Introduction to Violin DVD

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Product Reviews

(4 stars) - pretty good
There is always something one can learn from these violin DVDs, but there is nothing like having a teacher refine your playing. On this DVD I like the white bouncing balls above the notes to help students read at first, but then it can be distracting once they do learn to read -- students should be focusing on the notes themselves. Otherwise, it's useful just as an additional DVD to play through and get reinforcement. I do like the beginner and intermediate ABCs of Violin DVDs better, and the ABCs method itself works well to keep students learning and inspired.

(5 stars) - Very easy to follow
I play a little bit piano and a violin beginner. I like this DVD very much. It's very easy to follow. Of course you can't expect to become a master just by watching this video. But it's really an excellent introduction for beginners. The image of demonstration is well presented: there is close-up finger position by the full-shot of bowing, and there is music notes on the bottom. Can't be clearer for students.

(1 stars) - Don't bother. Get a real teacher instead.
This is more of a critique than a review of this DVD. Please understnad that I'm not a professional violin teacher. I have had about 3 months of lessons years ago and I can barely play the violin.

The instructor in this DVD claimed, at the beginning, that the fundamentals learned from this DVD will enable the student to play in any style including classical, blue grass, country, and rock and roll. I think it did not deliver on this promise.

Here are the chapters in this DVD
1. Introduction
2. Playing condition
3. Bow Preparation
4. Tuning the violin
5. Holding the violin
6. Left Hand position
7. HOlding the Bow
8. bowing open strings
9. Exercise 1
10. Exercises 2-4
11. Half Notes
12. Quarter Notes
13. Tone Quality
14. Review
15. Music notation
16. Noting the violin
17. Exercises 20-24
18. Here We Go Exercises
19. Here We Go
20. Mary Had a little lamb
21. Exercises 28-29
22. Exercises 30-31
23. Song
24. Exercises 34-37
25. The Alphabet Song
26. Practice Tips
27. Slurs
28. Exercises 43-46
29. Go tell Aunt Rhody
30. D Scale
31. Exercises 55-60
32. 3/4 Time
33. Exercises 66-68
34. Sunday Waltz
35. Summary

I suppose you're suppose to buy the companion music book from the publisher for another $15. I didn't get this book. Do not let the number of chapters on this DVD fool you. The total running time is only about 50 minutes. It runs through all the chapters in a hurry. Most (if not all) of the exercises shown contain one or two measures of notes. As you can see from the chapter listing, this DVD shows you how to play 3 songs. The longest one is Sunday Waltz. It's only about 7 or 8 measures long. All of the exercises and demo songs are of the "put your finger here to play this note" variety. One cannot learn to play violin this way. Playing the violin is much different than playing the piano in that intonation is very important. Without proper critique from an experienced teacher, the student will not have knowledge to differentiate between right and wrong intonation. This DVD also does not demonstrate proper hand, wrist, and finger posture and movement. In order to play a song, your fingers will have to be in the right place at the right time. And sometimes your fingers have to be in some very un-intuitive places in order to play some passages correctly. You can't put stuff like that onto a single DVD. It has to be learned over time. The approach taken by this DVD might have worked if you're learning the piano, but I'm sorry to say that it will not work for learning the violin. For that you'll need a real teacher. If you want to learn how to play "Mary Had A Little Lamb" and "Sunday Waltz" BADLY, then learn from this DVD. Otherwise, get yourself a teacher.

(5 stars) - Truly Great Beginner Material
This is the perfect DVD for someone who has never played the Violin or fiddle before. It teaches everything from holding the violin, to using the bow, to learning how to play your first songs. I found that after a month I was ready to move on to classical songs. It truly was a great and cheap way to learn.

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