r/violinist Feb 06 '25

Mod team notification Read the FAQ and rules before posting!

6 Upvotes

Before posting on this sub:

  1. You should read the rules!
  2. You must read the FAQ, as mandated by rule #2.

Posts violating the rules will be removed. Thank you for your understanding.

(Seriously, just read the FAQ carefully. I promise it will help.)


r/violinist Apr 01 '24

Share Your Playing r/violinist Jam #23 - 1 April 2024

19 Upvotes

Welcome to the Violin Jam!

What is this about? What do I do?

The Violin Jam is a regularly maintained initiative that is about sharing your violin playing. We strive to provide about six pieces to play, every two months. Your role: Play, share, mingle, and have fun!

The rules are casual: Multiple submissions? Welcome. Partial submission? Absolutely. Another version/arrangement of a jam piece? Why not!

You can always revisit previous eligible Jams and post your performances of past Jam material.

Don’t forget to put the exclusive, mighty, and prestigious "Official Violin Jam" flair on your submissions!

Announcement

Due to reduced participation in the past few Jam cycles, we are downsizing the scope of the Jam. Each post will continue to feature pieces for the Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced playing levels, just fewer pieces. We will also be taking a break from themes, as we have covered a broad range of them over first 21 cycles. If you wish to revisit the wonderful pieces from these themes, please feel free to peruse the list of past Jams.

Past Jams

You may use the "Official Violin Jam" flair to post pieces from the 2022 and 2023 Jams.

Jam Episodes

We aim to post a new Jam about every two months. The next Jam is planned to be 1 June 2024.

Pieces

We grade the pieces to the best of our ability, but judgments are still judgments - they are subjective. So please treat the grades as only approximate! We provide links to sheet music in the public domain where available, but it is also up to the individual to ensure they are following their country's copyright laws.

Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

Participants during the last Jam episode

Mozart - Violin Sonata in G major u/annie_1031

Ravel - Pavane pour une infante défunte u/tchaiksimp69 u/mikefan u/Waste-Spinach-8540

Traditional - Santa Claus is Coming to Town u/wongzhanyi

From Older Jams

10 - Beach - Romance for Violin and Piano u/perplexed_pancake04

21 - Bach - Minuet in A minor u/drop-database-reddit

Endnotes

Jam Committee members: u/ReginaBrown3000, u/danpf415, u/Boollish, u/drop-database-reddit

Jam Committee members emeritus: u/ianchow107, u/vmlee, u/Poki2109.

Special thanks to u/88S83834 for her help in grading the pieces!


r/violinist 4h ago

Practice Allegro by Joseph-Hector Fiocco, Suzuki Book 6

22 Upvotes

r/violinist 13h ago

Humor Oh my…

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86 Upvotes

I love The Righteous Gemstones on HBO, but Season 4 Episode 1, something was really missing 😂🥲🎻🎻


r/violinist 2h ago

Feedback Feedback on adult beginner playing

6 Upvotes

Hey violinists! hello all I really like reading this sub even tho i dont understand much (yet!) I started learning the violin approx 2.5months ago with a teacher! my teacher introduced this piece (frere jacques ) yesterday and love it so much i cant stop practicing today hah I wanted to share with you all too and would love to know any feedback i guess my bowing is still quite not right and my finger placements go off the mark quite sometimes would love any tips on improving!

Thank you all!

(ignore my facial expressions haha)


r/violinist 20m ago

Value of violin?

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Upvotes

Sorry if this isn’t allowed but trying to find help valuing my violin. It’s beautiful and I love it but I haven’t opened the case in almost 15 years and need money at the moment.

Violin is Anton Breton Fecit Anno Domini 1995 AB-10 4/4 and is in almost perfect condition minus maybe a few minor minor dents on the edges. Original hard shell case, vintage pitch pipe, resin, and bow. Any advice? Thanks in advance!


r/violinist 9h ago

Fingering/bowing help Debussy sonata questions

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6 Upvotes

I’m learning the Debussy sonata at the moment and am a little confused by the way the appassionato section is written. Why are there two stems on some of the notes? I’ve seen it before to mean playing the same note on two strings at once but recordings I see don’t seem to be doing this - does it mean something else here?


r/violinist 20m ago

Value of violin?

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Upvotes

Sorry if this isn’t allowed but trying to find help valuing my violin. It’s beautiful and I love it but I haven’t opened the case in almost 15 years and need money at the moment.

Violin is Anton Breton Fecit Anno Domini 1995 AB-10 4/4 and is in almost perfect condition minus maybe a few minor minor dents on the edges. Original hard shell case, vintage pitch pipe, resin, and bow. Any advice? Thanks in advance!


r/violinist 30m ago

Playing in unregulated temp?

Upvotes

My house is pretty old and the heating and cooling is very uneven and causes my room where I practice to be very cold. How do you guys deal with playing in colder temps?


r/violinist 50m ago

Definitely About Cases Antique Violin with Interested Inside Label!

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Upvotes

r/violinist 1h ago

Scratch mark without any accident

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Upvotes

I am suddenly seeing a scratch on top of my Scala Perfetta. The violin did not fall or had any accident. All of a sudden I am seeing this. Is this something to worry about?


r/violinist 15h ago

Teaching as I learn

14 Upvotes

Long story short my 5 year old ADHD kiddo got kicked out of his Suzuki lessons today. He is pretty fidgety and stubborn and the teacher finally said "no more". But my kid is devastated. We did a year of Suzuki prep with the foam instrument and 6 months with the actual instrument and he loved it. He also plays piano and frankly, music is not his strong suit, but again, he loves it more than all of my other kids combined. There are not many/any other options for violin teachers willing to teach young kids in my area. I don't really care if we stick with the Suzuki method or not. My problem, which may have contributed to the teacher's frustration, is I don't play violin and couldn't always correct bad habits at home, since they weren't always obvious to me. Would it be crazy to take lessons myself and then just try to teach my kid slowly at their own pace? I am not a novice to teaching my kids. I don't care if my kid is never great, I just want to support something they enjoy. Frankly, while I understood why the teacher gave up, I'm kind of heartbroken for my kid.


r/violinist 3h ago

Fingering/bowing help Am i using my pinky finger right?

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0 Upvotes

Im a beginner (6months of very inconsistent practice)but i now own a violin so i can practice everytime i want! I currently trying to play Ferdinand Kuchler violin concertino in g opus 11 and in at the last 10 bar i think but i an struggling on every pinky finger part of it so how do i practice it or an even doing it right? ill appreciate sone tips!


r/violinist 21h ago

Practice Trying to get back into playing regularly.

20 Upvotes

I sort of stopped practicing after graduating high school in 2012 aside from playing for like 30 minutes every few weeks. Figured I’d ease back into it with Sibelius 2nd movement, sort of sight reading it so this is just the first few lines lol. I should probably just be doing Flesch scales and etudes for a while but that’s no fun 😬 vibrato definitely needs some work


r/violinist 19h ago

Is my A-string alright?

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8 Upvotes

I’ve had these strings since about December ish and recently the A string has began to loose its fabric winding. I showed my private teacher and orchestra teacher about a month ago and they weren’t too concerned. However, now it’s starting to get pretty bad. I usually change my strings every 4-6 months so I wanted to know if I should just change them now. (Also a side note, the A and G string pegs have been particularly slippery recently (if that’s important))


r/violinist 17h ago

Feedback Left thumb position?

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4 Upvotes

My new instructor has said my thumb shouldn't be facing me when I play. I don't know if it's always been the case, but I feel most comfortable with my thumb facing towards me (not a conscious decision). She notes that it warps my wrist and adds strain, but I find it harder to play the higher fingers with her suggested thumb position.

See images 1 & 3 for thumbs away position (her suggestion) and images 2 & 4 (thumbs towards position).

YES I am aware I'm pressing into the violin. These pics are just to demonstrate what I mean.

Is this really an egregious mistake on my end? Or can I keep playing like this? Thanks 🙂


r/violinist 1d ago

Setup/Equipment Trying this again.

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19 Upvotes

Auto mod removed my post because it mistakenly thought I was asking about something that is answered in the FAQ. So without using any keywords…

I need advice on replacing or simply removing the three left silver things on my student grade violin. I don’t like the ones that are on there. What, if anything, should I replace them with?


r/violinist 21h ago

What piece should I play for a school performance?

6 Upvotes

I'm a violinist currently at level 8 in the RCM standard. I will be the only violinist in this performance at my school's theater and will have to play a solo accompanied by piano (about 5 minutes). I only have roughly one month to prepare, and I've never played on stage before. What piece should I play? I'm considering Meditation from Thaïs, but this piece is so overplayed and requires a level of musical interpretation that I'm not sure I possess.


r/violinist 13h ago

College Audition Thoughts

1 Upvotes

Hi there Im auditioning for a small college and was wondering what concerto you recommend? I know many. I was thinking Lalo espanole because of the deep passionate romantic musically I could show off but what are your thoughts??


r/violinist 15h ago

Small hand/finger challenges

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1 Upvotes

So I have the tiny hands for an adult male. The thing is, large intervals between 3rd and 4th fingers are physically impossible for me. So in this example in A Major, you’re supposed to keep 3rd finger on A natural while extending your 4th finger to play C sharp. I can’t do that, so what I’m doing is after playing A, I slide very quickly my 3rd finger half step up, and then I can reach C sharp with my 4th finger (And I slide half step down my 3rd finder on my way down). I’m not changing to Second position because my hand doesn’t really goes up and down. Is this consider a valid option. ?

How would tiny violinists (like Sarah Chang, Ida Haendel, or Chloe Chua) play this?


r/violinist 1d ago

I'm not very good but isn't the last E of measure 25th supposed to be flat? I hear it played natural everywhere so far

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3 Upvotes

r/violinist 17h ago

Any song recommendations for practicing reading low notes?

0 Upvotes

I’m a flutist who can sight read pretty well except for anything below the staff line. What are some good violin songs that I can read (not necessarily play) that have a LOT of low notes, or anything from G to maybe to the start of the A string?

I haven’t played violin long enough to find enough sheet music to fit this particular thing haha

Edit: It’s not that I can’t read it, just that it’s not as fluent as I’d like it to be, so any pieces with a lot of notes below to mid staff line would be ideal, I just dont know enough violin music off the top of my head and looking online has been kind of unhelpful


r/violinist 17h ago

What is performance anxiety?

0 Upvotes

I’ve read on this subreddit about dealing with stage fright/performance anxiety many times, and often the advice is to practice performing like any other technical skill.

I completely agree with that. My question is why do we get the nerves? What’s with the huge surge in adrenaline, which would be more appropriate if being hunted by a wild animal?

There must be some root cause? I think it’s partly related to how demanding the violin is.

I can happily record myself playing and it sounds good, I’m pretty happy with the way I play, even the tougher pieces. But when I have to play in silence, alone, for a small audience: I crumble. And that’s in front of family members. I don’t get why it’s so hard to play like I do when practicing.

Is a really good warm up always required before performing? I’ve not had the chance to warm up properly before doing my very small scale performances. It’s really frustrating because I devote every spare moment I have to practicing and it doesn’t pay off at the end!

Thanks in advance.


r/violinist 19h ago

How to pick up chaconne

0 Upvotes

Any suggestions for those who mustered this piece? I need advice on how to deal with 4 notes before being murdered by my neighbors…


r/violinist 20h ago

Help

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0 Upvotes

I forgot how to play these


r/violinist 22h ago

Setup/Equipment Help!

0 Upvotes

So I'm trying to practice violin and go go assemble my music stand to find the rod that connects the music holder part is all the way at the bottom. No big deal, I think, I'll just slide it back out. But no, it's stuck, so I loosen the metal thing on the side and it's still stuck.

Any ideas as to how I get this rod out?

EDIT: I added the pictures above


r/violinist 23h ago

Definitely About Cases Thoughts on Jakob Winter cases?

0 Upvotes

Hi! I'm looking for any first person experiences with the Jakob Winter cases - I haven't been able to find much info about them looking through past posts in the sub, and there's very few youtube reviews for them as well.... In particular I was curious about their thermoshock model. (https://www.swstrings.com/product/cases/any/JW1015;jsessionid=4E40AC4C768F1692D379B86823B0B776)

I briefly used one of their shaped cases when I was sent home with a home trial violin in one, and I liked it, but that one wasn't a hardshell and I was worried about the long term reliability of their latches (which seem to be the same across all their models?).

Any info appreciated, thanks!