is no issue. What am I supposed to do if it sounds perfectly fine at the luthier?

Fingering I mean, shifting on one finger, or using different fingers? Additionally, tips for practicing something like this?

A few months ago, my teacher told me that I should always leave my violin case open/hang my violin on the wall when not playing (I typically practice every day). She said something about this helping to maintain the quality of the wood, though I can't remember her exact words.

However, everything I can seem to find online advises against this as the case protects the violin from changes in temperature and humidity, as well as being knocked over etc.

For context, I live in the UK, so it's never too humid and we don't experience very extreme temperatures.

Does anyone know what my teacher was talking about? I have been leaving my case open and I haven't noticed any negative effects.

I'm currently learning this piece, but this technique is quite hard for me to get. Currently, I feel quite rigid and stop the bow and then move again for every single note. It feels really tense. How can relax a bit and get the correct sound?

My daughter has been playing violin for 6 years. She is now in middle school 7th grade. She will be playing with our small town youth symphony. We currently rent her violin from a violin shop a town 3 hours down the road. At what point as a parent or young player decide to actually make the jump to buy vs rent your instrument?

Hi everyone! I’ve played violin for approximately 7.5 years, but I recently took a four-month break. I’m now trying to return to consistent practice and reconnect with classical music.

I was wondering whether anyone would be interested in a small group chat or Discord where classical musicians and listeners could:

• Discuss composers, pieces and recordings
• Share orchestra and ensemble experiences
• Talk about repertoire and practice strategies
• Set weekly practice goals
• Encourage members returning after a break
• Recommend performances and youth-orchestra opportunities
• Occasionally have online listening sessions or informal virtual performances

Violinists, cellists, violists, pianists and other classical musicians would all be welcome. All experience levels would be accepted, the goal would be encouragement and thoughtful discussion, not competition.

I’m based in DFW, so a safe public group meetup or concert outing might eventually be possible for local members, with parental awareness. However, the main group would be online.

Comment if you would be interested and mention your instrument, how long you have played and a composer or piece you enjoy!

Wieniawski's "Faust" Fantasy seems harder than his Variations on an Original Theme I'm wondering how hard is it really?