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I always like to manage expectations & set attainable (maybe not easily) goals; so last week I asked my teacher how long it took before he was able to play in pitch with great consistency,,,,, and the jackass (and I say that with the utmost respect, lol, no seriously), said "not very long at all because he has perfect pitch". My reply was, "okay jackass, for those of us who aren't so blessed, what can I expect" [and I honestly do have great respect for him, we just have that kind of friendship now].
His response was, "it varies so greatly, but it would be reasonable to play with a 95%+ accuracy at about a year, and then you just keep improving that number the longer you play".
So, for those of you experienced violists/fiddlers, how long did it take you to get to at least 95%? Because you look at pros, like FM, who is an incredibly talented guy in my opinion, and how long did it take him (Pierre, I'm asking YOU, lol).
And there are quite a few of you who have been playing for several years and are good....... how long might it take us newbies (of course assuming we're practicing and working at it regularly) to achieve a high level of accurate pitch???
Honorary tenured advisor
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I have been told that I shouldn't expect to much for the first seven years.
I have been playing five years now, and started with no inherent talent.
I am satisfied with my progress, but I am easily satisfied.
Looks like I'm on track for the seven year "Your not to bad status"
Believe its time for an equipment upgrade.
Have noticed the longer you play the larger the strides in improvement you will make.
So, I think it all depends on how much time you have to devote to it
, how much talent you were born with,
how much you can spend on equipment , and
How much time you can spend on FIDDLERMAN .COM
No matter where you go, there you are!
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VERY nice Erich,,, all of it. But JC,,, I gotta get good NOW, lmao! Good thing I decided not to quit my career and support myself and my family on my violin playing!!!
This is turning into what I knew was going to be a wonderfully fulfilling experience, and I'm just dying to get really competent. And I'm not saying that I am not feeling better about my play, every day; but seriously,,, I've been playing/practicing/learning & loving it now for 8 months,,, this is the longest it's ever taken me to get proficient at anything (recognizing that after proficiency and more time comes an increasingly higher degree of competence).
Still wanting to hear more insight like Erich's; it's very helpful to hear candid info like this.
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Pro advisor
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Seven years.... what? SEVEN what? I am 46 years old. I have a date to play in Italy and jump in a fountain in just a little over three years...
Hope they like Twinkle in Rome..
Keep on chugging Fred. I started out like I was on fire.... 3-5 "baby" songs fast... then I got caught up on ..too much rosin...no rosin...when to have vibrato... how to hold the bow... and a lot of other things.. don't look at your fingers... and well then I got to thinking I had bitten off more than I can chew.
Also wanting it NOW ... I skipped some of the basics because I just wanted to play songs... now I am back to basics...and seeing there "is" a reason... and it is working out for me...better...
Still after all the practice and songs.. I am offended at myself when a shrill hits or I touch the other strings...
good luck...looking to hear all the expert advice flow in.
Vibrato Desperato.... Desperately seeking vibrato
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I think of good as a relative term, only having meaning in relation to some goal.
"Good" would be in a phrase like "Good enough for _____".
Like if you want to play in some sort of a group, put a recording out, play at some sort of event you have in mind, that sort of thing.
Good enough that people you know say you're good? You'll just figure they're being kind, or decide they are sweet folks but no judge of musical goodness.
Good enough that other players, even at the professional levels respect you? Well, some never will. Fragile egos sometimes feel like it will take away from their own accomplishments to acknowledge or support others. But the ones with enough sense to be supportive and encouraging to others, you wouldn't listen to them either. LOL
Good enough for your teacher? Well, you probably always are doing well enough that they'd be proud of you, and probably never get so far ahead of them that they won't have a trick or two to make lessons worth going to. But you'd decide they are biased, too.
Good enough for Fred? Probably never.
But if it is going good enough that you keep playing, then you are likely to see all of the "stages" mentioned above.
"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman
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I just read the last few comments and am literally laughing my ass off!!!!!!!!!!
You guys are thinking WAY too much! My question wasn't really ambiguous nor subjective.
Although the title of this thread was "How long did it take you [to] get good",,, the question I posed in the body of the first entry really was,,, "how long before you can play at least 95% in correct pitch",,, regardless of how long you practice any particular song,,, how long before you can play 95% of the notes you want to play, in correct pitch, every time your finger hits the board. I'd like an idea of when to expect (with regular and serious practice) that I should be playing accurately in pitch (regardless of song or how many times I practice that particular song).
Btw, Sara, yeah, playing just in first position counts.
I hope that makes more sense,,,, I ADMIT my thread title was inaccurate in relation to the question I was really asking.
So NOW what do you think????????
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That's a great tip Barry (writing notes on exactly what needs to be improved; great idea). And you know, I've run across such a spectrum of people's practice times; like from 3 hrs/wk, 20 mins/day, 2 hrs/day, and even as much as 6 hrs/day. In a normal week I do everything I can to get in 1 hr/day.
Naska,,, yeah, PLEASE let us know when you get there! Haaaaaaaaa! I know you've been playing for just over a year and you really sound pretty good to me!
I guess I started thinking about this more as a result of the "fretted violin" thread; seems like it'll get ya there much quicker,,,,,, but is it cheating.
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Just out of curiosity about the 95% thing, Fred.. What is your current % of accuracy and how are you evaluating that to get a %?
I mean, do you have somebody standing there with a clipboard and listening..
"Ooops, that quarter note in bar 20 was off by over 5 centimes.. Bad dog! No Biscuit!"
...or something like that?
"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman
King
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picklefish said
Its a trick question. Good as defined by whom? Yes, im thinking too much sorry, Devils advocate. I think it will take the rest of my life at this rate.
I think pickle is right on this one..
Wow man, you're good.. You're gettin good.... You are good... you're really good... that's good enough... I'm good, right ?.... just how good are you ?....can you play that song good ?.... I'm good enough to play on radio.... i'm not good enough to play in the orchestra quite yet but someday, I will. And the finale......
Someday I'll play as GOOD as...................Pierre !
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