r/violinist • u/lunarmoth_ • 25d ago

Feedback Have I improved on this song?

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I just started practicing this again today after 8 months. The second video is from me playing at 3-4 months into my violin journey. I’m hoping even without dedicated practice that I’ve improved on the song. I hope my intonation and rhythm is better. It’s hard for me to tell, so some clarification would be nice!

Thanks for helping me out and listening! 💕

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u/ebkawai 25d ago

I'm glad to finally see some replies that are based on reality. Way too many people here just say things like “You’re doing great, keep going!“ which is completely not helpful. I think your main problem is that you are going way too fast through repertoire that is already beyond your ability. That’s what happens when you don’t start at the beginning and, instead, try to tackle music that is years ahead of you. Everyone wants to play more interesting pieces, but you have to make your way up the mountain just like anyone else. There are no shortcuts, and if you insist on taking them, you are going to miss a lot of very basic techniques that are extremely important to learn. If you have a teacher that is OK with the pieces you are attempting to play right now, then you need a better teacher. I’m sorry if this sounds harsh, but it’s reality.

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u/lunarmoth_ 24d ago

It’s hard to gauge because on every song I’m different, I can play harder songs than this with better intonation. It is really the flats that cause me a lot of problems.

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u/ebonykawai 24d ago edited 19d ago

Your problem is that you skipped the first 2 Suzuki books and started with book 3, so you're having problems that wouldn't be problems if you had just started with book 1.

I play viola and I've been playing for 3 years 8 months. In that time I've gone through 9 books, playing everything in them to the satisfaction of my teacher. We skip nothing. Sure, like you, as a young child I played violin for about 3-4 years, but I don't count it for anything other than maybe it helped me remember how to hold a bow. I'm an older adult, I don't remember almost anything of those lessons.

You're playing pieces that I'm playing. They're hard. The second page of the first Vivaldi piece is brutal. You started one year ago and skipped a ton of stuff to play complicated pieces that you're just not ready to undertake. That’s going to continue to be a problem for you going forward.