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Hi, newbie here
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ratvn
Kent, Washington USA

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October 14, 2012 - 11:00 pm
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Hi everyone here,

I am a newbie, an adult beginner, just register and would like to say hi to everyone here.

I am self taught with the help from online instructions that happens to watch some videos from fidderman and I would like to say that he gives the very BEST instructions ever: simple, right to the points and so easy to understand.

I am learning violin just to fulfill my childhood dream and it's so wonderful.

Thank you fiddlerman, and wishing you and everyone here the very best.

Robert

\"violin\"

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PaTooDoNaLD
Belo Horizonte, Brazil

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October 14, 2012 - 11:49 pm
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Welcome to Fiddlerman.com!hats_off

I'm  new here to but until now I've been treated very well and helped. I'm glad you managed to teach yourself because I am itching to get started and one of my doubted was whether it is possible to learn all alone. People like you motivate me even more to start playing!

;D

"The first and best victory is to conquer self."
Plato.

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ratvn
Kent, Washington USA

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October 15, 2012 - 12:48 am
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Thank you and best wish to you

So from Brazil, country having the best wood, pernumbuco, for bow, so amazing!

I think it's possible for self teaching as long as you define your scope.

For me, it's non-classical and would be some contemporary, popular music playing.

I am just about 4-5 month learning and I already get my intonation error within 3-5 cents in 1st position, managed to produce a wrist vibrato fairly easy, but it's doesn't have the depth and controlled frequency, so back to the beginning with fiddlerman with the basic, which is so WONDERFUL, the very best instruction out there. With that I also manage to do shifting back and forth between 1st, 3rd and 4th position.

With that much time into learning violin, I also do lot of research and I'm able to do some basic setup to my violins, making bridges and set correct dimension for bridge placement, thickness(for tonal adjustment), tailpiece/tailgut length, after string length, which my local repair shops refuses to do. The result is my violin strings are singing with lot of sustain/resonance/warm/depth. Not the very best yet, of course, but I'm so happy with it.

Violin is such a wonderful and amazing instrument the more I get to know about and it's such a experience for me.

Best wish to you and thank you for your encourage.

Robert

violin

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Mad_Wed
Russia, Tatarstan rep. Kazan city
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October 15, 2012 - 5:47 pm
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Hi, Robert! Welcome to the forum!

 Nice to hear about your progress, and to know that You enjoy it blink

birthday_balloon

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AdverseD

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October 15, 2012 - 6:10 pm
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Welcome! Enjoy your stay.

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ratvn
Kent, Washington USA

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October 15, 2012 - 8:00 pm
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Thank you, Mad Wed and AdverseD.

I am sure I got a lot to learn from all of you, and yes, it's going to be an excited journey and experience.

Best wishes,

Robert

violin

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HP
Trondheim, Norway
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October 15, 2012 - 8:07 pm
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Hi, I haven't welcomed you yet, so welcome! :)

'Armed with theory, practice becomes meaningful. Through practice, theory becomes fulfilled.' - Egon von Neindorff.

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PaTooDoNaLD
Belo Horizonte, Brazil

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October 15, 2012 - 9:50 pm
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ratvn said
So from Brazil, country having the best wood, pernumbuco, for bow, so amazing!

hahaha that's true! Here in Brazil we have a lot of good stuff =P

I think it's possible for self teaching as long as you define your scope.

  I do not have defined my scope yet, i think I will go the same as  you, but trying some Irish jigs and some pieces of classical that I really like.

 

I am just about 4-5 month learning and I already get my intonation error within 3-5 cents in 1st position...

Hey I want to see a video of you playing! thumbs-up
My best of wish to you to!
Thanks!

"The first and best victory is to conquer self."
Plato.

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cdennyb
King for a Day, Peasant for many
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October 15, 2012 - 10:53 pm
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welcome as well from the left coast of the USA.

Glad you are not afaid to "work on" your stuff. I too do part time work for an established luthier and have learned a great many tricks and techniques for making the violins perform to their very best. I even take it one step further and do a sound analysis to compare modifications and see which are improving the acoustics. Numbers never lie...

You're going to love it here, I am just one who works on violins. One member here even made their own violin from scratch and it's a beauty. Cruise thru the posts and threads on making violins and you'll see.

Have fun here, it's a great place.

We're all one big global family that is so passionate about playing and helping each other.

Can't wait to see your vids of progress. thumbs-up

"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein

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Fiddlerman
Fort Lauderdale
October 16, 2012 - 8:31 pm
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Welcome to the forum Robert,

Glad you found the site and all the tutorials helpful.
Look forward to your hearing about your progress.

"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."

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ratvn
Kent, Washington USA

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October 16, 2012 - 8:32 pm
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Thank you, HatefulPain, PaTooDoNaLD and cdennyb. Best wishes to you all.

 

"We're all one big global family that is so passionate about playing and helping each other". I really appreciate it as it's such a motive for learning. You don't know how much it means to me. I was "bowing" alone in the dark without any formal lesson or advise (oh well, I do have light on just to check my tuner...haha).

And to answer another thread, I'm an old fart (will be 53 in just few months) that just happens to recover from some serious crisis (health is one of them) which just allows me physically to start learning violin. It's also a form of meditation and exercise for retraining my brain of dedicate motion control.

 

@PaTooDoNaLD, teaching yourself is hard but I think it's possible if it fulfill your goal.

If you and others promise not to laugh and YELL at me then I like to share my learning method, for positive criticism and advise.

Without any formal lesson and advise I've just devised a method for teaching myself as my goal would be playing violin with some simple melodies (similar to Amazing Grace for example) at first, maybe some advance/technical challenged pieces later.

It may sound strange to you about my method (it does to me though) but to make it simple for my learning, there is no music sheet reading/no tune/no song, no tempo to follow (as I think carrying a smaller and lighter bag is a lot easier- divide and conquer, maybe). I spent those 5 months practicing violin with some basic improvisations (I had little music background from playing other instruments, including a couple that are based on non-tempered scales) of a scale (natural E-minor to be exact, as most of my would be playing melodies are written in that key) without thinking much about them musically, as long as I cover all fingers positions at 1st violin position with my chromatic tuner for correct pitch. That allow me to concentrate on controlling my violin to produce "good sounds" as I can pause, stop, rewind, fast forward (...haha) to correct for intonation, fingering, bowing mistakes etc.. Left hand for intonation and vibrato, and right hand for bowing speed, pressure, contact points as well as other techniques.

As the basic puzzle is closer and closer to complete then I will be more comfortably playing some tunes. I am so amazed looking at my violin though, as there were not any instrument which I bear in that much time without a tune/song. But it sounds so beautiful just to listen to it the more I play, so amazing instrument !!!

 

@cdennyb, 

"I too do part time work for an established luthier and have learned a great many tricks and techniques for making the violins perform to their very best. I even take it one step further and do a sound analysis to compare modifications and see which are improving the acoustics. Numbers never lie…"

I was almost dying for that sound analysis techniques as there are "bugs" in my violin (that two of the established violin makers' luthiers refused to resolve/gave me incorrect advises/answers. I ended up take the challenge myself and finally got it resolved, mostly). If you gave it to me a few month ago then it would be like god sent. It still would be though as I would love to learn about it, would be another very interesting project. I need to spent time for practicing first...haha.

I appreciate your tips/tricks sharing/sending toward my way and I definitely will learn a lot from your skill/experience and I am sure I will have lot of questions for you. Thank you so much in advance.

Best wished to you all,

Robert

violin

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ratvn
Kent, Washington USA

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October 16, 2012 - 9:29 pm
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Thank you for your welcome Mr. Fiddlerman!

 

"Glad you found the site and all the tutorials helpful."

 

Oh, you don't know it.

Your instructions/videos are the MOST amazing, as well as your playing, so expressive with so much feeling.

I was without any formal lesson so the net is the closest for learning. Comparing several online teaching lessons, yours are the very best. You make it so simple, so easy, right to the points of what needed to learn for each lesson, and yet so effective for beginner, like me. For example, in one of your vibrato tutorials about finger placement, just one sentence: straight for intonation and bend backward for vibrato depth. So simple yet it took me a couple of months (prior to find your tutorials) trying to develop a deep/emotional/expressive vibrato. I am practicing your method now and it sounds so much better. Still a long way, a very long way to go but it improves so much better than what I've expected.

I know, from now on, that all my related violin needs will be directed toward your web/shop as there is someone who truly cares for and listens to.

I got some questions for you though. What do you think of Milo Stamm brigde, the inexpensive one (as my basic Aubert's are a bit to soft, easy warping, low sound projection and high overtone damping). Also, a Guaneri style violin (sigh, I know you like the bright ones) for dark, warm and mellow sounding.

Thank you so much. I am so glad I found your website though and I do really appreciate your lessons/tutorials. It's like god-sent my way.

Thank again and wish you the very best in everything.

Robert

violin

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PaTooDoNaLD
Belo Horizonte, Brazil

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October 16, 2012 - 10:10 pm
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ratvn said
@PaTooDoNaLD, teaching yourself is hard but I think it's possible if it fulfill your goal.

You do not know how much it helps to know that, I actually still have not got my violin, but I'm more anxious than ever to start! I'm waiting to know if I can borrow one from a friend because I am currently unable to buy one. Since I was little I dreamed to learn violin and this in last month my will to learn greatly increased, just ended finding this wonderful site! One thing that is holding me back is to know if it possible to teach yourself, because if I have no money for the instrument imagine for classes!!! hahaha

If you and others promise not to laugh and YELL at me then I like to share my learning method, for positive criticism and advise.

I would never do that! haha

and about your  method, if is working for you it might work for me!  amuse

there is no music sheet reading/no tune/no song, no tempo to follow (as I think carrying a smaller and lighter bag is a lot easier- divide and conquer, maybe).

I think that can be a good idea, but for me knowing to read sheet music help to find new music to play ( but actually I'm not the most experienced in reading it, I just know the basics laugh

Thanks a lot for the answer Robert! I'm anxious to see you playing! cheers

"The first and best victory is to conquer self."
Plato.

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Fiddlerman
Fort Lauderdale
October 16, 2012 - 11:19 pm
Member Since: September 26, 2010
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ratvn said
I got some questions for you though. What do you think of Milo Stamm brigde, the inexpensive one (as my basic Aubert's are a bit to soft, easy warping, low sound projection and high overtone damping). Also, a Guaneri style violin (sigh, I know you like the bright ones) for dark, warm and mellow sounding.

I think that you need to compare apples to apples when it concerns quality wood. The cheap bridges, regardless of the make, are made of softer faster growing maple. You definitely benefit from better quality harder wood in most cases.

I've played on dark sounding Guarneri style violins that have a wonderful powerful sound but they usually require more effort and I don't find pearls amongst the Guarneri models as often as I do with the Strads.

"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."

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ratvn
Kent, Washington USA

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October 18, 2012 - 1:47 am
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Thank you, Pierre!

Very much appreciated. Those certainly cleared everything up.

I've just watch your vid introducing the Zyex strings and that is so good to hear them. I've searched and read a lot about them as I am looking for strings that replace my current Vision and Tonica. Something that is fuller, warmer and sweeter.

And yet, your shop have the very best price I've ever seen as they usually go for about $50-60. I head up there to get it real soon.

Thanks again for answering my questions.

Best wishes,

Robert

violin

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