Have You Ever Tried to Learn to Play Violin Online? Yup, You Heard That Right!

When you want to learn to play violin one of the first things you need to consider is how you are going to learn. This is your most important thing to think about, aside from getting your hands on a violin, bow, rosin, sheet music and tuner. You can learn to play violin online or from books or DVDs which show you how to play violin.

So, what are the methods?

- The most traditional method to learn to play violin is, of course, from a violin teacher. There are many benefits to having personal, interactive violin lessons from a person who is an experienced violin teacher and violinist. The main benefit to this is that a violin teacher can correct your form and positioning when you play it.

They can help you develop the right habits, bad habits can be hard to break later down the line. You can find violin teachers in schools, universities, orchestras and online. You will see this person once a week, potentially for a long time. Consequently, it is very important to find a violin teacher that you can get along with. Learning to play the violin should be enjoyable and dreading your violin lessons is not going to be helpful for your violin playing.

- The next method is to learn it online. Fortunately, today there is a wealth of great information on the Internet which can show you how to learn to play violin online through tutorials given by experienced teachers or violinists. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of not so great information on the Internet so be careful when searching for learn to play violin online lessons.

It is important to look around if you decide to learn it online and do your research. Look at reputable sites with online violin tutorials which are made by professionals. As mentioned it is very hard to break bad habits so make sure the video tutorials are from a trustworthy, reliable source.

- The next option you have is to buy some violin books and learn to play by yourself. There are loads of great learn to play violin books which you can choose to help you learn the violin. The Suzuki method is perhaps the most popular of them all. The Suzuki method was formed on the basis of how we learn our first language.

Suzuki chose to leave out much of the technical instruction in favor of song-playing rather than technical exercises. There are a lot of great violin books which show you how to play violin so take a little time to look at a few to see which you like best.

Of course, there is no right way to learn to play violin. It is important to remember that everyone has their own learning style. You may find that you would like to employ just one way of learning the violin. Alternatively, you could use a combination of one or more method to help you and progress to the best of your violin playing potential.

Booking Your Band

You’ve brought together three or four of the best musicians in town, and they are jamming to your tunes. You have spent days and nights writing and rewriting lyrics, and you have been working hard to perfect your sound. Finally, after many months of practice, you are ready to reap the benefits of your hard work. But how do you begin?

As a new band, the idea of booking your first gig could prove to be a daunting task. However, it doesn’t have to be. By following these simple steps, you can turn a seemingly overwhelming process into a productive one.

Making sure that the members of the band are all on the same page is an essential first step in the booking process. Agree on a number of gigs per month that everyone will play. Put together a set of your best songs and make a demo. Your demo should not include full-length songs; a few short snippets of your strongest material will showcase your band’s strengths and will sell your band to potential venues with little or no effort. With your demo, include a photo of the band, a short statement about the music or genre that the band plays, and your contact information, including the band’s website. Decide what venues you are interested in playing and how much you will charge them for playing, if anything. Getting these details out of the way early will establish good communication among the band members, thus avoiding misunderstandings in the future.

Next, do your research. Scope out the local scene; find out who your competition is, which bands play where, what venues cater to your particular sound, and who your target audience is. Talk to seasoned local acts; oftentimes, your fellow musicians will be your best sources of information. Getting to know your competition, your audience and your local scene will prove to be an indispensable tool when you are selling yourself to club owners and booking agents. Also, be open to anything. Limiting yourself to clubs and bars will hinder your chances of booking your band. Find out about open-mic nights in your area, offer to open for other bands for free and find out about local fairs and festivals where your band can get some exposure.

When you’re out and about checking out potential venues, ask for the names of the people responsible for booking bands at that location. Get their contact information and keep track. Use all of your contacts and, when calling them, be brief and to the point. Ask them if they have time to talk, and if not, when it would be a good time to contact them. Ask for permission before submitting your demo. Be persistent, but not pushy, and realize that it will take some time to get that job. Once you do get the gig, be sure to discuss payment, if any, as well as what you will need to bring as opposed to what the venue will provide. Be professional and be honest.

With determination, a little know-how, and some clever self-promotion, you could land that first gig and be on your way to success in no time.