Signing up for violin lessons in Seattle is a wise choice for anyone looking to begin their journey in learning the instrument or for anyone looking to improve their skills as a violinist. While it’s true that the violin is one of the more difficult instruments to master, earning the violin is a rewarding journey. It can’t take anyone years to feel confident on the violin, but you can make learning more worthwhile by how you approach your lessons and your practice sessions outside of your violin lessons in Seattle.
We’re here to help you understand how to make the most of your lessons by giving you a few tips, tricks, and helpful perspectives to keep in mind as you progress on your journey. Don’t forget to have fun when playing the violin. It’s so much more than a box and stick!

Know You’re in it for the Long Haul

Everyone has different goals when it comes to learning the violin, but one thing is true for everyone who wants to learn: it takes a long time to master, but it’s worth it. Part of understanding that it will take years before you’re the violin player you’d always dreamed of being will help you keep a long-term perspective of motivation and curiosity. Whether your goal is to join a community or church orchestra or to pursue a career as a musician, it will take a long time to join the ranks of confident, professional violinists. Part of being a life-long learner and lover of an instrument means paying attention to new techniques or ways you could improve. Setting small goals within big challenges can help you stay on track and enjoy the ride.

Invest in the Right Violin and Take Care of It

Violins come in many sizes and qualities. Taking the time to assess what your needs are and finding the right instrument to fit those needs will pay off in the long run. You’ll be happy and confident knowing that the violin you chose will be with you as you learn and progress. In order to find the right violin to suit your needs, you’ll need to look at three main factors: size, quality, and price.
To fit you for the appropriate-sized violin, you must measure from the base of the neck to the wrist of the left hand, with the left arm fully extended. This measurement will indicate what size violin you’ll need.
When it comes to quality, make sure you’re investigating the construction and structure of your potential instrument. There are two main things to make sure of when you’re assessing quality: the violin shouldn’t look warped, and the violin shouldn’t make a creaking sound when pressure is applied. This is true of new and used violins.
No matter what you’re shopping for, it’s best to set a budget before you begin looking. If you’re looking for a high-quality violin, these can start at around $500, and they go up in price accordingly from there. Additionally, don’t forget to factor into your budget a violin bow and case, as they are sold separately from the violin. Setting a budget is a great first step because you’ll be able to narrow your search by not wasting time looking at items outside of your budget.

Listen to Famous Violinists for Motivation and Inspiration

If you’ve signed up for lessons with a Seattle violin teacher, then it’s probably safe to say that you enjoy listening to violin music. Whether you go on to become a professional violinist or not, listening to violinists is an important part of your musical discovery. Not only is listening to violinists inspiring but narrowing in on what type of music you enjoy listening to will help give you direction as to what type of music you might want to play. There’s no chance of getting bored of violin music if you’re rotating through violinists regularly. From classical to eclectic, violinists comprise inspiring artists that will motivate the young musician in everyone. In case you don’t know where to start, we love Antonio Vivaldi, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Hilary Hahn, and Lindsey Stirling, just to name a few.

Keep the Benefits In Mind

While it can be frustrating to learn and get better at a difficult instrument like the violin, there are some significant proven benefits of learning an instrument, particularly the violin. Playing the violin reduces anxiety! While this benefit is not exclusive to the violin, studies show that playing just about any instrument brings down anxiety.
Learning the violin requires the practice and precision of finger placement, bow control, and plucking strings. These actions require fine motor skills, which are developed and honed over time while learning the violin. If you are thinking about violin lessons for your children, they are great ways to practice dexterity and fine motor skills. As an adult, playing the violin can help keep you sharp.
Studies have also shown that if you play an instrument consistently over a long period of time (2 years or more), it has some real positive benefits for your brain. Multiple parts of your brain are activated when playing music, and it shows enhanced attention span and memory. This benefit extends into your later years, too, showing that playing the violin not only helps you now, but also keeps you mentally fit as you age.
Lastly, improved posture is a huge benefit of playing the violin. Good posture is helpful for violinists as it helps keep everything in line to play in tune. While this may not be an exciting proposition for younger students, anyone approaching the instrument later in life will appreciate this built-in benefit. And the younger students will learn to appreciate a good back as they get older.

Violin Lessons in Seattle

The violin is a beautiful and complex instrument and worth the effort of taking the time to learn. Because it can take years to become confident on the violin, it’s important to keep the long-term goals in mind. Getting the most out of your violin lessons in Seattle might take a little perspective. We hope we’ve helped you take a healthy approach to learn the violin.
If you are interested in learning more about the violin or if you want to sign up for lessons, contact us! Our teachers come right to your home for every lesson, plus we offer virtual music lessons, too. Our online music lessons are taught by local music teachers with live lessons tailored to your family!