Violin Forum/Message Board

[Ode to Tragedy]

I find the beginner lessons so boring cos the tunes I have heard since I was borne and find them extremely tedious. I hated them when my ears first had the misfortune of hearing them and my hatred has steadily grown as they have been relentlessly pounded into my ears throughout the years. Jingle bells makes me cringe at the best of times and playing it out of season just plunges me into existential gloom . Same with the other 'well known diddy's'.

The minor consolation is that I know them and it is a little satisfying to learn to play them on violin but not much. At 1st I saw it as a 'necessary evil' but it is beginning to really grate on me. I think i'll be able to stomach them so long as I have other pieces I can play as well which I actually like.

I really enjoyed learning to play ode to joy cos it was both simple and a tune that did not induce an acute urge to spontaneously projectile vomit onto my wall.

So could people give me some recs for tunes (sheet music) which might be more to my liking of the same sort of beginner level as ode to joy. They can be marginally harder cos I don't mind it taking me longer to learn the pieces so long as I enjoy the tunes cos otherwise I find it a chore and that is certainly not what I want from my violin practice. It should be a joy and something I run to in order to escape to weightiness of real life.

If it is a harder piece I would learn the bits in chunks if I didn't now the techniques.

[LSOviolinist]

Hello Ode to Tragedy. I have the same feeling about many of those standard pieces each of us are force fed. Anyhow, you could try "Six Very Easy Pieces" by Edward Elgar. They are all in first position, (as I remember), and have sweet tunes. I looked for a free download of the sheet online, but I could'nt find it anywhere. They sell it for ten or eleven dollars on amazon. Suzuki method has some good material in it, and if you've not looked at it already, it's worth having a glance. There are countless beginner books that move far away from the "standard classics". If you have a music shop near you, go there and visit, they should have a decent selection of beginner materiel. ONE NOTE: Don't let your eyes and ego push you to play music you're not ready for. You don't want to become frustrated with the music and give up. I'm sure you know your level, so it's just a matter of picking music that will help you grow and push you to become BETTER, NOT WORSE! That aside, another source you could look at is the very early piano works of Mozart. He wrote quite a few simple piano pieces that would probably in your range. I mention these because you just play the top line of the work, which is the treble clef, the same you would on the violin. Best of luck!
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- LSOviolinist

[Ode to Tragedy]

Thanks for the tips.

I got the sheet music for this.

I tried playing it and was quite hard though I wanna stick at it and learn it cos this will be a great tune to play and good for showing off.

This is actually one of the tunes which inspired me to start playing violin so I really will be glowing when I learn it.

It was hard mainly just cos there are quite a few quick finger changes but I managed fine with Ode to joy once I got the hang of it which had a couple of similar finger changes it;s just this one has more.

So it doesn't look too difficult otherwise.

My bowing technique also sucks but it would suck with whatever I play so just a matter of practice I think on all fronts.

Other recommendations for similar tunes would be welcome- sad/melancholy romantic style stuff (both easy to play or hard since I would like to just listen to them as well as play them).

[Benedict White]

The mail theme to Stars Wars IV (The first one) is fairly easy. (Well the fist few bars are anyway)

As for bowing technique, that is in part practice and also doing it right. Of particular importance is how you hold the bow, bowing like you mean to bow, and bowing straight between the bridge and the finger board.

[Ode to Tragedy]

Yup I watched a couple YT vids on it today one which said the same as you.

I find these things often iron themselves out on their own with practice.

[Benedict White]

On bowing technique?

Care to share the links?

[Ode to Tragedy]

I just wrote 'violin bowing' in youtube and opened the first couple that came up. I only watched one vid. of the ones I opened: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_v1TgVEX7Y

[Benedict White]

Looks like some good tips.

One of the most interesting things about the violin is how many different sounds one violin can make.

[Lemuel]

[Ode to Tragedy]

Gracis.

[Ode to Tragedy]

This second ABCs book has a few nice classical songs in it such as one of mozart's minuets and tchaikovvvkeees () piano accompaniment.

I was thinking I'd like a book with more 1st position classical pieces (yes a book not downloaded sheet music cos they are all together and my printer screws up the sheet print off for some reason) with a cd with the piece played would be great if anyone can recommend something along those lines.

[Lemuel]

[Ode to Tragedy]

Well feel free to offer up some without a cd and I can check to see if they have the videos online.

The main thing is tunes I like so I will be motivated to learn them.

[Lemuel]

Hello Ode,

I forgot about your desire for romantic pieces. Finding this sort is not common for 1st position.

Here are some level 1 and 2 materials I dug up.

- A Tune a Day, books 1 to 3 by C. Paul Herfurth (The Boston Music Company)
- String Builder Books 1 to 3, Belwin Course for Strings series (Belwin Mills Publishing Group, Rockville Centre, NY).
- Violin Pieces Country Style (Betty M. Barlow., Amsco Music Publishing Company)

If you want a challenge try:

Wohlfahrt Op. 74, books 1 and 2, Fifty Easy Melodious Studies for the violin (Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics, Vol. 927)

Of course there are the Suzuki books 1 and 2 which I use most often.

You should contact your local Music and/or Arts center and try to contact a music teacher or orchestra member. They will be able to give you a syllabus of violin music (a list of recommended music and books) for all levels.

Here is an example of a syllabus.

http://www.boisestate.edu/music/pedagogylit/stringped/Week%202-A/astavlnsyl.pdf


Here is webpage that lists some beginner's material.

http://www.sheilascorner.com/teaching2.html

[Ode to Tragedy]

thanks.

Ye i was just contemplating perhaps seeking some help .

Are there classes where other violin players of the same level can swap notes and play together? I guess that would make quite a racket...I was just thinking it would be more fun maybe learning with others.

Getting a few lessons would be the standard option I guess.