Do You Know What the Parts of a VIOLIN Are Called? Learn Them Here

Violin made in about 1770. (1) Chinrest (2) Tailpiece (3) Bridge (4) Strings (5) Fingerboard (6) Fine-Tuner (7) Sound hole (8) Corner (9) Purfling (10) Body (11) Rib (12) End Button 

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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In order to correctly play the violin you will need to know what all the parts are. In this article I will teach you the names of the major ones from the top of the violin to the bottom (not in the order of the picture).

1. Scroll - This is the decorative part located at the very top of the violin they are mostly hand carved.
2. Tuning pegs - These are used to tune the violin, by adjusting them up or down you can tune your violin.
3. The Nut - This supports the strings and keeps them away from the fret board.
4. Fingerboard - This is the strip of wood on the neck of the violin where the strings are this is also the area where you play or finger the notes.
5. The Strings - The violin has four strings tuned a fifth apart from thickest to thinnest they are G, D, A and E.
6. The Bridge - This holds the strings in place it is essential as its placement affect the quality of the sound produced by the violin.
7. F Holes - These are on either side of the bridge and allow the sound of the vibrating strings to resonate. They are called f holes because they are shaped like an f in italics. Altering the F hole can affect the sound of the violin.
8. Tail piece - This is the part that anchors the strings to the violin.
9. Chin Rest - This helps the violinist hold the instrument in place while playing the violinist can use their chin to hold the violin freeing up their hands.

Eric B. Hill is an professional violin player and teacher with over 20 years experience. Article Directory: EzineArticles

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How to Correct Bad Habits in Your VIOLIN Playing

As violin players we very often fall into bad habits which hamper playing and delay our progress by years. It is very important that you correct these problems as soon as you can remember the longer you ignore them the worse they will get and longer they will take to get rid of.

Stuffed bear on violin (exercise for good violin hold + correct contact point)
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

To begin correcting bad habits you must first begin to identify them you must be like a detective seeking out the root causes of the issues and difficulties you face in your playing. To do this play through the passages that are giving you difficulty extremely slowly without a metronome. Pay extreme attention all the while you are doing this be very relaxed and watch what your fingers and body are doing as you play.

There will be a cause and effect relationship behind every mistake that you make. The cause will be something you are doing wrong with your fingers and body that you haven't noticed before and the effect will be mistakes. It is your job to seek out these causes and correct them. Remember the reason behind almost all bad playing and mistakes is usually because you are holding tension in your body.

Concentrate on being very relaxed and tension free while you are playing and remember to breathe deeply in and out. You would not believe the amount of people who hold their breath while playing.

This is a very bad habit which will cause you to lock up and make endless mistakes

Once you have identified the causes of your mistakes and bad habits you must correct them. You do this by playing slowly through the problems passages using a metronome. You must pay extreme attention while doing this and stay relaxed playing the problem part correctly. You will have to do this over and over until the new way of playing is conditioned.

Do not ignore problems areas and bad habits trust me I did and I can tell you from experience that they soon grow into huge monsters that can cripple your playing for years. Remember it is always best to kill the monster while it is small.

Eric B. Hill is an professional violin player and teacher with over 20 years experience. Article Directory: EzineArticles

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Learning VIOLIN Chords

Playing violin chords can be a challenge. There is no shortcut to mastering the technique. The only way to become adept at violin chords is practice, practice, practice! A double stop is the technical term for violin chord. It simply means that you're playing to notes on adjacent strings at the same time. Two strings are pushed down at the same time or stopped by the fingers, and bowed plucked.

This is me playing violin (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Because of the violin is curved bridge, plucking or bowing more than two strings at the same time is extremely difficult, if not impossible. Antique bows made before the end of the 18th century, had the wood curved away from the hair. The result was that three notes could be played simultaneously by some violinists.

Even with older bows it is almost impossible to play for notes at once on the violin. If the artist is accomplished, he/ she will play the three or four note cord by sounding the lower notes briefly and allowing them to sing, and then sounding the upper notes. This technique is called a broken chord. If it is done correctly, the hearer will believe they heard a true triple or quadruple stop.

You can practice your violin chords, or double stop chords, using a 4/4 beat. Keeping time by taping your foot will help with this process. Learn to count four beats as you are drawing the bow on each chord. It should take for complete beats for you to draw the bow from one end to the other.

It is very important that you use your fingertips when playing double stops. The fingertip technique will ensures that you do not touch adjacent strings while playing violin chords. Your thumb must remain in proper position behind the neck in order to use your fingertips.

It's important to let the bow do the work when playing double stops. Loosening your bow hair will allow to touch both strings. Make sure you are not pressing too hard.

Allow the harmony of the music to come through. If you are hearing dissonance, your violin may need to be tuned.

Generally accepted music theory states that a chord is a set of three or more different notes. These notes must play of the same time and be in a specific key. Since playing three strings at once on the violin is so difficult, a dyad or two notes of the chord, is what is played. Technically speaking, "violin chords" is a misnomer, since you are only playing two notes.

Musically speaking, a dyad is a set of two notes or pitches.

It is important to reiterate at this juncture to never under estimate the power of practice. As you practice playing violin chords, you'll find them becoming easier.

Adding technique to your repertoire always increases your enjoyment of playing your instrument. Learning to play a violin chords is no exception.

Hailey Alton is a violin enthusiast. For more great instructional tips on Violin Chords please visit http://learntheviolinfast.com/ Article Directory: EzineArticles

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