i have learned how to play piano with a teacher, i then dropped out and continued to learn myself. i am doing alright.
i got a violin and have been learning it for quite a while but without a teacher- is that a good or a bad thing? should i get a teacher? the reson why i don't have one is because they are quite expensive and only offer private tuition. will i not learn the violin properly on my own with the help of a book????

QUOTE (Jtine @ Dec 28 2004, 02:30 PM)

i have learned how to play piano with a teacher, i then dropped out and continued to learn myself. i am doing alright. i got a violin and have been learning it for quite a while but without a teacher- is that a good or a bad thing? should i get a teacher? the reson why i don't have one is because they are quite expensive and only offer private tuition. will i not learn the violin properly on my own with the help of a book????       Â

Unless you are truly gifted, it's wise to have at least some guidance from a teacher. Yes, lessons are expensive but you can get into some awful habits if you aren't checked at first.

There are so many things going on - the bowing, where the bow is on the strings; is it basically at right angles to the strings; are you keeping a flexible right wrist; are your bow-strokes full length or half-length as they must be; is the tilt just right... and on and on, quite aside from: is your stance correct? Are you supporting the violin correctly? Is it well upright? What's your left hand thumb doing...you aren't trying to strangle the fingerboard, are you?
So many things so easy to overlook and sincerely, if you don't get these basics sorted out now your playing will always be held back. It'll take forever and a day to unlearn the bad stuff.

So please try to get a lesson here and there if you can - even once a fortnight would be better than nothing.
don't underestimate the true value of "open strings" practice to get your bowing sorted out.

And don't lose courage or patience. The violin takes a lot of patience and much work "up front" before you really get started. Think in terms of years but you should feel the joy of accomplishment as you go along.

R

Definitely get yourself a teacher before the bad habits creep in - if they already haven't crept in!

The violin is not an easy instrument to play and bad posture and technique will hamper your playing, even with simple tunes and pieces.

If you've watched good violinists play and you think it looks easy, then remember that they will have spent many years being guided by teachers and spent countless hours practising to develop the technique that enables their playing to look effortless.

As Rhapsodin said, even one lesson every other week would be better than none at all. One-to-one tuition for the violin is essential if you want to make progress and I'm sure there are teachers out there who would offer a half hour lesson, especially if you explain how much you want to learn but cost/lack of cash is an issue. In fact, to begin with, half an hour of one-to-one tuition is probably going to provide plenty for your brain to assimilate.

Amanda

If you call yourself a genius, then continue without a teacher.

If you want to get half-decent at the violin, taking lessons at the start will probably save money in the long run... get yourself a really really good teacher, and then you won't have hundreds of bad habits (which are appallingly easy to pick up on the violin) to unlearn in later years.

QUOTE (cirector @ Jan 2 2005, 11:36 AM)

If you call yourself a genius, then continue without a teacher.

That would be a nice little Boolean equation but no info is given on what to do if variable 1 is false....
Could you write out a proper truth table?