It is true that if one wants to learn how to play the violin, one would find it difficult initially but playing violin gives immense satisfaction. One needs to put in a lot of effort to learn how to play the violin. One has to learn to hold the violin properly and to finger and sound the notes in the right manner.

Music instruction is a must when it comes to playing the violin. The very first thing that has to be learnt would be to hold the violin properly. If the violin is not held properly, one would always be uncomfortable playing. The left arm should be curved under the body around over the neck and your hand and fingers must be over the strings. The chin rest should be placed between chin and the left shoulder. Now, put the right arm in the front of the face to play the violin.

When one has learnt how to hold the violin, the next step is learning how to finger the notes. Guitars have frets that help find the notes but that is not the case with violins. The ears of the violinists have to be trained to identify where the notes are located on the fingerboard. A violin has four positions. The first position is considered to be at the end from the violinist’s face. It gives out low-pitched notes. The last i.e. fourth position is near the neck and produces the highest notes. The strings are tunes G, D, A, E from lowest to highest. Violin could be played open strings i.e. without pressing the strings. The tone of the string could also be changed by pressing it.

The next step would be the sounding of notes. One could drag the bow across the string/strings that have to be played. It would create a long steady sound. Another option is playing pizzicato which means plucking the strings with the help of the fingers of your right hand. It would produce a sudden staccato sound.

But does knowing how to play prove sufficient? Well, one should know what to play as well. Reading music is also a part of music education. There are many who like playing by the ear that ascertains that the sound of their violin would sound good in company of other’s also.

There is one question that needs answering first. Why do you want to play violin? It is the enjoyment that one gets out of it that makes the whole effort worthwhile. But if you take playing violin like any other task you have to do, you would soon get bored of it and your progress would hamper. It is true that you need to spend time practicing violin but it is also essential that you take out some time to play what you enjoy playing.

In the beginning, your hands would hurt a little. With time the fingers gain strength and your muscles start getting accustomed to this unusual posture of holding the violin. Your body would feel strange holding the violin initially but with practice everything would seem normal.

A violin player or for that matter any music professional has to keep up with competition right from the very beginning. The bar has to be kept high all through the period one plays violin. It might seem daunting in the beginning but one gets accustomed to it with time.