Yep, 66 yo - all good tips, and no 1 is a TEACHER. Then commit to your national examinations syllabus. It focussed your learning like nothing else! I like classical, but I love jazz and blues violin. But I need to get the formal training done (walking) so I can run!

@KennedyViolins

2 күн бұрын

Oh ya!!

I have been playing the violin for 2 years now, and your tips are spot on. Excellent video!

@KennedyViolins

4 ай бұрын

Well, thank you very much! Let me know if there are any other videos I should do that you can think of. 😉

Thank you and all the KZreadrs who are my teachers on beginning viola. I use a microtuner to keep on pitch while my ear learns. That slows me down but will be worth it. To keep from getting bored I have collected a dozen beginning viola method books, many of them vintage, cheap on ebay. Every day I grab a different book to play through and it becomes an adventure. I'm learning laterally rather than forcing myself to advance.

@KennedyViolins

4 ай бұрын

Well, I'm sure with all the playing that you're getting in, you're improving every day!

I recommend buying a violin stand. That way you don’t have to put the violin away in the case.

@KennedyViolins

4 ай бұрын

Ya, that's a good idea as well. Keep it off the floor!

Thanks for the video. I'm starting the violin as a lifelong dream but I'm getting my 2 4 6 and 7 year old to start as well since we all listen to classical music. It will be a journey so lets see..we'll be watching you and I will find a teacher to come over for a few hours a week.

@violaracer8168

Ай бұрын

Wow, sounds like you'll have your hands full!

Thank you for this excellent video!

Great video! In a few days I will be starting beginning violin lessons at the local community college through continuing education. The teacher is somewhat young but has, in my humble opinion, excellent credentials. At 67 years of age I will be showing up with my new Kennedy violin that I purchased from Amazon but wish I had purchased directly from Kennedy violin. One advantage for me I believe will be that I do play acoustic guitar on a dedicated level. I have developed some bad habits with one being keeping my fingers down on the fretboard. It is one that I am working to correct but it takes constant awareness. All the points you made are so good and I will keep them in mind. Thank you for making these quality videos that are so very helpful. Scales scales and more scales. Whoo whoo!

@KennedyViolins

4 ай бұрын

Well, that's awesome to hear, and thanks so much for sharing. Even though the teacher is young, as long as they don't let you get away with bad habits, it'll probably be a big help for you in your violin journey. BTW, even though you bought the violin through Amazon, we're always there for support and we can get you a better deal for your upgrade in the future as well. Happy practicing!

Love your videos Joel. I'm an adult beginner and I enjoy learning but sometimes it is really tough. This video is encouraging. Thanks!

@KennedyViolins

4 ай бұрын

Well, that's good to hear. That was the point of the video, so I'm glad that came across. Thanks for the reply and have fun practicing!

Thanks - this is really helpful. I am trying to learn "Scotland" from Georgia Rae's video.

@KennedyViolins

4 ай бұрын

Well, good luck and have fun!

Thank you, Joel. I watched your video when I started learning the violin a year ago, you teach to put all fingers on the fingerboard that's help a lot.

@KennedyViolins

4 ай бұрын

Glad to help and thanks for hanging in there long term with the vids! If you think of any other videos that'd be helpful, let me know! 😉

Great video. Love a violin today.

Thank you!! Your videos are the BEST! In my later sixties and you are very encouraging and SO HELPFUL!

@KennedyViolins

4 ай бұрын

WOW, that's so nice to hear! My goal is always to encourage, so that makes me feel good about the vid. Happy practicing!

I'm a 60 years old beginner and have been playing about three months, mine is hanging on the wall and find it hard to resist picking it up several times a day.

@KennedyViolins

4 ай бұрын

That's good to hear. Just keep picking it up with INTENTIONAL PRACTICE and you'll be surprised at how far you can get!

@LucaShephard-rw2cr

2 ай бұрын

@@KennedyViolinscan a 16 year old beginner actually become amazing at the Violin in the eyes and ears of a professional

@KennedyViolins

2 ай бұрын

@@LucaShephard-rw2cr Well....... if you practiced really hard and had a good teacher, you could certainly impress a professional with your high level of playing, in relation to starting so late... 😉

@LucaShephard-rw2cr

2 ай бұрын

@@KennedyViolins I’ve seen 20 year olds become as good as professionals so I should be able to become amazing

@LucaShephard-rw2cr

2 ай бұрын

@@KennedyViolins I saw someone say they started at like 50 and are now playing in an orchestra so if I practice like 2 or 3 hours a day until I’m 25 or older then I’ll be able to become as good as real musicians

Im only 25, starting violin today. Total beginner cant even read music but I want to it so badly.

@KennedyViolins

3 ай бұрын

You can do it! It starts very slow but gets easier. Just a little every day....

@Jss766

3 ай бұрын

@KennedyViolins thank you. I'm thankful to have the opportunity to learn. I have a bad track record of starting this and that (instruments), this time I have scheduled lessons and a rental fee for instrument until I am sure I want to stick with this violin.

That is a good idea! Leave it out!

@KennedyViolins

4 ай бұрын

Ohh, the tricks we must play....

@paulmccrone-noaafederal2436

4 ай бұрын

I live in Oklahoma, and while we keep the house warm, doens leaving the violin out harm the instrument long term with change in humidity? If it is just the tuning, I tune every time anyway.

@KennedyViolins

4 ай бұрын

@@paulmccrone-noaafederal2436 More than likely, any temp or humidity conditions in your home will be exactly the same outside of the case as the inside of the case, since violin cases are not airtight. The most important thing is that the violin is never around continuous airflow (open window/HVAC) of any kind or is left directly in the sunlight. 👍

@paulmccrone-noaafederal2436

4 ай бұрын

@@KennedyViolins Ok, thank you. I need to find a good place to leave it out so the kids don't get it damaged.

@joyceyang6976

2 ай бұрын

I just started leave it out today 😁

At present self learning any instrument is more easy than before ,which you learn from cd or book only, you will get great teacher from youtube but I agree that learn from actual teacher is better. I do self learning saxophone and I want to learn violine (again ),as I have it since last 10 years ago.I stopped practice cause sicked of string torn out due to wrong tuning system.

I'm a little sad the links to the other videos mentioned didn't make it into the description. Ah well, time for a dive into the archives, i suppose!

@KennedyViolins

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for commenting! We just added the links to the description, enjoy!

I am 21 years old I have been trying to teach myself but I still need a lot of practice

@KennedyViolins

2 ай бұрын

Well, don't fret. Most people need at least 4 years of solid practice to sound halfway decent, regardless of when they start. Violin is hard! 🤣

Thank you for this video! I share a free bite by bite “learn to read music” program on my KZread channel in the hopes of making music literacy accessible to all!

@KennedyViolins

4 ай бұрын

Sweeeet.

Thank you Joel! Quick question....did you have corona virus flu? And if you did how did you manage it? I had to stop playing for a year cause my body was in excruciating pain.

@KennedyViolins

4 ай бұрын

I did but fortunately for me, it was very mild. 😀 Glad to hear that you're back on your feet though!

@missbeans

3 ай бұрын

I have long covid and had to stop playing for a couple of years. On top of the exhaustion and brain fog, I also had this weird neurological thing where loud sounds really disoriented me. So violin was really bad for me for a while there. So heartbreaking and frustrating. I'm just getting back into it now, so far so good thankfully!

@Poreckylife

2 ай бұрын

@@missbeans I understand. Post covid almost killed me. I'm still dealing with it. I don't think I will ever recover fully. I have lost family members to covid.

Could you suggest a great online only classes for violin ?

@KennedyViolins

3 ай бұрын

When you say "class", are you referring to a group lesson or group playing of some kind? If so, I don't really know of any and I'm not sure that it would work very well, in consideration of some of the technical challenges with delay, etc. If you are referring to individual lessons, then I'd recommend lessons with KV but mostly because those are the only ones that I have direct experience with. kennedyviolins.com/pages/lessons/#violin I'm sure there are other nice online lessons you can take but I can't recommend any without direct experience. In case it matters, I'd highly recommend that you always choose individual lessons over group lessons because you'll learn significantly faster. Although a group experience could be fun. I'm not sure if anybody has really tried it successfully.

@joyceyang6976

2 ай бұрын

I’ve tried but if you’re looking for proper techniques, I would say individual lessons are more helpful. Group lessons help in a way to make you continue going but for my personal experience, I struggle with not starting proper techniques in the very beginning. I do have a private teacher now, for the whole year, I was being corrected with basically everything! Even now, I still feel frustrated not meeting her standard, sometimes like today, I just feel like quitting 😬 So, I suggest anyone who wants to learn violin as an adult, make sure you find a teacher who can teach you proper techniques in the very beginning, just like KV says 👍

@paulmccrone-noaafederal2436

2 ай бұрын

@@joyceyang6976 I agree.

@violaracer8168

2 ай бұрын

@@joyceyang6976 I second that.

It is a big deception to say that an adult can learn violin. They can try learning, but they will never sound good, it is physically impossible to achieve good sound and pitch when starting as an adult. Show me one adult learner who sounds decent enough not to throw up listening to him. You won't find any, samy way as you won't find anyone who mastered gmnastics or boxing at 60.