Violin Forum/Message Board

[DeniseN]

Hi everyone.

I played the violin from age 7 to 19 and of course didn't appreciate my talent. I even played in some local musicals and made a little bit of money.

My husband has talked me into playing again after not playing for 25 to 30 years and I need to get the "cobwebs" out. I would REALLY love to start playing again and need to know if anyone has any recommendations on how to get started again.

Does anyone have any advice on what books or music I should get so that I can get back into the swing of things? I thought about the Suzuki music books but really don't want to go back to beginner level but am not sure where I should start.

I appreciate any help you can give.

Thanks.

[Canuck]

I was faced with a similar situation a number of years ago. I assume you had taken lessons while you were actively playing the violin. Do you have, or have access to any of the sheet music that you had as a student? If you have, that would be a good place to start. The elements of playing a violin will not have totally disappeared, and you will likely find these latent skills will surface again, very quickly. When you are ready, some violin teachers might accept you as a "refresher" student, and offer assistance in acquiring good habits, again. If you don't have the etudes and pieces that you had as a student, perhaps someone else might be able to advise you as to what would be best.

[Lemuel]

Thanks for introducing yourself to the forum.

I was in you shoes once, but not so long without playing, when I went through university to get a degree, and hardly had any time to play.

Do you remember how to play any piece of music, never mind the mistakes? If so, I would start with the ones that you knew best. Somehow those habits are ingrained deeply within you, and it just takes a bit of time to get back into the swing of things. After that, I would try the ones that you didn't know so well and bring them back up to speed.

Another approach is to try the simplest pieces that you played in your experience, then build up from there. It's taking a step at a time, even the small ones that will encourage you to keep going. Don't be afraid to go back to some Suzuki material. When a muscle is not used for a long time, it needs to go back to lightweights again.

What also helped me was to listen to recordings of my favorite violin pieces. It encourages to play more.

What level did you stop at in your Suzuki books? Some pieces are challenging at higher levels.

[polkat]

As Lemuel said, what do you still remember? Can you still read basic music? If so, then I think you have to decide what kind of music you want to play. There's classical, country, folk, jazz (swing, bebop, gypsy) and much more. Again, if you can still read then find beginning books in your choice of music. But before any of that, find a good teacher who understands what your doing.