Hi, I'm 29 years old Singaporean. Just got started with Violin 2 months ago. And I'm extremely excited in playing the instrument everyday.

Before I took up violin, I was doing photography for nearing 4 yrs. you can view my portfolio at www.flickr.com/alpha_lunas

Playing the Violin is the most gratifying experience. I have never felt like this for a long long time since my first experience with photography.

Welcome to the wonderful world of violins. Are you getting lessons? Will be really interesting to see what you are learning and any books you have chosen, I'm really interested in different methods of getting started, there are so many!

Welcome to the forums Imyongxin, there will be plenty to give advise on here, and we will be interested in your progress!. May I Just say how much I love Singapore, I have visited 15 times over last 22 years. I was hoping to come once more in January before I retire in March, but it doesnt look ,likely now.
There always seems to be plenty of musical activity there .

Later edit, I have looked at some of your Singapore pics, I never took any out there, so I know where to look now.
PS Have you been on that catapult thing at Clarke Quay ?

Welcome to the forums Imyongxin. I'm sure you will find lots of encouragement here.

now that you've started there's no going back

Big welcome Hope your violin journey is all you could ever wish for and more.

Thank you for sharing your photos - I'm half Singaporean on my mother's side but as I'll never have the chance to see that part of my heritage your photos have provided a lovely window.

Wow I had no idea Vietnam was so beautiful!

Liz

Yes, it's a wonderful world?I love it so much?.
Yes, I am taking up lessons at Yamaha school in Singapore. I am now practicing their grade one material and also Book 1 of Suzuki.



Yes, in Singapore, our government is actively promoting arts of all forms so lately in recent years we as Singaporeans get to experience more performing art.

No, I have not tried that catapult thing.




Yes, I feel the warm welcome now. I am sure, my journey with the violin will be pleasant with the help of everyone. I am also so encourage to work hard on this instrument.



No way, am I turning back



Thank you for the well wishes. Are you staying in SIngapore?




Hahaha? Yes, it is a beautiful country especially at the rural areas where it is less commercialized



Hello everyone again,

I have recorded a video of myself playing. I need your help to spot the area where I am causing tension to my right shoulder at the back area. I have been practicing for min 2 hrs per day, and now I am feeling the sore/ache on my bowing shoulder at the back area.

Hence, I am trying to find a way to relax my shoulder. But to no avail. Need your advice and guidance.

PS: Apology for the bad music.

Link: http://youtu.be/Yh1EgRtKszw

Hi, I enjoyed your video, you look and sound just like I was after two months of lessons. It's a great start. Keep up the good work! See if you can get some good advice on your bow hold.
good luck!

Hi imyongxin,

are you taking 'group' lessons?

I would ask your teacher if there is time for him/her to help you with your bow hold if possible.

I am not a teacher but from what I have learnt from other teachers and resources I have (in the form of violin pedagogy books) to me it seems that you would benefit from having your fingers not so spaced out, your index and little finger are quite far out from the other fingers and seem 'tense'. I don't want to go down the road of teaching you how to hold the bow as 1) I am not a teacher 2) I don't think I could even do this properly via these means anyway

But I think you would definitely benefit from having that looked at, to me that looks tense. Any tension can create tension further up the arm and potentially also at the back of the shoulder blade too and up the back of the neck muscles.
Ideally you should hold your bow with the fingers very relaxed, a good exercise to do is this:
without the bow just leave your arm dangling down next to the side of your body, leave your hand open and VERY relaxed (your arm very relaxed too, jelly like), now gently shake your hand whilst leaving it VERY SOFT AND RELAXED, now lift your elbow so to bring your your hand up to the level of your waist (keeping your hand always nice and relaxed, keep shaking it slightly to keep it open and relaxed ALL THE TIME), look at your hand, what does it look like? look at your fingers! are they as spaced out as you have them on your bow in that video? certainly NOT!


Also from your video we cannot see you from the side and we cannot see the back of you, is it possible to have a clip just as long of you playing from each side and from the back?

sometimes the pains/tension you are feeling can also be caused by incorrect posture of your head/neck etc and we cannot see this from the video showing only the front...

Ultimately the best is of course to have someone see you/work with you 'in person' (alas I know we are not always so lucky!)

You must keep up the good work too

Hi Jojo, thank you for the advice. Indeed, the spread of my fingers are too wide, as a result, there is tension. I will keep exercising my bowing hand.

Yes, I'm taking lesson. We are having a week off as its a public holiday on my lesson day.

Thanks! When I was at your stage, I found a couple of sources on youtube very helpful when studying bow hold technique: violinlab, and professorv. However, nothing can replace a good teacher. And a big mirror

Hi!
Good video, well done!
The cause of your tension may very well be simply the fact that as a 'newbie' you are practicing for 2hrs a day. You are using muscles in a way your body is not used to. Your stamina will build gradually. Also, you are being cautious with what you are doing. Of course you are as you don't want to get it wrong! But this in itself can lead to some tension, you may be slightly lifting your bow upwards as you play rather than resting it downwards with the weight of your arm and thinking of the stop-start of your up and down bows rather than letting it move freely, but all this will come in time as you relax and begin to trust your movements. Try to move your forearm freely and relax upper arm. Bow fingers a little closer together, especially your little finger.
One other possibility is that you are leaning your head forward and pushing it towards the violin. Try to stand up straight and relaxed and then let the violin come to you.
A couple of things there to try anyway. Hope it helps.
Well done for picking the best instrument! Glad you are enjoying it

My teacher had told me to relax many times, but I just do not know how to relax. It's so difficult, especially when I'm new to the instrument and so many things to focus at one time. My lesson is 45 mins per week.

On the last training, my teacher focused on getting the melody right, she has kind of stop commenting on my pinky finger. It's only through this forum, I get insight into what causes my pinky to be straight and how to correct. Thank you.

Also, I have a day job. Hence, I have limited time to practice. So for a beginner, roughly how much time do I have to spend per day? Optimum.



Thank you for the comment and feedback miffy. You are so correct. I am cautious on everything that I was doing, from bowing to fingering...ensuring that I do the right thing. Hence, my motion is not smooth and kind of 'hard'.

I have a day job. Hence, I have limited time to practice. So for a beginner, roughly how much time do I have to spend per day? Optimum.

Greetings fellow Violinist,

I want to thank you for your comments and guidance.
I have loaded another video which I had taken into account of your feedback and have corrected the straight pinky.

This round I am playing Ode Joy. From the video, I still find that my arm is stiff, also my bow tend to slip towards the bridge. Maybe my bowing is not parallel to the bridge. How can I move on to my next step of correct? Thank you so so much

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbfBNT3-RcM

Yayyy! Pinkie sorted!
Your bow is pretty straight, although you are right, your arm is a bit stiff, and I notice when your bow nearly goes wonky you correct it by tightening up! Try throwing caution to the wind and using more bow, loosening up in general. 4 beat bows on each string, up and down, then two 2 beat notes, then four 1 beat notes. Your upper arm is restricting you and will potentially drag the bow over the fingerboard so think of pushing the bow down in front of you with the tip slightly towards your left ear. Use a loose hand and wrist movement and you will get a whole bow out of just your forearm moving. Upper arm is used for levels, to change string.
And if your bow at first goes squiffy while playing whole bow open string exercises, don't worry. Get the relaxed action first, then tweak it so it's straight.
Just out of curiosity do you have any pieces where you play on the E string yet?

Hi Miffy.

Thank you for the advice again
I will definitely try out the exercise everyday.

However, I don't quite understand what you are trying to tell as highlighted above. Could you elaborate further? On the part, pushing the bow down in front of me..

Yes, I have some pieces that require the E string.

Ok, I'll try and explain..
As you do a down bow, your hand should end up in front of your chest/neck, not draw down to the right of your body. Remember you are bowing across your violin not across yourself. Therefore, when you get to the end of your bow and hold, the bow should be at right angle to the violin, with your hand dead in front of you.
As you play an up bow, slightly angle the tip of the bow towards your left ear (to again keep the angle to your violin the same).
Any better?!

Thank you again
I think I got it.

Based on my new video, did I get it right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2Cugo0vNJU

Well done, you are doing very well for such a short time as an adult beginner.
The bow is frequently more of a problem than the left hand. Freedom of movement is vital to allow the sound to 'spin' from the bow hairs as they traverse the string.
I notice that you do not play very much at the heel of the bow, where it is most difficult to get seamless bow changes. Practise whole bows, being aware that in the lower half of the bow the whole arm from the shoulder through to the fingertips is in movement. Beyond the point of balance, just under halfway along the bow on the down stroke, the forearm takes over and the shoulder and upper arm cease backwards movement. It is important that you relax your shoulder - get someone to simply put their finger on your shoulder to make you aware of it, you will be amazed just how far it may need to drop to be relaxed !
The wrist flexes up gradually as you approach the heel of the bow on an up bow and down as you go the other way. Ideally the fingers must flex as well in order to avoid exaggerated wrist movement to keep the bow parallel ( ish ) to the bridge. The very tail end of the up stroke to the beginning of the down stroke is started by the finger joints flexing as mini 'shock absorbers' to help turn direction, the wrist follows to lead off the down stroke.

Best of luck and don't do too much when you are tired. Little and often is better than a whole hour of frustrating slogging.

Thank you for the encouragement...I'm so encouraged by your kind comment. I will heed your advice

Hello Everyone.

It's been 3 months now, since I picked up the violin...and I want to share this video which I had just recorded; playing First Noel & Silent Night.

I will also like to thank everyone for your comments. THANK YOU for sharing your know-how and tips with me. I greatly appreciate. And I look forward to share my personal experience in the coming years as I journey with my Violin...God Bless!

Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alpha_lunas/6.../in/photostream

Congratulations on making the brave step of taking violin lessons. I was a much later learner than you and started out on the violin. I changed to the viola later because it suited me better and after getting over the problem of reading from a new clef I am loving it. I play the violin still but now have a baroque instrument strung with gut and a teacher who plays in an early music ensemble. Best of luck with your playing. Stringed instruments are such a joy.

Thank you. picking up the violin is the best decision I've made this year. I love every bit of it. the challenges and overcoming my limitations and finally able to play.

All the best to you too.