First Easy Violin Lesson for beginners
Welcome to your very first violin lesson! Congratulations on taking this huge step. I’m your instructor, Meghan. I’ve been playing the violin for over 20 years, have both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music, and my specialty is working with adult learners. If you need support from a trained professional while still retaining the freedom to work at your own pace, check out my Online Violin Academy.
The very first thing to learn is the parts of the violin. These will be referenced often in lessons that you take or videos that you watch.
The next thing to learn is how to hold the bow and how to hold the violin. Proper positioning is important for two reasons: it helps prevent injury and it drastically increases your chances of learning to play well. Violin positioning is not exactly “natural”, so don’t be alarmed if it feels strange or hard to grasp at first. However, it is important to get this right from the very beginning- no matter how long it takes- so that you won’t have to undo any bad habits in the future.
Once you feel relatively comfortable with positioning, the next step is practicing open strings while maintaining a straight bow. A straight bow is imperative for a solid, smooth sound. If the bow is crooked, it is changing contact points (the placement on the violin) during the bow stroke, thus affecting the sound. Getting used to the feeling of bowing straight is an important skill to master for violin beginners.
After you can get a straight bow and produce a good sound on one string, it’s time to practice crossing (or switching) between the strings. String crossings must be done in the following way: when moving from a lower string to a higher string, the wrist leads, and when moving from a higher string to a lower string, the elbow leads.
The final step in your first violin lesson will be to practice using fingers 1, 2, and 3 through an A Major scale. This not only introduces you to left-hand placement but also puts all of your previously learned skills into practice at the same time.
Congratulations! You’ve finished your first violin lesson and now are on your way to becoming an incredible violinist. If you’re looking for more support on your journey, I’m here to help. In the Online Violin Academy, you’ll find hundreds of tutorials, practice plans, digital courses teaching you your favorite songs, and live support and feedback from me. I can’t wait to work with you!
What did you learn in your first violin lesson? Leave a comment and let me know!
