Hello! I started playing the violin in September and it seems insanely hard! What can I expect?!

Good choice of instrument.
Violin gets gradually easier. Getting to grade 1 is a major achievement, and could take quite a while - 2 years seems to be not uncommon. But once you get there, it seems to become easier to jump over the next major hurdles. Expect to have to practice, but also to love it.

Get a VERY GOOD teacher and RELAX and take it easy. It's critically important to be relaxed when playing any instrument.

Practise just ten mins twice a day if you are a child. Thirty to forty mins twice a day if you are older, or, if you consider yourself an adult, then, 1 hr twice/thrice daily - if you can still afford all that time!

Seriously, a good teacher is worth his weight in gold! Will make a BIG difference.

The above, I've learnt, from my kid and her much older friends.

I've just started the violin as well, and practising for an hour is out of the question for me. I find it too uncomfortable just holding the violin for fifteen minutes. I have shortish arms and a longish neck and smallish shoulders and it all contributes to feeling a bit cramped after a while...

I love it though, and although I’m nowhere near playing pieces yet, I can listen to myself playing random notes for hours…

No way should a beginner of any age practice for an hour a day, let alone one hour twice or three times a day. It takes months for the left shoulder and upper arm muscles to develop properly. Tired muscles leads to bad posture, which in turn leads to injury and somtimes irreversible bad habits. The bow arm has similar issues with stamina building.

Twenty minutes spread out over the entire day is enough for any beginner on the violin. This can be increased gradually as stamina and muscular strength builds.

Yes, of course, it is gradually built up but you can do it!

I think VN (who was very nearly eight when she began) said she practised for about 10 mins (before and after school) for about a term when she first started. It was her decision to treat it like brushing her teeth and I remember once laughing at her seriousness when she shut her door. Now she has had the last laugh. However, she also told us she did MUCH more practice in her third term due to her exam. So maybe it doesn't take long before your muscles get used to more work.

I still believe though that it depends a very much on your teacher. If your teacher could supervise your practice just once, or, alternatively, show you exactly what to do for practice, then, it's much more likely that you won't get bad posture, tense shoulders/muscles and so on, even though admittedly, learning the violin still looks hard and you do have a lot of checking to do whilst practising. I have always reminded my child before she leaves home for her lessons that it's better to ask (her teacher) questions when slightly unsure and look daft than to keep quiet, look clever but be at a loss later during practice. I simply cannot help her myself.

In short, EXPECT to work hard, gradually, but surely you should expect a lot from your teacher. You pay him/her to make your learning ENJOYABLE, not insanely hard!

That's my tuppence worth.

The violin has such a marvellous repertoire, and gives you access to such a range of ensembles, that it is well worth putting in the large amount of time and effort that it needs. However, occasionally someone is attracted to an instrument that presents them with exceptional and unforeseen problems. I learnt viola for six months at the age of 22, but then gave up because I found that my shoulder and wrist joints had reached their extreme rotation by the time I had my fingers on the strings. The extra freedom they needed for me to play with vibrato was not available, nor did I think it ever would be. At 35 I took up 'cello, which I still enoy, and at 42 double bass, which is now my "best" instrument (in that I am nearest professional standard on it). On these, vibrato is no problem for me.

Historically the double bass has always allowed late-comers the opportunity to reach professional standard, particularly so if they have "switched" from another bowed string instrument. There are a number of students who suddenly change from violin to double bass at about the age of 16, and there are also violinists who have taken up the double bass mid-career only to end up playing that professionally instead of the violin!

Sorry I dissapeared for ages... well thankfully I do have a good teacher, so it doesn't seem like I have much to worry about!
I definitely don't do any more than about twenty minutes practice, and sometimes it's only 3 or 4 days a week. I will try and practise every day from now on though!
Thanks everybody for your help!

That's very true, I remembered when I was young (4-years old) I had a young inexperienced teacher, and I didn't perform well then, and wasted quite a lot of time trying to even play simple pieces (for almost a year), until I switched to a teacher which had a position in an orchestra (can't remb. which), he'd really inspired me to music appreciation and that's where I really started.

I'd wasted almost a year, so I guess you can't afford that if you're older. It makes it even more worthwhile for a good teacher if you are into music.

A good teacher will make learning the violin fun and enjoyable and it shouldn't be "hard" to learn after you get used to it! The sound of the violin is really inspiring...An experienced teacher is important for the fundementals too(the posture and playing especially).

It's always hard. With time, you'll get better, and when you can get round to playing proper pieces, you'll really be inspired!

The important thing seems to be to practise every day, even if only for a short time.

Yep. When I started violin 6, I wasted most of my first 5/6 years by not practicing at all. If I did, I wouldn't be g4, I would be at least g5/6.

Yep, yep! Can't agree more. Just ten or fifteen minutes a day is far better than a half or even one hour once a week!

Hey its me!!! Trust me it gets easier then once you have the hang of it its great fun oyu can join orchestras go on camps......whatever!!!

YAY!
so I think my teacher was in some big orchestra dealy so thats good!

Also, if you can find someone to accompany you from time to time on the piano it will make it a lot more fun and you will be surprised at how good it sounds. There are some really easy pieces for beginners that sound great when put with a piano accompaniment such as various books by Adam Carse - these certainly inspired my daughter.

good idea... fortunately loads of my friends play piano too!