I first stated in 4th grade (1966-67). I played in the school orchestra till I graduated and went on to junior high school. In JHS they didn't have an orchestra, they had a band with no violin section so I was SOL. But I played on my own every once in a while and held my own but never progressed much. My violin broke and I didn't play at all for many many years. Fast forward to 2009. My folks gave me an inexpensive "First Act" brand violin they found really cheap on sale and I started playing and learning again. Last spring my niece broke the rental violin she uses in school so I gave the "First Act" fiddle to her and again I was with no violin till a couple of weeks ago when I bought a decent quality Eastman violin. Now I am practicing a lot and I am improving my style.. In addition to learning online I plan to take some lessons as soon as I can find a teacher nearby. This time around I plan to stick with it. BTW I am also restoring the old violin that I played when I was in school