Is it hard to learn the violin?

Yes. Here are some of the reasons why I believe it is hard to learn the violin.

Violin is heavily reliant on posture, but the posture isn’t exactly natural. To play even just a single open string beautifully, soo many aspects of technique must be in place, namely a proper bow hold, a proper and relaxed violin hold, the understanding of how to bow straight, and the understanding of the correct amount of bow weight. In contrast, to make a decent sound on the piano, all you have to do is press a key, which is much easier!

There is also very little (if any) room for error for the placement of the left hand fingers. The violin is a fretless instrument, so there is no guide on where to place your fingers, and if they are even half a millimeter off, you’re out of tune. In contrast, again on the piano, if you just press a key, you’ll be in tune (as long as the piano’s in tune 😉, and with a woodwind instrument, you just have to press down the right combination of keys to produce the right note.

There are also many different techniques to master, which I believe is true of all instruments.

So, is it hard to learn the violin? Yes. But is is impossible? No. One of the core philosophies of the Suzuki method is that talent is not born, and I truly believe that. Everyone can learn to play the violin, regardless of age or experience. I’m living proof ;)

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