er...first of all, i can read the notes pretty well, as im a grade 4 pianist.but, the problem is....my bowing, and posture.inclding the standing and bow grabbing posture. it seems that a lot of ppl here, in this forum, they learned violin by themselves, n they r doing....quite good.as they never complain bout those problems i encounter.is these problems common among begginer or...im not suited for violin playing....i wonder...it took me half a year...n im not even reaching any grades yet, not even grade 1, for violin.

Violinia gave great advice! Hold the bow with your knuckles bent towards the left (from your view, or ends of fingers facing the right, if you prefer) and curve your thumb. Keep the little finger curved and a little towards your nearest finger. It's makes my wrist so much more flexible and relaxed, it's great.

Hi I-Like-Piano,

I have been playing the violin (self taught) since November and I don't think that I am grade 1 yet either; I'm still in Abracadara book 1. I still struggle somewhat with posture and bow holding - I don't think that you are the only one. Don't give up! I know that I improve a little every time I practice (which has been few and far between due to exams lately)

http://www.uvm.edu/~mhopkins/string/

This site is pretty good, but I would reccoment you look at you posture etc in a mirror and compare it to the examples shown. It can really really help, also keep gonig at it!

I am teaching myself viola and progressing quite happily (when I practice...). I, and many of the other self-teachers, have much more musical experience than you do as well as experience teaching our own instruments. I do not wish to belittle your achievement in getting grade 4 piano, but I do find much of what I learnt in the 15 or so years since I did my grade 4 to be extremely useful in approaching new instruments. This means that you are likely to make slower progress than those with more experience to draw on- don't feel bad about it- in 10 years time you too will be able to pick up instruments rapidly! If you want to progress faster you could consider getting lessons.

I have a few general comments which may help.

You are teaching yourself. This means fairly obviously that you are both teacher and student. What do you need to do in both roles?

You as teacher:
The teacher needs to know what he is trying to teach. Obviously you can't already do it, but if you are trying to teach yourself the correct bow hold you need to know what it is. You need to know where your left arm should be before you can teach your body to put it there. Good teachers can come up with exercises for problem points and can work out why you are having trouble with posture and what to do about it. A good way to get this knowledge is to watch all the violinists you can- spend half an hour watching just the bow are, or just the left wrist and see what good players do. Do you/can you attend any orchestra rehearsals? Would you want to learn piano from somebody who played trumpet and not piano? You as the teacher are in a similar situation, so will need to try extra hard.

You as student:
The violin is a very physical instrument to play- a little like dancing. You need to be very concious of how your body feels. Can you tell when your body is tensed and when it is relaxed? This is vital. put your body into a good postural position (in front of a mirror) and relax. Then just feel what it is like to be in that position. Same with bow moves and fingering.

Your teacher (you) is with you at every practice. Take advantage of this. Everything you do your teacher should comment on. That bow was a little crooked- now practice straight bows. Look in the mirrow- your left wrist is bent- straighten it and just stand feeling it, then finger without bowing. Are you slouching? You as the student need to listen to your teacher and not decide it is boring and you would rather mess around.

Above all have patience to go slowly and surely rather than ever trying to rush.

Split personality? Us?? Nah!

I started teaching myself just before Christmas, so I know just how frustrating it can be. I can play some of the pieces from grade two and a few two octave scales/arpegios, so I think I'm doing quite well. Still got a very long way to go before I'd let anyone hear me though!

My reading skills are almost non-existant, so it takes me ages to work anything out and as for my 4th finger intonation, well lets just say it needs some work.

I have found an excellent book that explains very clearly the stance, violin/bow hold(s) bowing techniques and most importantly muscle relaxation. The book is called "The Twelve Lesson Course in A New Approach to Violin Playing" by Kato Havas. It's quite old being first published around 1960, but is still in print. I got my copy from Blackwell's (WWW.blackwell.co.uk) for £12.99. Should you wish to find a library copy, the ISBN is 0711998523 and is published by Bosworth.

The book really deals with good tone production and as such is ideal for anyone teaching themselves.

Hope this helps

oh thanks for everyone's advice, but everytime i pratised in front of the mirror, i'm still not sure about my posture, whether it is right or wrong...i jsut can differenciate the right and wrong posture.....ut nowadays it seems like the teacher is quickening my progress, mayb i improved a little?n now.....staccato notes.....any advice?