It takes a lot of guts for an adult to learn the violin. The violin is one of the most challenging instruments to play and one of the hardest to learn. This article will share with the aspiring adult violin player a number of tips which my students have found useful when learning the violin.
1. You are able to learn the violin quickly and easily. Many adults believe they are at a disadvantage in learning the violin (or, indeed any new skill). They believe the ability to learn deteriorates with age, and that you just cannot teach the old dog new tricks. The reality is that, with good instruction not only can the adult learner match young learners but can in fact surpass them in the speed with which they learn the violin.
The most critical factor determining your success is attitude. Many of my adult students are people who come from successful backgrounds. They are people who are used to success and who expect to see success quickly when they begin learning the violin. However the violin is an instrument with a long learning curve, which does not lend itself to instant success. When adult learners struggle along this learning curve, many of them become demotivated and unhappy with their progress Children, on the other hand are used to taking time to learn things and to having their learning mapped out for them by others, so they are less likely to become deflated when they don’t experience instant results.
Often grownups will come to violin lessons feeling anxious. They are unused to being a complete newbie; don’t relate well to any form of criticism, even when delivered in a positive manner. Many will give up within two months.
If an adult learner is going to master the violin they must maintain a healthy attitude, accept they will not make quick progress, that mistakes are an inevitable part of the learning process and must remain upbeat and open minded.
2. When you begin to make progress as a violinist you should make sure you keep playing the old pieces you learned when you first started as a beginner. These old “passed off” pieces should be played as a warm up. The reason for this is that you will be able to gage your progress by comparing the way you play these pieces after several months or years to the way you initially played them. Starting off each practice session by reminding yourself how far you have come is very motivating!
3. Always end every practice session on a positive. This is well known in sports and other disciplines, and can also be applied to learning the violin. Never finish your practice having played a piece poorly, no matter how tempting this may be! This means you should not use a stopwatch to time your sessions, as there is no guarantee you will at your best after a certain amount of time has passed. Be prepared to lengthen practice sessions until you play your practice piece really well.
4. Todays technology makes it easy to learn new skills from the comfort of your home, and the violin is no exception. Home based courses involve videos, software, documents filled with sheet music which you can print, and so on. Home based courses have many advantages. You can use the rewing button if you did not pick something the first time, you can study and practice at times which suit you and you don’t have to travel to take lessons. When choosing a course you should make sure to go for one which has a tutor who is experienced in teaching, as well as an accomplished violinist. You should also choose a course which makes significant use of video learning as this gives important visual demonstrations of the skills you are trying to master. The course I recommend to my students can be found at violin beginner. Happy violining!
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