Between the Margins [Week 1]

Finally, finally, finally! Week 1 is published! Throughout the first week, I have obtained an incredible amount of information.  Week 1, as mentioned in the previous blog post, required no violin playing at all.  Although there was a strong temptation to pick up the wooden instrument and start playing, I had no choice but to stick with the books. Well, more like music books.


Suzuki was my main resource for obtaining information as to how to play the instrument.  But wait! most asked.  Isn't Suzuki a music book filled with beginner level music?!?! Yes, it is.  However, the first seven pages are filled with how to hold the bow, how to tune, the fingerings for the violin, and much more (I honestly learned a lot more just by that book than I thought I would).  Here are some examples of what was exactly in the book:

Another method of learning the fundamentals of the violin was watching videos of famous violinists.  I watched several musicians play several different pieces, but I enjoyed watching Roman Totenberg the most and ended up only watching videos of him playing.  Through the videos, I was able to grasp the sense of how to hold the violin when playing and what the proper posture looks like. 

The final (and, might I say, most effective) method of learning the fundamentals was my father. As mentioned before, he played the violin ever since he was a child and is currently playing at an advanced level (not enough for him to be going around saying he is a professional like he is doing, but who am I to judge. It’s America).  I asked him to show me how I should hold the violin, the bow, the different strings, and the fingerings.  So, he took out a violin and gave me a hands-on lesson.  Immediately, I was able to have a better sense as to how the violin was played.


Now, you all must be wondering (at least I hope you guys were…), how was this ‘research’ spread out through the course of week 1?  Well, I am here to talk about my experience, right?  So here’s the breakdown of how everything went exactly:



Monday, February 9^th – Look at the Suzuki book; the tonalization and bowing pages.


Tuesday, February 10^th – Continued “research” via Suzuki book; tuning and playing posture.


Wednesday, February 11^th – Searching on youtube for violinists and examining their posture


Thursday, February 12^th – Imitating the posture of the violinist on youtube with a real violin


Friday, February 13^th – Helped by my father to correct the little mistakes I made with the posture I learned by myself


Saturday, February 14^th – This day was an unproductive one :( But it was my birthday...if that's a valid excuse


Week 1 was an overall productive week.  I learned many things about the violin such as how to hold the violin on your chin, how the bow is supposed to be held, how to tune a violin, and the fingerings for each note on the violin. With this information, I am now able to apply this knowledge to week 2, where the playing actually begins.  Wish me luck and see ya'll soon!