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Congratulations, You might tell us what model you got. And would suggest since the pic shows you putting the bow away with tension on it, that you remember to loosen it before putting it away. As leaving it with tension will cause the bow to warp and loosen.
This may not be the case with Carbon Fiber Bows, but not good on wood.
With violins there is no fretting over the music.
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Thanks Bunkai! Good start then! Video's here certainly helped!! But the first thing I'll do this week is to look around for courses, many questions to be answered!
Thanks for the tip OldOgre, I have loosen up the bow now and will do so whenever I am done playing! Hopefully no damage was done.
About the model, the inscriptions inside says: Aristocrat by Selmer, handmade copy of Antonius Stradivarius, model AR204.
I guess copies can be of varying qualities, can't tell if this one is good or not. What do you think? Any good?? Right choice for me?
I am looking forward to some training with a personal teacher. Many questions to be answered. Things like:
-Why at times I struggle to have any sound coming out even tho my finger is placed correctly on the board and I am bowing for the most part strait like I did for the past hour. Wrong amount of resin? Something else? When that happens, sometimes I have to apply what seems to be a good/excessive amount of pressure when bowing but then the sound becomes real rough.
-When the bow hair hits the wooden part behind it when playing, does that mean too much pressure?? Not enough tension on the bow? Or is actually normal?
-The bow can start to skip on the strings at times. Bow too stiff, too loose? Something else?
-After a while, when you play, I start to get "tracks" printed on my fingers because of the strings. Seems to affect the sound, I actually have to rotate them and then I have some sound back. Does that mean that I am practicing too much and I have to take a break for the day or is that common and you have to compensate?
-Some strings might feel "sticky" when playing on it. What does that mean?
Questions, questions. Wasn't meant to request answers tho, just examples of what my teacher will have to deal with haha! My sister is also coming over tonight, she was taught to play when she was very young and when she learned that I had started on the violin, she couldn't resist at the chance to play again! More "noises" to be had tonight :-). She might also have some answers, but for her it was more than 25 years ago since she played it so..
Anyways, sorry for the walls of text, there is so much to say! Next step is private courses!
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Congratulations SVoyager,
Sounds like you are on the right track. Happy to read your excitement. It's a fascinating journey to say the least and if you are patient and work hard there will be many rewards.
Posting here, both photos and videos, is a great way to get tips and stay motivated. We have group projects quite regularly that even some beginners can get involved with. I'm considering a few options at this time.
Don't worry about your fingers touching more than one string. This is more often the case than not. The important thing is that it's touching the right spot on the string in which you are playing. 
Later when you play double stops you'll want the finger to cover the string you are playing and the string that you are not, or cover both strings for fifths.... Don't worry about that now though.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Thanks Mr. Fiddlerman for the comments! Good to know then. Working on hitting the rights spots for now, I am getting there that's for sure. The precision required is challenging but certainly doable so this helps maintain motivation! Things are progressing!
I also have finally gotten my first course early this week. We pretty much found my biggest weakness. My right hand shakes a little bit, stress amplifies it alot. I was a bit stressed for my first course, the result was the bow jumping all over the place heh. She also suggested that maybe a Viola could make things easier for my size. Indeed at 6'2'', I am not small but so far I haven't had any major issues related to size with the Violin so I will continue with it.
When I was playing at home, I got used at playing at the tip of the bow which is more stable for me. When we started the course, we started by playing next to the frog, so this was unexpected and didn't help with the jumping of the bow. I was struggling to play "twinkle twinkle little star" (frustrating when I know that I can play 3/4 of "Rivers flows in you" (with no advanced techniques/effects mind you, just the basic notes)). At least I know the main reason why the bow jumps now.
Working in the IT industry, things tend to go fast. I am known as someone that can type very fast on the keyboard at work (which tends to create walls of text whenever I write things haha). So for me, the challenge is to flip my super fast habits to a much slower one and so far, with about 1-2 hours a day of practicing, I certainly see a difference, my right hand sometimes stops shaking completely which is something I haven't seen in a long time. Doesn't take much to have it restart again but I see that it can get undercontrol. I'll have to keep working on that for a good while I am sure, might also be a constant challenge.
Anyways, this was just an update for those interested. Still having loads of fun, looking forward to the next course next week!
Cheers!
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I've known a lot of great violinists and fiddlers that are very tall and make it work without problems. Violinists with thick fingers as well. Somehow they manage. I know that I can pick up a violin down to about a 1/2 size and still make it sound decent without working on it so I feel this is an indication that it is possible. Granted there are some obstacles but no real hinder.
Thanks for the update.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Thanks for the update. So very very nice to see the violin with the new violinist.
Happy playing and it is so great to see ya here!!!
Vibrato Desperato.... Desperately seeking vibrato
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Thanks for the kind words coolpinkone! Great bunch ya'll are!
It's been close to a month now since I got the violin. I've been playing on average 2 hours a day and I don't regret a single minute spent on it!
I am still very much struggling getting a stable sound tho. That slight right hand shake is the biggest challenge right now, very difficult to overcome, muscle movement is not smooth. Since the middle part of the bow is the weakest, things get jumpy every time. I don't know how students deal with that / how long it takes to master. My teacher says that it could take a while, 3 months maybe. It usually starts bad and after 15-30 minutes of playing very basic things, open strings etc, then it starts to get gradually under control. Playing while sitting makes things easier too. I manage at times to stop shaking completely but I haven't figured out why yet.
So this is the most frustrating part right now, I only hope its something I can fix and would hate to learn its some annoying physical condition that can't be fixed. The positive in all this is that, whenever I start to sound alright (to my ears of course heh), it becomes sooo rewarding. This is what I like with the violin (besides the nice sound it makes), the effort required multiplies the rewards given once you accomplish something!!
Cheers!
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Are you describing bow bounce? I had it very often in the beginning especially when I was trying to videotape myself or playing at jam - when I was nervous. I think it is common for beginners.
I think I started getting less bouncing, better control when I played long hard bows. It may have built up my muscles? I don't know.
Mentally commit to the bow - not sure how to describe it. LOL!! Be the Bow!!
Violinist start date - May 2013
Fiddler start date - May 2014
FIDDLE- Gift from a dear friend. A 1930-40 german copy, of a french copy of a Stradivarius. BOW - $50 carbon fiber. Strings - Dominants with E Pirastro Gold string.
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Actually what you are saying seems like something to put me on the right track.
You made me try to record myself so to show my bow bouncing to people here and bouncing it did, A LOT!!! (more than the usual) Once I was done recording, I sat down and tried some open strings again. Not a single bounce, or barely anything, huge difference.
Its crazy how this is a "head" issue (sorry for the lack of better word, not perfect in English). There is probably more than just the mental issue, but I see how big of an impact it does.
I find it funny that it happens as my job requires me to keep calm under all circumstances. Things like major server breakdowns, demanding customers, all kinds of emergency situations. I have to cope with all that daily and I do it fine, yet I appear to stress out when playing the violin for some reason. Will try to focus on this and see how it helps things out.
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The fact that you play smoother while sitting down leads me to believe that you are experience tension. While it's normal to experience tension as a beginner, you can really try to focus a relaxed bow draw. Some of the angles and positions that your hand and arm are experiencing are not natural for you right now so time will be on your side.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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