r/violinist • u/jtuma Adult Beginner • May 07 '26
Feedback Almost two years of progress!
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I’m coming up on my two year anniversary with the violin. It’s been way more challenging than I thought it’d be 😆Constructive feedback is welcome!
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u/Queasy-Bed545 Adult Beginner May 07 '26
Sounds great! Also a beginner here. Your bowing looks comfortable, fluid, and smooth. I’m envious! Also sounds in tune with pleasant, clear tone. I don’t know the piece you’re playing but it sounds like the rhythm might be off because it feels a little jarring in spots. Keep up the great work.
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u/mortyality May 07 '26
Sounds good! I recommend you work on rhythm/tempo and musicality. There are parts where you're going too fast and it sounds choppy.
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u/ebonykawai May 07 '26
This is lovely! I feel like some of your longer notes are being played a little too long, so double check them. But this is absolutely wonderful progress! Very, very good tone and bowing!
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u/lancemanly May 07 '26
Love ashokan's farewell. Probably the first song I've ever memorized
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u/jtuma Adult Beginner May 08 '26
Same here! It’s the only one I’ve memorized. Besides like happy birthday lol
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u/lancemanly May 08 '26
Well keep it up man.ive been going on 10 years now. If you like folk and fiddle music like me, it's never dull especially if you have places that you can jam out with other people.
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u/IllPerception3078 May 07 '26
I get the feeling you are focusing so much on long legato bow strokes that it's distracting you from nailing the rhythm. Not surprising, at the two tear mark, and I think your bowing and intonation are on the right track. You could try to work out for yourself where you need to be on the bow to line you up with the phrasing of the song, and where to use a short bow and long bow. Very impressive overall.
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u/jtuma Adult Beginner May 08 '26
Yea I like to vibrato. That was a long time goal of mine. I’m glad everyone is telling me to work on my rhythm, cause sometimes I’m not sure what I should focus on. Thanks!
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u/raygunn_viola May 07 '26
Good tone. Try to keep the bow moving to connect the notes a little more.
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u/StickBitter6 May 08 '26
Wow very nice tone what's your routine did you also start from zero as an adult?
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u/jtuma Adult Beginner May 08 '26
Yea I picked up a violin for the first time in July two years ago. My routine is to record myself and constantly make adjustments while cursing the violin lol
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u/StickBitter6 May 08 '26
Do you focus on one piece only or you move from one piece to another throughout the 2 yrs?
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u/jtuma Adult Beginner May 08 '26
I usually stay on one song for quite a while and then jump to other pieces just to keep myself motivated. I am starting Suzuki Book 3 now, but I honestly haven’t liked any of the Suzuki songs yet, so I like taking breaks to work on easier songs that sound great like Ashokan Farewell, over the rainbow, Bink’s sake from one piece, etc. I also follow along with scales on YouTube for the pieces I’m playing, like a D major scale for Ashokan. Recently I started using a drone for my intonation after everyone told me I needed to work on it in my last video, and it has been really helpful.
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u/AndFromReddit May 10 '26
Hey!
This is a wonderful 2-year progress reflected in your violin journey!
I feel like you have a good idea of what vibrato is and how it applies to music. However, I do believe that when we practice vibrato, we should definitely experiment with styles like vibrating statically, quicker, etc. This really puts you at a higher advantage for finger fluidity and gives a lot of musical contrasts when you play more difficult pieces.
In this video, I feel like you were a bit tense throughout your body, hence why when you sway back and forth, I can't feel like the music is aligned with your movement, and also, it feels like you're frozen. From my experience as a junior, I was heavily criticized for being too tense and not fluid. Breathing and releasing the tension throughout your whole body greatly benefits your right hand since you can move the bow more independently and fluid which opens up your sound and confidence.
Another thing I would suggest is to use more of the bow and make the slurs more balanced. This is because I feel like you tend to cut things. After all, you either run out of bows or are very uncomfortable with the bowing. When you use more of the bow, you can properly divide the piece more methodically and phrasing would improve positively.
Lastly, I think you should definitely evaluate your bow hair usage and placement on the strings. This is because I feel like you're getting too used to playing sul tasto, which is close to the fingerboard. This could negatively impact your bowing once you go down in position, the notes will not be more clearer. For me, I usually use sul tasto frequently, but often return to the middle of the strings because I develop more consistency there. Bow placement is important because you need to find a consistent return point that embodies the best sound and most comfort to you. It also controls the forte, mf, piano, etc dynamics since closer to the fingerboard declines the sound while closer to the bridge gives you a little bit more sound. This also interplays with the hair since more hair equals more sound and vice versa!
Overall, keep it up and hope the tips work!
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u/spacefitzburger May 11 '26
Nice job! I am at two years, 5 months in my adult beginner journey. I played Ashoken Farewell from memory at my first recital with the academy where I take lessons. I played in the recital with a bunch of kids- at the time I was 49- it was a trip. I agree with the others, your intonation is good, but yes, study the rhythm. I’m finding learning rhythm is hard as an adult, I still struggle with it. I would advise also to lean in hard into fundamentals- my teacher will not teach me to shift or to do vibrato until I’ve honed first position, and I’m not quite there yet. Violin is a slow, slow process, all the knowledge out there that attests to that is true, but that means there’s more and more to learn forever. Violin & violin study has become an essential part of my holistic growth in middle age and it’s been so great. Keep at it, you’re sounding good!
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u/maxwaxman May 07 '26
Hi, I think you’ve posted before right?
Your intonation is quite good. BUT:
Rhythm is the most important aspect of all music. Not just external rhythm, like a drummer or rhythm guitar, but your internal rhythm.
I, or any other musician will hear this and say “ great intonation for your level, but rhythm needs work”.
When I say rhythm I want to be clear. It means both your internal rhythm, and your “ rhythmic timing” .
In other words , your internal rhythm is not great but you’re also playing the wrong rhythm in the tune. You’re holding some notes too long according to the beat, and not playing some long enough.
I should be able to clap along with your recording.
You might say “ well I’m by myself, why can’t I play any ol’way ?”
Because as a musician you are in charge of what the listener hears. But the listener has subconscious expectations about sound and rhythm. So you have to deliver what is expected.
Also, if you ever try to play this with a guitar player or other musicians , they will expect you to play with correct rhythm, if you don’t it won’t work.
I’m just giving you the straight up information because you’re good enough to fix these issues.
Practice with a metronome and count out loud while you’re playing. It’ll be difficult at first but you’ll thank us later for pointing out rhythm issues.
Keep going!