Popular Post LanghamP Posted November 20, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted November 20, 2018 I usually have had some musical instrument for most of my life, that instrument usually being a full sized piano but pianos don't get love since they are hard to move around. So I bought a cheap(er) Chinese violin. After just a week, I'm amazed at how pleasurable it is, and learning the violin is not very difficult with uTube and other online content. I did try to learn the guitar twenty years ago but I constantly had trouble tuning it and being unable to do even super simple tunes. I did buy the xguitarx tuner, and let me tell you how useful this little guy is on a fretless instrument. This tech is amazing. Anyway, my point is that learning an instrument is easier than ever with online resources. Hiring an instructor never worked for me as it's both expensive and I don't like two hour increments. 15 minutes max is more my style. 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayRay Posted November 22, 2018 Share Posted November 22, 2018 (edited) On 11/20/2018 at 2:55 PM, LanghamP said: I usually have had some musical instrument for most of my life, that instrument usually being a full sized piano but pianos don't get love since they are hard to move around. Violins are very mobile... Looking forward to the unicycling violinist on the move! 😉 Edited November 22, 2018 by RayRay (Don't try) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 (edited) Violin virtuoso video, or it didn’t happen. Edited November 23, 2018 by Hunka Hunka Burning Love 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayRay Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 (edited) Found some clips of pretty girls fiddling on unicycles, but after that last vid, I'm gonna go with this... Edited November 23, 2018 by RayRay 2cute 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted November 27, 2018 Author Share Posted November 27, 2018 After a week or so playing, there's little things I noticed that made it harder to play (I can do simple tunes with correct pitch), and so had an idea of what wasn't quite right, adjusted those with some online help, and now the violin is incomparably better. Basically I used calipers and a nail file on the bridge so the strings are set precisely above the finger board, that fourth finger positions are exactly the same level across all the strings, and that the string tensions are progressively higher towards the thinner lower strings. With great irritation I had to figure this out on my own as online resources keep saying to take it to a pro, but tuning your violin is much easier than changing a KS16 innertube. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiemoy Posted November 27, 2018 Share Posted November 27, 2018 On 11/20/2018 at 5:55 PM, LanghamP said: I usually have had some musical instrument for most of my life, that instrument usually being a full sized piano but pianos don't get love since they are hard to move around. So I bought a cheap(er) Chinese violin. After just a week, I'm amazed at how pleasurable it is, and learning the violin is not very difficult with uTube and other online content. I did try to learn the guitar twenty years ago but I constantly had trouble tuning it and being unable to do even super simple tunes. I did buy the xguitarx tuner, and let me tell you how useful this little guy is on a fretless instrument. This tech is amazing. Anyway, my point is that learning an instrument is easier than ever with online resources. Hiring an instructor never worked for me as it's both expensive and I don't like two hour increments. 15 minutes max is more my style. I always wanted to learn to play the guitar, I have a few lying around still. I recently was thinking of learning the violin also, but went with the ukulele instead. Now I have three of those and practicing strumming daily. Will get it someday. Just have to practice like we practice our EUC. One thing I’ve learned is you can learn anything,just need to put in the practice time. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted November 29, 2018 Author Share Posted November 29, 2018 On 11/27/2018 at 11:56 AM, eddiemoy said: I always wanted to learn to play the guitar, I have a few lying around still. I recently was thinking of learning the violin also, but went with the ukulele instead. Now I have three of those and practicing strumming daily. Will get it someday. Just have to practice like we practice our EUC. One thing I’ve learned is you can learn anything,just need to put in the practice time. Good luck! I can see how violin has a reputation as being one of the hardest instruments out there, because of correct hand placement and arm movement cannot be easily shown through pictures. Even if you're just a bit off nothing works. For example, on the bow downstroke things bounce around in an impossible manner but the solution is just drop your hand the rest of the way. Seems simple but not obvious at all, and if you weren't doing this then nothing works well at all. 5:00 time. Violin has a strong reputation for being a rich person's past time, and I think that's entirely justified pre-YouTube and hand-built wood instruments. This guy postulates that Gliga violins are mostly machine made but hand assembled. However, both my intermediate violins have a certain imprecision which is why my next violin will be this Glasser carbon fiber, because I want my violin to be completely speced to .01 mm. It makes me wonder, if we built a violin to the precision of a microchip, everything lasered, would it be the best violin? Methinks it would be. Anyway, I'm trying to say with YouTube and cheap yet good violins, learning the fiddle is easier than ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted November 30, 2018 Share Posted November 30, 2018 I wonder if these cheap Chinese Stradivarius copies are any good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuechi Posted November 30, 2018 Share Posted November 30, 2018 I bought a violin a year ago and returned because I got frustrated that I cound’t tune it to the right notes even thiugh I had a tuner. I’m gonna plan buying this year again. Goo luck to you man. I wish i didnt quit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted November 30, 2018 Author Share Posted November 30, 2018 (edited) 4 hours ago, kuechi said: I bought a violin a year ago and returned because I got frustrated that I cound’t tune it to the right notes even thiugh I had a tuner. I’m gonna plan buying this year again. Goo luck to you man. I wish i didnt quit. I'm having lots of difficulty tuning the violin(s) too, and they require retuning often. It's the friction pegs; they vibrate out and are very hard to adjust. That's why I'm looking at nontraditional violins with worm gear tuners like what guitars have. Friction pegs in this day? Worm gears cost, what, five bucks? Ugh, they cost a bit more than that although I'm happy to see others moaning about how hard it is to tune a fiddle. It's not you it's all of us. https://www.thestrad.com/lutherie/geared-pegs-why-isnt-everyone-using-them/7862.article My violins came with an electronic tuner that both listens and emits pitch, and a virtual needle that tells you how far off, but even then it takes me alot of trial and error, mostly because with friction pegs you go shooting past your tuned note. Edited November 30, 2018 by LanghamP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted December 13, 2018 Author Share Posted December 13, 2018 I ended up buying a few more items that really helped playing the violin. A shoulder rest. I bought a Vale; this helps immeasurably because you don't support the violin with your left hand. Fiddlerman violin strings. Fiddlerman carbon fiber bow. This also makes a huge difference; the reviewers rave about CF but I think it's entirely due to the quality and placement of the horsehair. If you hold up the CF bow it looks like a sharp edged square whereas the stock bows look like blobs. It seems to me that you always end up paying about 300-500 for a violin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted September 2, 2019 Author Share Posted September 2, 2019 After half a year or so, I thought I'd update my progress. I ended up buying a Glasser carbon fiber violin. It just seems more practical, and cheaper, to have what is essentially a plastic precisely made violin that's entirely machined. I can easily play all major keys, but only one minor key. Most tunes not terribly complex I can play. No Panganini, but all the folk, Irish, and popular music I can play pretty easily. Jazz seems impossible, but swing feels quite natural. Intonation is hard, and I ended up buying TE Tuner. Play the note and see if you're in tune. Eventually your ear becomes very precise, and while you might not hit the correct pitch at least you'll get the experience and perception of what the right note is suppose to sound like. I ended up buying a mechanical metronome, and watching it out of the corner of my eye. Without it, my timing was very far off...it keeps one honest. YouTube makes learning a musical instrument very accessible. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Glider Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 @LanghamP do you find playing the glasser to be as satisfying soundwise as wooden instruments? I went through a ‘violin period’ but went back to guitar , but nothing emotes like a violin i think!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted September 3, 2019 Author Share Posted September 3, 2019 4 hours ago, Old Glider said: @LanghamP do you find playing the glasser to be as satisfying soundwise as wooden instruments? I went through a ‘violin period’ but went back to guitar , but nothing emotes like a violin i think!? Here's an audio comparison between two presumably well setup violins. The Glasser is around $420 when I bought it, and the Artist costs $600 but you also get a case and CF bow. The Glasser gets a cardboard box, so I think the comparison is good because the price is about the same. However, I bought the CF violin because while it looks and plays like a violin, it isn't made like a violin, and it doesn't act like a violin. It barely goes out of tune due to string stretch, it uses worm gears that are made to look like friction pegs (they aren't), it has fine tuners that aren't necessary, if you take it out of a 120 degree interior of a car it stays in tune, it can be dunked in the water with no damage (the bridge is wood, though). While I treat it with great care, I get the impression @The Fat Unicyclist could stand on it without breaking it. It feels inflexible and hard like the way all carbon fiber feels. The experts aren't impressed. http://blog.feinviolins.com/2017/05/glasser-carbon-composite-violin-review.html?m=1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ir_fuel Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 I was always told it takes a very long time to get a decent sound out of a violin. The technique to make a note sound good is apparently not very easy. Never tried it myself (I have a musical background, spent 12 years studying music after school when I was a kid). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted September 3, 2019 Author Share Posted September 3, 2019 8 hours ago, ir_fuel said: I was always told it takes a very long time to get a decent sound out of a violin. The technique to make a note sound good is apparently not very easy. Never tried it myself (I have a musical background, spent 12 years studying music after school when I was a kid). Good sound was impossible without a teacher, but now with recording devices, tuners, and YouTube it's still not good, but not terrible. I use TE Tuner for 5-10 minutes of intonation each day. I got the tip from this guy. Even though I don't play the sax, I find this guy easier to understand opposed to the better players who don't speak English natively. To me, the violin is the easiest instrument, by far, of any I've attempted, because it very rarely feels like I'm working at it. I've always owned a piano; I never once felt it was anything but hard work, miserably hitting the wrong keys or, worse yet, accidentally two adjacent keys at the same time. Also, most importantly, you can take the violin anywhere you want to. I confess I don't use a case with the CF violin...I mean I don't throw it around, I handle it with great care, but I make it accessible which means no case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Glider Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 Pretty sweet instrument! Geared tuners must be awesome if they work well. I have not ‘loved’ the cf guitars i tried, but a travel and moisture level and heat impervious instrument sure would be nice. Cheers ps, interesting about that tuner, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fat Unicyclist Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 On 9/3/2019 at 5:39 PM, LanghamP said: While I treat it with great care, I get the impression @The Fat Unicyclist could stand on it without breaking it. Challenge accepted... Name the time and place! And if that doesn't work, am I allowed to ride over it on a Z10? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted September 5, 2019 Author Share Posted September 5, 2019 On 9/3/2019 at 11:54 AM, Old Glider said: Pretty sweet instrument! Geared tuners must be awesome if they work well. I have not ‘loved’ the cf guitars i tried, but a travel and moisture level and heat impervious instrument sure would be nice. Cheers ps, interesting about that tuner, thanks! Apparently CF violins don't need the corners that wood violins must have (else they collapse under 100+ pounds of tension), and so CF violins built with corners will always be muffled. CF violins have won blind musical contests, perhaps because they can be so much louder than wood violins. The Gayford and the mezzo forte website show just how simple to make these CF violins are compared to wood violins. Drop the CF into a mould, heat gun it into other moulded pieces; the cost is the original body shape research (they have a video of that, and it looks exhausting), but once the original is made it looks very cost effective to stamp out precisely made copies. Maybe CF guitars just need to experiment around for a better body shape, but that's hard to do when wood guitars of the $200-$1000 are already of fantastic quality. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Glider Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 (edited) On 9/5/2019 at 2:07 PM, LanghamP said: Maybe CF guitars just need to experiment around for a better body shape, but that's hard to do when wood guitars of the $200-$1000 are already of fantastic quality. I’m sure for a gigging musician the frp (or carbon fibre) instruments are a godsend , I’m a little surprised its so slow catching on. Edited September 7, 2019 by Old Glider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted September 7, 2019 Author Share Posted September 7, 2019 3 hours ago, Old Glider said: I’m sure for a gigging musician the frp (or carbon fibre) instruments are a godsend , I’m a little surprised its so slow catching on. Electric or acoustic? Or, to be realistic if we're gigging, an electric-acoustic guitar. Electric guitars are just solid blocks of wood with pickups, coated with lots of varnish and paint. There's no sound chamber, and hence electric guitars are quite stable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Glider Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 Def acoustic guitars, electric s don’t really need cf but then again it would maybe be good for the neck? Anyways, electrics (guitars) are a whole other ‘rabbit hole’. A tone freaks paradise! Esp with pedals, amps etc. Lol My source of frustration with the violin was bowing, and when I got my teacher to play my cheap chinese guitar and she made it sound so sweet I nearly collapsed lol. I never wanted to pick it up again since that day for some reason. It is still my favourite sounding instrument though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted September 8, 2019 Author Share Posted September 8, 2019 1 hour ago, Old Glider said: source of frustration with the violin was bowing, and when I got my teacher to play my cheap chinese guitar and she made it sound so sweet I nearly collapsed lol. I use this guy's grip. But there's a lot of different grips out there, and all are correct. Arguably, just practicing dexterity had by far the biggest impact, by doing the spider walk. It's hilariously, impossibly difficult at first, and then it becomes gradually easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Glider Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 (edited) Bloody curved thumb, drove me mad. Seems simple but.........aargh! Itzhak is SO awesome. Don’t know if I have the patience for the spider technique- but now I’m giving away the true nature of my problem learning (everything?) lol Edited September 8, 2019 by Old Glider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliG Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 Congrats! I started learning tp play the guitar recently, it is so exciting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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